Every Ramadan, from day one, I beseech God to give me the stamina and patience to be able to fast as required, and observe other religious duties and obligations.
I also beseech God to bless me with peace of soul.
Ramadan has always been special for me for it is a holy month in every sense of the word.
It happens only once a year and is a time every Muslim looks forward to having Godly blessings and mercy.
Ramadan is a time when good deeds are greatly received and thus is a moment to renew my bond with God.
Through prayers and charity, I also find comfort and true meaning in life. It is a month where God accepts forgiveness and rewards the doers of good.
I like to attend religious lectures in mosques and cultural centres so I can have a better understanding of my religion, and most importantly to seek deep meaning of the act of fasting.
I really like to have a conscious mind while observing my religious duties. Reading the Quran is one of the most rewarding acts in Ramadan. I like to do it late every night. The aim is to conclude the reading of the whole book before the end of Ramadan.
Apart from its spiritual dimension, Ramadan is a social occasion. It is special because we use every moment of it to gather as families and friends to chat, to have iftar together and to pray together. Every Ramadan leaves with me memories that are different from the previous.
I am very keen to celebrate this holy month according to Arabic and Islamic traditions.
We welcome the holy month early through a festivity called Haq Al Laila, midway through the month of Shaaban - the month before Ramadan in the Islamic calendar - when we treat children with sweets and candies.
Ramadan also offers me the routine to pursue recreational activities, mainly playing football and watching new drama on television. Yet all of this does not make me forget to help people less fortunate than myself.
Every Ramadan evokes special feelings going back to my childhood days.
Adults used to rush to buy all the necessary food an hour or so before iftar. I watched that momentum with pleasure, because I knew that afterwards we would gather for a delicious and merry meal.
Elderly members of the family would chat about life and tell funny stories.
But Laylat Al Qadr (Night of Destiny), the night the first verses of the Quran were revealed to the Prophet Mohammed, remains special. We tend to go to mosque and pray until late at night.
Each time Ramadan nears its end I feel sad, because I know that I will miss its unique routine and the spirituality associated with it.
Ali Al Shamsi was born in Fujairah, lives in Dubai and works as a feature writer for The National in Abu Dhabi.
Clinical psychologist, Dr Saliha Afridi at The Lighthouse Arabia suggests three easy things you can do every day to cut back on the time you spend online.
1. Put the social media app in a folder on the second or third screen of your phone so it has to remain a conscious decision to open, rather than something your fingers gravitate towards without consideration.
2. Schedule a time to use social media instead of consistently throughout the day. I recommend setting aside certain times of the day or week when you upload pictures or share information.
3. Take a mental snapshot rather than a photo on your phone. Instead of sharing it with your social world, try to absorb the moment, connect with your feeling, experience the moment with all five of your senses. You will have a memory of that moment more vividly and for far longer than if you take a picture of it.
Eldarir had arrived at JFK in January 2020 with three suitcases, containing goods he valued at $300, when he was directed to a search area. Officers found 41 gold artefacts among the bags, including amulets from a funerary set which prepared the deceased for the afterlife. Also found was a cartouche of a Ptolemaic king on a relief that was originally part of a royal building or temple. The largest single group of items found in Eldarir’s cases were 400 shabtis, or figurines.
Khouli conviction
Khouli smuggled items into the US by making false declarations to customs about the country of origin and value of the items. According to Immigration and Customs Enforcement, he provided “false provenances which stated that [two] Egyptian antiquities were part of a collection assembled by Khouli's father in Israel in the 1960s” when in fact “Khouli acquired the Egyptian antiquities from other dealers”. He was sentenced to one year of probation, six months of home confinement and 200 hours of community service in 2012 after admitting buying and smuggling Egyptian antiquities, including coffins, funerary boats and limestone figures.
For sale
A number of other items said to come from the collection of Ezeldeen Taha Eldarir are currently or recently for sale. Their provenance is described in near identical terms as the British Museum shabti: bought from Salahaddin Sirmali, "authenticated and appraised" by Hossen Rashed, then imported to the US in 1948.
- An Egyptian Mummy mask dating from 700BC-30BC, is on offer for £11,807 ($15,275) online by a seller in Mexico
- A coffin lid dating back to 664BC-332BC was offered for sale by a Colorado-based art dealer, with a starting price of $65,000
- A shabti that was on sale through a Chicago-based coin dealer, dating from 1567BC-1085BC, is up for $1,950
Real estate tokenisation project
Dubai launched the pilot phase of its real estate tokenisation project last month.
The initiative focuses on converting real estate assets into digital tokens recorded on blockchain technology and helps in streamlining the process of buying, selling and investing, the Dubai Land Department said.
Dubai’s real estate tokenisation market is projected to reach Dh60 billion ($16.33 billion) by 2033, representing 7 per cent of the emirate’s total property transactions, according to the DLD.
How to improve Arabic reading in early years
One 45-minute class per week in Standard Arabic is not sufficient
The goal should be for grade 1 and 2 students to become fluent readers
Subjects like technology, social studies, science can be taught in later grades
Grade 1 curricula should include oral instruction in Standard Arabic
First graders must regularly practice individual letters and combinations
Time should be slotted in class to read longer passages in early grades
Improve the appearance of textbooks
Revision of curriculum should be undertaken as per research findings
Conjugations of most common verb forms should be taught