Ramazan in Sri Lanka now and then By Asiff Hussein

Ramazan is a blessed month. It is a month for fasting and doing good to one’s self by indulging in religious devotions and to one’s fellow beings by engaging in charity, hence earning Almighty Allah’s Pleasure. The holy Prophet Muhammad (Peace Be Upon Him) has stated: “When the month of Ramazan begins the gates of heaven are opened and the gates of hell are closed and the devils are chained” (Sahih Bukhāri).

Muslims the world over are required to observe the fast the day after the night on which the crescent of the new moon of Ramazan is sighted. According to a saying of the Prophet: “When you see the crescent (of the month of Ramazan), start observing the fast and when you see the crescent (of the month of Shawwal) cease observing fast, and if the sky is overcast (and you can’t see it) then regard the crescent (month) of Ramazan (as of thirty days)” (Bukhāri).

 

In Sri Lanka, the usual practice has been that when a Muslim, wherever he might be, sights the new moon, he informs the people of his area who in turn convey it to the Grand Ulama in Colombo. The Ulama would then take a decision and announce that the fast of Ramazan has commenced. Recent times however saw a tendency among those who subscribed to Salafi ideas to begin the fast the moment the new moon of Ramazan was sighted by a fellow Muslim anywhere in the world, the rationale here being that the Ummah or Muslim community should act as one, irrespective of geographic distances. Such a view has began to increasingly make its influence felt, especially in a context where local Muslims are coming to view themselves as part of a wider global community and yearning for unity and uniformity.

 

In other words, this development may be deemed an expression of what we may call Pan-Islamic sentiment.  Paradoxically, this trend has only resulted in creating more differences among local Muslims, even amongst families, most still retaining the old practice of beginning the fast with the sighting of the new moon locally and others preferring to start the fast on the same day as their co-religionists in the Arab world. The situation was somewhat different some decades ago when there existed greater unanimity.  This problem has not gone unnoticed in Salafi discourse with some of the view that it would be better to revert to the older practice of beginning the fast as decided by the Jamiyatul Ulama for the sake of unity and it was only in September 2006 with the beginning of that year’s month of Ramazan that an influential section of the Salafis had a change of heart and decided to go along with the decision made by the Grand Ulama.

 

It goes without saying that in the olden days when modern-day communication facilities were not available, Ramazan was reckoned based on the sighting of the new moon locally as there was no way local Muslims could find out exactly when the new moon had been sighted, say, in the Arabian Peninsula. Those Salafis who are in favour of the international reckoning of Ramazan are however quick to counter that at a time and age when we can accept developments in communication that have taken place worldwide, there is no reason why we should single out a religious duty such as the Ramazan fast.

 

Local Muslims, like those elsewhere partake of a meal the night before the fast. This pre-dawn meal is known as sahar or savar (from Arabic sahūr) among local Muslims and may be taken at any time between the middle of the night and dawn. The meal is strongly prescribed in the Prophetic tradition for the Prophet is reported to have said: “Eating the pre-dawn meal is blessed. So do not neglect it even if you only take a sip of water. Verily Allah and the angels invoke blessings upon those who partake of pre-dawn meals” (Ahmad) while Amr bin Al-As has reported the Prophet as saying: “The difference between our fasting and that of the People of the Book (Jews and Christians) is eating shortly before dawn” (Muslim).

 

It is however considered best to delay it on the basis that the Prophet’s companions were the fastest people to break the fast (at Maghrib) and the last to eat the sahūr i.e. they used to take it at the last possible moment before Fajr (Narrated by Amrun Ibn Maimūn, Abdur-Razāk, Mussanaf). This practice is faithfully adhered to by local Muslims who usually partake of their meals shortly before the break of dawn. The meal is usually a substantial one and includes rice and curry or kanji, an invigorating gruel made of rice, garlic, ginger and some meat such as beef, mutton or chicken.

 

It appears that in the olden days, local Muslims, particularly those of the urban areas, woke up for the pre-dawn meal not by alarm clock, but by the knocking of their doors by faqir mendicants. As noted by M.M.Thawfeeq in his Muslim Mosaics (1972), the Muslim household of Ceylon a generation ago awoke for that pre-dawn meal not by the alarm clock, but by a band of men, Indian fakirs, dressed in turban, long black capes, and cloth, with beads hung round their necks and arms, who used to roam the streets with a staff in one hand and a hurricane lantern in the other. He notes that they worked both sides of the streets, knocking at the doors of slumbering Muslims with their staffs and shouting “Otto Bawa Otto”, a mumbo-jumbo for “wake up-its time for starting your fast”. These Indian fakirs, says Thawfeeq, were a devoted lot. “They worked their areas to a plan. And it was easy for them to operate-as the Muslims of two or three decades ago especially in Colombo and main cities, lived huddled together in Muslim-predominated streets like New Moor Street, Old Moor Street, Messenger street, etc”.

