São Paulo – On Thursday morning (08), the main hall of Brazil Mosque, the main Muslim temple in São Paulo, was packed. Hundreds of men listened to the words of Sheikh Abdul Hamid Mitalwali, in celebration of Eid Al-Fitr, which marks the end of Ramadan, the holy month of Islam. Women also attended the prayer, televised in a separate lounge on the second floor of the mosque, or waiting with their children in one of two huge halls prepared for a great breakfast, with snacks, sweets and fruit.
Thus, about a thousand Muslims celebrate the end of a month marked by fasting from sunrise to sunset, and a deep spiritual reflection. Ramadan, the ninth month of the Islamic calendar, is a period of abstinence and rehabilitation for followers of Islam. Eid Al-Fitr (Breakfast Day), determines the end of this phase and is celebrated by Muslims worldwide.
"Eid is a day to reward those who fast. We express our gratitude to God, who gave us our lives, health to fast and we top it off by praying at the mosque on the day of Eid. The message that the breaking of the fast brings to the world is a message of peace, harmony, brotherhood and cooperation, of people being able to help others, of loving their neighbour," explained Mitalwali, director of Brazil Mosque.
Administrator Hauache Mohamad, 25, points out that Ramadan is not just about not eating food for several hours. "Ramadan is not only depriving yourself from food, but about abstaining from swearing, having bad thoughts, of not getting angry. It is a workout for your physical body and the soul. It is an unexplainable moment. It brings people together in a different atmosphere," he said.
From an Italian Catholic family, Cecilia Guaglioni, 40, converted to Islam in 2010. To her, Eid Al-Fitr is the beginning of a period of waiting for the next Ramadan. "This celebration today seals and marks to me that Ramadan will not die this month. Over the next few months, I will be thankful for the Ramadan I had, for the teachings I received. I have to help more people, I have to be charitable to people. Ramadan is a very important month and this party is very important as it is a celebration in me and in all Muslim brothers," she said.
The Egyptian Mohamed Hassan, 34, spent Ramadan and Eid Al-Fitr in Brazil for the first time. "When you start Ramadan, you have to cleanse your soul, come closer to friends, family. At Ramadan, you seek friends who are in need, to help them, you pray more, you come closer to the path of righteousness. We try to spend more time at the mosque, to improve and cleanse our hearts. Eid is a festival we always prepare after Ramadan to celebrate our fasting," said the merchant.
"Ramadan is a month of purification and today is a day of closure, it is the feast that celebrates the end of a month of sacrifice," said Inas Mouallem Mazloum, 30. She says she celebrates with her family at the mosque, attending prayer and breakfast with other believers. "Then we greet relatives at their homes and are generally served sweets."
Despite being a month of hardship and discipline for Muslims, Sheikh Armando Hussein Saleh emphasizes that Ramadan does not aim to be a sacrifice of everyday lives, but for there to be learning during the period.
"The party [Eid Al-Fitr] celebrates that the Muslim has managed to fast during the month of Ramadan. To God, it does not matter if the human goes hungry, what matters is for him [the faithful] to learn, to educate himself, to discipline himself. If he is hungry and thirsty and is not successful in learning and gaining discipline, then having fasted is of no use. Man must be disciplined internally. In spiritual aspects, gifts are multiplied several times, so everyone tries to act with more dignity, to help their neighbours, the poor and so on," he added.
The gifts of this day, in fact, must have been significantly multiplied for an anonymous person who attended the celebration. Carrying a large wad of money, he walked around distributing R$ 10 banknotes to anyone who crossed his path. On a date that was already for celebration, this certainly made a lot of people even happier.
*Translated by Mark Ament
