Friday, March 29, 2024 | Ramadan 18, 1445 H
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EDITOR IN CHIEF- ABDULLAH BIN SALIM AL SHUEILI

The Ramadhan of 2020

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Muscat: The eve of Ramadhan is indeed special - people would have met up with relatives.  Many would have been in celebration of pre Ramadhan and others would be wrapping up the last minute shopping.  But Ramadhan of 2020 is different.


“As children we would help the family prepare for Ramadhan and I remember we begin to focus on Ibada – because during the fasting we focus on prayers and reading the Quran.  As a child I would accompany my father to shop for Ramadhan.


The day before Ramadhan, we have the night prayer of Tarawih.  The family would also be preparing for the Suhoor.


The Quran becomes part of life as some people will finish reading the whole book in this month and others might finish reading the Holy Book twice and even thrice during this period,” explained Mussallam al Mashali in Salalah.


For the first time in Ramadhan the Tarawih prayer will be performed at one’s own home.


The Friday Market would have been very important aspect of Ramadhan preparation before the onset of Covid_19 pandemic, but Ramadhan of 2020 does not have the luxury of traditional and central markets throughout the governorates of the Sultanate.  The Juma market of Wadi Kabir that would have been bustling with business and people remained silent except for the sound of the breeze.


“The night before Ramadhan is special as we have our first Tarawih prayer.  But all mosques are closed and for the first time we will be performing Tarawih prayer from home.  Usually we plan in such a way that we are at our uncle’s house one day and another day at our grandparents’ house.  But this Ramadhan we are going to have Iftars on our own – separately away from each other.  This is definitely going to be very different,” said Mohammed al Zedjali in Muscat.


A visit to Muttrah would have been a must as the traditional is known for its spices and herbs.  Visitors would have come in from various wilayats.  There would have been endless traffic lines.  This year however, sees the roads to Muttrah quiet and the lanes of Muttrah Souq empty as Muttrah continues to be under lockdown along with Muscat.  For the first since the onset of pandemic in Oman the number of Covid_19 cases seemed to have reduced from Muttrah.


In Bahla shops are not closed and there is a rush said Yousuf al Yahyai, “Both shops and customers are happy but I have only bought the essentials.  In the past the Iftar would have been with my grandfather but this year it is going to be different.  Will we have the same feelings not being able to visit the mosque during the Ramdhan? We would have to wait and see.”


All this is providing us a golden opportunity said Hathim Abdulsalam, “This is a golden opportunity for people to try a different taste of Ramadhan.  We have been conducting the same rituals but this year it is going to be a little different and for sure it is going to be more precious than in the past because sincerity is going to be at its most.  I know that we are confined to our homes and we would not be performing our prayers in the mosques and cannot attend family gatherings, but I think when we are placed with challenges in life we have to think out of the box and come up with creative ideas to make this Ramadhan a total success.”


And so the month long opportunity begins on April 25, 2020 in Oman.


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