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Muslim Views . April 2020
Ramadaan and compassion in the time of COVID-19 This Ramadaan is perhaps the most extra-ordinary Ramadaan we will ever experience in our lives. We are in the grip of a global pandemic. COVID-19 has grabbed the world’s attention and all human beings are its hostage. Somehow, a feeling of uncertainty binds us all with a desire for relief and the need for compassion, writes Shaikh SA’DULLAH KHAN.
For the first time in human history, over two billion people world-wide – almost half the world’s population – is in lockdown. All this is due to a pandemic triggered by a microscopic virus that has caused titanic devastation. It has collapsed oil prices, crashed stock markets, caused economic meltdown, has closed trade, travel, sports, schools and places of worship in virtually every country on earth. It has infected 1,7 million people in 177 countries and resulted in over 97 000 deaths (at the time of writing). If ever the world felt on the same page, this is the time. If ever there was a need for compassion, it is now. Ramadaan is a month of heightened consciousness, a month of fasting, of increased worship, spiritual reflection, of philanthropy and compassion. Ramadaan encourages the promotion of the spirit of ubuntu, of
‌most of the underprivileged are forced to live in shacks without having the luxury of space for social distancing, without running water for sanitising, without electricity for comforts; who are forced to share communal toilets; victims of an inequitable past...
Shaikh Sa’dullah Khan. Photo SUPPLIED
humanity to others. It is about consciously caring and sharing, about being compassionate, about deepening our understanding of our world while simultaneously empathising with the challenges faced by the world around us. The current pandemic is forcing us to acknowledge that we are a world of common problems and solutions, we are all in this together, one humanity; what harms one harms the other. The pandemic has raised our consciousness beyond the level of sympathy (where we acknowledge the suffering of others) to that of empathy (where we feel the suffering of others as our own). With the current state of affairs, we are living embodiments of empathy. In this ailing world, at this monumental period in our history, we need a lasting sense of compas-
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sion. Compassion engenders a sense of responsibility. It is not compassion to circulate unverified information about the coronavirus or the pandemic. It is not compassion to ignore the calls for social distancing and to defy logic by insisting on the desire to congregate. It is unfortunate that the only thing currently more viral than the virus is fake news about the pandemic. And the one thing more diabolical than the disease is the irresponsibility of leaders who tell people to ignore the threat of this infection. Compassion is definitely not reflected in the prejudicial way in which some inconsiderate people view the impoverished with contempt, saying that ‘the townships will be the cause of our destruction’. They do so without reflecting on the fact that most of the underprivileged are forced to live in shacks without having the luxury of space for social distancing, without running water for sanitising, without electricity for comforts; who are forced to share communal toilets; victims of an inequitable past. Compassion is reflected in our
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concern for hundreds of thousands of people, mostly children, who may not have enough food to eat at home in the coming weeks and months. Our compassion is reflected in concern for those learners who cannot go to school, where many of them get their only daily meal; whose parents may not have sufficient means to survive the lockdown. Compassion is demonstrated in our volunteering to assist in combatting this pandemic, in alleviating the suffering of those in distress, in keeping an eye on the well-being of our household and our neighbours; remaining telephonically in touch with the elderly, the sick, the orphans and the abused. Compassion is manifested when we actively engage in feeding the poverty-stricken, providing basic necessities; supporting institutions like Gift of the Givers, Africa Muslims Agency, Sanzaf, Islamic Relief, Muslim Hands, Nakhlistan, Mustadafin Foundation, among others. We exhibit our compassion through appreciation of those heroic doctors, nurses and health workers who treat the infected at
the risk of their own lives; those drivers who deliver food, medicine and necessary supplies; and those religious leaders who bury the dead; all at their own peril. As we pray and fast during this unusual Ramadaan, beseeching Allah for His forgiveness and mercy, let us ensure we come out of this trial better than we were before; better human beings, more aware, more considerate, more caring, more loving and more compassionate. When we are compassionate, positive energy pours from our souls into the world; positive energy emanating from the primordial breath of the Divine, channelling the mercy of the Most Merciful through us, causing healing and restoring balance. Besides our faith, compassion, human empathy and social solidarity are keys to surviving the catastrophic consequences of this global pandemic. May the Most Compassionate make us agents of His compassion in these trying times, throughout this sacred month of Ramadaan and beyond. Shaikh Sa’dullah Khan is the CEO of Islamia College, Lansdowne, Cape Town.
