The holy Shab-e-Barat, the night of fortune, was observed across the country Friday night with due religious fervour and devotion.
The Muslims spent the night at mosques and homes offering prayers, reciting from the holy Quran and seeking blessings from Allah for long life, peace, progress and happiness for themselves, their families, relatives and friends as well as the nation and the Muslim Ummah.
The Muslims consider Shab-e-Barat as one of three most sacred nights and believe that on this night Almighty Allah decrees the fate of all human beings for the next one year.
The devotees across the country visited graves of their dear and near ones and prayed for the peace of their departed souls. Traditional foods like hand-made rice-bread with beef and halwa were prepared in the rural and urban areas across the country.
The rich Muslims distributed food and sweets among the neighbours. Foods and money were distributed among the poor and the destitute on the occasion.
Earlier, President M Abdul Hamid and Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina gave separate messages greeting all Muslims in the country and elsewhere in the world on the occasion of the holy Shab-e- Barat.
The Islamic Foundation and other religious organizations chalked out daylong programmes, including discussion meetings, hamd, naat, milad, zikr and doa.
Bangladesh Television, Bangladesh Betar, and private television channels and radio stations telecast special programmes. The daily newspapers published special articles highlighting the significance of Shab-e-Barat.
