Perhaps the extra focus on kindness was to find some way to make Ramadan extraordinary for those who aren’t fasting. I applaud any effort to reorient oneself towards God at any time, and even more so when one does so despite difficulties.

‘It’s ethics which should be seen as the essence of Islam.‘MH.

But what is ethics?

I’d say sources of ethics include Revelation, customs of the people that a person lives amongst, Rationality (i.e. it may not be a custom to recycle in some places, but if your mind tells you its good for the environment then its ethical to do it anyway.) and Personal Gut-Feeling (yes, I know its unscientific and a little stree-ish, but it is what it is!). However, as with most things human, your milage may vary (YMMV).

- A Salafi in worship, a Sufi in society, a Secularist in government.

OmarG,

if there is conflict between revelation and custom or ‘gut-feelings about an issue, would it be ethical to go with custom in lieu of revelation?

The example of dividing inheritance between (males/females) or application of hudood comes to mind.

Look around you, people including Muslims do it all the time. Have you ever heard of any Muslims who apply hudud in the US? People come up with nice little ‘get-out-of-it-for-free’ rationalizations but it all comes down to this: many people have many ways of answering that question. I don’t think there is a one size fits all. The oly thing an individual can do is figure it our for themselves, know there will be Judgment and protect themselves from the depredations of people who will try to force them to adhere to one way of answering your question.

- A Salafi in worship, a Sufi in society, a Secularist in government.

but… but… Ramadan is about fasting!

The primary act of Ramadan is the fast. There are other elements to Ramadan, but if you didn’t fast in Ramadan, it would be, I don’t know, Shaban. It’s distinguished from eleven other months on the basis of the fasts. So, yeah, fasting means intense participation and not-fasting means exclusion.

My objection, I guess, is to the implication that this is somehow anything more than unfortunate for non-fasters. I’m a non-faster. I get sick every time I fast, so I can’t fast, and it makes me sad. But – and I’m also looking for a clarification here – does that mean the ummah is missing the point if Ramadan revolves around the fasters and fasting? I really don’t think so.

The foci of Ramadan would be the fast and the Quran. While the fasting has been made the more visible of the two, as it is obligatory on most Muslims, and been made into a rather elaborate ritual, the Qur’an is no less important. I can think of no greater act in or out of Ramadan than to keep the Qur’an alive, both in text and deed.

‘The oly thing an individual can do is figure it our for themselves, know there will be Judgment and protect themselves from the depredations of people who will try to force them to adhere to one way of answering your question.’

Good point, however,

are you saying there is only individual ‘sense’ of what is ethical? A community sense does exist? Better yet, a universal (ie adopted by world populations) sense of what is ethical does exist?

Salamaat M.H.,
It’s so interesting to see other’s take on what I had written. (the link you gave above is broken btw; and I just came across this by chance).

I think you missed the point of what i was writing about; for me Ramadhan is about reflection and meaning. It’s a ground for spiritual rejuvenation. It’s not just about the ritual of fasting.

The kindness campaign was really a note to myself; to make use of this time to do something easy that is within my reach; on a conscious and consistent level.

Being a good Muslim should mean that we are kind..in speech, deed and
intent. And like everything else about Islam, we tend to forget bits and pieces; to emphasize one thing over another; to miss our priorities. I thought what better time to reorient then in Ramadhan?

I think Ramadhan is what you make of it; it matters not whether you are fasting/or not. The whole time is palpable with Mercy and there is nothing wrong in shifting perspectives and working on different aspects of our spirituality (when others seem out of reach).

Incidentally, baraka said something about menstruating women/nursing/sick etc being exempted from fasting because they are already going through the expiation that fasting is supposed to offer.And I thought how beautiful is that?

I am all for God’s Mercy and Compassion; and a beautiful understanding and gentle implementation of the deen…

Thank you for your thoughts and again, I think we agree a lot more than you infer in this post.