Ramadan and the power of faith and unity

What if a noble civilisation of over a billion people can dispel the myth that human beings cannot live without violence, looting, robbing and killing?

What if organised religion can advocate unity among a billion people to the degree that they all perform deeds in unison and find no reason to fight over differences?

Yes. What if indeed!

Muslims reading this would know they are the beneficiaries and witnesses of this great phenomenon during the month of Ramadan. They unite in the worship of their Creator. They all seek Allah’s forgiveness and blessings.

The month of Ramadan is a time in which the Holy Quran is revealed as guidance for all. If others could observe this spectacle in the Muslim community, they would certainly see guidance toward communal unity in worship.

Muslims engaged in political and social activism must appreciate this wonder and use it as a platform to build more trust among each other, more cooperation, more respect, more optimism and a better outlook for each other. Ramadan provides a framework for the Muslim that is predicated on the idea of voluntary change, absent the force of the state and institutions.

If a Muslim can give up the most basic of human necessities and maintain that abstinence entirely without coercion, then engaging in activism in the service of justice is a minor effort in comparison.

Islam does not preach anti-authoritarian anarchism; rather it encourages the believer to recognise his own potential within a larger cosmological framework of self-discipline and understanding of ultimate Divine sovereignty. Ramadan shows that true power extends not from the long arm of temporal governmental authority, but from the voluntary acquiescence of the individual to Allah’s ultimate dominion over Creation.

Muslims who observe Ramadan must thus extend their unity and trust in the Divine to all other months of the year. Ramadan is a living month. It is alive and it gives life to an otherwise “sleepy” community. The Quran is a living book. It is alive and Muslims should see it as life-giving.

Governmental power and institutional authority over others now have competition. But it is not any form of human competition. It is a competitor who proves every year that religion and faith in the Real Power is still very much alive – despite the claims and disdain of its adversaries.

The views expressed in this article are the author’s own and do not necessarily reflect Al Jazeera’s editorial stance.