See you next year!

Thank you dear Ramadan Writers and Readers for joining this year's Ramadan Online Iftaar. It's been a pleasure and we are glad to see that a lot of people have found our links resources very useful and if that has been the reason for coming here we are very happy to be of help.

This blog is a living room in cyberspace where whoever wishes to speak can speak, sing, write, present food or any other thought relating to the experience of fasting and spirituality. We will be back next Ramadan 2008, God willing and hope that we see you all then.

May God accept all our efforts to be the best we can be, and make the world the best it can be. To create, if only one garden from heaven, on earth, before we leave to make the Journey of all journeys.

Hope your Eid has been blessed and we wish you all many more happy days to follow, Amin.

Eid in India on Sunday

The Eid moon was not sighted in any part of India and hence Eid-ul-Fitr will now be held on Sunday 14, October 2007.

I take this opportunity to wish all readers of this blog and all those who took part in the spiritual journey of Ramadan a very happy, peaceful and blessed Eid. Eid Mubarak.

a bit ramadanish..

as many of you know yom kippur coincided this year with ramadan (beginning to see a pattern here lol)..

during yom kippur we fast.. we refrain from procreation.. we dont drink.. dont use perfume and dont wear leather..

this year the fast began at around 5pm on the friday and finished at around 6.20 pm on saturday.. just over 25 hours..

it has become very popular to fast these days in israel.. even for secular people.. the tradition in it.. the spirituality.. the sense of community are amazing.. and the serenity of ignoring your daily needs is very cleansing..

the kids fill the streets on bicycles and roller blades and people stroll the roads as if no car ever existed except to decorate the side walk..

this year after breaking the fast at my grandmother's house (which my family tends to do with a special drink my mother makes out of fresh apple juice into which she sprinkles crushed pecan nuts and almonds.. pommegranite seeds.. a little vanilla.. a little cinammon.. a little bit of lemon juice and mayet zahar..) i went to a friend's place where a bunch of us got together with special sweets that out grandmothers had made..

it was awesome.. there were fresh fruit slices (nectarine.. mellon and mango) moroccan cakes.. hand made truffles.. cheeses.. cakes.. angel hair (thinly shred halva) and various different types of wine..

the atonement.. the reflection.. the communal experience of the rythm slowing down and then rejuvinating.. seems to be something we all share..

we have now finished our festive season.. new years eve - yom kippur and succot..

i take this opportunity to wish you all a wonderful year and may peace salam and shalom rest on all of us..

UNICEF's Ramadan Campaign

Together with Queen Rania of Jordan, UNICEF urges people across the world to give of their wealth to the children of Darfur, Palestine, Iraq and many more places where children are denied the basics of life like security, water and schooling.

We have put up a long list of links on our side-bar where you can donate your Zakat for this year, as well as any other charitable giving you wish to do this month.

As Ramadan prepares for its departure, and we are all still alive to make the most of it, lets all try up our efforts at giving of what we have in abundance.

*Picture taken in July 2006 of children on the Sun Pyramid in Visoko, Bosnia.

Multazim Per Dua

Driven by Abrahim's post regarding the Jalwaa - e - Janaan video from Junaid Jamshed, I thought it well - suited that another of JJ's video be indicated, specially when we now have the last less than ten days remaining of the holy month of Ramadan.

This video is titled "Multazim Per Dua". It's not a Hamd, neither a Naat; but it's a supplication made to Allah by an ordinary human who has realized the worthlessness of the life in this world and now seeks Allah's Forgiveness and Guidance.

The beautiful verses in here have been composed by Mufti Taqi Usmani, a well - respected religious scholar. I thought I'd have also included in here a writeup attempting to translate the supplication from Urdu to English for the larger benefit of readers who don't understand Urdu, but have decided against it as the depth of the feelings which make this audio worth a special listening just cannot be captured in a translation. Frankly speaking, whenever I listen to it, my eyes are filled with tears because it really brings out the most inner feelings and prayers and the manner of supplication which one would want to portray oneself when praying but just fails in it.