Agrarian Reform Undersecretary Datu Zamzamin Lumenda Ampatuan, a scion of the powerful and influential Maguindanao political clan, appealed yesterday to his fellow Muslims to intensify their prayers for peace and to shun evil as the fasting month of Ramadan reaches its midpoint today.
Majority in the estimated 1.4-billion Islamic world, including Muslim Filipinos, started observing their fast last Sept. 1.
Ramadan is the time when adult Muslims, except the sick and the travelers, abstain from food, drink, smoking, and sex from sun up to sundown.
It is also the period when Muslims try to draw closer to God through heightened worship.
Ampatuan said the middle of the fasting month, ninth in the Hegirah calendar year 1429, is an auspicious opportunity to strengthen Muslims` desire for peace through prayers.
Those who may not have started intense prayers for peace can do so at Ramadan`s midpoint, called Qunut, he said.
"Muslims should band together for a focused prayer for peace, to shun the evil of deviation from the path of peace. The middle of Ramadan is an exciting prelude to the realization of our goal, liberation from the filth of violence into the realm of tranquil heart and mind," said Ampatuan.
The Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR) official said violence gripping Muslim communities is a stark reminder of the importance of tolerance and understanding in the world.
"In the light of the obtaining events of conflict, Muslims must now regain strength of faith to recover their lost sense of goal for betterment of life in this world and the hereafter, of attending to the immediate demands of life as well as conscious of the life hereafter," he said.
Ustadhz Muhammad Cana, a religious leader working as a translator in the Office on Muslim Affairs (OMA) under Executive Director Datu Ali B. Sangki, shared Ampatuan`s observations.
Cana said the first 10 days of Ramadan is meant for "rahma" (mercy), the second 10 days for "maghfira" (forgiveness) and the last 10 days for "itqun minnannar" (salvation from Hell fire).
Sangki urged his compatriots to practice the virtues of Ramadan for the rest of the year.
"We should all be God-fearing, patient, forgiving, truthful, among others, as we observe Ramadan fasting. But we should also do it, just as important, for the rest of the Ramadan and until a new Ramadan comes," Sangki said.
Cana reminded every Muslim to give the Zadakatul Fitr to make their fast acceptable to Allah.
Zakadatul Fitr is obligatory to every member of a household where each one must give two and a half kilos of rice to the poor and the needy.
"Failure to give this might invalidate one`s fast," said Cana, adding that such Islamic practice is aimed at helping the poor observe Ramadan. By ED K. USMAN
Source: http://www.mb.com.ph (September 15, 2008)
