During the month of August, you might greet Muslims saying Ramadan Kareem! which means “May your Ramadan be Blessed!” Kareem translates to mean more than a personal blessing. Kareem includes the anticipation that the spiritual practices of all Muslims during Ramadan will usher in a new era of peace, hope, and generous compassion for Muslims and non-Muslims alike. Al-Kareem is one of the ninety-nine most beautiful names of Allah, the Arabic word for God. Al-Kareem translates to The Generous. Another way of understanding the greeting Ramadan Kareem! would be:  May the spiritual formation of Muslims during Ramadan create a world of generosity and blessing!

As an international multifaith organization, Spiritual Directors International encourages spiritual directors of many faiths to learn about the contemplative practices of all faiths. By learning about and perhaps participating in contemplative practices from many spiritual traditions, we broaden our awareness of the human desire for inward spiritual formation and outward acts of kindness and generosity. We discover that not only in our own tradition but also other spiritual traditions, contemplative practices nourish the soul and promote generous service.

Ramadan is a contemplative practice

Our Muslim brothers and sisters around the world are praying, fasting, and reading the entire Qur’an during August in celebration of Ramadan. Why is it a celebration? Because the first verses of the Qur’an are believed to have been revealed to the Islamic prophet, Muhammad, during the ninth lunar month, which happens to be August this year. (Compared with a solar calendar, the dates of Ramadan vary each year depending on the cycle of the new moon.)

Muslims consider this lunar month to be especially promising for revelations of God to humankind. “The Islamic fast which is the union of asceticism and joy – and even pleasure in certain cases – is the most natural and most radical educational measure that has ever been put into practice. It is equally present in the king’s palace and the peasant’s hut, in a philosopher’s home and a worker’s home. Its greatest advantage is that it is really practiced,” according to Dr. Alija Izetbekovic in Islam Between East and West (p. 210). By fasting and praying globally together, Muslims redirect their worldly attention to God’s generosity.

Growing dependence on God

Little by little, according to Spiritual Directors International member Jamal Rahman, co-author of SDI book Out of Darkness into Light: Spiritual Guidance in the Qur’an with Reflections from Christian and Jewish Sources, “we begin to recognize that every person, whether friend or foe, is precious to the Creator. Clay though our feet may be, all human beings are infused with divine breath and in our essence we all bear the true name of son or daughter of God” (p. 147). From dawn to dusk during Ramadan, participating Muslims fast from drinking and eating in order to grow in humility, learn patience, and deepen a felt sense of connection with and dependence on God. 

Like the Christian practice of fasting during Lent, the Jewish practice of fasting on Yom Kippur, and Hindu and Buddhist fasting during many religious holidays, Ramadan is a contemplative practice intended to cleanse and heal the body, mind, and spirit. By slowing down to focus on inner spiritual formation, the hardened heart softens and outer actions of compassion, generosity, and peace flow more readily. 

Reflection:

In solidarity with our Muslim brothers and sisters, we are invited to turn our attention inward during August to connect more deeply with God, The Generous One. What are the ways that help you turn inward to foster generosity and your relationship with God? How does your deepening connection with God encourage outward acts of kindness and charity? If you are not a Muslim, how might this month be an opportunity to learn more about the contemplative practices of Islam?