Ramadan: An Economic Perspective
We’ve all thought the same thing while shuffling out the masjid doors after another late night of Tarawih: how can those trash bags be filled to the brim just from plastic water bottles? Do we really consume that much in one night? How much extra waste is going to the landfill this month on behalf of our masjid, much less the community as a whole? How many gallons of drinking water are going down the drain from hundreds of unfinished bottles?
Whether or not we feel bothered by such thoughts, it should be a pertinent concern of every Muslim in the Western hemisphere to take a second look at our relationship to Earth’s scarce resources during this sacred month.
The most fundamental rule in economic theory is that the world’s resources are scarce – meaning that they are not sufficient or sufficiently accessible to satisfy the extent everyone desires for them. While in principle and on economists’ terms this rule remains consistently true, however, we must assert that to define our relationship with these resources based on the individual’s valued interest in acquiring them (known to economists as ‘utility’) is inherently problematic to us. The opening verses of Surat al-Baqarah are especially enlightening in this sense: “He is the one who created everything in the Earth for you,”[1] that is, for your benefit in your worldly and spiritual lives. Any blessing provided to us from Allah is not meant to be vainly exploited, and certainly not wasted wantonly. It should not be used as a tool to oppress others nor feed our Satanic whisperings to hoard wealth and seek profit through avenues unsanctioned by the Sacred Law.
When Allah Almighty created Adam (upon him and upon our Prophet be peace and blessings), He informed the Angels that, “I have made in the Earth a successor”[2]. This met with the astonishment of the Angels and their seeking to learn the wisdom of Allah Most High in His decision to put in their place a creature with the potential for great sin and excess. But Allah Almighty reassured them that “I know what you do not know,” alluding to the secret of Allah’s creation of Mankind: that among them would be those who use the blessings present in this Earth responsibly for His obedience, worship and gratitude, and call others to do likewise. Thus, we recognize that the realization of this purpose in placing Mankind as a successor on Earth is not for him to consume endlessly and unthinkingly, but to strike a particular relationship with the scarce resources we are blessed with: one that allows us to willingly behave, to the best of our abilities, in a manner resemblant of the perfect obedient nature of the Angels. In short, we are called to be grateful for this enormous, incalculable blessing. A gratitude which actionably means utilizing every blessing for its highest possible use.
Returning to Ramadan, the spiritually transformative nature of this month is beyond words or explanation. It must be experienced in full for one to understand. In forgoing the callings of our most basic physical needs and desires, we undergo a month-long physical constriction: one that, if undergone in a manner acceptable to Allah Most High, leads to a spiritual expansion that continues to provide for us throughout the year. But while we fast throughout the day, as soon as the Adhan is called for Maghrib, many of us instinctively seek to ‘make up’ for the missed calories and foregone desires until morning. We prepare the most delectable foods, some which are rarely eaten outside of Ramadan, and follow it with an array of sweets before marching off to pray Tarawih, loosening our belts to avoid the discomfort. If we were to scrutinize the groceries coming into our homes during Ramadan, and the trash leaving them (including the thousands of plastic water bottles entering the masjid and leaving half-full), it should not be surprising to notice that many of us are expanding or at least meeting our consumptive behaviors compared with outside of Ramadan. Likewise, while we could be busying our free time during the day with Qur’an and remembering Allah Most High, we frequently find ourselves browsing online or on-site marketplaces, looking for something to fill the dopamine gap we are feeling. We are simply unsatisfied with less, due to our infatuation with the dunya, that being the very problem Ramadan is meant to address.
Imam Ghazali (may Allah have mercy on him) mentions that he who eats as much as his regular dinner meal upon breaking his fast is deprived of its benefit. Outside of necessity, there should be a net lull in our collective consumption and economic activity during Ramadan, not just adjustment of its scheduling. By doing so, we make room to reintroduce various acts of worship into our lives, and we learn to differentiate in our intake of resources between what is necessary for a fulfilling, God-conscious life, and what is superfluous. We are trained to accept that resources are scarce, and their valuation is not merely a calculation of utility and cost, but to see the opportunities for displaying gratitude to Allah Most High made possible by putting them to their highest use. After all, Allah is the Provider, and He alone can determine whether we will truly benefit or lose out from His blessings. It is He who brought forth twelve gushing wellsprings from the rock to satisfy each tribe of Bani Isra’il, He who sent down the Manna and Salwa while they wandered in the wilderness, He who fed around eighty Sahabah through one pot of food and multiplied the output of food and drink through mere interaction with His chosen Messenger ﷺ. Do we not see how quickly we are satisfied with a handful of dates and fruits after a full day of fasting? Do we not taste the sweetness of water that was previously unnoticeable? This is the barakah Allah provides us without asking anything in return beyond mere gratitude.
As long as we continue to focus on consuming and maximizing worldly pleasures, we will continue to miss out on these subtle moments of blessed satisfaction. We will be like the Sahabi who investigated the pot of meat wondering how it fed so many people, to find it suddenly empty, or the Bedouin who ate from the dish that seemed unending without saying bismillah and consumed it all in two bites.[3] Rather, let us learn from Ramadan not to focus on the means and the input, but on the output of gratitude we can embody. If we do so, we will be like those who Allah provides for in the end times not on food or drink, but on subhanAllah, alhamduliLlah, and Allahu akbar alone. And Allah gives tawfiq.
[1] Quran, 2:29
[2] Quran, 2:30
[3] Tirmidhi, 1858