Latest news with #al-Fitr
BBC News
31-03-2025
- General
- BBC News
'Celebrating Eid is about unity and family,' say Bradford Muslims
Muslims around the world are celebrating Eid al-Fitr with food, family and Bradford, where nearly a third of the district's population is Muslim, worshippers gathered at the city's Central Mosque to pray before festivities al-Fitr is the "festival of breaking the fast", taking place the day after the new moon is seen at the end of the month of this year, for the first time on UK terrestrial TV, Eid prayers were broadcast live from Bradford. Bradford Central Mosque has been a place of community and worship for more than four decades."It's a lot easier now," said Shafiq Janjua, 50, who has lived in Bradford for around 30 years after moving from Pakistan."It's easier to access your faith centres."We've come a long way."He added that different faiths in Bradford "all live in peace and harmony" and that Eid "gives the message of unity and it's all about family and putting on calories".In a similarly festive mood was Farhad Ali, 23, who said: "We always look forward to it every year."The kids love it because they get money."It's like Asian Christmas."But reflecting on life is still important."Straight after the Eid prayer we're going to go to the graveyard and visit the ones who have sadly left us and then go home and enjoy some food," he said. It was a predominately male presence, with lots of father-son duos like Muhemmad Khalil and Muhemmad the TV broadcast, 16-year-old Naafees said: "It's good to see that we're being represented."His dad, 48, added: "I think it should have been done earlier than this moment but I think it's a very good thing."Also with his son was Sakeb Zahoor, 55, who said: "Last night was our meal to mark the end of our fasting period."It was nice not to have to get up early in the morning and have that lie-in but yet to come here and see so many people all come together to celebrate this occasion."His son Huzaifah Sakeb, 20, was particularly pleased his home city would be on show in living rooms across the country. "It's good to see, especially a place like Bradford which isn't on TV that much, it get recognised for Eid," he said. Some women were at the service, although there was a separate room for them. Among them was Saima Mahboob, who usually prays at home but who came for the service for the first time."I'm so happy," she told the BBC."I really enjoyed it and it was a really beautiful occasion to meet other sisters."Inside the service, led by Shaykh Syed Ahsan, worshippers were told to think about those less fortunate than al Fitr, also known as Fitrana, is the practice of making a small donation to help feed the less fortunate before the end of Ramadan."Every small act of kindness contributes to a better world," Shaykh Ahsan told the Muslims have been collecting and sending money to help affected by the conflict between Israel and were collecting money for the mosque the service concluded, people left the mosque reflecting on Shaykh Ahsan's words."If after Ramadan, we return to our old habits without any improvement, then we have missed its true purpose," he said."But if we carry these lessons forwards, if we emerge from this blessed month as better individuals, then we have truly succeeded."The BBC is also broadcasting a special show at 22:40 BST from Bradford on BBC Eid will bring together food and fun with a host of well-known guests. Listen to highlights from West Yorkshire on BBC Sounds, catch up with the latest episode of Look North.
Al Jazeera
31-03-2025
- General
- Al Jazeera
Eid Mubarak 2025: Hear greetings in different languages
With the sighting of the new moon in Saudi Arabia and neighbouring countries, the first day of Eid will be celebrated on Sunday, March 30. Other countries follow their own moon sightings, and those that began fasting on March 2 will announce tomorrow night whether Eid will fall on Monday, March al-Fitr, the 'festival of breaking the fast', is celebrated at the end of the fasting month of Ramadan by Muslims worldwide. There are about 1.9 billion Muslims worldwide, approximately 25 percent of the world's population. Indonesia has the world's highest Muslim population, with some 240 million Muslims living in the country. Pakistan is second with about 225 million Muslims, followed by India (211 million), Bangladesh (155 million), and Nigeria (111 million). Traditionally, Eid is celebrated for three days as an official holiday in Muslim-majority countries. However, the number of holiday days varies by country. Muslims begin Eid celebrations by attending a prayer service shortly after dawn, followed by a short sermon. The day is spent visiting relatives and neighbours, accepting sweets and extending Eid greetings as they move around from house to house. The most popular greeting is 'Eid mubarak' (Blessed Eid) or 'Eid sa'id' (Happy Eid). Eid greetings also vary depending on the country and language. The video and graphics below show Eid greetings in 13 different languages.
