The Magical Month in the Islamic World

Ramadhaan is undoubtedly the magical month in the Islamic world. For Muslims around the globe it is a time of sharing and giving, a time where great efforts are made to be in the rememberance of God Almighty and to thank Him for all that He has given us. It is also said to be the 'spring season' in the Islamic calendar. However, there is no other country in the world except Saudi Arabia, the birth place of Islam where the Ramadhaan atmosphere is totally electrifying. As I sit here in my  office typing away, my mind wanders to the land of shifting sands, a land of culture and tradition, a land I called home. Whilst my body is here physically in South Africa, my heart will always remain in the magical Kingdom. Ramadhaan in the Middle East is welcomed with great cheer and festivities. I recall my patients coming to the hospital personally or calling me to wish me well over the fasting month. Arabs usually greet each other with the words' Kullu 3am wa antum bekhair" which means,
 " May you be well for the whole year". The streets are decorated with lights and and restaurants and hotels are all decorated with trimmings. Most hotels and restaurants would offer special fatoor (iftaar) buffets. My dear and best friends Abdullah and Faraz along with Brother Hassan and his family would always invite me to one of the hotels to break fast. During the month we would frequent different restaurants and buffets sampling a variety of cuisines from all over the world. In general we would arrive a few minutes earlier at the hotel or restaurant, break our fast, perform our Maghrib prayers and then indulge in a spread of fine cuisine including an assortment of desserts. Thereafter we would head off to the local masjid for the taraweeh prayers. Whilst I enjoyed having my meals in a posh hotel type setting I was also equally disappointed at the amount of wastage that does occur at many of these five star hotels. Most of the left over foods are simply thrown away in a dustbin instead of being distributed to the poor. When I enquired about this at one hotel, I was told that the food needed to be thrown away for health and hygiene purposes. Frankly speaking this did not make any sense to me. During the fasting month in the Kingdom, the night becomes day and the day becomes night. After the night prayers everyone hits down town to the various shopping malls where various activities are arranged especially for the kids.Naturally the traffic is horrendous. Men and women scamper down to the tailoring shops for custom made abayas and thobes to be worn during the fasting month and of course a special one is made for the day of Eid. Restaurants and fast food outlets are busy until the early hours of the morning. After the morning prayers the city becomes dead once again as everyone retires to bed. It is also during the month of Ramadhaan that the famous television program 'Tash Ma Tash' is aired. This program is well received by all Saudi citizens as satire and humour is used to ridicule and mock at some of the happenings within Saudi society. Controversial issues like polygamy is tackled in a fun and humorous manner. Whilst the entire Middle East is in complete celebration due to this magical month, for many of the western expats it is usually the worst month of the year. Many of them would complain about the fact that the shops are closed during the day or many would be livid about the fact that they are unable to eat in public. Well I say when you in Rome, do as the Romans do. If you can't respect and abide to the laws of the country, leave. It's that simple. 

Ramadhaan is also known as the "month of the Quraan". It is during this month that the divine verses of the holy Quraan was revealed to our beloved Prophet Muhammed (saw). Hence it is for this reason that thousands of Muslims travel far and wide to the Holy cities of Makkah and Medina to perform umra, a mini pilgrimage that is given the same reward as one haj and of course to listen to the beautiful verses of the Quraan rendered by  the highly respected Imaams of the Haram. The first time I performed Umrah during the month of Ramadhaan was a few years ago and I could not comprehend or believe what I seen before me especially in both the cities of Makkah and Medina. Prior to breaking the fast thousands of people would gather in the haram area. Some are praying, some are watching the people go by whilst others are distributing dates, cakes, qahwa, laban, bagels and other goodies to those around them. No one leaves the haram area hungry or without food. Every one eats to their hearts content. It is the most amazing feeling in the whole world. It is interesting to note that in the Prophet's (saw) city, the inhabitants of Medina have taken it upon themselves to feed all the pilgrims at the time of fatoor. Many families have upheld this tradition for generations. Each family would come to the haram area an hour or two prior to the time of breaking the fast. They would lay rows and rows of tables on the floor and serve dates, zam zam water and a variety of other foods to the pilgrims present. Very often they would send their kids to pull the pilgrims passing by asking them to be a guest at their table. I have never seen such hospitality and generosity any where else in the world. There is such a powerful sense of sharing and caring that there are times when your tears would just automatically flow for no real reason. Perhaps it flows out of joy, contentment and happiness.

