Banging the drums in Ramadan

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

Vimto perks up Ramadan in Dubai

No one knows when it was introduced to Dubai and the Gulf. No one I asked could remember when they started drinking it. But Vimto dovetails with the Holy Month of Ramadan in this part of the world.

I was introduced to Vimto at one of my first Iftars here a few years ago. It is the drink of choice for breaking the fast during Ramadan.

I thought it was a local drink, originating somewhere in the UAE or the Gulf. But, to my great surprise, I discovered it was produced more than 100 years ago in a small village in Cheshire, England.

Created by John Noel Nichols, Vimto was originally a health tonic. In 1913 it became a cordial – a nonalcoholic fruit drink concentrate. Purple, and sold in a distinct white-labeled bottle, the squash later became a low-calorie carbonated drink. It is made of grapes, raspberries and blackcurrants, flavored with a tantalizing mix of secret herbs and spices.

Vimto sold more than 25 million bottles in the Gulf and other parts of the Middle East in 2010, with Ramadan receiving the highest sales and once again making it the leading drink of choice during the Holy Month.

The Aujan Industrial Company makes it under license in Saudi Arabia. Every Ramadan, the company launches assertive but well-liked commercials on Arab satellite TV channels to promote the fruit cordial.

"The Sweet Storytreller" poster

To celebrate Vimto’s 80 years as a household favorite in Middle East and Gulf homes, Aujan this year launched the “The Sweet Storyteller” multimillion-riyal media campaign. It stirs up memories and priceless Ramadan moments, collected from generations of gatherings and celebrations, through Vimto’s eyes.

Vimto’s association with the region began in 1928 when many Indian clerks found employment in the Middle East. Abdulla Aujan & Brothers were introduced to Vimto by an Indian employee and large quantities of cordial were exported to their firm for distribution.

Vimto’s website remembers how after World War II the cordial was shipped from the UK to the Middle East packed in wooden crates and housed in the bulkheads of ships. They were offloaded in Bahrain and transported around the Gulf in dhows. The cordial was, and remains, double strength compared to the UK edition to cut down on transport costs and suit the local palate.

I don’t remember seeing or hearing of Vimto during all my years living in London. When I was asking my landlord about the drink and its association with the Gulf and Ramadan, he too couldn’t think of how and why it became so popular. While studying in the UK, he said he never came across the drink either.

Incredibly, Vimto has more than 40 different pages and groups on Facebook. It has over 907,000 search results on Google and the online community was abuzz with mentions of the drink even before the onset of Ramadan on Monday (August 1).

For example, friend Joe Akkawi (@JoeAkkawi) posted on Facebook: “On this joyous occasion, I would like to wish everyone a happy Vimto season.”

Mohammad AlHuraiz (@asatiir) said on Twitter: “Ramadan hasn’t started and already one Vimto bottle is almost done!” Mohammad even had a snapshot to prove it!

Mohammad's snapshot

DJBliss tweet on Tuesday (August 2)...

... and on Wendesday

Dubai’s favorite DJ, DJBliss (@DJBLISS) changed his Twitter avatar to a Vimto bottle on Tuesday, the second day of Ramadan and has created a "TeamVimto" hashtag.

Thanks for the picture Aida!

At supermarkets around Dubai there is such a rush on Vimto that stocks are rationed! I saw this sign at the Safa Park branch of Co-op, saying “Only 4 pieces of Vimto per customer.” Again I couldn’t take a picture with my digital camera and wished I had a Smartphone. Later that evening, I saw the picture on Aida Al Busaidy’s (@AidaAlB) new Ramadan 101 blog.

Now I have to rush to the supermarket and get my bottles of Vimto before they run out. Do you have any memories or stories about the famous Ramadan drink? I’d love to hear them.