Local families begin communal Ramadan fast — from afar

With the sighting of the crescent moon on the evening of April 23, the month of Ramadan officially began.

The month is holy not only to the thousands of Muslims in Nassau County, but to the more than 1.8 billion worldwide and is observed with 30 days of daily dawn-to-dusk fasts. The fast is one of the Five Pillars of Islam and is obligatory, or fard for all whose health would not be jeopardized. Women who are breast feeding or menstruating, diabetics and the chronically ill are also specifically exempted from the fast.

This year, the traditional gatherings before sunrise and after sunset have been suspended at Masjid Al-Baqi, in Bethpage, and at the Islamic Center of Long Island, in Woodbury, as they have been across the country and around the world.

The month culminates in the feast of Eid-al-Fitr, one of the two great feasts of the Islamic calendar.

Both communities will hold classes and services online, via various streaming media. At Masjid-Al-Baqi, Mufti Mohammad Farhan will give daily commentary on passages from the Quran after fajr, the first of the five daily prayers prescribed by the Quran. Live streaming of tafseer, or interpretation of the Quran, will take place every evening at 9:30.

Online education will continue via Zoom videoconferencing.

Ramadan is from a root Arabic word meaning God. Traditionally, families and communities gather after sunset for a communal meal, called iftar.

In addition to fasting, devout Muslims also abstain from tobacco products and sex. Charitable deeds, another of the Five Pillars, are also traditionally increased during the holy month. Many carry out extra good works during the month, such as alms giving, participating in blood drives, or feeding the hungry. Masjid Al-Baqi is providing free groceries for the elderly, the chronically ill and the financially distressed, according to the community’s website.

The Islamic Center is offering similar programs, with guidance by Sheikh Ibrahim Negm, advisor to the Grand Mufti of Al-Azhar, in Cairo — one of the world's earliest universities — and by Farhan; and twice-nightly recitations by Hafiz Dr. Assad Baig and Hafiz Tanweer Ahmed.

For further information, contact Masjid Al-Baqi (516) 433-4141, or Online, at masjidalbaqi.org; or the Islamic Center of Long Island, at (516) 333-3495, or at icily.org.