                                                           http://www.civilization.ca

A Ramadhaan in the holy city of Makkah would not be complete without hearing the sound of the cannon at the time of breaking fast. According to the Saudi Gazette, during the past 50 years, Makkah residents have been hearing the booming sound of the city’s Ramadan cannon. They have become so accustomed to hearing the sound of the cannon that many residents, young and old, do not break their fast until they hear the boom of the cannon, which was used in the past as a sign to break the fast at dusk or begin the fast at dawn. The cannon also heralds the beginning of the holy month of Ramadan. This was before the appearance of loudspeakers during a time when mosques did not have electricity and the call to prayer was difficult to hear for people outside its immediate vicinity. The mountain on which the Ramadan cannon is located has been named by Makkah residents as Cannon Mountain (Jabal Al-Midfa). The cannon’s blank shots are prepared for the entire month beforehand. It fires one shot at the time for breaking the fast at dusk (Iftar time), one shot at the time for the last meal (Suhoor) and two shots when it is time to stop eating and drinking (Imsaak time). That brings the total number of shots fired in Ramadan to about 120. In its 50-year life span, the Ramadan cannon has fired about 6,000 shots.

The best fatoor experience I ever had was breaking fast on the beach in Jeddah last year with my family. Brother Mefarrah who resides in Makkatul Mukarramah drove us to Jeddah after the Asr prayers. He brought qahma, chaai sulaimani and an assortment of dates along with him. There were many Saudi families gathered on the beach front with their picnic baskets. It was such a wonderful sight to see. As we all watched the sun go down it was finally time to break fast. I noticed a few Arab men giving out water and dates to a line of people who had gathered outside the floating masjid. Naturally after breaking our fast we all headed off to the masjid for prayers. It was such a lovely experience. Here in South Africa I find the Ramadhaan to be boring and somber. I'm pretty sure breaking fast on the beach would be considered wrong and immoral in this part of the world and yet in the magical Kingdom I found that along with all the praying and fasting, families still had time to enjoy themselves and have fun. On that note, I would now like to take this opportunity in wishing all my friends and family across the globe a wonderful Ramadhaan Kareem!!!May the Almighty accept your fast and prayers during this blessed month and may it also be a time for reflecting on our inner selves.Let this month be a month where we can all achieve and attain high levels of spirituality. Let this be a month of sharing, giving and a start towards bettering ourselves in every way. Let us all try making a concerted effort towards doing good, helping others and staying away from all activities that goes against Gods will!!!

Shocking State Hospital

Yesterday afternoon I made my way to the Helen Joseph hospital down town Jozi to visit a patient. I was appalled with the state of this government hospital and at the manner in which patients were treated. I felt saddened and heart broken seeing ailing patients walking up a flight of stairs simply because the elevators were not working. Bathrooms were dirty with a horrible stench emanating from them. Taps were broken and some of the disabled bathrooms were out of order. How can patients get well when they are being treated in such unhygienic filthy conditions. I spoke to a few patients who mentioned to me that they waited 15 hours before a bed could be provided for them. Some of these patients were cancer patients whilst others required a bed due to pain associated with kidney or gallstones. One gentleman, an elderly white Afrikaans speaking man simply took his belongings and left. He said that he will die in the hospital. He is not being attended to adequately. I was also told that whilst these patients were dumped in a room awaiting a bed, they were cold with no blankets provided to them. The hot/cold air conditioning system was also out of order. Many families came to the hospital with their own blankets and bedding.One patient told me that she had to make her own bed as the nurse told her that it is not her responsibility to make a bed. The patient complained that her arms were sore and could not make the bed on her own. It was brought to my attention today that there is no hot water in the cancer ward. In 2013 a primitive system of heating water by a kettle or thermostat like gadget is used. The water is placed in a big dish and patients are told to take a face cloth and wipe themselves all over. Only a cold water shower is available. How can people still vote for a government and for leaders that are not worried about the interests of the people but rather worried about filling up their own pockets. Without being racist but simply stating a fact, under the White Afrikaans government this use to be one the best government hospitals in the Johannesburg region. Today the hospital looks dull and dreary and the atmosphere of the hospital is depressing where patients are bound to come across broken toilet doors and graffiti walls. I felt heart broken yesterday seeing the pain and suffering that many of the patients have to go through at our government hospitals and yet we have a moron president who spent R 200 million on his family home for his own luxury and pleasure. Our leaders and members of parliament should be admitted at government hospitals so that they can go through the same pain and suffering as the ordinary citizens of this country. To Mr. Zuma I would like to say that you can enjoy this world to the fullest. Steal more money from the taxpayers but remember that the day you die, you will rot in hell because God has entrusted you with a responsibility towards the citizens of this country. Clearly you have failed in all aspects of government. Shame on you Mr. President.

Hijackers shot dead

Three hijackers were shot dead Thursday afternoon after attempting to hijack a vehicle in Fordsburg Corner Gillies and Central Road, South Africa. It appears that they tried hijacking the businessman in the Mercedes Benz vehicle. The victim was assisted by a gentleman who apparently owns the Sniper shop...The hijackers definitely deserve what they got.

