THE EDITOR: Muslims in TT and around the world will celebrate the conclusion to the blessed Islamic month of Ramadan on Wednesday after looking skyward for the white light glowing from the crescent moon as the sun sets this evening.
For the past month, from before sunrise to sunset, Muslims have abstained from food, drink and vices like gossip and speaking untruths. Eid-ul-Fitr, Arabic for “festival of breaking fast," is celebrated over three days at the end of Ramadan in some countries, and in TT it is marked by a national holiday.
The day begins with congregational prayer in masjids, followed by activities which sometimes last for hours from the 8 am start. People of all creeds, races and religions participate in Eid festivities.
During Ramadan, Muslims aim to grow spiritually and build stronger relationships with Allah, their creator. It involves performing additional acts of prayer and reciting the Quran, making their actions intentional and selfless to please Allah. More than a billion and a half Muslims believe the verses of the Quran were revealed to the Prophet Muhammad more than a millennium ago. These verses are as relevant today as they were when first recited.
So, on Eid-ul-Fitr, the second most significant day in the Islamic calendar after Eid-ul-Adha, Muslims gather to pray, dine, exchange gifts and cement ties with family and friends.
But no matter what observers have planned for their traditional suhoor (meal to start the fast), and iftar (breaking of the daily fast), the spirit of this centuries-old Quranic injunction will remain the same as a time for cultivating piety and self-reflection.
Ramadan is not only meant to be a period of self-reflection, but it serves as a reminder to be charitable. This is especially important as TT faces serious challenges of failed leadership and associated societal problems, chief of which are escalating crime and violence.
The lessons learned from the self-sacrifice and devotion sustain and strengthen our innate qualities of goodness through respect for others, charity and living up to the tenets of our religious beliefs.
This year’s Ramadan coincides with religious observances of Easter by the Christians, the Spring Festival of Holi or Phagwa of the Hindus, Spiritual Baptist Liberation Day, and also Nav Raatri for the Hindus. Ramadan adds to our diverse society by strengthening all the virtuous qualities that all of our religions teach us, and which we need to make our nation strong. These observances are spiritually elevating for our people and country.
Ramadan teaches us that each person has a part to play in making our society and country better by individual effort and personal sacrifice. The results of this labour of spiritual obligation and commitment can only be realised by consistently fulfilling what is required with the intention of good for the blessings and favour of the Almighty.
As a nation of faith, inculcated in our culture by our ancestors, TT is among the best equipped to withstand the howling winds that now assail the foun
