What Ramadan is all about

The holy month of Ramadan is around the corner, and the government is aware of this holy occasion and is making preparations for it by promises to keep prices of essentials "affordable", for whatever that means.

Fasting people have a short fuse during the long fasting hours and every effort must be made to make life for them easy. To his credit, Prime Minister Omar Razzaz has made it official that prices will not be raised during the holy month, including fuel prices, which are always on the top of people's minds and concerns. This is not going to be easy given the fact that oil prices on the international market is witnessing dramatic increases, especially when Iranian oil is being boycotted by order of President Donald Trump, who aims to reduce the revenues of Tehran and make it poorer so that it may not engage in adventurous policies, so he says!

On the other side of the ledger, people are expected to consume less and drive less during the fasting month. After all, Ramadan is also the month of abstinence. Spiritual needs rather than material needs are supposed to become the norm during Ramadan.

Fortunately, the cold weather in Jordan appears to have ended and people would need less fuel for heating at least. The weather during the month of May is projected to be moderate and comfortable. Under the circumstances, worshippers have no cause to complain during Ramadan over prices of essentials or anything else for that matter.

The politics of the country appear to be poised to remain steady, with no major surprises expected to appear on the national radar. This way people’s minds can turn to only spiritual pursuits. We wish our readers a good month of fasting, reflection and meditation. After all that is what Ramadan is all about.

And last but not least, the government is invited not to change working hours by making them shorter or even delaying their start in the morning. This would only lead people to eat and sleep more and produce less. Given the comfortable weather the country expects in May, there is no reason to change working hours! Otherwise, Ramadan becomes a month of economic stagnation and waste. Besides there is no sense in people staying until the wee hours of the morning socialising or eating. Keeping the same working hours would encourage fasting people to maintain a healthier style of life.