RAMADHAN THAT WAS.
It is exactly two weeks since I celebrated Eid- Ul- Fitr. Slowly but surely my body has gotten acclimatised to having three instead of two meals a day. Ramadhan is over and Muslims around the world are currently observing Shawwal, the 8th month in the Islamic Calendar. It is Sunnah to fast for 6 days in Shawwal and this is what most of us are observing.
Ramadan last year was different, I shared about the Zoom Iftar parties and the lack of the congregation prayers Tarawih. This year with Covid- Vaccines and a resilient Ummah, most of us were able to observe Taraweh and other prayers in the Masjid. With the social distance measures, masks and BYOM (bring your own prayer mat), most Masjids have been able to combat COVID-19 infections.
Ramadhan commenced on the 13 or 14th of April depending on the location. With open food barazas, numerous calls from the Muezzin and a shared brotherhood, my Ramadhan was different this year mainly because I have moved to Mombasa which is predominantly inhabited by Muslims. The Adhan calls emanate from different places filling the empty air with essence and as an individual, with tranquillity. Ramadhan this year would no have been without any form of chaos as is the norm.
A new Covid-19 strain crept into India killing millions of people. The country which has a substantial amount of older people has had it rough as millions are lost daily because of Covid-19. More than a decade on, the war in Yemen continues and the children in Yemen still wake up to bombs as famine and hunger ravages the country. The situation in Afganistan lingers on and in Palestine, a fresh set of conflict was witnessed in the last ten days of Ramadhan. On May 6th when Palestinians began protests in East Jerusalem over an anticipated decision of the Supreme Court of Israel on the eviction of six Palestinian families in Sheikh Jarrah. The displacement of Palestinians from their homes in Sheikh Jarrah brought out a whole new perspective to the injustice that has been taking place in the country. The violence coincided with Qadr Night (8 May), observed by Muslims, and Jerusalem Day ( 9–10 May), an Israeli national holiday.
The confrontations occurred ahead of a planned Jerusalem Day march by far-right Jewish nationalists that was later cancelled 11 days of bombings from the Israeli military left close to 200 children dead, many civilians wounded and a number of houses in debris. Millions of citizens in different parts of the world came out to protest peacefully in solidarity with Palestine and in condemnation of the human rights issue perpetrated by Israel. A ceasefire was called but the question is, when will this end?
In my part of the world, I managed to celebrate Eid with my family and friends, making the end of Ramadhan with prayers for Palestine and all the other war tone countries. “But perhaps you hate a thing and it is good for you; and perhaps you love a thing and it is bad for you. And Allah Knows, while you know not.” Quran 2:216.