Students from the Auburn University Muslim Association came out last Sunday to celebrate Eid, which marks the end of Ramadan.
Ramadan is based on the cycles of the moon, and this year it placed the end of Ramadan on Sept. 20, two weeks earlier than the previous year.
To commemorate the event, the Auburn Islamic Center hosted a celebration at the Boykin Community Center on Boykin Street.
Muslims have fasted for the majority of the day over the past month. President of the Muslim Students' Association (MSA) Ansab Ali said this event is important because it symbolizes everyone coming together and celebrating the Islamic rituals Muslims have practiced over the past month.
"Fasting is a very tough thing to do," Ali said. "Not eating for 14 and a half hours isn't easy for 29 days. If you fast six days out of a month, it's seen as if you're fasting for the whole year, it's not a requirement, but it's highly recommended and all your sins are forgiven."
Some students said they attended the event because it provided a home away from home and an opportunity to celebrate with people with common interests.
"I wasn't able to go home to Birmingham to be with my family, so with this event, I was able to be with friends and community members," said Shainur Ahsan, senior in civil engineering and vice president of MSA. "It is an event for MSA members and it is a chance for everyone to meet up and enjoy the company of others."
Ahsan said fasting was a challenging time when everyone got to experience hunger and sacrifice and are committed to other things like prayer and charity.
"It's important to get focused on things more important than your hobbies," Ahsan said. "It was a good opportunity for MSA to help out the food bank and during the fast-a-thon, we also volunteered at the community market."
Ramadan is one of the holiest months of the entire calendar year for Muslims. It's the month of the most blessing and sacrifice. Muslims fast from sunrise to sunset and abstain from bad thoughts, drinking and sex with the goal of purification.
The idea is to fast for an entire month and it would become a habit. Ramadan is one of the two most important holy days on the Islamic calendar. The other one will come later in the year and it celebrates Abraham's willingness to sacrifice his son for God.
"Today's event was a remembrance of what we did during Ramadan and to celebrate the fact that God will forgive us for our sins if we ask him," said Asim Ali, member of the local mosque. "Through our sacrifice we learned to be more in tune with nature and our surroundings.
Ali said one of the best things about the event was the opportunity to celebrate with Muslims from different backgrounds. Everyone from Bangladesh to Pakistan was able to come dressed in traditional dress and bring food native to their countries, and he said it was great to see that in a small community like Auburn.
Do you like this story? The Plainsman doesn't accept money from tuition or student fees, and we don't charge a subscription fee. But you can donate to support The Plainsman.
