Image Courtesy:hindustantimes.com
This Eid, prayers and greetings both went online as families prayed from home due to the Covid-19 threat looming large in Mumbai. As shopping and celebrations of Eid-al-Fitr were put on hold, people took to social media to send Eid greetings to their loved ones as the holy month of Ramzan came to an end.
Just days before the festival, leaders of different mosque committees had spread the message of “Ghar pe namaaz”, stay away from gatherings and offer prayers for the better future of the entire human race.
Keeping this spirit in mind, the Raza Jama Masjid at Phool Gali in South Mumbai, arranged for five prayer services online which devotees could access through their mobile phones to prevent gathering at mosques, the Hindustan Times reported.
Maulana Kalbe Jawad Naqvi, the Imam-e-Juma of the Asafi mosque also live telecast the Eid namaz on social media as he offered prayers from home. The Imam of Aishbagh Eidgah, Maulana Khalid Rasheed Firangi Mahli who offered prayers with only four men at the Eidgah said that the Khutba, speech and dua were live telecast for people offering namaaz from home, The Times of India reported.
Also, keeping with the spirit of helping the needy, socio-religious and other community groups came together to help the underprivileged members of the community with essentials to make sheer kurma – a relished sweet item made specifically on Eid. A group of 15 friends from Mumbai Central got together to distribute 1,100 kits – each containing milk, sugar, vermicelli and dry fruits, to the poor in Mumbai’s Byculla, Mazagaon, Tardeo and Dharavi areas.
Ovesh Heera, a member of the group who distributed the kits told Hindustan Times that this gesture was made possible with the help of volunteers in the slum areas who got in touch with various NGOs to inform them about families who needed essentials.
There were also reports of lockdown violations in certain areas of Pydhonie and Null Bazaar with residents alleging that large crowds had gathered for Eid shopping on Sunday night. However, these were dismissed as ‘fake news’ by senior police officers manning the area.
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