The month of Ramadan is resolved every year to be a great faith station and an opportunity to review the self and enhance the relationship with God, as it is the month of fasting, standing, remembrance and piety, where the Muslim leaves his food and drink in response to the command of God, and he learns patience and conviction, and lives spiritual moments that bring him closer to the Creator.
But with the passage of time, this blessed month began to take a different character for many, as it turned from a month for asceticism and worship to a consumer season with distinction, in which the expenses are doubled, and the competition increases in buying luxuries, until the appearances have overcome the essence.
Ramadan tables were simply characterized, as the family gathered around modest dishes that provide them with energy to perform acts of worship, but today, the tables are full of countless varieties, exceeding the actual need for the fasting person, which leads to wasting large quantities of food.
According to some statistics, during the month of Ramadan, he wasted times what was wasted in other months, which is a clear contradiction with the purposes of fasting that calls for the feeling of the hunger of the poor, and not the extravagance in luxury foods.
The consumption was not limited to food, but extended to the race to buy luxury utensils, as some families are keen to acquire new sets specifically for the month of Ramadan, as if the value of food lies in the container in which it is presented.
The shopping for Ramadan clothes and galabiyas has also become a basic ritual, so the markets turned into a competitive arena, and Ramadan has become a chance to change the tanks more than it is an opportunity to change souls.
One of the beautiful Ramadan customs that express the spirit of social solidarity is the “deficiency”, where the neighbor sends a part of his food an expression of love and participation.
But today it lost its simplicity, and it has become an unannounced competition in providing luxurious and decorated dishes with the most beautiful solution, which increased social pressure on some families that cannot match this luxury, and turned from a way to enhance relations into an indirect means of social pride.
The spirit of Ramadan does not lie in manifestations or in showing off the luxuries, but rather in seizing the opportunity to draw closer to God and feelings of others. We have to reconsider the patterns of our consumption, and take care that Ramadan is the month of moderation, not extravagance.
Instead of spending money on what we do not need, part of it can be directed to help the needy, and instead of focusing on decorating our tables, we can focus on decorating our hearts with faith and goodness.
If we want to restore the true meanings of Ramadan, we must remember that it is a month of mercy and giving, not the month of pride and appearances, so let us return to its simplicity, and make it an opportunity for real change, spiritually and humanly, because its true value is not in what we buy, but in what we offer to ourselves and others of good and righteousness.
