Palestinian children carry banners during a march demanding an end to the war and an end to famine (Getty)
Do you notice?
For years, Gaza, Palestine, Jerusalem, Al-Aqsa Mosque, and Israel's excessive aggressive practices have become a routine theme of the month of Ramadan. For the fifth year in a row during the month of Ramadan, and even in the absence of any justification, the Israeli occupation was finding a pretext to enter Al-Aqsa Mosque with the dirty feet of extremist Jews, provoking provocations, imposing restrictions on the entry of worshipers into Al-Aqsa Mosque, or committing any other provocation, turning the month of Ramadan into An ordeal for Palestinians and a challenge for Muslims around the world. Even the coincidence of Ramadan and Passover in recent years has created an interesting confrontation.
The month of Ramadan, which in its essence teaches us to understand the feelings of others, to empathize with them, and to feel pity and compassion towards those who are worse off than us, turns into a completely different event in front of the Passover wall. The Jews insist on slaughtering sacrifices, which are part of this holiday, under the ruins of their sacred temple in Al-Aqsa Mosque, and they seek to enter Al-Aqsa Mosque by force, ignoring the beliefs, feelings and conditions of Muslims, while they are prohibited from entering.
Thus, instead of just a meeting of two religious days, we see a real collision between two different visions of others, of the world, and of peace. Anyone who wants to compare these two days can go a long way from here.
There is no doubt that the atmosphere of Ramadan creates an environment of compassion for others. It is also clear that it helps to understand the conditions of the poor, creating a channel of understanding between different social groups. This topic is often written in a literary style, and of course it should be done.
But everyone knows that this is not the goal of fasting. Rather, it is one of its side effects and benefits. This truth is the first wisdom that even children who learn basic Islamic sciences know.
Recently, a suspicion has spread on social media trying to convince people that the goal of fasting is only to understand the condition of the poor. As if she had discovered a great secret. This suspicion raises a misleading question: “If the goal of fasting is to understand the condition of the poor, then why do the poor themselves fast?” This question is very comforting for those who have not known fasting in their lives, and have never thought about understanding others, feeling them, or empathizing with them. It is a question that satisfies their selfishness. It makes them feel happy and satisfied. Let us read Surat Al-Falaq and Al-Nas and overcome this obsession.
The first thing we feel about the month of Ramadan, regardless of the place or time in which we live, is that it is an act of worship imposed on those who came before us and on those who are not with us in the same place. Since ancient times, Ramadan has been associated with the holiest Islamic places, such as: Jerusalem, Al-Aqsa Mosque, Palestine and Gaza.
These places form an integral part of the spirit of Ramadan. If Ramadan is isolated from this spirit, and we ignore its ability to revive a sense of unity and history throughout the Islamic world, then all the words that are said about this holy month become irrelevant. To enhance this spiritual and historical dimension. In fact, just as Ramadan has its own entity independent of our individual or collective will, we cannot deny that Jerusalem and Al-Aqsa Mosque have their own entity and that they play a role in this process with divine will.
The Battle of Badr, the first battle fought by Muslims against the polytheists, took place in the month of Ramadan. That battle was a great struggle between members of the same tribe who faced each other because of their beliefs and principles. The motive of one side of the battle was to defend monotheism, freedom, justice, and human dignity, against injustice, slavery, and ignorance, which makes man lose his personality and dignity. Fighting this battle required the heroes of Badr to confront their relatives and families, who were chained to death by pre-Islamic values, beliefs, and systems. Therefore, the heroism of the heroes of Badr did not lie only in their confrontation with a stronger enemy in number and equipment, but in their ability to resist their relatives when the situation required them to do so. In defense of right and truth.
The battles in Islam are battles that establish the bond of true brotherhood on the basis of common faith and principles, rather than the ties of blood and genes that are imposed on us at birth without our will. It is the struggle of a group that united, thanks to God, after being enemies to each other, to become a true brotherhood based on faith. The best time to fight these battles is certainly the month of Ramadan, which has always brought people together around this faith throughout history.
Isn’t the reception of the people of Gaza, both old and young, during the month of Ramadan, after five and a half months of Israeli aggression that turned Gaza into rubble, similar to the heroes of Badr welcoming the month of Ramadan? Indeed, the fact that these lions, who are waging one of the highest battles recorded in history against injustice and arrogant racist tyranny, welcome the month of Ramadan by lighting lanterns on the ruins and turning this atmosphere into a festive atmosphere, is a great heroism in itself. This reminds us of what the Turkish poet Mehmet Akif Ersoy said about the martyrs of Çanakkale: “The heroes of Badr had only this amount of honor.”
Our dear friend Gokhan Ozcan wrote a wonderful text, in which he expressed his wonderful vision of the reality of Gaza. Some may see Gaza today as mere ruins representing a devastating victory for Israel and desperate resistance by Gazans. But what we should really see in Gaza is the deep faith that was actually embodied as a sign of God.
“Faith, affliction, patience, surrender… When we witness what is happening in Gaza, we realize how easy it is for us to pronounce these words. We do not bear any real cost for pronouncing these words or using them in our sentences. Therefore, these heavy words become light in our minds, just Repetition of words that have lost their meaning, or memorization without thinking.
“Gaza, with its great sacrifices, reminds us of the truth and true weight of these words. Gaza teaches us how we must understand, live and carry them. It reminds us of them in the most powerful, truest and most deeply affecting way.”
How befitting faith is for the people of Gaza. “We ask God to help us live up to the faith we claim to have in Him.”
The opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the editorial position of Al Jazeera.