In one of our popular magazines, a group of university students expressed their desire to have the whole month of Ramadan off. Their idea was that the month has a special nature and that people usually increase the amount of time spent in prayer and worship. In another article, people from different backgrounds with different jobs were asked what was the best Ramadan schedule for them. As you would expect, there were a variety of opinions. Some said that Ramadan working hours should remain the same as in any other month; others felt the working hours should be reduced since people basically stay up all night which makes going to work in the morning very difficult.
So here we are again — back to the same stories and ideas we hear every year in Ramadan. People want to change their schedules completely; they want to stay up all night and sleep more during the day. Some say they need to concentrate on worship since the month has a special spiritual nature.
Now Ramadan is supposed to increase our affinity and sympathy with the poor and unfortunate. In order to feel what they feel, we abstain from eating and worldly pleasures during the day. But if we sleep all day and are up all night, what has been achieved? How much of the spirit of Ramadan remains with us?
It is true that charitable acts increase in Ramadan and that people spend more time in prayer but at the same time, a great number abuse the spirit of the month. For far too many people, Ramadan has become a month of fun, parties and overeating. They consume too much, sleep too little and watch TV for too many hours. What becomes of their responsibilities to their job or, if they are students, to their studies? Those responsibilities come about 10th on the list of priorities since celebrating and having a good time are the first 9 on the list. Not much time or energy left for No. 10!
In a discussion with some friends, one of them complained that Ramadan should be a vacation for everybody because there are so many things one wants to do and so little time to do them. I was surprised and told her, “If everybody here takes the month off, then we’ll have to import people from other countries to work for us. Who said that people couldn’t work in Ramadan? Did the Prophet (pbuh) tell his followers to take the month off? He worked in Ramadan; there is no evidence that early Muslims did not work during the fasting month. What we do know is that they were good Muslims, followed Islamic teachings and lived normal lives. They did not sleep all day and stay up all night in Ramadan.”
A Jordanian friend complained to me that in Ramadan she couldn’t function because of the confused schedule. She said: “This year, I decided to follow my regular schedule, wake up early, go to work, and sleep early. I cannot understand how people turn their systems upside down.”
I am in total agreement with her. Somehow we in Saudi Arabia, more than in any other Arab or Islamic country, think that work can be delayed and decreased in Ramadan. It is sad to hear people say that they should devote all their efforts to worship as if work is not a form of worship. We can work, fast and worship just like the Prophet (pbuh) did. That, after all, is the Islamic way of keeping Ramadan — not staying up all night and sleeping all day.
