On March 1, 2023, weeks before Ramadan began this year, Dawn Chan in an NST article warned that an additional 75,000 tonnes of food were expected to be wasted during the Islamic month of fasting.
She pointed to the 15 per cent increase in food waste that happens in Malaysia every year during Ramadan.
While Malaysians reportedly waste 16,720 tonnes of food per day outside of Ramadan, the daily figure reaches 19,228 tonnes during the holy month.
Half way through the fasting month this year, on April 10, 2023, the Malay Mail Online quoted deputy minister, Akmal Nasrullah Mohd Nasir as saying: "The amount of solid waste during Ramadan is increasing every year."
At International Islamic University Malaysia, I teach a course titled "Islamic Literature in English". My students choose different topics for investigation and then produce research posters as part of their assessment.
One common theme some of them pick is "Islam and food waste". An increase in food waste during Ramadan is also reported by my students who study this topic.
Aside from these reports, we also see the piles of food waste especially during iftar, which paints a bleak picture of the wrong practices of many Muslims. It is deeply concerning that the problem has continued to exacerbate and for a long time.
Unfortunately, Muslims in most other countries also may not fare very well when it comes to food consumption and waste, especially during the holy month of Ramadan.
Given Islam's strong stance against waste, it is somewhat inconceivable that Muslims can be complacent about this matter. This is because the Quran (17:27) declares: "Behold, the squanderers are, indeed, of the ilk of the satans – in as much as Satan has indeed proved most ungrateful to his Sustainer."
It is important to note that the Quran relates the act of squandering or wasting to ungratefulness to God. When people waste food or any other resources, they show arrogance and ungratefulness to none other but God. By doing so, Muslims additionally demonstrate an ignorance of the teachings of their religion.
When drawing the attention of my students to the importance of avoiding food waste, I often explain it to them with an example. I say to them: "Suppose you give me a present, a beautiful shirt. You obviously expect me to wear it. Perhaps you would be happy if you see me at the campus in the shirt.
"However, you never see me wearing it. Conversely, one day you happen to find out that I use your present as a rag to wipe the floor of my office or home. How would you feel then?"
My students' answers ranged from "upset" and "sad" to "furious".
As Muslims, we believe that the actual owner of whatever we have is God. He gives us gifts and blessings. He also watches over us to see how we make use of them. Our food waste definitely does not make the Almighty happy. Nor does it show our appreciation of His bounties.
I have noticed a certain amount of insensitivity among people – both "religious" and "non-religious" – about the question of food waste. There are people who have developed a habit of table waste. They waste food at home and at restaurants.
What is worse, they do so in front of the younger members of the family and steadily lose any moral authority to advise their children against this wrong practice. As a result, what we now see is that a large section of the population has become desensitised to the problem of food waste.
The practice of food waste among Muslims during the month of Ramadan is the converse of the spirit of sawm (fasting). The experience of fasting is supposed to teach Muslims self-discipline, self-restraint and, most importantly, gratitude to God.
It is a real cause for concern that Muslims seem to have rendered fasting a meaningless ritual by failing to learn or inculcate these virtues during Ramadan.
If we have failed to avoid food waste during the month of Ramadan, isn't it important that we make a strong resolve and stop wasting food NOW?
In this respect, if we really want to reverse the tide of food waste, parents and other older members of the family have to take the leading role by being examples or role models themselves.
As food waste is closely related to environmental pollution, irresponsible dining behaviours are also causing significant damage to the planet that we inhabit.
* The writer teaches English and postcolonial literature at International Islamic University Malaysia. He can be reached at mmhasan@iium.edu.my