 

The practice was no doubt an old one and was even noticed over a century ago by A.T.Shamsiden (Ramazan fast. The Orientalist.Vol.II.1885-86) who noted that every night during the month of Ramazan some fakirs went about, at a later hour, where the houses of Musalmans were, to announce the period of sahar or last meal. He says that they began their rounds a couple of hours before the call to the morning prayers. There are still said to be those faqirs who disperse to various areas during the Ramazan period, playing their one-sided drum known as dayarā and singing songs to wake up the faithful for the sahar. This is particularly so in the eastern towns like Addalachenai, Marudamunai and Sainthamaruthu, though they no longer do their rounds in Colombo and other major cities.

 

Another important prerequisite of the fast is having the niyyat or the intention to fast. This is essential for the validity of the fast and is based on the statement of the Prophet that whoever does not determine to fast before Fajr will have no fast (Ahmad). There is however no evidence to show that the Prophet ever made a verbal declaration of his intention to fast as is the custom of some local Muslims. Rather, it appears that the place of intention ought to be in the heart and not the tongue.

 

Despite the fact that Islamic scholars, especially those subscribing to Salafi views, have pronounced that declaring one’s intention to fast verbally is an innovation that ought to be disregarded, there are still those who persist in declaring their intention to fast orally, often collectively in a family gathering after partaking of the sahar.  There is even a special formula in Arabic and Tamil that is usually recited on such occasions: Nawaytu sawmaghadin an’adāhi farḍi ramaḍāni hādissanati lillāhi ta’ alā. Inda varaśatil ramalān māsai farlāna nōmbi adāvaha nālay pidikka nīyyatu vekkirēn, Allāhu kāha (I intend to fast tomorrow the obligatory fasting of the month of Ramazan for Allah the Most High).

 

This practice is however being gradually abandoned, especially by the younger generation who are becoming increasingly aware of the importance of conforming to the Prophetic tradition, rather than social convention.

 

The beginning of the fast is today usually known by special time tables distributed at mosques after Jumu’a prayers a week or so before the beginning of the fast with the compliments of various Muslim business houses. The time for the end of sahar is usually given in these tables as about 15 minutes before the Subah though Salafi folk hold that the sahar could be taken until the call to the Subah prayer is made. In the olden days however, so far as Colombo was concerned, there are said to have been two ancient and picturesque cannons in the Colombo grand Mosque in New Moor Street which announced with a boom the start of the fast in the morning and the end at sunset. The boom, it is said, could be heard as far as Maradana, Borella and Slave Island (Muslim Mosaics. M.M.Thawfeeq 1972).

 

Fasting, needless to say, involves abstinence from food, drink and sexual intercourse. There are however those who believe that smoking and inhaling mūkuttul or snuff into the nose to induce sneezing-a common practice among elderly Moor folk- also invalidate the fast or at any rate are abominable acts. As such, they are not usually indulged in during the fast. Some however go further. The Fathud-Dayyan describes among the acts that annul a fast vomiting, swallowing any substance like phlegm that comes from beyond the throat, deliberately causing any visible substance to enter any of the openings in the body, even if it be a substance like smoke and (in the case of a young girl) inserting the finger into that section of her sex organ which gets exposed when she adopts the squatting position.

     

Many of these restrictions obviously go beyond the rules of fasting laid down in the Shariah, though one might argue that smoking does in fact invalidate the fast as it involves the entry of substances into the mouth and throat. Nevertheless it is difficult to see why unintentional acts like vomiting should break the fast, especially in a context where we have the evidence of those like Abu Hurairah, a prominent companion of the Prophet who is reported to have said: “If a person observing fast vomits, that does not break his fast, for while he vomits he expels something and does not swallow anything” (Bukhāri). Consuming food or drink forgetfully also does not invalidate the fast, for Abu Hurairah has narrated that the Prophet said: “If somebody eats or drinks forgetfully then he should complete his fast, for what he has eaten or drunk, has been given to him by Allah” (ibid).

 

Tradition has it that the reward for performing meritorious deeds during the fast is multiplied ten times (Bukhāri) prompting those men and women keen on acquiring greater merit to engage in a number of meritorious deeds during this period, ranging from reciting the Qur’an and praying more often, to giving alms to the poor or spending on some other worthy cause.      