FashionEASTaSA 2013

Thanks to the celebrity event planner, Mr. Aadil Saith CEO of Unusual Functions, I had the opportunity of being a VIP guest at the FashionEASTaSA fashion show 2013 held a week ago at the Dance Factory downtown Jozi. I must be honest when I heard that the event was going to be held at this location, my primary concern was my safety and of course will my vehicle be safe. I was quite surprised to discover that the Dance Factory is indeed an excellent centrally located venue thereby making it ideally suited for an urban, multicultural ambience. The parking facility was excellent and  of course there were car guards on duty as usual. I think South Africa is the only country in the world where car guards are employed to look after vehicles in a parking lot thereby preventing vehicles from getting stolen. Guests were treated to a buffet lunch on arrival. Following a mad hatters retro theme in accordance with the new logo launched earlier this year, guests were transported into a world of colour with beautifully decorated cupcakes and other delicious goodies that were definitely a visual feast and brought out "the arrh factor" in most of the attendees present. I particularly enjoyed the assortment of salads, the pastas and the beautifully garnished kebaab skewers. 

I must compliment the organizing team on a well put together show. The choreography was done by DJ Zuby who sat next to me throughout the entire event. He is originally from Mumbai but now resides in South Africa as he is pursuing a career in aviation.I must say that he has amassed quite a female fan following here in South Africa through his music. The clothing range that truly brought out the wow factor in me was undoubtedly the range by Archana Kochhar, an internationally acclaimed Mumbai based designer. She also happens to be a close friend of Luvv Israni who is a dear friend of mine and is undoubtedly one of India's leading fashion and advertising photographers at present. Archana's sari range was not only stylish and elegant, but her choice of colours coupled with soft flowing fabrics will surely make any woman feel sensual and beautiful. Her outfits are also reasonably priced and affordable to most people in society. Hats off to Zuri Couture for bringing this elegant range of clothing to South Africa. However, whilst many were under the impression that the Manish Malhotra and Neeta Lulla dresses were original pieces, I was quite disappointed to discover after the show that the outfits were in fact replicas of these highly accomplished designers. I had the privilege of meeting Manish during my trip to Mumbai and I also had a chance of viewing his exclusive clothing range at the world famous Mumbai based clothing store, Sheetal.

Abayaat has become more of a fashion statement within the Muslim community and has thus lost its purpose of concealment. What I seen on the ramp can not be defined as abayaat. I would classify the clothing range as jalabiyyas or Arabic Middle Eastern inspired dresses. A perfect traditional abaya adorned by women in the Middle East is firstly not body fitting and secondly it does not have high slits going all the way to the top thereby exposing the legs. Regarding the 'abaya' range there were a few styles and designs that caught my attention, but having attended numerous fashion shows and events whilst residing in the Middle East, I have come to the conclusion that overall many of the designs have been repeated with the exception of sequined or beaded fabrics replacing the traditional plain black abaya fabric.I was quite satisfied though with the clothing range by Dubai based designer Noura Sahroui. Her outfits were brought to South Africa by the Azaadville based designing house Fiza Exclusive Abaya collection. 

Apart from some of the hideous shoes that many of the models struggled to walk with, the make up artists did an excellent job in giving the girls a flawless look. That's the power of cosmetics!!

The highlight or the showstopper for the afternoon was undoubtedly the little boys and girls who strutted their stuff on the ramp. The kiddies range of clothing was put together by Fatima Ebrahim of Lil' Divas Couture. I was particularly impressed with the little boys thobes.

There were also two dance segments included in the program performed by artists from the Sitara Dance Academy. I always believe that for anyone to succeed, you need to have a cutting edge over someone else. New and fresh ideas are imperative. Being an event junkie, I have watched this dance academy perform at the Image Lifestyle event a few months ago. The same dance sequence was performed at the FashionEASTaSA 2013 event. I found the dance sequences and choreography to be boring.The dancers lacked passion and enthusiasm although the song choices were excellent. Perhaps if a new dance sequence or choreography was put together, I would have enjoyed it more. The MC of the event did an excellent job in presenting the show and also interacted with the audience quite aptly thereby getting their undivided attention as well as participation. After the fashion show, guests were allowed to purchase the various garments. What really irked me was the fact that many of the outfits had no prices on them and no one could really assist with the prices in a speedy efficient manner.This I believe is one critical area that requires improvement. Overall, my heartiest congratulations to the entire organizing team of FashionEASTaSA 2013. I am already looking forward to next years event where I am hoping that its gonna be bigger and more successful than this years event.

Take note i have not posted all the pictures on my blog. For more pictures kindly click on my facebook page.