Muslims worldwide see renaissance during Ramadan
Manya A. Brachear, Chicago Tribune
Issue date: 8/26/09 Section: News
CHICAGO-When Hasan Mavric bit into a date to break his first Ramadan fast on Friday, the taste sparked a series of rituals he had never performed during the ninth and holiest month on the Islamic calendar.
After prostrating himself for the nightly recitation of verses from the Quran known as taraweeh, Mavric worked to elevate his awareness of God with additional prayers at home after midnight. He expected to rise several hours later to pray again and share a light, pre-fast meal called suhur.
Every Thursday, Mavric also will preface the taraweeh with an abridged version of a ritual, known as dhikr, in which he and others in his Sufi order recite the 99 names of God.
It is the first time Mavric, a member of the Islamic Cultural
Center in Northbrook, Ill., has observed Ramadan as a Sufi, a Muslim who seeks a direct and personal relationship with God.
"It seems hard, but with heavenly support it's easy," said Mavric, 39, of Mt. Prospect, Ill., a member of the Naqshbandi Sufi order.
During Ramadan, Muslims are commanded to fast from dawn to dusk as a show of empathy for those less fortunate. The fast prohibits eating and drinking during daylight hours and forbids vices such as smoking, profanity and ill temper.
Though Sufi Muslims fast in the same prescribed fashion, they also recite extra prayers and abstain from vices for the purpose of expunging their ego to connect with God.
"Fasting is the best weapon against the ego," Mavric said. "Nothing works better."
Mavric's piety reflects a worldwide renaissance of Islamic spirituality or the Sufi way that encourages heightened devotional activities, open-mindedness about all faiths and universal love.
Though some orthodox Muslims believe Sufis commit heresy by adding extra rituals to Islam's fundamental tenets, scholars say that at least half of the world's 1.2 billion Muslims have chosen to embrace a degree of Sufi practice, feeding an apparent spiritual hunger and transforming the annual monthlong fast in many communities.
After prostrating himself for the nightly recitation of verses from the Quran known as taraweeh, Mavric worked to elevate his awareness of God with additional prayers at home after midnight. He expected to rise several hours later to pray again and share a light, pre-fast meal called suhur.
Every Thursday, Mavric also will preface the taraweeh with an abridged version of a ritual, known as dhikr, in which he and others in his Sufi order recite the 99 names of God.
It is the first time Mavric, a member of the Islamic Cultural
Center in Northbrook, Ill., has observed Ramadan as a Sufi, a Muslim who seeks a direct and personal relationship with God.
"It seems hard, but with heavenly support it's easy," said Mavric, 39, of Mt. Prospect, Ill., a member of the Naqshbandi Sufi order.
During Ramadan, Muslims are commanded to fast from dawn to dusk as a show of empathy for those less fortunate. The fast prohibits eating and drinking during daylight hours and forbids vices such as smoking, profanity and ill temper.
Though Sufi Muslims fast in the same prescribed fashion, they also recite extra prayers and abstain from vices for the purpose of expunging their ego to connect with God.
"Fasting is the best weapon against the ego," Mavric said. "Nothing works better."
Mavric's piety reflects a worldwide renaissance of Islamic spirituality or the Sufi way that encourages heightened devotional activities, open-mindedness about all faiths and universal love.
Though some orthodox Muslims believe Sufis commit heresy by adding extra rituals to Islam's fundamental tenets, scholars say that at least half of the world's 1.2 billion Muslims have chosen to embrace a degree of Sufi practice, feeding an apparent spiritual hunger and transforming the annual monthlong fast in many communities.
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