Letters to the Editor | Ramadan holiday needs second look

I am writing in response to the article written on the topic of Ramadan (“Ramadan A Time For Self-denial, Reflection,” 9.21.07 issue of The Miscellany News). I first want to say that the author wrote an exceptional article and I enjoyed it very much. Stephanie Damon-Moore took the extra step in writing this article by actually fasting for the first day of Ramadan with the Vassar Islamic Society. I think her experience emanates from this article very clearly; all in all it was a fun and interesting read.

The only draw back I have is that some of the facts are not correct and some of the phrases used in the article bothered me as a Muslim. Please be aware that this is not, in any way, shape or form, a “heated” or angry letter. I just want to take this time to clear things up in a cool, non-judgmental, "text-book"-like tone. So here I go:

There was no golden tablet when Angel Jibril (Gabriel in English) revealed the first verse of the Qur'an to Muhammad (peace be upon him); Jibril simply told him read. Second, the battle of Badr does not pertain to the month of Ramadan; this part I felt gave the month somewhat of a violent connotation. Also, when Muslims fast, we do not look at ourselves in a state of “self-denial” as stated in the article, but rather in a state of self-control. We are not denying ourselves from food, drink, sex and anger; we are just controlling ourselves to abstain from it. I just feel that “self-denial” was poor word usage and should just be replaced with “self-control.”

Also, when things in Islam are referred to as being “holy” it is rough because “holy” carries the definition that something is divine. I see this mistake made all the time, even by career writers. Referring to the Qur’an or the month of Ramadan as “holy” things is wrong in Islam. The only thing that is “holy” or “divine” is God, Allah. This often confuses people; instead of using “holy” you could use “important” or “religious.” The reason for this violation is due to the Islamic belief known as Tawheed, or the oneness of God. Muslims believe that God shares none of his attributes with creation and that his creation shares none of their attributes with their creator. So to say that a book or a month, coming from the creation of God, is “holy,” “sacred” or “divine” is wrong because only God is holy, sacred and divine. In a similar way, we cannot say that God is hungry, thirsty, or tired because those are attributes of his creation, not him.

Also, the author mentioned that during Ramadan Muslims always visit their family members. This is completely true, but the emphasis of visiting family members and members of the Muslim community is placed at the end of Ramadan during our religious holiday known as Eid ul-Fitr.

—Ali Jamil ’10
President of the Vassar Islamic Society