The holy month of Ramadan requires fasting, spiritual cleanliness, community, and dedication. It is certainly no time for the MIT Muslim Students’ Association to slack off. As such, the MITMSA provides several key services during this time.
Iftaars · Ramadan@MIT · Suhoors · Taraweeh Prayers · Eid
Iftaars
In the past, the MSA has served community iftaars every evening and held taraweeh prayer W11 musallah every night. Ramadan is moving out of the academic year, but the MSA will continue to host iftaars this year:
- Every night at sunset, we will break the fast with milk and dates in the musallah and convene for prayer.
- Between Saturday, August 21, and Monday, August 31, you can join fellow Muslims at Sepal in the Student Center.
- Beginning Tuesday, September 1, we will be having a free community dinner (open to Muslims and non-Muslims) in different places across campus; the schedule for these iftaars is as follows (downloadable, printable version). Note: Maghrib prayer, at the times noted, is always held in the musallah; the dinner begins about ten minutes afterward at the locations specified.
Date Sunset Location Tue, Sept. 1 7:19pm W11-Main Dining Room Wed, Sept. 2 7:17pm Baker Thu, Sept. 3 7:15pm W11-Main Dining Room Fri, Sept. 4 7:14pm McCormick Sat, Sept. 5 7:12pm W11-Main Dining Room Sun, Sept. 6 7:10pm W11-Main Dining Room Mon, Sept. 7 7:08pm Baker Tue, Sept. 8 7:07pm W11-Main Dining Room Wed, Sept. 9 7:05pm Baker Thu, Sept. 10 7:03pm W11-Main Dining Room Fri, Sept. 11 7:01pm McCormick Sat, Sept. 12 7:00pm W20 Mezzanine Sun, Sept. 13 6:58pm Fall Dinner (Lobdell) Mon, Sept. 14 6:56pm Baker Tue, Sept. 15 6:54pm W11-Main Dining Room Wed, Sept. 16 6:53pm Walker Memorial (50-140) Thu, Sept. 17 6:51pm W11-Main Dining Room Fri, Sept. 18 6:49pm McCormick Sat, Sept. 19 6:47pm W20 Mezzanine
All iftaars are sponsored by generous members who donate to the MIT Muslim community every year. We typically cannot receive any assistance from MIT for iftaars. In 2009, the cost of a standard iftaar, which serves about eighty people, is $600-$650. Still, partial donations are always welcome. You can donate online at the MIT Giving website (be sure to post your donation in the MSA box, not the Unrestricted Fund box that might be presented to you).
If you would like to make a contribution for a cause or as a group (e.g. to raise awareness of a particular culture or a donation by a class), please inform us by e-mail and we will announce this information to the community. An alternative way of sponsoring an iftaar is to actually cook the food and serve. Please contact us for details.
For those who give in Charity, men and women, and loan to Allah a Beautiful Loan, it shall be increased manifold (to their credit), and they shall have (besides) a liberal reward.
— Yusuf Ali translation of the Qur’an, 57:18
Ramadan@MIT
In addition to its services to Muslim Students during Ramadan, the MITMSA also holds a series of dinners known as the Ramadan@MIT program. Check back in August 2009 for more information.
Suhoors
Although not official, the MITMSA community bands together and hosts suhoors almost daily. Sisters in McCormick and brothers in New House and Macgregor often eat and pray together in the morning. There may also be a couple nights when the MSA organizes a trip to IHOP; those trips are more impromptu and will be announced here if/when they occur.
Taraweeh Prayers
Isha prayer will be held at 9:00pm every night this year; taraweeh prayers are held immediately afterward. The prayers average about an hour in length, and, at that rate, the Qur’an is generally finished before the end of the month.
Eid
Eid celebrations are always bright and wonderful days filled with prayer, celebration, good friends, and - insha’Allah- great food. On the mornings Eid-ul-Fitr (and Eid-ul-Adha as well) the MITMSA meets at the prayer room and then travels together to the site of the prayer (selected by the Islamic Society of Boston). During the remainder of the day, the MSA offers social events (breakfasts, lunches, dinners, or study breaks). Sometimes these events are event coordinated with other local universities’ MSAs.
Information regarding this year’s Eid ul-Fitr events can be found in the announcement on the home page, which is transcribed below:
The Islamic Society of Boston Cultural Center (ISBCC) will be hosting Eid prayer tomorrow, Sunday, September 20, based on calculations. As a result, the MIT-MSA will be leading a group from MIT to the ISBCC. If you would like to join us, you can meet us outside the musallah (W11) at 7:00am, or just meet us at the Reggie Lewis Center (across from the ISBCC, adjacent to the Roxbury Crossing T station) at 7:30am. In order to get into the first prayer rather than an overflow prayer, we really want to make sure we leave on time, so please get to the musallah at precisely 7:00am if you plan to meet us there.
After the khutbah, we will meet together in front of the Roxbury Crossing T stop to head to breakfast at The Friendly Toast restaurant near Kendall T Stop. For those of you getting there on your own, the address is 1 Kendall Sq, Cambridge, MA 02139. If you think you might come to breakfast, please RSVP ASAP to Laila Wahedi, so we can get an idea for reservations. Being that it will be Sunday morning, it is likely that it will be difficult to easily find seats without reservations. If you forget to RSVP, please still come, but if you think you will come, please RSVP.
Note that many people may be following moon sighting, rather than calculations. An Eid announcement, based on moon sightings, should be made by 9pm tonight, and will be posted here. However, regardless of the moon sighting decision, we will still be meeting at the musallah, going to ISBCC, and having breakfast tomorrow, Sunday.
However, we will also be hosting an International Dessert Night and Eid Social tomorrow night (Sunday night), after sunset, from 8-10pm. So, even if moon sightings place Eid on Monday, you can still join the MSA in the festivities. And, regardless, the MIT-MSA wishes you Eid Mubarak.
