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Obscene Extravagance to Attain Fulfillment in Ramadan by Rich and Famous Frowned Upon in Islam.
By Mihar Dias
(C) Copyright April 2022
We were invited to iftar at a five-star hotel in Kuala Lumpur on the second day of Ramadan. It was a huge buffet spread that impressed us to no end. We have seen buffets in the past but not this RM200++ “to die for” iftar with a variety of food from multiple Muslim nations, beautifully laid out in front of us.
In one corner a whole lamb was roasting away. A chef was carefully carving out succulent pieces of meat that easily fell onto a plate from a mere prick of his carving knife.
There were about twenty food stations throughout the dining area each with a special delicacy from a particular Muslim cultural heritage like Morocco, Egypt, India, and Iran to our own humble Malay dishes of nasi ulam with sambal belacan and daging bakar. We were spoilt for choice.
But we left feeling guilty for participating in such an obscene extravagance during a month when you were expected to be frugal. Especially when we could hardly eat more than a plate of food that could easily feed hundreds if not thousands of starving Muslims who would never get a chance to set eyes on such a food extravaganza let alone partake in an abundant buffet of that magnitude.
We were grateful to our hosts but would not venture out on our own for such an extravagant meal which if we chose to fully indulge would leave us with a food coma lasting days.
We are always frugal throughout Ramadan preferring to opt for simple meals for iftar and sahur. So simple that our sahur would be oatmeal and fruits while iftar would be vegetables with pasta or rice and some easily prepared proteins.
However, talking of extravagance during the holy month of Ramadan you cannot beat the offer to travel to Mekah and Medinah in style during the last seven days of fasting. It is now popular amongst the ugly politicians and rich and famous who have ostentatiously embraced the practice as a means of asking God’s forgiveness for their sins.
A travel and tour operator offers a seven-day umrah package that would make our iftar meal of RM200+ indeed a misery expense when compared to a price tag of RM178,000 per head for one week’s visit to Mekah and Medinah to catch the “Laylat al-Qadr”.
“Laylat al-Qadr” or Night of Power has special meaning for the faithful since an umrah on that night promises forgiveness for all their sins. However, the exact day is unknown. Islamic authorities seem to agree that Laylat al-Qadr might occur on the 27th of Ramadan when the first verses of the Quran were revealed by angel Gabriel to Prophet Muhammad.
Pilgrims stay up all night to offer prayers, and blessings and ask forgiveness for their sins. But since the exact night was unknown Muslims would devote the whole week at the end of Ramadan to be sure they do not miss out on that night of power.
While it was a time to be revered but getting there at such an absurd price is ostentatious and obscene which is frowned upon in Islam where humility is preferred and often emphasised.
We are referring to those who are willing to splurge RM178,000 for a trip to the holy land that could instead be used to feed a few thousand starving Muslims for the whole month of Ramadan where the donor stands to be rewarded in abundance in the hereafter.
But of course, if they were to forego the trip and help orphans, the less fortunate and others have nots they would miss out on a journey aboard a private jet and lost the chance of looking out to the Haram from their hotel rooms! Also, they might lose out on the chance to ask Allah for forgiveness for all sins committed while amassing their fortunes, in front of the Kaabah on that night of power when angels descend to earth bringing glad tidings to all.
Mihar Dias is a content writer under Headliner by Newswav, a programme where content creators get to tell their unique stories through articles and at the same time monetize their content within the Newswav app.
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