Ораза айт

Oraz Ait

What it is

The festival celebrating the end of the month of fasting.

Who takes part

Family, relatives, and neighbours.

What kind of holiday it is

Oraza Ait is the festival of the breaking of the fast (Arabic Eid al-Fitr), which concludes the month of fasting. “Oraza” is from the Persian “ruza” (“fast”), “ait” means “holiday”. It falls on the 1st of the month of Shawwal — the day after 29 or 30 days of fasting. As with Kurban Ait, the date is movable and shifts back by 10–11 days a year.

Ramadan and the fast

The fast lasts the month of Ramadan: from dawn to sunset believers abstain from food, drink and wrongdoing. In the morning before the fast they eat the “saresi”, in the evening they break the fast — the “auyzashar” — and in Kazakhstan the auyzashar traditionally invites relatives, neighbours and the needy. The meaning of the fast is discipline, mercy and levelling rich and poor: for a time everyone knows hunger alike.

Kadir tuni

Kadir tuni is the “night of decree”, on which, by belief, the Quran was sent down. It falls on one of the last ten nights of Ramadan — the odd ones (the 21st, 23rd, 25th, 27th or 29th). It is often said to be the 27th night, but there is no convincing text pointing precisely to it: it is the supposition of a number of scholars. That is why many spend all the odd nights at the end of the month in prayer.

The morning of the holiday

A full ablution, clean new clothes, fragrance.
It is customary to eat before the prayer — usually dates: a sign that the fast is over.
Before the prayer the pitir sadaka is paid (see below).
They go to the mosque reciting the takbir; after the Eid prayer and khutbah they return by another road.

Pitir sadaka

Pitir sadaka (fitr-sadaqa) is an obligatory alms paid by every Muslim for himself and his dependants so that the needy too can celebrate. Its size by the norm equals the cost of two kilograms of wheat flour (or its equivalent — raisins, dates), and every year the Spiritual Administration of Muslims announces a specific sum. It is given from the beginning of Ramadan until the Eid prayer, best just before it, and if possible to the needy in the nearest neighbourhood.

How the day goes

After the prayer it is customary to go round relatives with congratulations. A Kazakh custom that is told of is “aittau”: on the days of ait it is customary to call at forty, or by folk count even seventy, houses, congratulating and “asking for aittyk” — a gift for the congratulation; a Kazakh did not refuse one who came to congratulate, and gave what he had. For children this is the main adventure of the holiday. The table is beshbarmak, sweets, baursaks, shelpek, dates. By custom the holiday may last up to three days. It is considered good manners to make peace with everyone one quarrelled with during the year and to give sadaqa.

Oraza Ait and Kurban Ait: how they differ

Oraza Ait ends the month of fasting (1 Shawwal), Kurban Ait is the festival of sacrifice (10 Dhu al-Hijjah, after the Hajj).
Before the prayer on Oraza Ait one eats, on Kurban Ait one does not.
On Oraza Ait the pitir sadaka is paid, on Kurban Ait the sacrifice is made and the meat divided.
In Kazakhstan Oraza Ait is an ordinary working day, while the first day of Kurban Ait is a day off.

Soviet years and the revival

In Soviet times Islamic life was suppressed: in the 1930s thousands of mosques were closed, and fasting and celebrating the ait were possible only in secret. After 1991 the holiday returned, and today in the days of ait the mosques are filled with mass prayers and society with charity.

Interesting facts

The sum of the pitir sadaka is not a “tariff” but the price of two kilograms of flour: it is announced every year by the DUMK and tied directly to prices. There is also a “ladder” — the well-off are advised to give the equivalent of raisins or dates.

The word “saresi” is not a “breakfast” in the everyday sense: it is a pre-dawn meal that gives strength for the day of the fast and is itself considered a good deed.

Kadir tuni is one of the “odd nights” at the end of Ramadan; the popular “27th night” is not an exact date but a supposition. This guards against the mistake of “missing it if it is not the 27th”.

By the sunna one goes to the Eid prayer by one road and returns by another: it is believed that in this way more people bear witness to the believer and more places are “blessed” by his path.

Glossary

Ораза: The fast in the month of Ramadan.
Рамазан: The ninth month of the Islamic calendar, the month of fasting.
Сәресі: The pre-dawn meal before the fast.
Ауызашар: The evening breaking of the fast; a public meal for relatives, neighbours and the needy.
Қадір түні: The “night of decree” in the last ten nights of Ramadan.
Пітір садақа: The obligatory alms at the breaking of the fast, about two kilograms of flour in equivalent.
Айт намазы: The festive prayer.
Шәууәл: The month after Ramadan; its first day is Oraza Ait.
Айттау: Going round houses with congratulations on the days of ait.
Айттық: A gift or treat for congratulating on the days of ait.

Customs vary from family to family — this is a general description.

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