Cairo, Egypt – An hour before breakfast time, people begin to slow down amid the hustle and bustle of the hustle and bustle of Sida Zainab and gather in a street facing the Sayyid Zainab Mosque.

Our Lady of Zainab is one of the holiest sites of Egypt, which is said to be where the granddaughter of the Prophet Muhammad has been buried. People from all over Egypt come to pray and hold celebrations there, and they are looking for miracles that many believe is happening there.

during RamadanThe mosque overlooks the “table of mercy” that the volunteers created to feed the needy and passers -by at breakfast time, and it is an old tradition across Egypt.

Mercy schedule

People gather hurry to get a seat.

At one of the tables, Jana, two, crawls two years to another.

“Who is this, for the sake of God?” A man sits jokes. Others play with her as if they were their own.

“She belongs to the woman who distributes spoons,” one of the volunteers responds, referring to a slim young woman wearing the black veil that runs up and down. “It is not one of the usual volunteers.

Volunteers of all ages, most of them from the neighborhood, bustle to give everyone a bottle of water, a juice box, and a meal package that contains a dateRice, potatoes and chicken.

They too fasting But he will eat the last time to make sure that any of the 400 food or so did not remain unconfirmed as the sun sets, which achieves the caliber from the moment when the attendees can start eating and drinking.

“We organize easily to help”

“We are not unique [33ft] Hamdi, 40, a 3 -year -old red cheerful man, says you have a table of mercy.[Egyptians] Easily organizing help. “

His arms are loaded with food boxes, and Maghreb (sunset) calls to prayer sounds – he eats a few dates and continues to serve.

Hamdi also lives in Sayeda Zeinab, running a small cafe in the narrow streets in the old market. Other volunteers, most of whom are his friends and relatives, run small stores and stand on the market, sell fabric, clothes and food.

Once the volunteer work is completed, they will return to their stores to try to earn money within a month when the revenues are drowned as fasting changes from shopping times and patterns. Instead of inhabiting it, they take things slow and focus on helping others.

“There is no place like Egypt during Ramadan,” says Hamdi, who looks at the cheerful vitality when people start eating.

“We receive donations from many countries, especially the Gulf, which want to do good works but we know that nothing like this can be organized anywhere else.

“In addition to the cash donations, the neighbors come and provide help as well. One day, someone may donate meat, another day rice or vegetables.”

There is a fundamental volunteer team that includes about 15 men, and all sellers in the Sayeda Zeinab market devoted to the lack of loss of charitable work day.

The kitchen is the Young Mostafa field, which works as a chef in other charitable kitchens throughout the year.

“The rest is done by everyone who appears. There are no hierarchical sequences or specific roles. We leave everything to God, and it always ends with work.”

A little good screaming where food is distributed is part of magic.

“Men’s rush. An old man sits on one side, waving his walking stick.

The man says that he lived in Sayyid Zainab throughout his life and heard about this schedule, but he is attending for the first time today. He quietly explains that he is alone in this Ramadan, and for this he decided to come and share breakfast with others, but he does not seem to want to say much more.

Hasan, an active volunteer in a green Hodi, scolded by the older volunteers to rush while distributing food, but ends in laughter.

“We have been able to have breakfast with our families at home, so that my mother does not feel sad,” Hassan says smiling, but we are in the rest of the days, we are here in service, and we are all like brothers now. “

A centuries -old tradition

In the warehouse in which food is stored, a remarkable sign with a verse from the Qur’an is the passer -by why volunteers took this one -month task:

“and [they] Give food, despite their love for that, to the poor, orphans and families, saying: “We only feed you for God, and do not seek any reward and no thanks from you.”

In Islam, worshipers are encouraged to perform good deeds throughout the year, especially during Ramadan.

In Egypt, these tables of mercy are a huge phenomenon that returns back like 800s.

It is said that in the year 872, the ruler of Egypt, at the time, organized something similar to the Ramadan table of mercy to people from various backgrounds.

However, this phenomenon has already caused its form during the Fatimid family under the leadership of God for me, the Fatimi religion (953-975).

It was preserved and transferred across generations, and tradition became more prevalent and essential in times of financial struggle.

For example, after hitting the dual disasters of the Covid-19 bouquet and the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the Egyptian economy is exceptionally difficult, inflation reached 41 percent in 2023.

Talking about current conflicts is common through tables, as newspapers are separated soon. The International Monetary Fund holds meetings with Egypt on previous loans and a new package of $ 1.3 billion – which everyone knows means more austerity measures.

The kitchen and storage facility belongs to the volunteers belongs to a service that provides free weekly meals for some poor families but on a much smaller scale of the table of mercy, an independent initiative to lead the neighborhood five years ago.

“We decided to organize these tables during Ramadan because every time there was more people in need, and the tables available for mercy in the neighborhood were not enough,” says Mostafa, one of the first volunteers in this table in 2020.

“Can I get an additional food box?” Jana’s mother asks after she finished volunteering and restoring her child – a question that volunteers ask every day.

Politics is strict: although everyone gets one box, whether you are a volunteer, a needy person or a person who passed at that time to break the fast and was called to join.

Schedule

Hami stresses that these tables are open to anyone. Nobody asks if you need or judge you or your clothes.

“We feed anyone who passes.

Among those sitting a couple in the seventies from the northeastern Cairo region in Margier visit a relative in a nearby hospital.

“We had no time to return home to break our fast. It is very far, so we were happy to see the tables and be able to not spend it in a restaurant.”

There are a few Sudanese families in a corner at the other end of the table, and some young people are also sitting, most of them students from other regions in Egypt.

“My family lives in Tanta, and during the beginning of Ramadan alone, these tables helped me feel home,” says 24 -year -old Ahmed.

After the pressure of food distribution, died and his colleagues, who were joined by passers -by, clean the tables and fold them to store them until the next day. Inside the storage room, they eat some leftovers. Their smiles indicate that the effort was worth it.

“Seeing people sitting and enjoying their time, even for a few minutes of their days, fills us with joy.” “We are waiting for the whole year so that we can gather and do it again.”