It is that month of the year again when streets are filled with a bunch of people who are around with their brighten faces for the preparations of Ramadan, an Islamic month of the lunar calendar. It is that time when Muslims entail a sense of performing their obligatory duty to please their Lord to awake their dreary soul which has been lost somewhere in daily life affairs.
The moment the moon of Ramadan is sighted Muslims follows a certain paradigm for the spiritual purification and detoxification of their faith. Having said that according to the Holy Book of Muslims, Quran, in its second chapter it is mentioned that the month of Ramadan in which the Quran was revealed guidance for mankind, and Criterion (of right and wrong). This whole verse clearly gives the sign of how important this month is for Muslims. Ramadan is observed through fasting from sunrise to sunset.
Before sunrise Muslims eat a pre-dawn meal known as Suhoor, and after sunset, they break their fast with a meal known as Iftar. Around 3 AM a man wearing white Tqaiyah, a skull cap and drum around his neck with the support of cord or leather strap, whom we call as Dhol Wala visits the inner-city areas and thunderously beats the drum with a loud call “Utho Rozaydaro”, a slogan which means wake up Muslims to fast. His voice is so booming and the beats of his drum are so rhythmic that the day he doesn’t come we feel a part of Suhoor is missing. It’s this centuries-old tradition that all the generations have witnessed. Our grandparents, parents, and now us, we all have been enjoying this musical call to get up. The sound is way too blaring yet melodious that by the end of the month all the residents of those areas where he comes, gift him a certain amount of money, clothes, or anything which they can afford.
For suhoor people who fast, usually eat Feni, a famous dish soaked in milk and eaten with a pinch of sugar, Qeema, a minced mutton curry dish with Paratha, a layered flatbread made with flour and ghee. Usually people also love to have Nihari, which is a thick flavored curry served in desi herbs and spices along with beef or chicken. Here in Pakistan it is an old tradition of having a glass full of Lassi, a blend of curd and water with mango, sweet or salty flavors. This is taken after having a pre-dawn meal which maintains the energy level of a body. Other than these succumbed eggs, omelet, boiled eggs are also eaten with a cup of tea, which is a must.
When people are done with having suhoor the very next thing they do is offer Fajr prayer. Women offer their supplication at home whereas men rush to Masajids. Faisal Masjid which is situated in the capital city, Islamabad, is considered as the largest Masjid of Pakistan. There a huge amount of people attend their daily supplications. It is very famous for its Ramadan congregations. Ramadan is not only a religious month but an ethereal lifestyle that Muslims all around the globe adopt. Nights and days are totally changed. In the daylight people offer Zuhar prayer then after a short gap they get ready for Asr prayer. Every other person who wants to please the almighty tries to follow the obligations instructed in the Holy Doctrine which is revealed upon them as a guide and they do everything to create the atmosphere of equality, brotherhood, and peace by abstaining bad actions and ill speech. Throughout the day Muslims spend their hours in religious recitations with the rosary in their hands and in supplications.
In Pakistan, people belong to different ethnicity and have different cultural traditions but when it comes to religious rituals they all have the same destination but, with different paths. In the south region of Pakistan, Sindh and Balochistan people are more into lambs, steak, fish, beef, or mutton which they have in Suhoor and Iftar. In the upper region, Punjab, people like to have heavy meals cooked in lots of spices with Lassi and paratha. In Lahore, there is a famous place that makes the world’s delicious Lassi, Feeka Lassi House. People from different areas of Punjab go there to have Lassi. Whereas the people living in Khyber Pakhtoonkhuwa eat meals that keep them warm because of the cold weather and for that after they have Qewah which is made up of saffron, cinnamon, and cardamom with sugar or honey.
After spending a whole day in hunger Muslims finally get to break their Fast with Dates, after sunset. In Iftar every household is filled with Pakoras, which is made in a spicy batter filled with vegetables. Then to add more beauty on our dining tables and to satisfy the taste buds we have Samosas, which is a triangular savoury pastry fried in ghee or oil, containing spiced vegetables or meat. As a sweet dish we make Fruit Chaat, in which we cut all the fruits and mix them with a pinch of Chaat Masala, a kind of desi spice with lemon. After a whole long day without having a drop of water our throats are dry and we are extremely thirsty so for that we make different kinds of juices every day just for the change in taste. Sometimes a red colour drink, Jaam-e-Shireen or a green colour drink Quis is made. We also add milk to it.
Our national fizzy drink is Pakola which we usually have when we eat lots of fried food.Right after the meal namaz is offered and after Isha, the last namaz of the day, Taraweeh is prayed in the night which is a non-obligatory prayer prayed in a congregation or at home. During the whole month Masajids are filled with people, recitation of Naats and Hamds in beautiful voices with devotional couplets to praise the Lord, and his creation sparkle the dull nights. In Bhawalpur and Multan, Mehfil-e-Naat is organised every year to energise the inner faith of Muslims with beautiful recitations. Qawwals, in mystic Islamic devotional music sing Sufi poetries which make men spiritually ecstatic and they catch up into the euphoria of the metaphysical world. Qawwalis have always been everyone’s favourite. On television during the whole month of Ramadan Qawwalis are broadcasted.
In Karachi Arts Council, Shrine of Abdullah Shah Ghazi, and small towns like Orangi and Kharadar in Karachi and Shrine of Laal Shehbaaz Qalandar in Sehwan are the places where Qawwali nights take place. But, in the Ramadan of 2016 we lost a gem, Qawwal Amjad Sabri. A man who was loved by everyone, who’s Qawwalis was liked by every person irrespective of their sect. Each night is illuminated with the piousness of religious activities.
But, this year things are different now. Due to the spread of Covid19 and the occurrence of death people are maintaining social distance which is the only cure of this pandemic. No more supplications in the Masajids, no religious congregations, there will be vacant streets because markets will not be opened. This has made people so anxious that how they will change their pattern of religious rituals and cultural traditions. To maintain the social distance there will no invitations to family and friends for having Suhoor and Iftar together at home. This whole month of the festival has been overshadowed by the global chaos we all are facing.
(Featured image: Pakistani Muslims attend an evening prayer session called Tarawih to mark Ramadan on a road in Karachi, Pakistan. AKHTAR SOOMRO/REUTERS)
