May

How the Justice Community Celebrates Ramadan

by GRACE MARTIN

News editor

Ramadan is one of the most sacred times of the year in Islamic culture. This year, Muslims around the world, including many members of the Justice High School community, will be celebrating this special holiday from April 12th to May 12th through a variety of traditions and prayers.

Ramadan is a time of spiritual growth, sacrifice, and reflection. It is a time for Muslims to further commit their relationship to God. There is more prayer, increased charity, generosity, and giving, and a deep study of the Qur'an.

Junior Sundus Ahmed’s favorite part of Ramadan is the amount of reflection time. “Ramadan is a time when people think about what they have and put themselves in others shoes. It is a time to be grateful and see the good things in life.”

Throughout the month of Ramadan, Muslims fast from sunrise to sunset. Fasting is one of the five pillars, or duties, of Islam, alongside testimony of faith, prayer, charitable giving, and making pilgrimage to Mecca. While fasting, Muslims abstain from eating any food, drinking any liquids,engaging in sexual activities, fighting, lying, and gossiping. Although it may seem challenging to fast for such a long period of time (around 15 hours this year) everyday for a month, many greatly enjoy fasting and believe it is easy to get used to.

Senior Aya Elfettahi enjoys fasting and the emotions that accompany it during Ramadan. “Fasting is sort of a body cleanse and after the month is over, it’s almost like a spiritual restart for the mind and body.”

There are many traditions celebrated during Ramadan, including the first night of Ramadan, Laylatul al Qadr, the night when the Qur'an was first revealed to Muhammad, and Eid al-Fitr, also called the "Festival of Breaking the Fast", when Muslims celebrate the end of Ramadan. These days are celebrated in a variety of ways by Muslims throughout the world, including those in the Justice community.

Ahmed shares some of her favorite traditions. “One tradition my family does is eating together. When we break our fast in the evening we all sit at the table and eat as a family rather than eating independently. We also decorate the house to make it more lively!”

Elfettahi also has family traditions for some of these special days. “On the first day of Ramadan, we usually celebrate by just making a huge dinner. It’s a great way to encourage blessings for the rest of the month. Laylatul al Qadr, the 27th day of Ramadan, is known to be a religiously special day for all Muslims participating in Ramadan, so my mom cooks a bigger Morrocan dish called couscous.”

Ramadan is a holiday that brings people together. Muslims around the world fast simultaneously which provides a sense of community. “It is a time for family. Of course I am close with my family the other 11 months of the year, but during Ramadan we are especially close. We make food together, eat together, wake up early in the morning together, and also pray together,” said Ahmed.

It is a time to give back and grow closer to your faith. “The holiday is very important to me and my family because it’s a month of forgiveness, prayer, and being closer to our faith. It’s a way to look through the perspective of those who are less fortunate and find ways to support those in need,” said Elfettahi.

Ramadan is a beautiful and spiritual month celebrated around the world. Many members of the Justice community, including Ahmed, Elfattahi, and their families, share and celebrate this holiday, so that they can grow spiritually and help others. So, the next time you see one of your friends or acquaintances who are celebrating, make sure to wish them a “Happy Ramadan” or “Ramadan Mubarak”!

CONGRATULATIONS! WE MADE IT!

By ALESSANDRA SIMMONS-ROBLES

Staff Writer

This school year has brought on a number of obstacles, including the most prominent, finding a way to thrive and learn during Covid. There was a rocky start to the school year with learning how to use new systems, communicating with peers, and self-motivating. However, despite the challenges, we faced the new problems head on and got through the seemingly never-ending storm. Now, things are looking up with vaccines becoming increasingly more available to citizens. Also, summer is ahead and families and friends are reuniting after a long year of isolation.

Some students wanted to share their thoughts: Justice sophomore Richard Do shared his experience this year saying “This school year felt easier to learn online since I was able to organize my time and work at one location.” Ava Feldstein, a Justice sophomore, had a different experience saying “I would describe this school year as challenging but I feel like the teachers did the best they could to make it as normal as possible. I think everyone who got through this school year should be very proud of themselves no matter their grades turned out to be.”

“[The teachers] tried their best this school year and I know it was a difficult transition from being in person to online, I am very thankful for them!” said Do, congratulating the teachers.

Everyone has demonstrated a great amount of resilience, no matter the final grade or the number of accomplishments. A huge congratulations goes out to every student, teacher, and staff member. We made it!