Pakistanis to celebrate Shab-e-Barat tonight with religious fervour

The Muslims of Pakistan would celebrate Shab-e-Barat, Night of Abundance and Day of Atonement, tonight with religious zeal.

The night gives an opportunity to seek from Allah the abundance and prosperity for the whole year along with forgiveness and what else one can wish for…Barat is commemorated by both Shia and Sunni sects of Islam.

The festival of Shab-e-Barat is celebrated with sheer enthusiasm by Muslims. According to Muslims believe, Allah writes the destinies of all men and women for the coming year by taking into account the deeds they committed in the past. It is regarded as one of the holiest nights in Islamic traditions.

The night is celebrated by Muslims all around the globe between 14 and 15 night of month Shaban, according to Islamic Calendar. This year 2021, this festival is celebrated on March 29, 2021.

Hadith tradition states, Prophet Muhammad went in this night to the graveyard of Baqi', where he prayed for the Muslims buried there. It is advisable on this night to go to the graveyard of the Muslims to recite part of the Qur'an and pray for the dead.

Pakistan, India, Srilanka, Bangladesh, Azerbaijan, Turkey, Central Asian countries including Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan, Kyrgyzstan and in the Arab world, this festival is celebrated with great vivacity.

In Pakistan particularly, it’s declared as a public holiday. Mosques are decorated with lights and Diya’s. Many observe a fast after night-long prayers.

People also visit graveyards while flower shops plan in advance to arrange floral chadors and petals, besides rose water and incense for placing on the graves.

However, the tradition of fireworks has been banned by the authorities due to the prevailing situations of Corona Lockdown. Nonetheless, the occasion, as per local customs, sees many people cooking and distributing food, particularly the local sweet delight the ever famous halva.

Previously, shopkeepers had to prepare a large sum of exquisite and captivating sweets, people used to book in advance for distribution. This year they expected to suffer the loss of 60 to 70 percent of their sales.