Eid Mubarak! Traditional gaiety marked festival in twin cities of Hyderabad

Hyderabad: Eid-ul-Fitr was celebrated in the twin cities of Hyderabad with spiritual zeal, gaiety, and fervor.

Hundreds of hundred faithful sporting their favorite outfits to mark the auspicious occasion gathered for Eid congregational prayers on Saturday.

Congregational prayers were held in Eidgahs (prayer grounds), open grounds, functional halls, Dargahs, and mosques even in a stadium as a thanksgiving to the Almighty.

The Eid-ul-Fitr prayer marked the end of the holy month of Ramadan and was an opportunity for the faithful to come together as an Ummah (community). The day marks Eid prayers shortly after the Fajar prayer (dawn prayer), with sermons.

More than fifty thousand faithful converged for Eid-ul-Fitr Salat (Eid prayer) at Eidgah Mir Alam, near Zoo. Imam and sermonizer of Makkah Masjid Moulana Hafiz Rizwan Qureshi led the prayers and delivered the Eid sermon in Arabic. Moulana Saifudding and Moulana Hussamuddin Saani aka Jafar Pasha addressed the gathering in the Urdu language before the Namaz. Public representatives, renowned politicians, social workers, senior government functionaries, dignitaries from different walks of life, sports personalities, and others attended. Special makeshift arrangements were made to let the people perform ablution at the venue before offering the prayers.

Imams prayed for the prosperity, communal harmony, peace, and development of the state and country. People were accompanied by their wards. After the culmination of prayers, people were seen embracing one another to express their love and greet.

During Eid, many Muslims invite their friends and family to a delicious feast of various dishes and desserts particularly Sheer khurma (sheer means milk and Khurma means date (khajur)) a classic dessert of Eid. Sheer khurma is made with sevian (vermicelli), milk, and dry fruits. People greet each other using social media platforms.

Strangely, a small section of citizens including Sudanese and Arab nationals already performed Eid congregational prayer on Friday itself following the sighting of the moon in the Gulf on the lines of Keralites.

Eid-ul-Fitr marked the culmination of the fasting month of Ramadan typically observed on the first day of Shawwal, the 10th Islamic month. It may differ based on the sighting of the moon in various regions around the world. The majority of religious scholars have opined that each location has its own curve of sighting that is distinct and separate from others, but a small section believes in a single horizon, which means if the moon is sighted in one place, all other locations will also rely on that sighting.

In Hyderabad city, Eid congregational prayers were performed at a few places by a few small groups that believe in a single horizon globally. Even the Bohra community also observed Eid on Friday. One such gathering was held on Friday at S R Convention Hall in Tolichowki while the Bohra community performed congregational prayer in their Masjids in twin cities.