The Mosque and the moon signal the end to Ramadan

By Jermaine Pigee

DeKALB | The Islamic holiday Ramadan ended earlier this week with the three-day celebration of Eid-ul-Fitr.

Eid-ul-Fitir, or the “Festival of Fast-breaking,” is a joyous time beginning with a special prayer and accompanied by celebration, socializing, festival meals and sometimes very modest gift giving, especially to children, according to Ramadan.co.uk.

Muslims here on campus found out when Ramadan ended from a reliable source.

“We found out from the Mosque that Ramadan was over,” said junior clinical lab science major Talia Yousuf. “We also found out because of the moon sighting.”

Muslims celebrate the end of Ramadan in different ways.

“The first thing on the morning of Eid-ul-Fitir is to rush to a large meeting place and offer prayers of thanks with other members of the Muslim community,” said Muslim student advisor Atique Ahmed. “The Muslims wear new dresses after the morning bath, use good perfumes, the ladies dress up for the prayers, and we pay money so that the poor in the community are taken care of and can join in the festivities.”

Ahmed also said that during this time, people are happy, embracing each other, and are also brimming with great feeling of happiness. The air is full of good feelings and feelings of peace, Ahmed said.

Yousuf said she couldn’t celebrate too much because of prior obligations.

“Because we found out that Ramadan ended so late, I could only have a morning prayer at 8:15,” she said. “I had other appointments throughout the day.”

While the Muslim community is full of happiness, there is disappointment that Ramadan is over, Yousuf said.

“The end of Ramadan is sad because I had a daily routine,” she said. “Now it’s back to my normal life. We woke up around 5 am to drink water and eat before we fast for the day. We won’t do that anymore.”

Though Ramadan is over, “Everyone is looking forward to next year for the happy days again!” Ahmed said.