What kind of Bosniaks are we if we cannot ensure a dignified Ramadan for the unfortunate

For Muslims around the world, the blessed month of Ramadan begins on June 28, writes the BH News Agency Patria. The most distinguished of all months in the year, for Muslims, represents a month of spiritual strengthening, mutual connection, and an emphasized sense of care for the poor and sick.

Husein ef. Smajić, Deputy Reisu-l-ulema of the Islamic Community in BiH, reminded the Patria agency (NAP) that Bosnia and Herzegovina has recently survived a major natural disaster, but that the upcoming month of Ramadan will be a month that will ease the lives of many who have been affected by the natural catastrophe.

This month, he says, will spiritually empower them, but they will also receive help from their fellow citizens, which will practically ease their existence.

- We have experienced major floods and landslides. Many people have suffered material damage, lost their property, their homes. However, the month of Ramadan is precisely the month when Muslims are particularly generous. I am sure that Ramadan will be a month of happiness and relief for many endangered people, and that Bosniaks will do everything to help their neighbors even more - said Smajić.

He notes that natural disasters are not something Muslims have not known about before or have not been warned about. The Quran, says ef. Smajić, in one verse speaks precisely about the hardships that will befall people, but at the same time warns them to be patient and to pray to Him for help.

- And, in continuation of that verse, it also warns those who have not been afflicted by misfortune that they have an obligation to help those in need - he says.

The Deputy Reisu-l-ulema of the Islamic Community in BiH says that Bosniaks have already shown their noble spirit, but that he believes that during Ramadan they will show even more solidarity and love for others.

- What kind of people would we be if we did not stand up and help several hundred, or at most two or three thousand of our endangered fellow citizens, and if we did not help them to have a life worthy of a human being - he added.

The month of Ramadan has multiple benefits for those who fast. In addition to fasting, which is proven to be healing for human health, it renews and strengthens love and compassion for other people in the faster.

- This year, the month of Ramadan falls in the summer. So, these are the longest days when Muslims refrain from eating, drinking, and other desires. And precisely this abstinence from food and drink develops in us a feeling for those who are in a difficult material situation - says ef. Smajić.

Speaking about the several hundred people who are still displaced from their homes due to floods and landslides in BiH, ef. Smajić notes that they also have an obligation to fast the holy month of Ramadan, unless they are sick or belong to some other category of people who cannot fast during Ramadan, and that they are obliged to be patient but also to pray and ask for help from Allah dž.š., writes Patria.