Egypt4u

Way cool ornaments just floating down and about - cool!

I thought it was bloody Alladin at first, Ramadan! stuff that, I am turning it off on my screen.

Am I missing something? Was there supposed to be a link? I haven't got one?

Ohhhhhhhhhh yeahhhhhhhh Ramadan!

Yes - Ramadan Mubarak!

Got it now ..... (duh)

I just thought that like the snow flakes it was decoration time.

It is different and yup it IS Ramadan so all is good

I wished the family Ramadan Karim when I went to bed - then at 2.0am I had my phone flashing and buzzing as one after another they all rang me to celebrate the first prayers of Ramadan.......Bless them

Bless them? I would have been going spare if someone rang me at that time in the morning to wish me a Merry Christmas or some other greeting

One of the joys of a large loving family in different time zones. Two of the messages were from step-grandsons aged 18 months and 3 years who did their best to give me greetings in Egyptian and English now that was a blessing!

@MD - what does Ramadan Karim mean?

I thought the phrase was Ramadan Mubarak ....... what is Ramadan Karim?

I understand Karim to mean Blessings and I think Mubarak is congratulations.

The reply Alahu Akram is stressing the generousity of God's Blessing. Sort of Yes! Indeed!

Well all I can say is "Alahu Akram " it is a blessing I can turn the annoying things off.

Thanks - I've heard Ramadan Mubarak but not Ramadam Karim ....... so wondered what it meant - makes sense.

I found this on the Internet

What do Ramadan Mubarak and Ramadan Kareem mean?

Ramadan Mubarak translates to mean either "blessed Ramadan" or "happy Ramadan".

Ramadan Kareem means "may Ramadan be generous to you" but there is some debate as to if it should be used during Ramadan.


Are the greetings different and when are they used?

The greetings are different as Ramadan Mubarak offers a blessed or happy Ramadan to the person it is exchanged with.

Whereas Ramadan Kareem has debate around its use as it asks Ramadan to be generous to the other person.

There is some disagreement over its use as some people believe that asking Ramadan to be generous to you goes against the teachings of Islam, because Ramadan itself cannot be generous to an individual.

Saudi Arabian scholar Sheikh Al-Uthaymeen told the Express: “It should be said ‘Ramadan Mubarak’, or whatever is similar to it, because it is not Ramadan itself that gives so that it can be kareem (generous), in fact it is Allah who placed the grace in it, and made it a special month, and a time to perform one of the pillars of Islam.”

Ramadan Mubarak is the most commonly used of the two as it was originally used by the prophet Muhammad

However, others believe using Ramadan Kareem is fine because they say the phrase represents the blessings that Allah gives his followers during the month.

Jordan’s Iftaa’ Department, which is responsible for religious decrees, last year ruled: “Describing Ramadan to be honourable does not in fact attribute the quality to the month.

“Rather, the word comes from the fact that God gives his worshippers blessings during the month.

“It’s thus acceptable to call the thing by the name of its reason or cause."

Some Muslims view Ramadan Kareem as a more respectful way of referring to Ramadan.

Both greetings can be used throughout the whole month of Ramadan but Ramadan Murbarak tends to be the more commonly used of the two.

Thanks Keefy.

I've only ever heard Ramadan Mubarak being said so wondered what the "karim/kareem" meant.

Kinda hard here right now for the neighbours re: Ramadan cause the days are long so the food & water is pretty much only happening in the wee hours. Everybody is laying pretty low right now

Well, all the people who have sent me greetings from Luxor have used Karim and not Mubarak, maybe local custom? They think that they are offering you blessings.

As one of my taxi drivers here in Cardiff says "It's the thought not the deed which is important" in this case.