Worshippers are enjoying the most normal Ramadan since 2019 after two years of Covid-19 restrictions.
Mosques have reopened to almost pre-pandemic levels, iftar tents have resumed while the taraweeh night prayers and tahajjud prayers – performed during the last 10 nights of Ramadan – will again be held from midnight onwards.
Another important feature of the holy month are lectures held in mosques. This year is the first time since 2019 that many Islamic centres in the UAE have been able to hold in-person lectures and fly in experts from around the world.
Al Salam Islamic Centre, a private, non-profit Islamic Centre for women in Dubai, has reinstated its face-to-face Ramadan classes for the first time since 2019.
"The feeling is one of gratitude and appreciation for everything that we are witnessing now after not seeing each other, not being together in person," said a spokesperson for the centre.
“For the past two years ... we didn't see each other and we had online classes. But the whole thing of having study circles again in-person is just really exciting. We can see a lot of gratitude and appreciation and more love and connection," the spokesperson said.
The centre in Umm Suqeim is running a Ramadan programme in English and Arabic every day except Friday. Between 50 and 75 women gather in study circles for sessions in English between 10am and noon and for classes in Arabic between noon and 1pm with a theme of love and affinity.
The centre has packed free Ramadan book bags for distribution for adults and children and the centre also holds iftar and taraweeh gatherings.
“After being away for so long this is a time to connect and bond through the gatherings. We really feel the value and blessing of attending study circles. After coming back this is the feeling,” she said.
"It's more of a renewal and real deep gratitude to Allah, how he made it possible."
It is a similar story at the Al Manar Islamic Centre in Dubai, which is under the patronage of Sheikha Hind bint Maktoum Al Maktoum, wife of Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid, Vice President and Ruler of Dubai.
The centre on April 9 hosted Ismail ibn Musa Menk – also known as Mufti Menk – the Grand Mufti of Zimbabwe and a global Islamic motivational speaker, for its annual iftar.
The event was opened by Ahmed Al Haddad, Grand Mufti at the Islamic Affairs and Charitable Activities Department in Dubai, followed by a lecture by Mufti Menk who shared a message of humanity. He spoke of how Islam guarantees respect for all human beings regardless of faith, colour, nationality or background.
"[We should] help one another as humans [and] to bear in mind that we are sharing the same planet," he told those present.
"Whatever this planet goes through we will all go through. If there is global warming we are all affected. We have to be very responsible in the way we manage the environment and all other factors," he said.
Mohsin bin Ahmed, a member of the organising committee at the Al Manar centre, said its Ramadan programme was a chance to increase understanding of Islam and hear from the right sources.
“The event was aimed at people from different faiths," Mr Ahmed said. "We were very happy to host the event because we got the opportunity to sit together at one table for the first time in three years," he said.
“Meeting in person is very different. We were able to give each other time unlike in online meetings where at the click the call ends and everyone leaves," Mr Ahmed said.
In 2020, the centre organised a virtual session to answer questions from new Muslims celebrating their first Ramadan alone away from their families, and of non-Muslims who wished to know more about Ramadan.
“This was a wonderful experience because we were able to see each other. It was a great feeling. There were people from 25 countries attending the iftar together."
The Emirati way of iftar and observing Ramadan – in pictures
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Director: Elie Semaan
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Power: 727hp
Torque: 1,000Nm
Transmission: 8-speed auto
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The biog
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Languages: Arabic, French, English, Portuguese and some Spanish
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Matches 68; Wins 35; Draws 19; Losses 14; Goals For 133; Goals Against 82
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It's up to you to go green
Nils El Accad, chief executive and owner of Organic Foods and Café, says going green is about “lifestyle and attitude” rather than a “money change”; people need to plan ahead to fill water bottles in advance and take their own bags to the supermarket, he says.
“People always want someone else to do the work; it doesn’t work like that,” he adds. “The first step: you have to consciously make that decision and change.”
When he gets a takeaway, says Mr El Accad, he takes his own glass jars instead of accepting disposable aluminium containers, paper napkins and plastic tubs, cutlery and bags from restaurants.
He also plants his own crops and herbs at home and at the Sheikh Zayed store, from basil and rosemary to beans, squashes and papayas. “If you’re going to water anything, better it be tomatoes and cucumbers, something edible, than grass,” he says.
“All this throwaway plastic - cups, bottles, forks - has to go first,” says Mr El Accad, who has banned all disposable straws, whether plastic or even paper, from the café chain.
One of the latest changes he has implemented at his stores is to offer refills of liquid laundry detergent, to save plastic. The two brands Organic Foods stocks, Organic Larder and Sonnett, are both “triple-certified - you could eat the product”.
The Organic Larder detergent will soon be delivered in 200-litre metal oil drums before being decanted into 20-litre containers in-store.
Customers can refill their bottles at least 30 times before they start to degrade, he says. Organic Larder costs Dh35.75 for one litre and Dh62 for 2.75 litres and refills will cost 15 to 20 per cent less, Mr El Accad says.
But while there are savings to be had, going green tends to come with upfront costs and extra work and planning. Are we ready to refill bottles rather than throw them away? “You have to change,” says Mr El Accad. “I can only make it available.”
THREE
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Cast: Vicky Kaushal, Akshaye Khanna, Diana Penty, Vineet Kumar Singh, Rashmika Mandanna
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- Discounts on sales price of off-plan units
- Flexible payment plans from developers
- Mortgages with better interest rates, faster approval times and reduced fees
- DLD registration fee can be paid through banks or credit cards at zero interest rates
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Champions League quarter-final, first leg
Tottenham Hotspur v Manchester City, Tuesday, 11pm (UAE)
Matches can be watched on BeIN Sports
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