Xill-e-Ilahi comes up with an entertaining summary of the effects Ramadan has on Karachi’s drivers:

one of the easiest ways to die in our lovely city is to venture out of your home on to major road a few minutes before the sirens start blaring to signal the iftar. the way the traffic moves at the time is similar to the scenes you see on cinema screens right after the crowds have seen godzilla emerging from round the corner. and everyone who so much as moves an inch during that time contributes to the mess. of the various types of peaceful muslim brothers and sisters, which of the following best fits your profile?

the madcap schumacher

the random roadblocker

the nervous navigator

the enraged shouter

the jaywalking pedestrians

Find out more about each of these types over at the Karachi Metroblog.

I was reading my Sound Vision Ramadan newsletter this morning when I came across a very relevant article on how women in Muslim societies generally tend to squander their Ramadans. The author complained how many Muslim women seem to miss the blessings of Ramadan because of the overemphasis on great food at Iftar time. While she attributed this to a lack of consideration for the needs of women, an interesting anecdote shared by friend revealed a rather disturbing trend:

She [author's friend] was originally from Egypt, and she recounted how her mother and the women in her neighborhood actually competed with each other in Ramadan over food. In other words, they vied for the title of “maker of the best Ka’k (cookies) this side of Alexandria.” And this was despite the fact that male family members and even the Imam were encouraging women to share in the blessings of the month through prayer and mosque participation.

Instantly I couldn’t help but think how at least part of this held very true for women in my hometown Karachi, and Pakistan in general. Every Ramadan it’s almost as if everyone suddenly decides its time to indulge into some form of cooking extravaganza. TV channels all start dolling out tons of new cookery shows, women spend hours and hours before both Afrati and Sehri to prepare the most grand, most compelling menus ever and every restaurant in town tries to offer the most attractive deals possible. As Eid approaches, invites for Iftar parties are thrown out by the dozens by socialites of all kinds.

Ironically, as the month’s end draws close and the climax of its associated bounties approaches in the last week, Iftar party invitations also reach their most hectic duration. And of course, I don’t even need point out how fruitfully some women utilize their taak ratein by spending entire nights at shopping malls. In short, the whole purpose of Ramadan seems to get lost somewhere amidst a needless frenzy of overzealous cooking and shopping. Unlike the Egypitan women spoken of in the article earlier though, for a multitude of reasons, women in Pakistan have seemingly always been isolated from organised religion.

Despite the emphasis laid by the Prophet (peace be upon him) on the benefits of attending Eid prayers (one hadith, related in al-Bukhari, has quoted the Prophet as commanding Eid prayers compulsory on all Muslims, including the slave women, the free women, the virgins, and even the menstruating women, whom the Prophet instructed to go out to the prayer area but refrain from praying, so they can witness the good of collective Muslim supplication and the Imam’s khutbah) we see that through out Pakistan and not just in Karachi this concept is unheard of. Similarly, despite the importance of taraweeh prayers (which are classified as a sunat-e-muakida by some scholars, i.e. a sunat the Prophet never abandoned at any time during his lifetime), only a handful of mosques will arrange for facilities for women to join in taraweeh jamaats.

It is undeniable that a lot of women are, because of this misplaced notion of women’s role in religion, inevitably left with very few, if any, opportunities to maximize their rewards during Ramadan. But equally, some of us have no one but our self to blame. A lot of us do have the resources, the time and the chance to engage in these activities but yet we consider it wiser to de-prioritise them, and instead waste this unique month, by intentional choice, in either free reign shopping, just for the sake of it socializing or grandiose cooking, and in the process, defeating the whole concept behind fasting in the first place (that of controlling one’s worldly desires).

This Ramadan, let’s aim to remove our inner and outer obstacles to spiritual success, and utilize this blessed time in more productive ways then we have in the past. As the Sound Vision article advises, “ditch out any feelings of guilt, competition or jealousy we may have for other sisters” because of how fast or how much they can cook. Be ready to deal with the biggest outer obstacle to spiritual success: our families. “We love them and yes, their demands for food high in fat, salt and sugar can be indulged once in a while in Ramadan” but don’t let it distract you from the central purpose of this month. May Allah give us all the ability to best utilize this month. All the best for your self, and remember me in your prayers.

This article first appeared as guest post on Adnan’s Crazy Blogging World.