With
Ramadan starting in a couple of days, you can feel the excitement mounting in
preparation for the Holy Month of fasting.
In the UAE,
the faithful are expected to start the dawn to dusk fast on Wednesday depending
on the visual sighting of the crescent moon.
It is a
month of spiritual reflection, improvement and increased devotion and worship.
Ramadan
also inculcates such virtues as self-discipline, self-control, sacrifice and empathy for those who
are less fortunate. It encourages acts of generosity and compulsory charity or zakat.
Daytime
life slows down considerably during Ramadan and most expats leave the Emirates,
especially as the Holy Month has been in the summer for the past few years.
But after iftar -- or breaking of the fast – at
sunset and the special Taraweeh prayers
at the mosque, everyone is out and about until suhoor, the meal just before dawn.
I find the Taraweeh magical and usually rush home
after work at 9 pm to sit in the garden and follow them from the mosque next
door. (See Ramadan Taraweeh: A 14-century legacy).
The Taraweeh
are special prayers featuring recitations of the Quran
after 'Isha (the
last evening prayer). They are performed at the mosque, where the congregation
prays and listens to passages from the Quran.
About a thirtieth of the Qur'an is
recited each evening so that by the end of the blessed month, the entire Holy
Book would have been completed.
Attending Taraweeh in
congregation at the mosque after 'Isha is recommended but
non-compulsory. They are a very popular and anticipated feature of the day.
Although I don’t
observe Ramadan, it is still a month that holds great memories accumulated over
the years.
Ramadan is
all about the spirit of giving and communal gatherings, whether with friends or
participating with family.
Every year
I look forward to writing these Ramadan posts and you can read some past ones from
the links below.
This year I
was looking back on my time in Sidi Bou Said (Tunisia) and Beirut, when we used
to wake up to the M’tabbel or M’sahhir – the Ramadan drummer that is.
Just before dawn, Muslims
observe suhoor -- the pre-fast meal –
followed by the fajr prayer, the
first of the day.
In times gone by, the Ramadan
drummers would walk the streets, beating their drums to wake people up in time
for suhoor. It is a tradition that
dates back to the Ottoman Empire and is dying away with the onset of
technology.
Urban living and high-rise
buildings make it more difficult for the drummer to be heard. In some places it
is considered noise pollution. It is also thought that with mobile phones and
alarm clocks, there is no danger of sleeping through suhoor.
But we used to look
forward to the M’tabbel passing
through the neighborhood.
He was known to most
residents and often survived through the tips he was given at the end of the
Holy Month for Eid.
The M’tabbel would walk the streets, often
joined by children and would beat his drum three times every couple of houses
while chanting. He was invariably invited to share people’s suhoor, a cup of tea or juice at one
home or another because he wouldn’t get back to his own in time.
Ramadan is
the ninth month of the Islamic calendar and its annual observance is one of the
five pillars of Islam considered obligatory by believers and the foundation of
Muslim life: belief, worship, charitable giving, fasting during the month of
Ramadan and the pilgrimage to Mecca for Hajj
at least once in a lifetime.
The pillars
are mentioned in the Quran and summarized in the famous hadith of the Angel Gabriel. The hadith attributed to Abu Hurairah (Sahih al-Bukhari, 1:2:48) goes like this:
One day while the Prophet (PBUH) was
sitting in the company of some people, (The Angel) Gabriel came and asked,
"What is faith?" Allah's Apostle replied, “Faith is to belief in
Allah, His angels, (the) meeting with Him, His Apostles, and to believe in
Resurrection."
Then he further asked, "What is
Islam?" Allah's Apostle replied, "To worship Allah Alone and none
else, to offer prayers perfectly, to pay the compulsory charity (zakat) and to
observe fasts during the month of Ramadan."
Then he further asked, "What is
Ihsan (perfection)?" Allah's Apostle replied, "To worship Allah as if
you see Him, and if you cannot achieve this state of devotion then you must
consider that He is looking at you."
Then he further asked, "When will
the Hour be established?" Allah's Apostle replied, "The answerer has
no better knowledge than the questioner. But I will inform you about its
portents.
- “When a slave (lady) gives birth to her master.
- “When the shepherds of black camels start boasting and competing with others in the construction of tall buildings. And the Hour is one of five things which nobody knows except Allah.”
The Prophet then recited: "Verily, with Allah (Alone)
is the knowledge of the Hour." (31.34)
Then that angel (Gabriel) left and the Prophet asked his
companions to call him back, but they could not see him. Then the Prophet said,
"That was Gabriel who came to teach the people their religion."
Abu Abdullah said: He (the Prophet) considered all that as a
part of faith.
Are there
still, I wonder, Ramadan drummers waking the faithful for suhoor?
Are there
any in Dubai that we could join on their route?
I wish my
readers who will be fasting a Ramadan Kareem and syam ma2boul.
Related Ramadan posts:
Awaiting Ramadan's Laylat al-Qadr -- August 11, 2012
Ramadan Taraweeh: A 14-century legacy -- July 27, 2012
Glorifying Virgin Mary in Ramadan -- August 15, 2011
Vimto perks up Ramadan in Dubai -- August 4, 2011
Don't miss on dates in Ramadan -- July 28, 2011
Ramadan in Dubai -- August 18, 2010
