Happy times

With Ramadan behind us, it's the cheer and festivity of Eid that rules the day. At the crack of dawn people rush to mosques to offer special Eid prayers. Then they return home to meet and greet friends and family members with blessings. Children dressed in all finery rejoice as they receive eidiyah from their elders.

Toy stores, sweet shops and malls bustle with activity as the crowd celebrates this day of reward — Eid Al Fitr.

Eid Al Fitr is the reward bestowed upon Muslims for completing a whole month of fasting. It is an occasion that brings together the farthest of friends, even foes. It's a time to forgive faults and forget wrongs.

It's a time to make place for love and cherish the memories that come with the day.

tabloid! spoke to Muslim families to find out their accounts of sweet memories during Eid and the times that have been the most memorable.

Sharing the happiness

"Eid is a time to share, not just with your own relatives and friends but also with other members of society who are less fortunate," says Mohammad Kazim Habib. "It is our duty as Muslims to ensure that a fellow member of humanity is not reduced to evil means due to poverty and ill fate."

The grandfather, who is partially paralysed from a stroke in 2004, remembers: "It was way back in the Ramadan of 1989 that my wife and I began voluntary work to help destitute women. We would go from door to door offering clothes and rations of food to needy families. By this time, my own children had grown up and were well settled, and I had enough means to live by. That year, in Ramadan I gave away 50 per cent of my earnings to charity but felt a feeling of fulfilment and richness. A family of four children whose father had been sentenced to imprisonment were in very dire circumstances — we were able to share in their suffering and offer solace.

"Every time I think back to those days, I feel blessed that I allowed myself to make a start on this path.

With this began, the Ihsan Charity Centre, which now caters for thousands of families — all who have no bread winners."

Habib continues to fast, not only during Ramadan but also on Mondays and Thursdays each week and on 13, 14 and 15 of the lunar month.

"I am fortunate to be able to reach out to these individuals and it is their blessings that give me strength to go on and try harder. Each time a face lights up with gratitude, I feel closer to my Lord," he adds.

Childhood cheer

Maryam Rayyan, an account manager at Prism Marketing, agrees. "Eid is surely a time for celebration in togetherness. It's a time that should be used to incorporate good habits and better responsibility in our children. We should focus on the act of sadaqah and show respect towards what we have. Over the years, the humility of this occasion has been lost, people spend time making expensive demands and lavish gatherings, which is not the essence of this day."

"I have been living in the UAE with my 8-year-old daughter, Rania, for close to four years now. Together we pack in simple delights into the Eid holidays so that there is no room for dampness in excitement. This year is no different. I get Rania's clothes, shoes and other accessories in advance and keep them by her side when she sleeps. When she gets up, on Eid day, she finds the new things and appreciates the surprise. We get dressed and go for prayers and we call up friends and relatives upon return. The day revolves around her happiness, and I feel blessed to be able to have this joy," she adds.

"My most memorable Eid would be the time when I was, myself, a child — with my parents and siblings without a care in the world. Those times were special because they came without responsibility — something that we adults can seldom imagine."

Together always

Syed Tawkeer Abbas and his wife, Izath, second this opinion. "The head of the family holds a place of respect and accountability, and we cannot be carefree like kids on Eid. But that is part of the growing process."

Having stayed in the UAE for over 27 years, the couple have celebrated many wonderful Eids here with their children — Saba and Zaib.

They said: "There has never been a time when we were without our children for Eid. Though once, such a situation did arise, and I will never forget the tension and stress we went through to ensure that all four of us were together for Eid."

"Zaib had just landed a job and had to change his visa. Due to the approaching holidays, we hoped that he could complete the formalities before Eid. Sadly, some paperwork was pending and until the last minute, we were not sure if he would be able to fly back home on time to be with us for Eid. But he made it and we were together again that day. It is in times like these that you value the strength of family bonds," she recalls.

Family comes first

"Indeed, it is the love of family and our children that keeps us going — during Eid and otherwise," says Suraya Sulay Sapanta, a staff nurse at Dubai Cosmetic Surgery Clinic.

"I am relatively new to this place but over the past months, my team of colleagues have become my family away from home. Last year for Eid, my husband and I were lucky to have our son visit the country. It was very special to have him with us, not just during the festivities and meal time but also during the prayers. I will miss him a lot this time.

"The saddest part of being an expatriate is you drift away from the remaining family and feel left out during festival times. Here, you have to make do with the social circle you have and smile with the crowd you belong to. In such regard, I am blessed because I have friends who care a lot and some of my relatives are also here to keep me company," she adds.

An additional joy

Amin Jan Shamroz Khan is a sales and marketing executive with Evision department of etisalat. He admits that sometimes life's biggest blessings come in the smallest packages.

"Last year just around Eid time, we welcomed a new member to our family — my second son, Ahmad," remembers Khan. "The pride I felt when I held this bundle of joy in my arms is hard to explain. The first time our eyes met, he curved his pale pinkish blue lips to a smile. Suddenly, I felt all the worries that had plagued my mind disappear. It was a rather turbulent time for us but none of it mattered any more. With Ahmad's arrival we were able to look at the brighter side of things and became closer as a family.

"My elder son, Ali found it hard to share the attention that had until then been only his, but the differences have been sorted out. Now, he is very protective of his little brother and cares for him in his own way. In fact, he selected Ahmad's Eid gift this time and is excited that the two of them will wear white khandoorahs in the morning on Eid day," he says.