A family, community connectionat The Salaam Restaurant
CHICAGO—As the Islamic Holy Month of Ramadan concluded, Muslims, friends, and family gathered to reflect on the 30 days of sacrifice, acts of kindness, and community service during the Nation of Islam’s Eid-ul-Fitr held at The Salaam Restaurant on April 10. The gathering was hosted by the Nation of Islam Shura Executive Council. It was […] The post A family, community connectionat The Salaam Restaurant appeared first on Final Call News.
Black News 
CHICAGO—As the Islamic Holy Month of Ramadan concluded, Muslims, friends, and family gathered to reflect on the 30 days of sacrifice, acts of kindness, and community service during the Nation of Islam’s Eid-ul-Fitr held at The Salaam Restaurant on April 10. The gathering was hosted by the Nation of Islam Shura Executive Council.
It was an afternoon that connected Muslim communities. Members of the Nation of Islam and the community of Imam Warith Deen Muhammad shared brotherhood and sisterhood with one another at the “Palace of the People,” upstairs in the fine dining area.
Nation of Islam Student National Imam Sultan Rahman Muhammad, great-grandson of the Most Honorable Elijah Muhammad, and member of the Shura Executive Council was one of the coordinators for the gathering.
Attendees enjoyed delicious food, music and fellowship. The significance of the gathering and the coming together of two communities was not lost on Sister Ndidi A. Okapu, from the community of Imam Warith Deen Muhammad, son of the Most Honorable Elijah Muhammad. She is based in Chicago.
“Our families have been connected since before I was born, through shared roots with the Honorable Elijah Muhammad and later through Masjid Muhammad in Washington, D.C., under Imam Warith Deen Mohammad,” she said. Sister Ndidi, founder of her own consulting business, expounded on this shared bond.
“Through our communities’ shared history, the Honorable Elijah Muhammad taught us all that Islam is freedom, justice, and equality. For Black people, not just in America but across the world, those principles resonate deeply because of our shared history with the denial of those very things,” she said.
Throughout the month of Ramadan, Muslims abstain from eating, drinking, and engaging in marital intimacy during daylight hours. It is also a time of reflection and spiritual renewal.
This Sacred Month commemorates the time when the Angel Jabril appeared to the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him), and conveyed the divine words of Allah (God) that would eventually form the Holy Qur’an, the Islamic holy book.
“We are rooted in our shared struggle to overcome the carnal realities of self that are represented in our abstention from wrongdoing, food, drink, and intimate relations during the daylight with our husbands and wives,” Imam Sultan said in a previous interview with The Final Call.
“As a member of The Nation of Islam, it is always a delight being with the believing family at any occasion,” said Sister Gesselle Muhammad, originally from Los Angeles, now in Chicago. “After a month of fasting, we are able to start our commitment to Allah again and continue striving to be one with Him,” she said.
“It is (also) important that we celebrate together and that our children celebrate with their peers too. It exhibits safety, fun and hope for our future,” Sis. Geselle added.
Jr. M.G.T. Sis. Jannah Muhammad, an 11-year-old from Chicago, expressed her excitement about attending the Eid celebration with her family and friends.
“To me, the importance of Ramadan is to be able to get closer to Allah and to follow the instructions of the Honorable Elijah Muhammad, ‘How to Eat to Live’ and fasting.
I tried to fast for Ramadan because I have never done it before and it was a way for me to contribute. So, I fasted from the morning until after school time and it really felt good,” she said.
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