 

Needless to say, this has been the case for ages. Thawfeeq (1972) observes that during Ramazan the heart of the Muslim is soft and his house open for alms for any poor Muslim who calls. He also alludes to wealthy Muslims traveling in their landaus or automobiles and visiting every poor relative at midnight to hand over food, clothing and money in absolute secrecy in keeping with the Prophet’s dictum that the left hand should not know what the right hand gives in charity. Another Ramazan phenomenon, he says, is the hordes of Muslim women who seek alms from Muslim homes. He adds that they are usually asked to come on a fixed day to receive their ‘fitra’ rice, what, money and sometimes clothing too- usually in the last few days of the fast. One still notices the last mentioned phenomenon and destitute Muslim women could still be seen doing their Ramazan rounds.

 

Shamsiden (1886) observed well over a hundred years ago that “It is the general custom among the Moors to repair to the mosque in the afternoon during the Ramazan to pray and recite the Kuran. In this month a number of wealthy Moors undertake to feed with kanji the persons who resort to the mosque, consequently towards evening, and for some time after sunset, the beggars are more than usually importunate and clamorous at the mosque. This is done a little before the call to evening prayers, when the rich and poor alike drink each a cupful of the kanji”. He also notes that it is the custom of some of the Moors to have Hizib (a recitation of the Qur’ān) performed in their houses every night during the month of Ramazan. When the holy Qur’an is once read, the master of the house invites his friends and relations, and entertains them with a sumptuous dinner.

 

The breaking of the fast commences at sunset, when the call is made for the Maghrib or evening prayer. It is prescribed that haste be observed in the breaking of the fast, on the basis of the sayings of the Prophet “The people will continue to prosper as long as they hasten the breaking of the fast” (Sahih Muslim) and “Religion will continue to prevail as long as people hasten to break the fast, because the Jews and the Christians delay doing so” (Abu Dāwūd). Although this might strike one as surprising, it may be argued that there is a very good reason for the Prophet’s saying so. For it may well be a protest against unislamic ideas of asceticism and renunciation taking hold of the community. Islam after all is a moderate religion that seeks to strike a balance between man’s material needs and his spiritual goals. neglecting one’s physical self to achieve spiritual fulfillment is anathema to Islam.   This view is supported by a tradition where the Prophet is reported to have told a man who fasted excessively (i.e on days other than those prescribed for Ramadān): “Your body has a right on you, and your wife has a right on you, and your guest has a right on you” (Bukhāri). Thus we find local Muslims, like those elsewhere, faithfully adhering to this command of the Prophet.

 

The iftar meal with which the fast is broken is usually a simple one and often consists of dates and water in keeping with the tradition of the Prophet who is reported to have broken his fast with dates, and if there were none, then with a few drinks of water (Abu Dāwūd). Once the fast is broken, one is free to indulge in food, drink or sexual intercourse till the onset of dawn.

 

A variety of dishes may be consumed shortly after breaking the fast or some time afterwards. This very often includes kanji. Other meals that may be consumed during this period include rice and curry or even the rich buriyāni, especially if there are guests. Among the other widely consumed food items may be included samōsā (a triangular pastry filled with minced beef), kunāfā (a savoury cake of shredded pancakes and minced beef) and adukku rotti (a delectable dish made of several layers of pancakes interspersed with minced beef filling). Beverages include saruvat (a drink made of rose syrup), fāludā (a refreshing drink made of milk and rose syrup) and nannāri (sarsaparilla juice). Friends and relatives often invite one another to break fast at their homes, it being considered a meritorious act to feed a fasting person. Sometimes, whole families would resort to scenic spots like the Galle Face Green to break their fast picnic-style. The men, women and children, having spent some time feasting and entertaining friends and relations would then proceed to the mosques for a lengthy series of optional yet nevertheless strongly recommended series of prayers known as tarāwih, consisting of eight or twenty rakāts offered at night after the Ishā prayers.

 

One night however stands above the rest and that is the Laylatul Qadr or Night of Decree. Although it is not known for certain when exactly this night falls, it nevertheless occupies a very important place in Muslim eyes. It is said to have been the night when the Almighty chose to send the Qur’ān down to the lowest heaven from the Preserved Tablet from which it was revealed in small portions to Muhammad over a period of twenty-three years. It is also said to be the night on which God makes His decrees, appointing matters of life, death, sustenance, disasters etc and the angels descend with these decrees. Indeed, rewards for acts of worship performed during this night are said to be multiplied so as to equal one thousand months. The Qur’ān (97:3-5) says: “The Night of Qadr is better than a thousand months. In it the angels and the spirit (Gabriel) descend, by Allah’s permission, with all decrees. Peace, it is, until the appearance of dawn”.

