How Kazakhstanis mark holy month of Ramadan

None
None
ASTANA. KAZINFORM The holy month of Ramadan is coming to an end. This is the month when believers try to cultivate a good temper, feeling of satisfaction, mercy and forgiveness. This month, Muslims are given the opportunity to do good deeds. For Kazakhstanis Ramadan is not just a holy month, but also a special holiday. How the believers of Kazakhstan prepared for Ramadan and welcomed it is in the latest article from Kazinform.

Not just a holy month, but a real holiday

For believers in Kazakhstan, Ramadan is not just a holy month, but a real spiritual holiday, which strengthens iman (faith in Arabic), relationships with loved ones and relatives. According to imam, theologian Nurlan Baizhigituly, this demonstrates respect and people’s love for the holy month.

«Our people begin preparing for Ramadan several months before it starts: they buy dates in advance, plan what they will cook during this month and when they will make auyzashar (iftar). This is our peculiarity,» he said.


By the way, local restaurants and cafes offer iftar menu to all those fasting. Water and dates are offered in many public places.


Charity campaign

This year Ramadan started on March 23, after the Nauryz spring holiday, which had already created the atmosphere of kindness and mercy around. During March, a charity campaign «Zhurek Zhyluy» (The Warmth of the Heart) was held countrywide and all those willing helped socially vulnerable groups, fulfilled requests and wishes of large families, people with special needs, and pensioners.

Photo: t.me/aqorda_resmi


President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev joined also the campaign and fulfilled the wish of Gulzhakhan Sydykova, a resident of Astana.

Supreme Mufti, Chairman of the Spiritual Administration of the Muslims of Kazakhstan Nauryzbay Kazhy Taganuly participated in the action as well. The Supreme Mufti received a letter from Sandugash Nurseitova, a single mother with five children, who complained that one of her children had special needs and asked for educational books and devices for the child. To fulfill the mother's wish, the Supreme Mufti personally visited the family, prayed for 6-year-old Yestai and presented him a gift.

Photo: gov.kz

So, the holy month of Ramadan in Kazakhstan began with a good action and fulfillment of desires of ordinary Kazakhstanis

Photo: muftyat.kz

Zharapazan - a song about the advent of Ramadan

Every year, during the holy month of Ramadan, Kazakhstanis revive a long-forgotten, ancient national custom – the performance of Zharapazan.

Zharapazan is a song about the beginning of the holy month of Ramadan, calling people to good manners. Zharapazan begins with an appeal to the Almighty, with the remembrance of ancestors and saints. Then come the wishes for happiness, health and wealth, with the prayers and quotations from the Koran. At the end, a person who sings Zharapazan (zharapazanshy) gives his blessing to the listeners.

Photo: muftyat.kz

This year, the Spiritual Administration of the Muslims of Kazakhstan launched a contest for the performance of Zharapazan by heart. Imams and mosques of the country joined the contest. Later, in the very heart of Paris, Zharapazan was performed by the artists of the Turan ethno-folklore ensemble. Subscribers left enthusiastic comments under the publication and admirations of the musicians’ talent.

nstagram.com/turan_ethno_folk

How imam found his way to Kazakhstanis’ hearts via social media

As the Supreme Mufti, Chairman of the Spiritual Administration of the Muslims of Kazakhstan Nauryzbay Kazhy Taganuly said, in this great month, Allah showed his mercy to the people by sending down the Holy Koran, as a guidance to everything that benefits their spiritual and everyday life, explains the truth in the most accessible way and helps to distinguish truth from falsehood, the true path from an error, and the happy righteous from miserable sinners.


Imams are considered to be the guides of all this valuable and important information, who explain the norms of Sharia, the holiness and significance of the Koran to the people every day. One of these imams, especially remembered by Kazakhstanis due to social media, is Nurlan imam Baizhigituly. Via social media he answers questions related to religion and lifestyle in simple words. In our recent interview, the imam told what Kazakhstani people care about most.


«Family-related questions are especially relevant. People do not understand each other, they are stubborn, they are sure that they are right; they do not want to make a compromise. We want to prove something to someone. People live for this. People live for someone, buy something, store it, but do not use it. As a result, they die, and what we have accumulated, we cannot take with us to another world. Therefore, live and travel as long as you have such an opportunity. We should not prioritize material things. When we were younger we were taught that we should have our own home, so we were attached ourselves to a certain place. If we are told to move to another city, we will immediately think: who is waiting for me there, where shall I go, as if we lived in the jungle,» the Nurlan Baizhigituly says.


