Ramadan 2022: After a month of fasting come festivities and celebrations

I hope our readers must have enjoyed and benefited reading the Ramadan articles.

Eid Al Fitr, one of two festivals in Islam, is celebrated on the first day of Shawwal to mark the end of the month of Ramadan. Muslims spend Ramadan with patient perseverance because they know it is the season of great benefit to them.

After a month of fasting come festivities and celebrations. After Ramadan, we feel as if we are born anew. Hence, we celebrate Eid, as we visit one another, offering congratulations and blessings.

Eid begins with remembering the poor. We begin by offering Zakat Al Fitr (different from normal Zakat and explained in one of the previous articles). The idea is to share food with the poor.

It is time for Eid prayers, preferably prayed at the town’s Eidgahs (open spaces) or in mosques. A unique feature of Eid prayers is the added glorification of God, in the form of Allahu Akbar, which means, “God is Supreme.”

Congregational prayers inculcate social equality and promote community bonding as it is great to see people greeting one another after the prayers and the sermon. Islam stresses the strengthening of social ties in the community.

Coming home after the Eid prayers gives an amazing feeling of contentment, of being rewarded for having fasted the entire month.

reporters@khaleejtimes.com