 

As to when this night falls, we have a tradition narrated by Āyisha where the Prophet is reported to have said: “Search for the Night of Qadr in the odd nights of the last ten nights of Ramaḍān” (Bukhāri) while Ibn Umar has narrated that some companions of the Prophet were shown in their dreams that the night of Qadr was in the last seven nights of Ramaḍān. Allah’s Messenger said: “It seems that all your dreams agree that (the night of Qadr) is in the last seven nights, and whoever wants to search for it should search in the last seven (nights of Ramazan)”(Ibid).

 

There is nevertheless a widespread belief among local Muslims as among those elsewhere that Laylatul Qadr falls on the 27^th night, an occasion which gives rise to enhanced recitals in praise and remembrance of the Almighty, especially in the mosques where attendance is high. This is largely founded on the tradition narrated by Ubayy bin Ka’b who says that the Prophet commanded them to stand in prayer on the night preceeding the morning of the twenty-seventh. “Its sign”, he says “is that the sun rises in the morning white and without rays” (Muslim).

     

      Certain savants have sought to show why it is generally believed that Laylatul Qadr falls on the 27^th of Ramazan. Among the explanations they give are:

 

1)      The whole of Sūrah Al-Qadr, the chapter of the Qur’ān dealing with the night of Qadr contains only thirty words. The word hiya (meaning ‘that’, viz.Laylatul Qadr) occurring in this chapter occurs as the 27^th word, which may indicate that Laylatul Qadr falls on the 27^th of Ramazan.

 

2)       Sūrah Al-Qadr has only five verses, and in this short surah, the Almighty has repeated the words Laylatul Qadr (Consisting of nine letters in Arabic) thrice, thereby making the total 27, thus leading to the presumption that Laylatul Qadr falls on the 27^th of Ramazan.       (Arabic, Arwi and Persian in Sarandib and Tamil Nadu Dr.Tayka Shuayb.1993)

     

Māppillai Ālim observes in his Fathud-Dayyan that Imām Ghazzālī and several other imams have said that when the 1^st of Ramazan falls on a Sunday or Wednesday, Laylatul Qadr will fall on the 27^th night; When the 1^st falls on a Monday, it will be the night of the 21^st, when the 1^st falls on a Tuesday, or a Friday, it will be the night of the 27^th ; when the 1^st falls on a Thursday, it will be the night of the 25^th and when the 1^st falls on a Saturday, it will be the night of the 23^rd.

 

The fact however remains that the night is not known for certain. Indeed, the Prophet is said to have been prohibited from divulging the exact time of Laylatul Qadr. “Had I been allowed” he remarked once “I would have told you (of its exact time)” (Ahmad). As the journal Al-Hidaayah (January 1999) issue notes: “The Almighty in His Wisdom kept this hidden from us for many reasons. Perhaps He wants us to strive hard in our worship during the last ten days of Ramadaan so that we don’t become lazy, worshipping hard on just that one night and denying ourselves the benefit of doing the same on the other nights”. Some of the faithful, especially the more religiously inclined may also spend the night in the mosque, especially during the last ten nights of Ramadān, a practice known as I‘tikāf and based on the practice of the Prophet himself (Bukhāri).

 

 

The Ramazan fast culminates in the Īd-ul-Fitr known to local Muslims as Nōmbu-perunāl (A Tamil term meaning ‘fasting festival’, nōmbu denoting ‘the fast’ and perunāl meaning ‘great day’). Here again, there is a difference in the day the festival is celebrated by a large group of Salafis and others who prefer to follow the ruling of the Jamiyatul ulama in this connection. Since these Salafis start the fast earlier, they also celebrate the festival which marks its culmination earlier, usually a day or two before it is celebrated by the rest. Muslims rise early in the morning of the festival day, take a bath and don their best attire before departing for the festival prayer which is held at around 7.30 am in a mosque or in an open area. It is however necessary that before doing so, they make an obligatory payment known as zakāt-ul-fitr to the needy.

 

This payment is obligatory on every Muslim, whether male or female, minor or adult, as long as he or she has the means to do so. The Prophet is said to have ordered as the Zakāt-ul-Fitr on every Muslim, male or female, young or old, one sa of dates or one sa of barley (One sa being equivalent to about three kilogrammes) and he ordered that it be paid before the people went out to offer Īd” (Bukhāri). In Sri Lanka however, among the Moors as well as others, the payment is made not in dates or barley but in rice. The grain is personally handed over to the needy by the head of the household or the family members, either on the night of the last fast or on the morning of the Īd.

