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Allah (SWT) said in
(2:185): “The month of Ramadan is that in which was revealed
the Quran, a guidance for people, clear proofs of guidance and a
criterion (to judge between right and wrong).”
It was reported by Abu Said al-Khudri, that the Messenger of Allah
(SAWS) said: “Whosoever fasts one day in the Path of Allah, a
distance of seventy years journey will be placed between him and the
Hell Fire.” (Sahih Muslim)
The Pious Predecessors would spend six months of every year
preparing for Ramadan and the other six months asking Allah to
accept the deeds that they did in Ramadan.
Preparation for the prisoners to receive Ramadan begins a couple of
months before Ramadan, with brothers starting voluntary fasts once a
week or so. Once Shabaan begins, the frequency of these voluntary
fasts increases to twice a week and more approaching the days just
before Ramadan
Voluntary fasts are different in prison as you will, depending on
the time of the year you fast, always be given your food either
significantly before or significantly after your fast has opened. In
other words, either your food will be cold by the time you get to
eat it (there are no microwaves or cookers here) or you will have to
wait about an hour or two to eat. Since you are allowed a watch, but
no alarm of any sort, it really is a ‘hit and miss’ what time you
have suhoor. Ramadan is different because of the large number of
Muslim prisoners fasting and so you will get your food more or less
on time and if the gap is too large, some prisons will give you a
flask to keep your food warm.
Officers on each wing are usually instructed by the Imam to wake up
fasting Muslim prisoners for suhoor, about 30-40 minutes before Fajr.
Suhoor here consists of a ‘pack’ that you are provided the evening
before and it contains cereal, milk, dates, a sandwich and a fruit.
There is no hot suhoor.
After completing suhoor and making wudu quietly (taking care not to
wake sleeping non-Muslim prisoners who neighbour you), brothers will
normally sit and make dua in the tranquil, pre-dawn time whilst
waiting for Fajr. Once Fajr begins, a quiet adhaan is followed by
individual prayer in your cell. If you are near other Muslim
prisoners, you may hear their recitation during their Fajr prayer.
Fajr is followed by morning duas and some prefer to sleep until the
morning.
The day passes quickly. If you have a strict programmes of
remembrance duas, Quranic recitation/memorisation and extra prayers
to do, there is little time for much else once showers, phone calls,
washing clothes etc are factored in.
Towards the end of the day, whilst brothers are collecting their
food, they might return to their cell to find a chocolate bar, or a
fruit, or a snack etc. left by an anonymous donor who wishes to
follow in the footsteps of the Prophet’s (SAW) Sunnah by being more
generous than the fleeting wind in Ramadan. Since these eatables
need to be purchased via a weekly ‘canteen’ order system based on
limited spending quotas, the actual value of the chocolate or snack
far exceeds its monetary value. It is not like a supermarket where
one can buy limitless supplies of groceries. Indeed, these canteen
groceries are the ‘currency’ between prisoners which they use to pay
each other for favours etc. Therefore, since the reward of a deed is
commensurate to the intention behind it, such small acts of
generosity have the potential of great reward. The additional
benefit of such anonymous generosity is that the recipients will
always make dua for the donor whilst opening their fast.
The last half-hour or hour before Maghrib is spent alone in the
cell, in remembrance, duas and seeking forgiveness. As the time of
Maghrib enters, brothers give the adhan individually. Sometimes, a
recorded adhan can be heard echoing around the exercise yard
adjacent to the wing. One’s fast opens in peace and tranquillity,
proceeded by more duas for the fast and the deeds of the day to be
accepted by the One for Whom they were performed.
As the fast opens, there is not the feeling of guilt usually
associated with opening a fast on a table full of all types of food.
Some brothers said that they would always feel guilty when opening
their fast outside prison, at a table spread with all types of food
and drink. They would feel guilty when thinking about what poor and
needy Muslims or Muslim prisoners would be opening their fast with.
However, when one is on the other side of the guilt trip, with
nothing but dates and water to open the fast, this feeling
disappears, more so when one is a captive for the sake of one’s deen
and not due to the committing of any crime.
After praying Maghrib, you will sit to eat your food. Sometimes the
food is not enough so you might supplement it by adding cold grated
cheese or cold hard boiled egg (both provided sometimes for suhoor)
to your plain boiled rice. Alternatively, a bowl of cereal or peanut
butter sandwich (if you have previously purchased peanut butter in
your weekly ‘canteen’) also does the trick. Though this food might
not reach the quality or quantity of what you might eat outside
prison, this food has the taste of honour and dignity, which cannot
be purchased outside prison, even with gold or silver. You are
further grateful when you think of Muslim prisoners around the
world, such as in Guantanamo Bay, where the iftar meal is purposely
served two hours after Maghrib, or America, where the food of Muslim
‘terror’ suspects is thrown into their cell via a hatch and they
need to scoop it up from the floor before eating it. [The above are
not rumours but based on actual testimonies.]
Soon it is time for Isha and Taraweeh prayers. This is one of the
most enjoyable parts of Ramadan in captivity. Brothers pray Taraweeh
individually by reading from their Qurans and there is no limit to
the time that you can spend on your prayer. The nearby cells of
Muslim prisoners praying Taraweeh resonate with the humming of their
Quranic recitation: a recitation which comes from the heart and
reaches the heart. The Quran means more in prison than outside and
you have feelings whilst reciting the Quran in prison that you do
not have outside. Each verse becomes alive in prison and it has a
direct relevance to your individual situation. Whilst in Taraweeh,
you can stop to think about a particular verse or repeat it over and
over again as the Messenger of Allah (SAW) used to do. You will not
experience this pleasure with the Quran if your heart is rusty and
full of the darkness of sins. The Quran is pure and only a pure
heart can derive maximum benefit from it.
Eventually you retire to sleep with the full knowledge that, if
Allah accepts your fast for that day, you will be rewarded by moving
away from the Hell Fire a distance of seventy years. The hadith
mentioned earlier on refers to a fast whilst striving or struggling
in the Path of Allah, not as is mistakenly believed, just any fast.
Of course, fasting anywhere has huge rewards but this hadith
specifically refers to a fast ‘fee sabeelillah’ (in the Path of
Allah). The occurrence of good dreams increases in Ramadan whilst in
captivity. The only sadness you feel as you nod off is that there is
one less day remaining of Ramadan and it will never return.
By British Political Prisoner Babar Ahmad, MX5383
Woodhill Prison
Source: www.stoppoliceterror.com
Read more about
Ramadhan
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