The Somali researcher, Dr. Moamen Al-Alam, narrates to “Sky News Arabia” some of the manifestations and features of celebrating the month of Ramadan in his country.:
- During Ramadan, the custom of “al-hakka” or “al-hakawati” spreads; Where young and old are keen to sit around him in circles and listen to the stories he tells and give them joy, and often deal with the stories of the prophets, companions and followers, and some of these episodes are held on the shore of the Indian Ocean.
- Among the social customs is the intense lighting, whether for streets, home destinations, mosques, or public squares.
- Many Somalis are keen to perform Tarawih prayers, and religious lessons and workshops for reading the Holy Qur’an are often held after that, and in some mosques these lessons and sessions are held before the evening prayer..
- Sharia students perform “seven fasts”, which is a Somali custom during Ramadan, in which students recite the Holy Qur’an one by one for 3 hours every night, and the family that hosts them is keen to slaughter a “shah” for them..
Ramadan tables
With regard to food habits, whether the traditions associated with it or the famous food dishes, the believer of the world says:
- Well-to-do families leave the doors of their houses open during the time of breaking the fast to receive the needy or the poor who are fasting.
- Fasting people often eat a cup of dates with water, then they perform the Maghrib prayer, and then the breakfast table is set.
- The most popular Ramadan foods on the iftar table are “pasta”, “sanbousa”, “hobbies”, “bananas” and “mutton”. As for suhoor, the most popular food is porridge, which is made from “corn flour with camel’s milk”.“.
History of Islam in Somalia
- Somalia has a population of just over 6 million people, 90% of whom are Muslims.
- Islam shook hands with the country for the first time with the first migration of the Prophet’s companions to Abyssinia, where they entered from the port of Zeila on the Red Sea, north of Somali territory now, and the port at that time belonged to the Abyssinian Kingdom of Aksum..
- The most famous kingdom that was later based on the Islamic system and style is the Kingdom of Mogadishu, founded in the year (285 AH – 908 AD) by 7 brothers who migrated at the head of a group of the Bani al-Harith tribe, at the end of the third century AH, and it was strong and formidable, until travelers described it as “a city The famous Islam”, “Many mosques, great urbanization“.
- The Republic of Somalia, with its current borders, is located in the east of the Horn of Africa, in the form of a sharp arc, with an area of 4 million km, in the north overlooking the Gulf of Aden, in the southeast on the Indian Ocean, in the south is Kenya, in the west is Ethiopia, and in the northwest is Djibouti..
- Somalis depend for their livelihood on agriculture, which consumes about 84% of the labor force, and animal and livestock breeding is the main source of national income.
#Ramadan #Somalia. #Rituals #celebrations #crises