Tariq Ramadan – Chronicles of Ramadan #19 Give your word

Peace be with you.

We enter into the chapter of giving

as an essential dimension of our spiritual life.

We should learn to give, knowing that at

the same time when we give, we are

working and repairing

two sides. It's the relationship that we have

with our own self and the relationship that

we have with our brothers and sisters in

humanity

through this,

empathy that we are we are talking about.

There is something which seems to be

lighter, less important in our understanding of our

relationship with people because it has to do

with words. It has to do with with

our tongue. It has to do with what

we say as if when we give something

which is physical,

which is physically present,

it's deeper or even,

stronger than the reality of our words.

And in the spiritual,

teachings and traditions, this is completely the opposite.

You give

from your heart, and you give from your

goods, and you give from what you have,

but you also give your words.

To give your words and you have to

understand the very meaning of this, that it

happened with your father, with your mother. It

happened with your children. It happened with your

wife, with your husband.

It happens

so many times during,

your life that you give your word, that

you promise that you are going to do

something.

Giving your words,

it's something which

has a very important and essential spiritual weight

in the way you deal with

yourself.

Because sometimes you give your words to yourself

that

you will try to do something and change

your life and repair what should be repaired

in your life. And you do this with

all the beloved people around you.

And it comes

to this deep understanding

when you give your word

to understand what you are doing, and you

have it in the Quran.

Those who are faithful

to their contract and to their words.

This is one dimension.

When Muslimon and Ashur Uthim said, the prophet,

peace be upon him, that you have to

respect the conditions

and the contracts that you sign. It could

be orally because this was the way

at that time, or it could be the

through the way you are signing,

anything, any contract.

You have

to keep

your word, and you have to try to

do your best in order to fulfill

to full to fulfill the spiritual

teaching in your daily life.

And this is also something which could help

you through the way you try to remember

what was the promise,

the promise

I did or I gave to my father,

to my mother, or to my children, to

myself,

to the

world,

in through which I would

change myself. I will be better. I I

will give or I will

do. You have to remember

because at the end of the day,

a promise is a debt.

And this is exactly the very meaning of

our a deen, a dein is a relationship.

We are indebted

towards god

as much as we are indebted towards our

fellow human beings when we promise to do

something.

And the day will come that we will

leave this world, and the best way to

leave this world

is to leave it without

debt. It could be a word or it

could be money, but we have to deal

with it in a way where we have

to think about, okay. Let me be at

peace with the people I love. Let me

be at peace with the people who

are expecting something from me

and just to solve

all my debts

before leaving. And this is the way at

with peace

at peace,

you will go

to the creator

who

has as a name peace.

Don't forget to tell the people you love

that you love them. Life is fragile.