The Last Ten Days of Ramadan and Leilat el Qadr

العشر الاواخر و ليلة القدر

‘We have indeed revealed this (Message) in the Night of measures:

And what will explain to thee what the night of power is?

The Night of Power is better than a thousand months.

Therein come down the angels with Allah’s permission, on every errand:

Peace it is until the rise of dawn!’ holy quran 30:97

Ramadan has come and is almost gone before we know it.  The last ten days are the most exhausting.  Prayer rituals, especially night prayers are emphasized and the neighboring mosque was alive all night. Following the tradition of the prophet PBUH, some men retire to the mosque in the last ten days in complete seclusion  to worship.  That’s because there’s a great blessing during those last ten days:  Leilat al Qadr ( or in translation The Night of Decree or Measures).

In the Quran, it is referred to as a night that is better than one thousand months (almost 80 years).   It is the night  when the Angel Gabriel, PBUH, appeared to the prophet and revealed the quran.   Angels come down from heaven with the permission of Allah and it is peaceful until dawn.  This night is usually celebrated on the night of the 27th of Ramadan, however, there are some people who believe that it is also on any odd day during the last ten days of the month ( the 21rst, 23rd, 25 etc….)

Not surprising, during those last ten days, all prayer shifts double.  The usual taraweeh prayers are performed but mosques are not emptied after they are done.  Another set of prayers starts after 12 am known as salat el Tahajod (or tahajod prayers).  The night time during those last ten days become a night of communal prayers, quran reading and worship until after the dawn prayers.  It is a chance for forgiveness, spiritual ascendance and to ask Allah for all one’s heart desires in this world and the next.  Not many like to miss it.

With such exhaustion from the night before, day time is a mellower time at work and home.  After Iftar it all starts again.  However,  towards the end of the last ten days, a new spirit takes over.  Everyone is looking forward to Eid el Fitr, when fasting ends and people can consume their usual food and drink. A spirit of celebration takes over  after this intense period of worship- one that is just as sweet and lively as the month that preceded it.

Taraweeh Prayers

صلاة التراويح

People stand in horizontal lines during prayers and do a series of movements that include prostrating.

There are sites, sounds and flavors that take place only during the month of Ramadan, such as communal iftars and taraweeh prayers.  No one really eats alone during that month or prays alone.  Following the same tradition every year, my family got together for a sumptuous meal,  and before we knew it, it  was time for the night prayers or Isha followed by the taraweeh prayers.

Taraweeh prayers are only performed during Ramadan and their rituals return from year to year as if they have never left in the first place. As we were having mint tea after eating, we heard the adhan (call for prayers) for Isha and looking out of the balcony  towards the street of the mosque located right next to the house, I saw many people scurrying towards the mosque- men, women and children.

Taraweeh are part of  the discipline and intensive worship that Muslims  perform during that month.  The term taraweeh actually means to rest.  The prayers could be performed   for over an hour or could be very short.  People stand in horizontal lines next to each other and perform a series of cycles and movements that include standing while reading portions of the quran, bowing, prostrating and sitting.  They all follow the imam, or leader of the prayers and after four of each of those cycles, one could sit for a brief period to rest- and hence the name ‘rest prayers’.

Mosques are usually open to all during that time, but not everyone must go.  Elderly people, women, children, and sick people could pray at home.  Even if one is simply tired the prayers could be performed at home.

The length of the prayers also varies.  Some people like to read long portions of the quran while others simply go for the short quick ones. Elderly people sometimes sit throughout the prayers while others prefer to stand. Which ever way they’re done, performing them in the garden of the mosque next door was enjoyable and simple enough to want to do them again.

There are voices that one hears only during the month of Ramadan, and the voice for taraweeh prayers is one of those voices that is always welcomed back from year to year.

The  Lanterns of Ramadan

فوانيس رمضان

Ramadan lanterns welcoming the arrival of the holy month in just a few days.

Wahawi ya wahawi…ioha….we kaman wahawi….ioha….

roht ya Shaaban…ioha….geit ya Ramadan….

bint al sultan…ioha…labsa al koftan….

These are the words of the folkloric song that welcome the holy month of ramadan every year.   And with this unique song played all over the radio station now, comes a unique tradition: the colorful Ramadan lanterns.  Whole streets are lined with them all over the walls, big and small and in all kinds of shapes. The holy month will start in just a few days, and all parents are taking their children to buy the ramadan lantern that will be lit for the rest of the month.

There are many theories as to where and when the tradition of the lanterns started.  One story is that it all began in the Fatimid dynasty in the 10th century A.D when  they  used to light the procession which viewed the moon to announce the beginning of the holy month and to announce the end of each day’s fast.  Fasting started when the lanterns were extinguished  just al little bit before dawn.  In the 15th century, it is said that the governor of Cairo ordered everyone to put  a lantern in front of their house.

Another story is that the lanterns originated from ancient Egyptian religious traditions,  then was adopted by the Coptic religion when colorful candles were used in religious celebrations, then finally brought to Islamic tradition, in the form of tin lanterns lit with a candle.

Even the accompanying song of wahawi ya whahawi is said to have originated in ancient Egypt.  It was the song that little children used to welcome the arrival of a new moon signaling the beginning of a new month.  Then, as with the case of the lanterns, it evolved to welcome the new moon of this holy month.

The colorful lanterns are only one of many lovely Egyptian traditions that come with this beautiful and holy month.  My favorites are the special sweets such as qatayef and konafa….yum yum.  But that’s another tradition and another blog.