Last-minute scramble as Muslims in UAE prepare for Eid

The remaining hours and minutes of Ramadan are a mad scramble to buy the customary new outfit as well as gifts for family and friends, as Muslims in the country get ready for Eid.

Faisal Mughal, of Bader Al Layali Gents Tailoring , works until 3am to meet the demand for new clothing for the upcoming Eid. Antonie Robertson / The National

DUBAI // As the last few hours of the holy month fade, many Muslims will spend the time in quiet prayer or doing charity work.

Except, that is, those who have waited until the last minute to stock up on everything they need for the coming Eid Al Fitr celebrations.

For these people, the remaining hours and minutes of Ramadan are a mad scramble to buy the customary new outfit as well as gifts to hand out to children and family and friends.

“This is the first chance I’ve had to rest all day,” said an exhausted Jasim Mohammed, who was sitting near the cashiers at a Union Cooperative hypermarket.

“Today doesn’t feel like a holiday. I’ve worked harder today than most of last month. My wife has left all the shopping for today.

“We’ve been up since 9am driving all over the city, going to the tailor in Mankhool to pick up her dress, and then another in Abu Hail for the abaya, then back to a mall to buy shoes, then to Dhiyafa to get my kandura.

“Now she has been in the supermarket for over an hour, I’m thinking she is going to call me and tell me to bring a second trolley.”

The Emirati father of three said he was glad to have all his children’s shopping done at least. “I’m also very glad to have a friend who is a banker, he is getting me the new notes for Eidiya so I don’t have to stand in line at the bank.”

As well as new clothes, handing out crisp banknotes is a longstanding Eid tradition, with new bills difficult to find at this time of year.

But while some people would be willing to go without freshly-printed cash to give as gifts, they certainly were not willing to pass up on a new outfit, which meant a busy time for the city’s tailors.

“Yesterday was a nightmare,” said Amin Khan, who works at a tailor on Sheikh Zayed Road.

“People thought they were going to announce Eid early and everyone was panicking. It is always crazy on the last days of Ramadan, it is our busiest time of the year, but this was just insane. We were trying to call in other tailors but they were in the same situation. We all gave a cry of relief when we heard it was still Ramadan.

“We are still busy today, but compared with yesterday’s chaos this is nothing, no one is even complaining like they usually would this time of year.”

However, not everyone was feeling the pressure. Among the crowds of busy shoppers, Mohammed Shibly cut a calm figure.

“Still need to get myself new sandals,” he said. “I’m not going to fuss about it much, I’ll just go to the nearest shoe store and pick up a comfortable pair. I just hope they’re not too busy.”

The Emirati father of three put people’s last-minute shopping blitz down to the fact Ramadan, although meant to be a slower time of year, was in reality very busy.

“There are a lot of things you have to do during Ramadan, family obligations and such that just take up all of your time,” Mr Shibly said. “Besides I’ve been making sure the wife and children have everything for Eid but I forgot about myself.”

But even after the chaos in the markets has died down and the stores closed, the barbers are still hard at work making sure their customers look their sharpest.

“We work until the sun comes up, until there are no more customers,” said Mohammed Akbar, a barber at Saloon Jernas in Satwa.

“People have booked time with us weeks in advance so we have a set schedule,” said Mr Akbar as he cut the hair of a six-year-old boy while his four brothers waited their turn.

“But you always have frantic walk-in customers, so we try to fit them in between bookings. Our scissors don’t stop today.”