BBC News
30-03-2025
- Climate
- BBC News
Thousands return to Birmingham park to celebrate Eid
Thousands of Muslims gathered in a Birmingham park to celebrate the Islamic festival of Eid. It was the first time in three years the event, in Small Heath Park on Sunday, had been held, following bad weather in 2023 and al-Fitr is the celebration at the end of Ramadan, a month of Lane mosque, which organises the event, said this year there was even more of a community spirit than in previous years. The mosque's head of welfare, Sidrah Awan, said hundreds of people had also broken their fast at the added: "That community spirit was throughout the whole of Ramadan and people were so happy to give back and help those that are harder to reach." One person attending the park, Aqsa Nasar, said: "When you see people coming together, it is such an unreal and beautiful feeling."I think everyone must visit it, because we celebrate Eid twice a year."A family group, of Moroccan and Bangladeshi heritage, included Chaymae, who visited her sister Rashida in the said: "I've come all the way from London to meet our family, my sister that lives here [in Smethwick] and we actually come here every year, same park, same place, love it. "The atmosphere's amazing." In April last year, the mosque said it had made the "difficult decision" to not hold gatherings marking the end of Ramadan at the park and the Edgbaston cricket ground. Eid al-Fitr prayers took place at the mosque in Small Sunday, Rashida said: "I was checking this morning to make sure it's still going ahead. I was like "it's fine, it's not raining, it's all good'". Akram Atmani joined the worship at the park and said there was "a great sense of community".He added: "A lot of people get together, which is amazing. It's really nice that they let us use the park." The mosque's head of PR Haniya Aadam said: "There's actually a line in the Quran that says 'when you look up to the sky, do you see my signs?'"So it's nice to pray outside just to feel that bit closer to God."West Midlands mayor Richard Parker described the event as fantastic and praised the mosque, the police and the council for organising it. Follow BBC Birmingham on BBC Sounds, Facebook, X and Instagram.
BBC News
30-03-2025
- General
- BBC News
In pictures: Eid celebrations around the world
Muslims around the world have begun celebrating Eid al-Fitr, one of the biggest celebrations in the Islamic al-Fitr - which means "festival of the breaking of the fast" - is celebrated at the end of Ramadan, a month of fasting for many adults, as well as spiritual reflection and prayer.
BBC News
30-03-2025
- Business
- BBC News
The 'Eid pound' returns to Bradford as shops sell out of goods
From new outfits to luxurious banquets, Eid can be an expensive time of year for Britain's Muslim al-Fitr is the celebration at the end of Ramadan, a month of fasting, and is a time for friends and family to come together for feasting and sharing course big celebrations don't come cheap and for many businesses across Bradford, Eid is boom Karim, Bradford Chamber of Commerce's BAME Business Committee chair, estimates an average family of five or six could spend upwards of £3,000 over an Eid says a family would "easily" spend £1,200 on new clothes, up to £500 on a food shop and then there's gifts, eating out, and maybe even renting a supercar. "You can see how it's clocking up and people don't even know how much they're spending, but they know Eid is expensive," she says. "People have been fasting for a whole month, so they want to feast, they want to go out, they want to celebrate. They want to meet up with friends, they want to go out for meals and desserts."Generally," she adds, "people spend that locally."Sometimes women will go shopping to other cities, for example if you go to Bradford Plaza there will be lots of people there from other cities. So some people may shop in Leicester or Birmingham, but mostly it's spent in Bradford." According to think tank Equi, British Muslims generate £70bn for the UK's economy, with Muslim-owned businesses contributing at least £24.7bn a year. This year the religious festival is expected to be observed on 30 March but the date remains subject to the official sighting of the moon by an imam or Islamic Leeds Road shopping centre Bradford Plaza, the week before the celebrations has been busier than Ali, who works at clothes store Shaam G, says the week before the celebrations has led to an increase in sales of about 60%. He says: "This is one of the busiest periods in our business, especially these last few days before Eid because we'll be open till about 2am on the last two days."This year the farshi shalwar is a new trend, which used to be in fashion in the 1970s, but it's come back and that's been the most in-demand item for us this time."We're getting customers from all over the UK, Birmingham, Glasgow and customers come to Bradford for Eid especially."For Rubina Shah, owner of Ruby's Hair and Beauty, Eid couldn't come soon enough as the start of the year has been quiet, with customers reluctant to brave the winter weather."During Eid, business increases about 60%, but this year it's 80% because at the beginning of the year it wasn't very busy, so we're looking to this Eid to increase business," she is one of the most popular services people book for the festival, she says, with it being traditional for women to decorate their hands and arms. Henna artist Samia Kahn says the week before Eid is her busiest time of year, with women and girls choosing floral patterns and swirls."Typically Eid is when especially children get henna, and they look forward to it," she says."It's traditional and it's something exciting to look forward to. It's something different and it fades over a few days so they get to keep it for a week or so, two weeks."She only charges £5 a hand, but says there are more reasons to practice the art than the financial benefits."It's not something that's big money but it's nice especially for children. They're excited about it."For little jobs like Eid, where there isn't big money involved [as opposed to a wedding], it's not necessarily about the money, it's about providing a service and putting smiles on faces." Of course no celebration is complete without a feast, and at Al Halal supermarket, store manager Zain Alam says the food is what he's most looking forward to - especially after 30 days of fasting."It's a time for families to get together, it's a time for to enjoy after fasting for the full month of Ramadan, it's a big event. "One way of spending a lot of time with families, especially in our community, is by eating a lot," he supermarket has also seen customers spend about twice as much in the run-up to Eid as they usually would. Mr Alam says: "It's been amazing to see customers return. It's been quite busy in terms of everyone doing their last-minute shopping. "Customers probably spend about twice the amount on their shopping. They're doing full trolley shops at the moment. "The will spend money on bulk items – oil, drinks, and meat shopping. A lot of customers buy a full lamb or a full sheep rather than just a kilo or two of meat."We're running out of everything, we're constantly having to restock." Listen to highlights from West Yorkshire on BBC Sounds, catch up with the latest episode of Look North.
