Vice President: Ramadan is a momentum to increase piety and grow solidarity

Jakarta (ANTARA) - Indonesian Vice President Ma'ruf Amin said the month of Ramadan 1443 Hijri this year is a momentum for Muslims to increase their piety to Allah SWT and foster national solidarity.

"I hope this month of Ramadan can be a momentum to increase our piety, grow national solidarity, and we can get out of the pandemic," said the Vice President in his virtual remarks, at the Syiar Islam and Tarhib Ramadhan 1443 H event of the Indonesian Ulema Council witnessed in Jakarta. , Thursday.

The vice president emphasized that the purpose of fasting is to form people who are pious as Allah says in Surah al-Baqarah verse 183, which means "O you who believe, fasting is required for you as it was prescribed for those before you so that you become pious."

The vice president said that what is meant by piety is obedience to God's commands, both in carrying out His orders and in abandoning His prohibitions.

"People who fast are people who are able to control their passions from actions that violate God's rules. Therefore, through fasting people can control themselves, become pious people," said the vice president.

The vice president reminded that the noblest in the sight of God are people who are pious, not because of descent, race or ethnicity or wealth and position. All humans, regardless of race, ethnicity, position, regardless of wealth, come from the same lineage, namely from a man, a woman, namely Adam and Eve.

"So the value of the difference is only one (because of piety). Because of race, descent is only inherent since birth, not because of his efforts to become a good person," he explained.

Therefore, said the Vice President, fasting should produce piety. If a person's fasting does not give birth to piety, then his fast is only an outward fast, which only experiences hunger and thirst.