Poetry: Ashraf AboArafe
In the beginning,
the crescent was
a silver minaret,
hanging a small prayer
on the shoulder of the sky,
whispering to the earth:
Prepare for light.
Ramadan walked
through our homes
as softly as a verse,
awakening within us
the child of tranquility,
teaching the body
that hunger
is not punishment—
but the discipline of the soul.
—
In this month,
the Book descended
like a sun that never sets.
Within it came **Battle of Badr**,
a cry of truth
when horizons narrowed
and the heavens widened.
Within it also came **Conquest of Mecca**,
to teach hearts
that forgiveness stands higher than banners,
and mercy
is sharper than swords.
Ramadan once lifted us
above anger
and placed in history’s hand
a scale made of light.
—
But—
when the mirror shattered
within our chests,
and desire stepped forward
to lead the ranks,
blood slipped
into the courtyard of the month,
and the call to prayer
mingled with gunfire.
The shadow of the **First Fitna**
returned to walk among us,
asking:
Was the first lesson not enough?
Has the earth not grown weary
of carrying brothers
who turn against one another?
—
O Ramadan,
how are devils chained
while the devil of anger
remains free within us?
We fast from water
yet not from blood.
We lower our voices in prayer
but raise them in rage.
We arrange tables for iftar
while scattering the table of brotherhood.
What kind of fasting is this
if the hand
is not purified from harming another hand?
What kind of standing in prayer
if the heart still bows
to its revenge?
—
Ramadan
is not a battlefield—
it is a field of return.
Not a season to settle scores,
but to settle hearts.
It is a month
that arrives
with a chance
to redefine ourselves,
to conquer what is within
before confronting what is without.
—
O you who fast,
if you do not extinguish your fire now—
when will you?
If you do not turn your heart
into a sanctuary of peace,
what sanctuary awaits you?
Ramadan
does not want blood upon its brow—
it wants light upon yours.
So tell me—
do we fast
only from food,
or do we fast
from the shedding of each other’s blood
in the name of God? 🌙
