Ramadhan Paradox

By Rio Tuasikal / @riotuasikal

Everytime we meet Ramadhan, we already know what will be there : takjil (sweets), music and discount! Welcoming the season, people are suddenly selling takjil in pedestrian or junction, our television suddenly make up themselves with Islamic symbols, and our shops announce their promo.

Inside our house, we make our dinner table crowded with cookies ingredients. Our cabinet becomes a  home of our new shirts, t-shirts and pants. Our agenda is also filled with breaking fast together--with family, colleagues, our old friends, a lot of it. We pretend these are urgent. Then our expense becomes bigger and bigger. 

In the shopping center, we realize that the way they celebrate Ramadhan is similar with how they hold a cosplay competition. Bazaar, tenants, artists, party. Fashion show, discount, music and performance. This is just about choosing the theme : cosplay or Islam?

Maybe this is how our society treating the holy month. We spend our time to do such things.  Just to make sure that we look like a Ramadhan-lover. Or we just afraid if someone ask about why we don’t do what they do. Then we are indulged with this euphoria.

But wait, did Muhammad really tell to do all these? Nope. The spirit of Ramadhan is the opposite. I remember Muhammad said Ramadhan is to train our empathy to the homeless, to reduce our desire into material things. Not to buying new clothes. How can we spend billions of Rupiah when there are still homeless across the city?

Now choose : we can act as people do and lose the spirit of Ramadhan. Or we can take different step, and being people’s talk. 

So what is Ramadhan exactly? A festival with spiritual theme? Or it is spirituality being festivalized? It can be both. Because Ramadhan is almost everything. Exclude God. []