The holy month of Ramadan has began. Muslims the world over are fasting, spending time with their households and dedicating themselves to prayer and worship. However for us, the Muslims of Gaza, this holy month is stuffed with heartbreak and mourning.
For greater than 5 months now, we’ve endured massacres, illness, hunger and thirst by the hands of the Israeli military. Its violence and brutality haven’t stopped or lessened as Ramadan begins.
As many people battle to place meals on the desk to interrupt quick or to discover a secure place for prayer, the reminiscences of previous Ramadans maintain us heat. Amid the buzzing of Israeli drones and the sound of explosions, I shut my eyes and keep in mind the splendour of Ramadan in Gaza.
The preparations for the holy month would all the time begin early. A number of weeks forward of it, individuals would exit looking for all of the Ramadan requirements.
A favorite place to go can be the Outdated Metropolis and its conventional market, Al-Zawiya. There, all the normal Ramadan meals gadgets may very well be discovered: bitter pickles, one of the best dates, scrumptious olives, spices that crammed the air with their aroma, thyme, dried apricot paste to make qamar al-din drinks, dried fruits, and varied sorts of juices, with khoroub (carob) being the most well-liked.
New garments would even be a vital buy. Prayer robes can be a well-liked selection, as would fancy clothes for the women and smooth costumes for the boys.
Youngsters would pull on mother and father’ arms and ask them to purchase one of many vibrant lanterns on show that learn “hallou ya hallou, Ramadan Kareem ya hallou” (“expensive, expensive, Ramadan Kareem, expensive”).
The streets can be bustling with individuals, decorations can be going up, cheerful Ramadan songs can be performed. The ambiance of anticipation can be like no different.
Then on the eve of the primary day of Ramadan, Gaza’s neighbourhoods can be stuffed with the sound of tarawih prayers. The children can be out till late, taking part in within the streets, holding lanterns, chanting, singing, and setting off fireworks to mark the start of the holy month.
Households would come collectively to share al-suhur meal and pray al-fajr collectively. Then some might nap, others would exit for college and work. By the afternoon, all can be again house and it will be time to learn the Holy Quran. Children would learn and memorise the verses at house or in mosques. Dad and mom and grandparents would inform tales of prophets to kids and grandchildren.
Then the time would come to arrange meals for the iftar meal. The hour earlier than sundown, the entire neighbourhood can be stuffed with the scrumptious scent of assorted meals. The kitchen in each house can be full of individuals working onerous: one can be doing the maqlouba (a meat dish with rice and greens), one other – the musakhan (a rooster dish), and nonetheless one other – the mulukhiya (jute soup).
In the meantime, a neighbour might drop by and convey a platter filled with the meals his household had simply made; he, in fact, wouldn’t be allowed to go house empty-handed.
With sundown approaching, the iftar desk can be laid and everybody would sit down. Quickly the decision from the mosques to interrupt quick would come, accompanied by the melody of takbirat. Everybody would share the scrumptious meals, chatting joyfully and laughing.
After iftar, males, ladies, and youngsters would head to the mosques to wish tarawih collectively, the sounds of the Holy Quran and prayers permeating each a part of Gaza. Then probably the most joyous time of the day would come for kids, as mothers put together qatayf, a well-liked dessert that’s solely made throughout the holy month.
As soon as the qatayf is all gone, households would go go to one another or collect in entrance of the TV to look at their favorite Ramadan sequence.
For the individuals of Gaza, Ramadan is certainly probably the most particular time of 12 months. Gaza throughout Ramadan is probably the most stunning place on Earth.
However this holy month, we can’t have a good time and revel in worship in peace. The colorful lights and lanterns and the chants and songs have been changed with the flashes and sounds of Israeli bombs exploding. The joyful noise of kids taking part in exterior within the streets has been changed with the screams of individuals buried underneath the wreckage after one other Israeli bombardment. The neighbourhoods lively have been reworked into graveyards. Mosques are usually not crowded with individuals as a result of they’re all destroyed. The streets are usually not bustling with individuals, as a result of they’re all coated in rubble. Individuals quick previous iftar as a result of they don’t have any meals or water.
The households collect to not greet one another and have a good time, however to mourn collectively the lifeless. Because the holy month of Ramadan begins, we’re bidding farewell to martyr after martyr.
The ache is made that a lot worse by the realisation that the world has deserted the Palestinian individuals, permitting Israel to proceed its genocide throughout the Muslim holy month.
The views expressed on this article are the creator’s personal and don’t essentially mirror Al Jazeera’s editorial stance.
