The month of Ramadan in Arabic literature has profound and fertile effects that appear to us in both prose and poetry, and give us a true representation of the emotions and feelings that stir in the souls of writers and poets for this holy month.

It is evident in prose and poetry as an honest expression of the feelings of writers and poets towards this holy month.

The Islamic State and its people paid great attention to the crescent of Ramadan, and monitored its rising until its sighting was confirmed, so that the beginning of the month would be achieved and fasting would be due, and that would be one of the witnessed days, so religious processions would be formed, the minarets of mosques would be illuminated, and good tidings and congratulations would be announced.

The sighting day was called the Day of Kneeling, and they used to increase the lighting of the mosques when the crescent of this bright month was sighted. Omar ibn al-Khattab, may God be pleased with him, was the first to think about lighting the mosques on the nights of Ramadan so that people could perform Tarawih prayers and perform the rituals of religion. It is narrated that Ali ibn Abi Talib, may God be pleased with his face, passed one night during Ramadan and found them illuminated and decorated from the inside and outside with lanterns, so he said, “May God’s light be upon Omar ibn al-Khattab in his grave.” He also illuminated our mosques for us.

Ahmad ibn Yusuf, from the book of the Abbasid state, told us: The Caliph al-Ma’mun ordered me to write to all those who work to encourage people to make an abundance of lamps in the month of Ramadan and to inform them of the virtue in that. I did not know what to write or say in that, if no one preceded me to it, so I follow his path and doctrine. So I slept at the time of the siesta, and he came to me and said, “Say, for in that is comfort for the questioner, illumination for the diligent, and banishing the place of doubt. And it beautifies the houses of God from the desolation of darkness.” Here is how the Abbasid caliphs realized the value of lighting in mosques, not only as a practical means but also as a spiritual symbol that enhances the beauty of worship.

Congratulations on the occasion of the month of Ramadan were extended to the Caliph, the princes, and the Brotherhood, and this tradition continues in our time, and will continue, God willing, forever and ever, as in the words of Al-Sharif Al-Radi in his congratulations to the Al-Ta’i’ Abbasid Caliph.
Congratulations on the arrival of your fast, my Imam
He fasts for a period of time without sleep
If one fasts from this world
Every month is a month of fasting.

Ramadan is a month of righteousness and spending. The Messenger, may God’s prayers and peace be upon him, was described as the most generous of people, but in Ramadan he was more generous with goodness than the blowing wind. He did not ask for anything without giving it to him. The heads of Islamic countries used to use it as an area to show favors to the needy, feed the poor, and give gifts to relatives and relatives. Among those who celebrated this holy month was Ahmed Ibn Tulun. He gathered the notables of Cairo at the beginning of the month of Ramadan in his palace and after they had eaten. And they drank, and he preached to them, saying, “I did not gather you around these tables except to teach you the way to be kind to people, and I know that you do not need the food and drink that I have prepared for you, but I found that you have neglected what I would like you to understand regarding the duty of benevolence upon you in Ramadan. Therefore, I order you from now on to open your homes, lay out your tables, and prepare them with the best you desire for yourselves, so that the poor and the deprived may taste them.” He ordered that this decision be posted everywhere, and he threatened every capable person. He does not perform his duty towards the poor, and does not open his home to them throughout the month of Ramadan, with the most severe punishment, so everyone complied with his order, and the people embraced an affection of familiarity and cooperation. The Fatimid state paid great attention to the month of Ramadan and surrounded it with all kinds of hospitality and honor. On the first day of Ramadan, he sent from the house of the caliphate to all the princes and other high-ranking and servants, for each one of them had a dish, and for each of his children and wives, a dish of sweets, a bundle of gold, and joy spread throughout everyone. The people of the state, and this is called the beginning of Ramadan.

The character of Al-Musaharati began since the time of the Prophet, may God bless him and grant him peace, when Ibn Umm Maktoum used to give the call to prayer for the suhoor. In Egypt, in the third century AH, the governor Utbah bin Ishaq used to walk to the Fustat Mosque and announce to the people the suhoor meal. The character of Al-Musaharati became one of the most prominent features of Ramadan, as she sang songs urging fasting, prayer and righteousness, with an invitation to eat suhoor.

Suhoor was not limited to men, but women also participated in it. Sheikh Zain al-Din Ibn al-Wardi described one of the women by saying:

I was amazed at the masharah in Ramadan
Badia Al-Hassan, but she was creative
She used to enchant us at night, so I told her
How is suhoor when the sun has risen?

As for the Ramadan lantern, it has a funny story dating back to the Fatimid era. On Tuesday, the fifth of Ramadan in the year 362 AH, the Fatimid Caliph al-Muizz li-Din Allah al-Fatimi entered Egypt coming from Morocco. He entered Egypt at night via Giza in a large procession, so the people came out to receive him and their crowds gathered on the road from Giza to the Gamaleya neighborhood, carrying large candles, torches and lanterns in their hands to light the path that the Caliph would pass. To his palace. Since that date, the idea of ​​lanterns began to be associated with Ramadan, and children in that era liked to hold the lanterns to light the way in front of their families when they went out to the mosques at night or to visit family and friends. The Ramadan lantern was the subject of debate between writers and poets competing to describe it with wonderful imagination. Ali bin Dhafir, the Egyptian writer who died in the year 613 AH, said: We gathered one night in Ramadan, and after the prayer had ended, we sat down to talk in the Omar Mosque in Fustat, and a lantern had been lit for the pre-dawn meal. Some of those present suggested to the writer Abu Al-Hajjaj Yusuf bin Ali that he include poetry in it, so he recited it:

And a star from the lantern shines its light… but it does not shine without the stars.
I have never seen a star before its rising… When it sets, he forbids those who are fasting from breaking the fast.
Muzaffar the blind said: The night is nothing but a huntsman for a gazelle
With a lantern of fire toward it, it requires – and I have not seen a hunter in the distance before him – that if the deer approaches him, he will run away.

Among the most famous Ramadan sweets are Kunafa and Qatayef, and among the inherited beliefs is that sweets have a praiseworthy effect in restoring the strength of the fasting person to him. The popularity of Kunafa and Qatayef was such that Jalal al-Din al-Suyuti collected what was said about them in a book that he called “A Source of Love in Kunafa and Qatayef.” Ibn Fadl Al-Amri mentioned that the first Arab to take it was Muawiyah bin Abi Sufyan, and he used to eat it during the suhoor meal. This was because he complained to his doctor about his hunger, and Muawiyah was a famous eater, so he prescribed it to him. There is another narration that says that Kunafa was made specifically for Suleiman bin Abdul Malik Al-Umayyad. Among what was said about Kunafa was the saying of Abu Al-Hussein, the Egyptian butcher, who sang flirting with Kunafa, saying:

May God water the kunafa with syrup
And she was constantly intoxicated
And damn these are the pickle times
It passes without benefit and is counted as part of my life
I fall in love whenever fever is mentioned
Fever is nothing but a price drop

And I say: Kunafa on the nights of Ramadan is a golden poem woven by hands with love, with familiarity in every bite, and it restores to the fasting person the spirit of companionship after a long wait. Thus, Kunafa and Qatayef have become part of the memory of Ramadan.

We continue to say that Ramadan is not just a month, but rather a divine whiff of righteousness and piety, sweets that remind us of joy, and lanterns that illuminate the paths of giving. Let us make this month an opportunity to renew our souls and spread goodness on every path. Blessed be the month, and may everyone live in God’s embrace.