AROUND 3,000 Muslims gathered for morning prayers at Manila Golden Mosque on Wednesday, April 10, to celebrate Eid al-Fitr, or "the festival of breaking the fast," emphasizing the importance of unity and love to broaden goodwill within communities.
Grand Imam Akh Jalal Jamil, who is responsible for overseeing official religious matters at the mosque, stressed in his morning prayer sermon that the lessons learned throughout the month-long Ramadan should be seen put to actions.
"Kung ano ang natutunan sa pagdaan ng buwan ng Ramadan, panatilihin [natin] sa gawa sa buong taon. Panatilihin ang pagmamahalan, hindi lang sa pagiging isang Muslim, kun’di bilang isang tao ay mahalin natin ang kapwa nating tao. Huwag maging hadlang ang pagiging ano man ang relihiyon kun’di dapat ay nagmamahalan tayong lahat,” the Grand Imam said.
(We should incorporate the lessons we learned during Ramadan throughout the year. Love each other, not only as a Muslim, but also as a human being who knows that religion is not a hindrance to loving one another. Do not treat one’s religion as an obstacle from loving all people.)
For Grand Imam Akh Jalal Jamil, this year witnessed a significant shift as Muslims celebrate Eid al-Fitr without worrying about their health, unlike previous years during the COVID-19 pandemic when many were unable to freely celebrate due to imposed restrictions.
"Hindi na nangangamba ‘yung mga Muslim na kung saan noong mga nakaraang panahon ay mayroon siyang uri ng pagsubok, ito ay ang COVID-19, na kung saan naging hadlang sa lahat ng tao, ‘di lang mga Muslim sa kanila pong pagsasagawa ng kanilang mga ganitong pag-cecelebrate," he said.
(Muslims are no longer afraid to celebrate freely, unlike in the past few years with the challenges brought by COVID-19 which became a threat to everyone, not just us Muslims.)
The Manila Golden Mosque, considered as Metro Manila's largest mosque, expects to host over 10,000 Muslims for Eid al-Fitr prayers to mark the end of Ramadan, however, according to the Manila Police District (MPD), only an estimated 3,000 Muslims had attended as of 7:30 a.m.
Among the attendees is Mohammed Yahya, who plans to celebrate Eid al-Fitr outdoors with his family.
“Una sa lahat is, magtitipon-tipon kaming pamilya para mag enjoy, may mga iba sa bahay lang, nagluto, kumakain sila sabay-sabay, pero samin ngayon is lalabas na lang kami, mag-outing, ta’s after no’n, sabay-sabay ulit, tuloy pa rin, magsisimba, sa limang simba namin sa araw-araw," Mohammed said.
(First of all, my family and I will gather [here] to enjoy, others are at home, cooking and eating together, but we will celebrate outdoors this time, have an outing, and after that we’ll pray five times every day together.)
During Ramadan, which started on March 11, Muslims are required to fast from food, sex, and even water from sunrise to sunset.
Eid al-Fitr marks the end of the Islamic holy month of Ramadan and commemorates Muslims' triumphant journey toward spiritual purification through a month-long fast. – John Gabriel Yanzon/Manila Pulse
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