Waking up to a melodious Sufi song for suhour
Spending his childhood and youth in Chennai, India, and living in Dubai since 1976, Mir Mohammad Mohiuddin has fond memories of yesteryears during Ramadan. Mohiuddin is one of the founding employees of the ETA group and currently a director of Prime HealthCare Group.
“In the late 1940s when I was a 10-year-old boy, during Ramadan a group of people from a Sufi sect called ‘Rifayees’ would go around the streets of our town early in the morning from 3.30am onwards banging their long steel ‘kartals’ (these were long flat steel tongs with 6-inch circular steel bangles that made a loud jangling sound).
“The Rifayees would hold a lantern (Qandeel) in one hand, as there were no street lights those days, and go from house to house singing melodiously — “Rozay daro, sahry ka waqt aagaya, hoshiyar ho”, which meant, Begin your roza, its time for suhour, be alert’.
“In bigger cities the Rifayees would beat large drums as wake up call to residents, as well as to mark the end of the fasting for iftar!
“Gradually that collective community custom of waking up during Ramadan gave way to alarm clocks. The collective spirit is still retained during iftar in mosques where people would together and end their fast at the sound of the Azaan. The religious fervour and piety really would strike me.
“In 1976 I was 38 when I arrived in Dubai to take up my job with ETA. What I found really fascinating was the booming sound of a traditional cannon to mark of the end of the fast. The city was small then and the booming sound would be heard a long way.
“One remarkable thing in Dubai is the generosity of the wealthy. Even today, at the time of iftar the dining table in the men’s majlis of rich families is open to any visitor.
“I love going to the majlis, and for a real flavour of Ramadan visit mosques where men congregate to offer prayers and collectively end fast during iftar. It is a beautiful sight.”