LYNNWOOD — Every evening, Ahmadi Muslims from the greater Seattle area converge upon their mosque in Lynnwood to say their Ishaa prayers.
But, on the evening of Oct. 15, the number of people attending the prayer service was much more than usual and filled the mosque with a hustle and bustle.
“Everyone was greeted by each other with the words ‘Ramadan Mubarik,’” said Hassan Khan, a member of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community.
During Ramadan, which is from Oct. 15 through Nov. 14, Muslims all over the world seek closer communion with the most glorious God, Khan said.
After the prayers, solemn elders and excited children went back to their homes and went to bed early. They all wanted to get up at five in the morning so that they could have a meal before the first flush of dawn and then keep a fast. No food or drink passed through the lips of the people who kept the fast for the rest of the day.
Fasting, however, is obligatory in Islam for young children, pregnant mothers, sick and travelers, Khan said.
“The true purpose of keeping a fast, like all worship in Islam, is to draw people closer to God,” he said.
Though normal pursuits and occupations are carried out as normal, the emphasis on moral and spiritual values and concentration on them is higher.
“The hearing, the sight, the tongue and the mind are all under stricter control,” he said.
As the first day of Ramadan drew to an end, families made preparations to break the fast. Some brought food to the mosque to share while others sat at the dining tables in their home with their family members, he said.
“Exactly at the moment of sunset, everyone broke their fast,” Khan said. “To show their love for the Holy Prophet of Islam, who lived in a land where date palms were common, the first piece of food many Muslims put in their mouth was a date.”
The rest of the meal followed.
All this will happen every day with the same routine for the next 29 days for the community of Ahmadiyya Muslims, he said.
The Muslim community also wants to educate the “western world” about the religion Islam which has been widely misunderstood, Khan said.
Holding interfaith conferences has been the tradition since the inception of Islam Ahmadiyyat, but in these times our community has much more emphasis on them. In September, a World Religions Founder’s Day Conference was held here in Lynnwood and was attended by members of Christian, Jew, Sikh and Hindu communities.
To keep the spirit of interfaith harmony alive, the Muslim community has arranged to have the non-members of the community participate in breaking the fast with them at their community center.
(E-mail info@amiseattle.org if you would like to be invited at one these dinners where the cuisine of choice is Indian.)
Following the last day of Ramadan, on Nov. 14, the members will celebrate the Festival of Eid.
According to Khan, families will exchange visits and children will receive gifts. “The community will draw together in the morning to greet each other and have food while thanking God for putting food on our tables and for giving us an opportunity to make ourselves a better people through fasting in the holy month of Ramadan,” he said.
The community will once again be open to anyone who would like to break bread with them and get to know them more closely.
If interested, contact them at the e-mail address given above or call 425-778-1861.
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