Queens community prepares for holy month of Ramadan: 'Enlightening our heart'

QUEENS, N.Y. (PIX11) – The Islamic holy month of Ramadan kicks off tonight. 

Already, millions of people are preparing.

It is a time of worship, fasting, and charity.

As people gathered for Friday prayers at the Islamic Center of Jackson Heights, many told us they were looking forward to Ramadan.

Mohammad Morshed, who lives in East Elmhurst, says, “Every Muslim we are waiting for the whole year for Ramadan month. This month is a blessing for us.”

Ramadan is based on sighting the crescent moon during the ninth month of the Islamic lunar calendar.

This year, it will start officially on Saturday at dawn.

“It’s the one month that we truly dedicate to prayer and discipline, charity, and worship,” said Rahan Hasan, who also lives in East Elmhurst. “Put everything to the side. It’s the one month we feel closer to god.” 

One of the main components of Ramadan is the daily ritual of fasting from dawn to sunset. 

“For me, it’s a discipline. When the month is over it really changes who we are and gives us a good start for the rest of the year,” Hasan says.

Imam Mohammed Fayek Uddin is with the Islamic Center of Jackson Heights Masjid Abu Huraira in New York. He says fasting aims to develop empathy for the less fortunate. 

“We are avoiding food, drinking, and other desires. We try to learn about the poor people who doesn’t have food.”

Ramadan is also about gratitude, spirituality, and giving back. 

The imam says, “Charity is a must. The reward of a good deed increases more than 70 times. We are focusing on the enlightening of our heart.”

For Madeeha Khalid from Jackson Heights, the month is a time to reset.

“We get stuck in routine of doing the same thing every day, and Ramadan provides us a way to recenter ourselves in our lives. For me, it is a time to reflect. 

Meditate and pull back on things that are materialistic and ground me to the values of religion.”

Ramadan will conclude with the Eid al-Fitr holiday.