Ahmadi-Muslims Celebrate EID at Lucky Shoals Park

Ahmadi Muslims from Paulding County joined Ahmadi Muslims from every county in Georgia at Lucky Shoals Park on Sunday, Aug. 18, to celebrate EID after a month of fasting.

The longest fast lasting 14 1/2 hours. No eating or drinking is allowed during daylight hours. Reading the entire Quran and doing extra prayers is encouraged. This is a time to pray for every need for family, friends and neighbors.

Hazeem Pudiapura, the president of Georgia and South Carolina, led the EID prayer and gave a sermon on the sacrifices of Ramadan.

Why fast for a month? Fasting sets the stage, spiritually, for the year to follow; teaches us empathy with our fellow human beings, which brings us closer to God and makes us better people as a result.

During this month, giving food to help the less fortunate is also optional, but the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community filled two containers with 200 pounds of food to for Humanity First, a worldwide organization that puts human needs first in spite of every kind of emergency.

“This year, the food is going to help hungry people in America,” the president of the Women's Auxiliary of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community, Georgia, chapter,” Mahmooda Rehman explained.

While some members enjoyed eating sweets, the traditional way to celebrate good news, others chose to donate their blood to help other Americans in need.

At first, the park representative balked at the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community's president’s request to let Life South set up a blood donor clinic at the park centre, but the park authorities soon warmed up to the idea.

The blood donors received a spicy luncheon to bolster their blood production.

“Donating blood actually helps the bone marrow,” one Ahmadi-Muslim doctor explained, on EID.

The ladies found another way to do good and enjoy themselves. On the Friday before EID, they held a Chandraat at the mosque. The women and their daughters who wish to participate pay for henna hand painting and nail painting in preparation for EID. The money will go towards building a Model African Village. His Holiness, Mirza Masroor Ahmad, the caliph and worldwide head of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community, requested the women's auxiliary to raise funds for this cause.  

In addition, the women and children also donated to a special fund to help Muslim children celebrate their EID in Africa. The money is to ensure that less fortunate Muslims in Africa enjoy good food or a gift on this special day. In third world countries, the cost of food for one day remains under $2, so even a donation of $5 can make a difference.

“Ramadan is a time to give to others,” Rehman said, “So we are doing it in every way possible.”