As you know, fasting in the month of Ramadan means abstaining from food, drink and sexual relations from sunrise to sunset. As Supreme Mufti Nauryzbay Kazhy Taganuly noted, Almighty Allah does not wish people difficulties, but wishes them relief.

Photo: muftyat.kz

«If there are obstacles that hinder the fulfillment of God's commands and make them hard, then Almighty Allah facilitates these orders to an even greater extent or even relieves His servants from these duties. This Koranic sentence cannot be described in detail, as it covers all the precepts of the religion and includes all Sharia reliefs and permissions,» the Supreme Mufti notes.

Parents’ example made me fast

Every year the number of those fasting keeps rising. For many, this is not the first Ramadan they fast. Rustem Aitkhozhin has been fasting for 13 years already. He admits that the example of his parents and environment made him fast.


«Given that we are Muslims, my environment has always treated this month reverently and with respect. Fasting in the month of Ramadan is one of the pillars of Islam. When Oraza (fasting) ends, you notice changes in yourself for the better. After each Oraza you feel that your body rested and cleansed. When you start praying namaz (Salah), the whole habitual way of life changes. Oraza has a deep meaning that we cannot even comprehend. But its essence is that we must know the gifts that the Almighty gives us every day. Those who fast can confirm that after 12 hours of fasting, even water changes its taste. This is a wonderful realization of what gifts surround us and this is the Gift of the Almighty Allah, which presented such a holy month to us. For 11 months we can commit some misdeeds and the Almighty sends us a month of forgiveness and Kadir Tuni (Laylat al-Qadr),» Rustem says.


Holy night when wishes come true

This year, the believers welcomed Laylat al-Qadr on the night of April 17 to 18. The essence of holiness of the Kadir Tuni (Laylat al-Qadr) is the revelation of the Koran, which leads humanity to the happiness of the two worlds and distinguishes between good and evil, right and wrong

By tradition, Rustem Aitkhozhin spent the holy night in a mosque.


«The beauty of the Laylat al-Qadr is that it falls on the last 10 days of Ramadan, and you don’t know exactly which day this holy night falls on. However, there are special signs by which people try to determine the onset of this night,» Rustem says.

Greatness of the holy place

On the morning after Laylat Al-Qadr a photo made by Dastan Mukhamedrakhimov at the Astana mosque went viral.

It shows the mosque was absolutely packed. Up to 235,000 people came there to worship and pray together on Laylat Al-Qadr.

Photo: instagram.com/bydastann

Notably, the new mosque attracts attention with its size, grandeur and splendor. It is the country’s largest mosque and ranks among the top 10 mosques of the world. The height of its main dome is almost 90 meters, while its minarets rise at a height of 130 meters. Minarets are made of five parts to symbolize the five pillars of Islam - faith, prayers, fasting, zakyat and pilgrimage. The left wing is open to the public to let peole enjoy the city view. The mosaic wall facing Qibla is 100 meters long and 22.4 meters high. It features 99 names of Allah. The wall is made of 25 million glasses of different colors.


Ways to give donations during Ramadan

One of the best ways to multiply the reward during Ramadan is giving Sadaqah al-Fitr. It is paid during Ramadan for each member of the family. This year Sadaqah al-Fitr makes 535 tenge which is equivalent to about 2 kg of wheat. Sadaqah al-Fitr is also payable on dry fruits such as dates, raisins.


IT experts help Kazakhstanis make online charity donations via smartphone applications of the second-tier banks, QR code payments and special POS terminals at the mosques.


During Ramadan people compete doing good deeds. Kazakhstanis raise money for sick people, make donations, help families in need, provide iftar meals. Each one tries to became a part of a charitable campaign. For example, thanks to the initiative of the Zakyat and Charity foundation a family in need in North Kazakhstan was provided with a new housing as part of the 30 houses for 30 days national campaign. Notably, the campaign is being held countrywide.

Thus, the sacred month of Ramadan in Kazakhstan starts and concludes with the acts of charity.


Photo: muftyat.kz


Currently reading