Gaza – Madleen Khalla – SafaDuring the last ten nights of Ramadan, Gazans used to fill their mosques with worshippers and those remembering God, and the sounds of the Quran would rise until dawn, in an atmosphere of faith and spirituality.The minarets that used to call for prayer have become rubble, and the mosques that used to host thousands of worshippers have turned into squares of stones and dust, as a result of the Israeli war on the Gaza Strip.However, the picture this year looked different, as the spirit of seclusion did not disappear from Gaza, but rather returned to pulsate from among the rubble, in a scene that combines pain and determination.After years of deprivation due to the ongoing war and the accompanying displacement and constant danger, Gazans have begun to gradually revive this Ramadan year, amid exceptional circumstances.To revive the last ten days, small tents were set up near destroyed mosques, and plastic tarpaulins were spread over the ground, to be transformed into temporary prayer areas where worshippers spend their nights between prayer, supplication, and reading the Qur’an.Worshippers are keen to return to the same sites that once housed their mosques, even if they are just ruins. They sit on simple carpets, surrounded by rubble on all sides, while small lamps illuminate the long nights of worship.Ma’tkoun says that this year’s retreat has a different meaning; the supplication is no longer limited to asking for forgiveness and mercy, but has extended to include supplication for the demolished houses, for the martyrs, and for life to return to what it was before the war.
Spiritual atmosphereSixty-year-old Dheeb Al-Shandaghli, one of those observing Itikaf at the Al-Rahma Mosque in the northern Gaza Strip, told Safa News Agency: “For two years we have been deprived of reviving this Sunnah and Ramadan rituals. The phrase ‘Pray in your homes’ used to break our hearts with the loss of Ramadan’s Taraweeh prayers and Itikaf.”He adds, “We were longing to observe these blessed nights, and it doesn’t matter to us if the prayer is on the sand, what matters is that we return to reviving the last ten nights as we were accustomed to before the war, in a spiritual atmosphere that we have long missed.”He continues, “As soon as we started praying at the Al-Rahma prayer hall, people made a promise to stay there in seclusion to compensate for what they lost because of the war. Today we are trying to revive the spirit of the holy month by returning to seclusion, even if it is in simple prayer areas made of tents.”He points out that the joy of the people is indescribable in reviving this tradition, stressing that it is not the decoration of the mosques that brings them together for seclusion, but rather the spirit of worship and prayer.
Hold fast to worshipAs for Ahmed Al-Ghaliz, he says that the sight of people reviving the last ten days of Ramadan confirms their adherence to life and worship. Despite the destruction of their mosques, you see them rushing to revive this tradition in the prayer areas that were built on the ruins of the mosques.Al-Ghaliz added in his interview with Safa News Agency, “This is the first time we can perform the last ten days of Ramadan on the ruins of our mosques in the prayer areas spread throughout the Gaza Strip with peace and tranquility, after the insane war prevented us from the pleasure of performing and reviving them.””The supplications in the night prayer have changed, now including prayers for peace and tranquility, prayers for the martyrs, and beautiful compensation for all who have lost loved ones, all intertwined with requests for mercy, forgiveness, and deliverance from Hellfire.” (According to Al-Ghaliz)He adds, “We are trying to encourage young people to commit to the retreat in an attempt to restore the rows of worshippers to what they were before the war.”He emphasizes that the return of seclusion to mosques after two years of forced deprivation gives prayer a special flavor and splendor that makes the worshipper steadfast in his prayer as he never was before.
Wide demandSheikh Youssef Asaliya confirms that the turnout for Itikaf this year reflects people’s great longing to return to this ritual after two years of deprivation.Asaliya told Safa News Agency: “There is a wide turnout of citizens for Itikaf and reviving the last ten days, as people have been deprived of these atmospheres for a sufficient period that makes them keen to perform them on the ruins of their destroyed mosques.”He adds, “I see many citizens frequenting these prayer areas, waiting for prayers, especially the noon and afternoon prayers, and they soon perform the evening and Taraweeh prayers with the dawn prayer, as if the war has not changed anything in their Ramadan days.”Gaza, Itikaf , Gaza prayer areas , Ramadan
R S
About the Author
