"The Light of Ramadan: A Journey of Amazement and Wonder"
A Ramadan Story - Chapter 4
Just like how seasons come and go, Ramadan too came to an end. The last days of Ramadan were the busiest time for Huda and her family. They stayed up all night, praying to God and hoping to catch the special night, then barely slept for a few hours after suhoor, woke up and went about their days. They were exhausted but despite the lack of sleep, they had a contentment about them. I was tired just thinking about the lack of sleep and couldn’t comprehend how they managed. “Allah gives us strength, Maya”, Huda would say whenever I asked her. I’m sure he does, I thought. I don’t think it would be possible if not for some Godly strength because I would not be able to stay up all night. Maybe I would if I was playing games or watching a movie or something like that but definitely not for doing worship. That is some serious dedication.
And soon enough, we reached the 29th of Ramadan, which meant that it could potentially be the last day of the holy month, depending on when the moon is sighted. After iftar, Huda and I head up to the terrace to see if we can sight the moon. We sit there for a long time, talking and laughing, but we don’t spot the crescent moon. “Maybe we will complete 30 days this time”, Huda says and we head back downstairs.
“Did you see it, beta?” asks Huda’s mom, when we return. “No, Ammi. I think we will have 30 days of Ramadan this year”, Huda replies. “Let’s wait and see”, her mom says, ”Sometimes we don’t see the moon because it’s too cloudy or for some other reason. We’ll wait for the official news from the mosque.” Sure enough, she receives a message a while after announcing that the moon has been sighted and Eid will be tomorrow.
The whole house gets to work. There are sweets to make, decorations to put up, some last minute cleaning to do, henna to apply and so much more. “Can you feel the Eid vibes, Maya?” Huda asks me with a grin. Oh, I sure can. There is buzzing and excitement in the air.
Huda’s mother gets busy in the kitchen preparing sweets so we help her out with the other household chores. We take down the Ramadan decorations, with a pinch of sadness, and replace them with Eid decorations. We help clean the hall and dining area that will be utilised tomorrow for when the guests arrive for Eid lunch. Every year, Huda’s family hosts her father’s siblings for Eid and goes over to her mother’s side of the family for dinner. After we are done with all the chores, we sit down to apply henna on our hands. I apply it on her hands first and then she applies it on mine. I’m not very good at it but Huda is an expert since she’s been applying it every year for herself for Eid. We stay up late, decking each other’s hands with designs, my hands looking stunning and hers looking very mediocre, and she talks about how much she’s going to miss Ramadan but also how excited she is for Eid. She says the real test comes after Eid when everyone goes back to their normal routines and they have to try to keep up with all the good habits they’ve inculcated during the month. I have no doubt about that. I’ve seen Huda at her best behaviour this past month and I know how much patience it takes to achieve that.
The morning of Eid is chaotic, to say the least. Everyone stays up after morning prayer, ironing their new clothes, taking a shower and getting ready to go to the prayer ground for the Eid prayer which is at 7 am. Of course I decide to go along because I don’t want to stay alone at home but more importantly, I want to be a part of the Eid prayer.
I ask Huda if I can wear her abaya to the mosque this time and she readily agrees to lend me an emerald green abaya. I put it on and she ties the hijab on me. I look at myself in the mirror and love how it looks. “How does it look better on you than it does on me?” Huda says with a frown. “Everything looks better on me than it does on you, why are you surprised?” I reply. She smacks me on my arm. “Hey!” I complain, “You literally told me last night that you were going to continue being on your best behaviour!” “I did, but this is not counted,” she says and sticks her tongue out at me. I shake my head and smile at her.
We arrive at the prayer ground which is a huge outdoor space for the prayer. Huda said it is considered to be a tradition of the Prophet Muhammad (Peace Be Upon Him) to pray this particular prayer in an open space. There are throngs and throngs of people, all dressed in their best outfits, colourful and joyous. The children are excited, dressed in cute little outfits and are skipping and hopping around, distributing chocolates to all the other children with a lot of enthusiasm.
The prayer starts and everyone stands up to pray. It ends very quickly, in less than 10 minutes, as compared to the night prayer that I attended during Ramadan which went on for close to an hour and a half. After the prayer, the imam stands up and delivers a sermon about the importance of celebrating Eid in a way that pleases God. When it’s over everyone starts hugging and greeting each other saying Eid Mubarak which gets me thinking about how most people who are not Muslims refer to Eid as Ramadan. Huda made it very clear to me years ago that Ramadan is the month and Eid is the festival and it doesn’t make sense to say Ramadan Mubarak on Eid. Everybody is hugging everybody and it takes forever for us to leave. “Is it always like this?”, I whisper to Huda. “Always,” she replies with a grin.
The rest of the day goes by in more socialising and so much eating. There is the classic biryani for lunch and all kinds of sweets ranging from sheer khorma and gulab jamun to custards and puddings. Huda’s family also distributes food among neighbours and friends to involve them in a part of the celebration. They used to even pack me a box of food when I used to come over to her house on Eid previously, to take back for my family. Huda’s relatives give all of us eidi (including me!) and it does feel as exciting as I always imagined it would. We take a nap after lunch, which is the best nap of my life. “I told you, Eid naps hit differently,” says Huda. Then we get ready to go do the same thing again at another house. The whole day is filled with so much laughter and happiness and we go to bed at night feeling content and loved.
What a beautiful festival it is. A gift from God to them for fasting for a whole month and trying to be the best version of themselves. It signifies love, brotherhood, humanity and peace. It is a celebration of all the blessings of God - food, family, friends and faith. What more do we need in life? We’re grateful for very little when we have a lot to be grateful for. The true test of life is to be grateful for all that we have. That’s when we will be able to enjoy life to the fullest. I feel so grateful to have been able to observe this special time with this special family and make special memories that I will cherish for a lifetime.
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