Dear God,

My communications and conversations with You are unending.

Only You know and can answer my quiet prayers.

Today, I intend to offer a rare glimpse of the inner workings of my mind

Because I want the subjects of my prayers to have some inkling of what I am going to say.

 

You have given us the gift of Ramadan and I am grateful to You.

You want us to learn self-restraint and shun extravagance and senseless squandering.

You want us to concentrate on our faith, and reflect on and remain conscious of You.

You want us to spend less time on mundane preoccupations, bodily needs and pleasures.

 

Fasting is not meant to impose hardship on us, but to inculcate discipline, resilience, patience, sacrifice and humility.

Ramadan is for us to realise that the pleasures of consumption are not the sole reason for our existence.

Fasting is meant to be a transformative experience and trigger a heightened awareness of the plight of the have-nots and the afflicted.

Ramadan is an excellent opportunity for us to shed any extra weight and excessive calories.

 

 

But, dear God,

What I see does not convince me that they understand the real meaning of fasting.

They spend at least a month preparing for Ramadan, a month observing the fast and another commemorating it.

They decorate masjids and pay a great deal of attention to magnificence and ornamentation but little substance.

If You send an alien to report on what they do during the holy month, You will receive news of Ramadan bazaar and Ramadan buffets – all business, trade and commerce.

 

In their craze to turn fasting into feasting, they are after sumptuous iftar, offer parties and flaunt their wealth with abandon.

They have turned Ramadan into a month of gastronomic delicacies, causing food prices to go up and the poor to suffer more.

In Ramadan, their kitchen waste, serving waste and plate waste are multiplied many times over.

They violate the trust You have given them in the form of money and regard wasting food as a birthright.

 

Oh! I must tell You how they use Ramadan fasting as a political tool.

With the money they embezzle, they throw iftar parties to feed the same people they oppress and exploit.

You know well if they have any regard for You or for Your religion.

But in their pursuit of partisan gains and self-interest, they defect to You only in the fast-breaking ceremonies.

 

I dare not blame them because they package all these with the façade of piety.

Under the pretext of nocturnal religious practices, they sleep or laze around the whole day.

They use Ramadan as one more excuse to justify their indolence, inefficiencies and failures.

Wrapped in religious garb, they continue to be complacent and indulge in luxury, consumerism and lavishness.

 

And O God!

They turn a blind eye to the plight of the indigent and the oppressed.

 

Dear God,

There are many others who possess a pure heart and comprehend Your ways.

Do not punish them for the acts and arrogance of the lapsed and the strayed.

O God, help us all make the best of Ramadan!

Help those who fast maintain its honour sacrosanct!