Advice, rituals, and prayers, How did Muslims receive the holy month of Ramadan?

The Islamic world enters the blessed month of Ramadan, which spreads in every country an atmosphere of joy about the goodness and sanctity of the month. Muslims, regardless of their different traditions, prepare special rituals and humble acts of worship for him.

Turkey, Saudi Arabia, Palestine, Egypt, and most countries in the Islamic world announced that Monday, March 11, is the first day of the holy month of Ramadan. In contrast, other countries such as Morocco, Iran, and the Sultanate of Oman announced that the beginning of the holy month will be Tuesday, March 12.

Despite their differences in the date of its entry, Ramadan remains a distinct month in Islamic countries, spreading a special atmosphere filled with worship, supplication to God, solidarity and compassion among Muslims, and the preparations and rituals for celebrating the month differ from one country to another.

The month of Ramadan this year comes with a taste of heartbreak and sadness because it coincides with the continuation of the genocidal war to which the Palestinians are subjected in the Gaza Strip and the crimes of the Israeli occupation against their counterparts in the West Bank.

Washing the Hagia Sophia Mosque on the occasion of Ramadan.

Lights of life and Tarawih Hagia Sophia

With the advent of Ramadan, Turkey witnesses distinguished welcoming ceremonies for the holy month, as there is a lot of activity before it, including decorating and cleaning mosques and raising banners of the lights of life, in addition to prayers, worship, and recitation of the Qur’an.

In the city of Istanbul, where a spiritual atmosphere prevails on this occasion, the historical mosques in the city were decorated to appear in their splendid appearance before the worshipers and fasting Turks and residents.

The lights of the visage are considered an authentic Ottoman tradition, as expressions of majesty or praises are hung in the form of illuminated banners above mosques. This tradition was known for its first beginning during the reign of Sultan Ahmed I, at that time the visage was hung on the Blue Mosque (Sultan Ahmed) in Istanbul, and it has been preserved since then. .

In addition to this, those in charge of old, historical and major mosques wash them with rose water and perfume them, in preparation for the holy month, while the markets witness active movement by visitors, who are excited to reach the suhoor of the first day, which falls on the night of Sunday/Monday, leading to breakfast on their first day.

Every Ramadan, the attention of the Islamic world turns to the Grand Hagia Sophia Mosque in Istanbul, to which Tarawih prayers returned in 2022 after an absence of nearly 88 years, and the lights of the life bearing the word monotheism (there is no god but God) were hung between the two minarets of the mosque, and it was washed with rose water. It was a pilgrimage site for hundreds of worshipers, as the first Tarawih prayer was held there on Sunday evening.

A similar spiritual atmosphere prevailed in the rest of the Turkish world, and on Sunday evening, the Kyrgyz capital, Bishkek, witnessed the performance of the first Tarawih prayer in the month of Ramadan, as the Imam Sarkhasi Mosque was crowded with worshipers.

In statements to Anadolu Agency, the imam of the mosque, Abdullah Ulu, said that the month of Ramadan came with all his enthusiasm, wishing the Muslims of the world peace and prosperity in their countries. Iftar tables are scheduled to be held during the month of Ramadan in more than 2,000 mosques throughout Kyrgyzstan.

After Monday was declared the first day of Ramadan in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, hundreds of thousands flocked to perform Tarawih prayers in the Holy Mosque in Mecca and the Prophet, and more than a million visitors performed Tarawih prayers in the Grand Mosque in Mecca on Sunday evening, amid special services for pilgrims and visitors to the Holy House of God.

During this season, Saudi Arabia witnesses an increase in delegations of pilgrims who make the pilgrimage to the Holy Lands in order to perform Umrah rituals in Ramadan, coming from various countries around the world.

According to data from the General Presidency for the Affairs of the Grand Mosque and the Prophet’s Mosque, the number of Umrah performers and visitors visiting the Sacred House of God in the month of Ramadan in 2023 reached 9 million 357 thousand and 853 Umrah worshipers and performers.

The Maghreb countries differed in determining the first day of Ramadan, as Tunisia and Algeria agreed that the first day of the month falls on Monday, while the Ministry of Endowments and Islamic Affairs in Morocco announced that Tuesday is the beginning of the blessed Ramadan.

In Algeria, the first Tarawih prayer was held in the Great Mosque in the capital, which opened on February 25, and the Deanship of the Algiers Mosque announced on Sunday in a statement that Tarawih prayers for the month of Ramadan 2024 will be held in the mosque starting Monday, March 11.

Even before the first day of the holy month, Tunisians prepare for it with inherited rituals and traditions, the most prominent of which is the qasdara, which is the custom of renewing copper utensils in homes before Ramadan. In recent days, the markets for selling copper products and workshops for manufacturing and polishing them, which spread throughout the old city of the capital, Tunis, have witnessed unprecedented popularity.

Although their month of Ramadan will not come until Tuesday, Moroccans are flocking to the markets in abundance to buy the necessities of the month and for fasting, most notably spices, dates, and traditional sweets that usually adorn Moroccan tables this season, such as chebakia sweets, briwats, and the famous makrot in the eastern regions of the Kingdom. .

Ramadan in Gaza

Ramadan is under bombing and attacks

The month of Ramadan this year remains with a different flavor, tinged with sorrow and grief, as it descends on the Islamic nation coinciding with the continuation of the genocidal war against the Palestinians in the Gaza Strip, and the Israeli occupation’s attacks on them in the West Bank and Jerusalem continue.

The Gazans performed the first Tarawih prayer in Ramadan in limited numbers, for fear of being targeted by the Israeli occupation army and due to the destruction of most of the mosques in the Strip, unlike previous years when mosques and public squares were crowded with worshipers. During the prayer, the worshipers prayed to God to end the aggression against the Gaza Strip, heal the wounded, protect the innocent, and bring peace and stability to Gaza.

Hundreds of thousands of Gazans are welcoming the holy month in light of very difficult conditions, characterized by killing, destruction and hunger. More than 300,000 people in the northern Gaza Strip are increasingly facing the dangers of famine, and most families there have become dependent on animal fodder, grass and cactus to satisfy a little of their children’s sustenance, according to A report by the British Financial Times newspaper.

The Ministry of Health in the Gaza Strip indicated that more than 2,000 health personnel in northern Gaza will begin the month of Ramadan without suhoor or iftar meals.

In the West Bank and Jerusalem, the Israeli occupation declared a wide security alert in anticipation of any events that might occur during the holy month. The occupation police imposed an intense security situation in the vicinity of Al-Aqsa Mosque, and prevented Palestinians from entering the mosque to perform Tarawih prayers, hours before the start of Ramadan.

Recently, a number of Israeli ministers called for imposing restrictions on the access of West Bank Palestinians to Al-Aqsa Mosque, and in return, Palestinian factions and Islamic leaders within the Green Line responded by restricting travel to the Temple Mount during the holy month.

The Israeli occupation forces did not respect the sanctity of the month of Ramadan and stormed the city of Tulkarm, its camp, and the city of Nablus at dawn on its first day, amid clashes with resistance fighters in which gunfire and explosions were heard.