First Night of Ramadan

Ramadan as a Time to Reflect on Our Shared Humanity

We concluded our observance of the holy days of Jewish Passover and Christian Easter in recent days. The Islamic holy month of Ramadan is set to begin this week on April 23rd. All these three Abrahamic religions share deep interrelationships, which are not often widely known or acknowledged. The prophet of Islam, Mohammad, proclaimed that he was the last messenger of God, completing and embellishing what hitherto had been revealed to Moses and Jesus. Jews and Christians are specifically protected in the holy book of Islam, Quran, as Peoples of the Book. The purposeful practice of daylight fasting during Ramadan is one of the five central pillars of Islam, a practice also present in varied forms in Judaism and Christianity.

Islam—representing more than 1.8 billion followers, making up about a quarter of the world population today—requires able-bodied Muslims to fast during Ramadan, a holy month during which revelations of God were received by Mohammad. Muslims must abstain from food, drink, smoking, and sexual activity and free themselves from undue attention to physical or material needs. Focusing on spiritual goals and values, seeking closeness to God, reflecting on human frailty, identifying with the hungry and less fortunate, and providing charity are prescribed practices during Ramadan.

I remember with fondness Ramadan in Iran. Waking up before sunrise to eat a big delicious meal with family to start the fast day, eagerly awaiting to break the fast at sunset (Iftaar time) either at home or in the home of relatives with tasty pastries and dishes, and then going to the mosque to join large number of others to recite Quran and anxiously waiting for my turn to recite a Surah into the rotating microphone. The discipline of the Ramadan fast, centering oneself spiritually, and the social celebration of Eid al-Fitr (the Feast of Breaking of the Fast of Ramadan at the end of the holy month) are memorable aspects of Ramadan for me.

However, the celebration of Ramadan this year—with the global coronavirus pandemic and its lockdowns and social distancing—will be totally different. The families and communities cannot come together as in the years past and the streets and places of worship will be surreally silent. The revolutionary advances in communication technology will allow for virtual connections and gatherings and families will learn about the state of wellness of each other and pray for those who are ill or tragically lost their lives to this plague. Quran says, "The Believers are but a single brotherhood,” and uniting to care for one another, especially for the vulnerable and poor, is a religious duty.

I began by underlining the interrelationships of the Abrahamic religions, but I would like to extend that to the interdependence of all humanity in our globalized world. Humanity is now a shared enterprise and we are all in this together, especially as we do our part in battling this awful globalized virus that is affecting every corner of the world with deadly consequences. In John Donne’s immortal words, "No man is an island entire of itself…Any man's death diminishes me, Because I am involved in mankind.” No country is an island either. The great Persian poet and Islamic scholar of the 13th Century, Saadi, captures our Franciscan interfaith tradition of hospitality, compassion, love and respect exhibited daily by the SFC family towards our students, fellow employees, alumni and the larger community in this time of unprecedented crisis:

The children of Adam are limbs of each other, 

Having been created of one essence. 

When the calamity of time affects one limb

The other limbs cannot remain at rest.

Reza Fakhari

Vice President for Internationalization & Strategic Initiatives