 

As for the festival bath taken early in the morning of the Īd, there is reason to believe that this too has a religious basis. Although the reports concerning the Prophet’s performing ghusl for the Īd or commanding people to perform it such as that recorded in Sunan ibn Mājah are all weak, it nevertheless appears to have been the practice of the sahabah or companions of the Prophet. Ibn Umar is said to have performed ghusl on the day of fitr while Ali is reported to have said that ghusl should be performed on the day of fitr (Baihaqi).The same holds true of wearing one’s best for the festival. The Prophet is said to have worn his best when proceeding to the Īd prayer. He had a cloak that he wore specifically on the two Īds and Friday. Sometimes he wore green cloaks and at other times a lined red cloak (Zād ul-ma‘ād. Ibn Al-Qayyim).

 

The Salātul Īd or the festival prayer which is offered on the morning of the Ramazan festival is another important obligation of Muslims. The Sunnah or Prophetic tradition requires that both men and women participate in this prayer in an open space and not in a mosque. According to two well known companions of the Prophet, Ibn Abbās and Jābir, the Prophet went out on the day of Īd-ul-Fitr and offered the prayer (Bukhāri). He also made it clear that both men and women were to participate in the good deeds and in the religious gatherings of the believers on that day. Umm Atiyya a lady companion of the Prophet has reported that the Prophet ordered the womenfolk including the maidens staying in seclusion to come out of their homes so that they might stand behind the men and invoke God along with them, hoping for the blessings of that day (ibid). In Sri Lanka however, it is only in a few localities such as the Moors Sports Club (Organised by those subscribing to Salafi ideas) that the practice has been followed. In most other localities, the prayer is performed at the mosque with wooden partitions or curtains segregating the women from the men.

 

The Īd prayer is usually preceded by a takbīr or declaration extolling God’s Greatness by reciting in unison Allāhu Akbar, Allāhu Akbar, Allahu Akbar,  Lā ilāha illallāhu Allāhu Akbar, Allāhu Akbar wa lillāhil hamd (God is the Greatest, God is the Greatest, there is no god but God. God is the Greatest, God is the Greatest and to God belongs all the praise) which is repeated several times. The Īd prayer comprises of two rakāts, with seven takbīrs in the first and five in the second other than the two takbīrs of bowing, before reciting the opening chapter of the Qur’ān, Al-Fātiha followed by some other sūrah such as Al-A‘lā or Al-Ghāshiyah.    The prayer is invariably followed by a fairly lengthy khutbah or sermon where the Imām delves on some religious topic at great length or else makes a dua or supplication to the Almighty. The sermon or supplication being over, salāms or salutations are exchanged between the participants of the prayer and between friends and relatives.

 

Frequent visits to the homes of loved ones take place during the course of the day. Tables are laid out with a variety of sweetmeats such as sanja (sea moss jelly), gulāb jamūn (soft, sweet, syrupy croquettes) and ambarelikā dōsi (hog plum preserves), especially to be enjoyed by the children. Presentations of money known as perunāl salli are also liberally given to children by the elders to do with it as they please. Girls and women are frequently to be seen with the palms of their hands adorned with henna. Such henna applications which may take the form of dots or more intricate designs is usually applied the day before the festival. The fingernails and sometimes even the toenails may also be stained with the dye.

 

Festivals are an occasion for rejoicing and merriment and as such there is deemed to be no harm in its celebration. Even in the days of the Prophet we know that ample scope was allowed for entertainment. Āyisha, the Prophet’s wife tells us that when her father Abu Bakr came to her house on Īd day while two little Ansāri girls were singing beside her the songs of their people, he said protestingly “Musical instruments of Satan in the house of Allah’s Messenger !” whereupon the Prophet said “O Abu Bakr ! There is an Īd (festival) for every nation and this is our Īd” (Bukhāri).

 

This article is largely based on the book Sarandib. An Ethnological Study of the Muslims of Sri Lanka by Asiff Hussein, now in its third expanded. Written in a lucid style, it is the culmination of much research, inquiry and field studies on the society and culture of Sri Lanka’s Muslims. The work contains detailed information on aspects like ethnic origins, language, settlements, customs and traditions, dress and ornamentation, culinary fare, medical remedies, names and titles, occupations, social organization, ceremonial observances and religious and folk beliefs. 

 

 

Sarandib. An Ethnological Study of the Muslims of Sri Lanka by Asiff Hussein 

Publisher: Neptune Publications; pp:784 + 54 B&W & Colour plates; Price: Rs.2000