A PAS-led Kadeh state government has imposed a ban on all nightspots during the holy month of Ramadan.
PAS Youth supported the Kedah state decision, saying it is to “save” Muslims who were fasting during the holy month, according to The Star Online.
The proposed ban in Kedah, a state of Malaysia located in the northwestern part of the country, includes all entertainment outlets, except for sporting clubs, bowling centers, cybercafés and snooker places.
The Malaysian Insider quoted Mohd Firdaus Jaafar, an executive committee member of the wing, as saying that “there is a limit to value of human rights. Everything good should be continued. Entertainment is allowed but there are limits”.
Ramadan, the 9th month in the Islamic calendar, is time for spiritual engagement and a special chance that is not availed throughout the year to earn God’s satisfaction and thus attain salvation. But with people’s growing attachment to worldly pleasure and joy, Ramadan has become a month of special kind of entertainment and perhaps, as the case in some countries, time for more leisure that involves partying till early hours of the morning, watching soap operas all through the day, among other acts that distract Muslims from the foremost objective of Ramadan and leave no room for praying, reading Quran and engaging in spiritual contemplation that would bring people closer to Allah- that is supposed to be Muslims’ uppermost goal during the month.
Allah says in the Qur’an:
“The month of Ramadan [is that] in which was revealed the Qur’an, a guidance for the people and clear proofs of guidance and criterion. So whoever sights [the new moon of] the month, let him fast it; and whoever is ill or on a journey – then an equal number of other days. Allah intends for you ease and does not intend for you hardship and [wants] for you to complete the period and to glorify Allah for that [to] which He has guided you; and perhaps you will be grateful.”—Quran 2:185
During Ramadan, Muslims are committed to more than fasting, which in itself encompasses a full engagement of the self and not just the physical being. During the holy month, Muslims are encouraged to engage in charity work, invest their time in doing as many good deeds as they can, whether reading Qur’an, engaging in remembrance of Allah, observing supererogatory Prayers in Mosques, or by attending to the sick and arranging family gatherings that would bring together all those who haven’t been in contact over the year.
Muslims are encouraged to observe the month of Ramadan same way Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) did- eating less while engaging in extra acts of worship.
Ramadan is a time to increase voluntary acts of worship, (nafila), following the footsteps of the noble Prophet (pbuh), seeking God’s mercy and hoping for his reward- it’s time for controlling the physical pleasure for the soul to transcend and grasp more merits of holy aura of the month. But some Muslims miss the spiritual and actually the physical merits of the holy month by excessive eating, excessive leisure, and increasing the worldly elements of pleasure that distract them from observing the foremost objective meant for Ramadan, attaining salvation.
We need to revive the religious traditions of Ramadan instead of submitting to the customary ones. We definitely need to reconsider the way we spend the wholly month, and invest in it rather than wasting it and doing more harm to our already ailing souls that tend to be tied to worldly desires.
Ramadan is a chance given to us by Almighty Allah to wake up and live up to His standards, thereby attain His mercy in this life and the hereafter.
Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him) narrated that the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) said: “When the month of Ramadan comes, the gates of Jannah are opened and the gates of Hell are closed, and the satans are chained.”— Narrated by Imam Bukhari
So let’s seize the chance this Ramadan, for it might be the last (who knows ?), for a fresh new start.
Wassalaam
By: The Muslim Tribune Staff
Posted on July 17, 2011