Ramadan starts as moon sighted; Muslims prepare for fasting

Soon after the announcements were made the mosque managements rolled out new prayer mats to facilitate the namazis who gather in large numbers for the ‘taraweeh’ prayers.

Hyderabad: With the sighting of the moon on Monday, the ninth month of Hijri calendar Ramadan (Ramzan) has begun for Muslims. The central Ruet-e-Hilal committee officially announced that the moon has been sighted in different places in the country. The first roza (fasting) will be observed on Tuesday.

Soon after the announcements were made the mosque managements rolled out new prayer mats to facilitate the namazis who gather in large numbers for the ‘taraweeh’ prayers. The prayers are held after the ‘Isha namaz’ (8 pm prayer) and the chapters of the holy Quran are recited during the taraweeh prayers.

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The historic Mecca Masjid was decorated for the holy month and a huge gathering was seen at the mosque. Around 5,000 people had gathered for the prayers. Big gatherings were witnessed at different mosques across the city including Shahi Masjid Bagh –e Jahara, Jamia Masjid Mallepally, Jamia Masjid Khairatabad, Chiran Palace Mosque, Spanish Mosque Begumpet among other places.

Huge rush was also witnessed at the markets with people making purchases for the saher (predawn) meal. Crowds were seen particularly at grocery stores and vegetable markets.

The ‘zohedars’ – people who move around giving a wakeup call to believers during Saher time – installed loudspeakers atop rickshaws and auto rickshaws to move around localities. Usually the people move around between 3 am and 4 am on old city streets playing devotional qawallis in music systems. Earlier, the tribe moved around on foot beating drums, but the practice vanished.

The police made arrangements by deploying pickets to important mosques to provide security and manage traffic.