About 10,000 Muslims gathered at Saskatoon’s Prairieland Park on Friday for prayers marking the end of Ramadan. “It’s a day of food, friends, feast and exchanging of gifts, which is most exciting for the little ones,” said Fatima Coovadia with the Islamic Association of Saskatoon. During the holy month, Muslims abstain from food and water during daylight hours for 30 days, focusing on prayer, charity and community. “Practicing this discipline and restraining our desires, we become closer to God,” said Ozayr Raazi. “We pray more. We do extra prayers during the night. We try to read the Koran, our holy book, more, we try to say more prayers and to be kinder to the people around us.” For many families, Ramadan is also a reminder of gratitude. “And it’s also a time to, like, we can kind of compare us to, like, other people who aren’t as fortunate as us, who actually don’t have food and water to eat, like, as we do,” said Huda Raazi. As the month ends, the celebration of Eid-ul-Fitr brings together families and communities to share food and reconnect with loved ones. As large prayer gatherings end, families spend the day together. “After prayer, we’ll go to my grandfather’s house and we’ll celebrate together,” Muhammed Alyaser said.
