I’m off home to London today and I am very excited.

Not only will it be Eid Al Fitr, the Muslim celebration that marks the end of Ramadan, but it will also be the first time I see my family in almost 10 months. For me, that’s a long time!

Eid Al Fitr is the Festival of Break-Fasting and so it is forbidden for Muslims the world over to fast on this day as it is a day of merriment and unity for the ummah (brotherhood) to mark the end of 29/30 days of fasting.

I’m off home to London today and I am very excited.

Not only will it be Eid Al Fitr, the Muslim celebration that marks the end of Ramadan, but it will also be the first time I see my family in almost 10 months. For me, that’s a long time!

Eid Al Fitr is the Festival of Break-Fasting and so it is forbidden for Muslims the world over to fast on this day as it is a day of merriment and unity for the ummah (brotherhood) to mark the end of 29/30 days of fasting.

For the first time during Ramadan I was at the supermarket at the time of taraweeh prayers. It was empty.

At this time on any other day of the year it would be bustling with families and individuals doing their weekly shop, but there was barely anyone in sight.

I was really happy to see that. Why? Because for me this was an indication that other people had changed their routine in order to go to the mosque and worship during this month.

Ramadan is nearing its end and for me it’s a sad but joyous occasion.

These mixed feelings come from the fact that I truly feel that Ramadan is the best time of year. It is a time when Muslims the world over and non-Muslims alike unite for one cause. They fast for God.

They come together in prayer and to do good. Charity work in this month increases to the extent that for some charities Ramadan accounts for 80 per cent of the donations they receive annually.

As with the Gregorian calendar the Islamic calendar has 12 months, but is lunar and around 10 days shorter than the Edwardian calendar. This means that next year, Ramadan will start around September 3.

And in only a few years, it will be in the middle of summer and that is when the real test starts.

In places like the UAE, the day is not much longer in summer than it is in winter but the heat is a lot stronger and if you work outdoors then fasting is a lot more difficult and for that you are rewarded more.

For the past few days I have tried and tried to go to Qiyam prayers.

On the first night, while I was at Taraweeh prayers, the Imam, man who leads the prayers, said the special late night prayers, Qiyam, would start at 1.30am that night. So I made sure I was at the mosque at that time to gain my reward.

A novice to Qiyam prayers in the mosque, I have only once performed them in there, choosing to pray at home instead, I was shocked to find that the prayers at this particular mosque go on for two hours.

As we enter the last 10 days of Ramadan Muslims will be looking out for the most religious night of the year and the most important.

Laylat Al Qadr, the Night of Decree, is when the Quran was first revealed to Prophet Mohammad (pbuh).

Allah says in what can be translated from the Quran:

Something rare happened yesterday. After the evening prayers, but before the taraweeh, the Iman, man who leads the prayers, declared that a lady had come to the mosque and wanted to revert to Islam.

Everyone in the women’s area of the mosque got very excited and they ran out to greet the lady and help her utter the Declaration of Faith: “There is no God but Allah and Mohammad is His messenger”.

It is always very emotional to see someone revert to Islam. As a Muslim, I feel pride that people have seen the beauty of the religion I love. It also fills me with hope that people can see through all the negative press that is circulating about Islam.

The more I go to taraweeh the more I benefit from it. For someone like me who has few family members in the UAE and spends most of Ramadan surrounded by non-Muslim friends, taraweeh are the only time of the day when I get a sense of Ramadan.

As I attend the nightly prayers I see fellow Muslims, fellow fasters and feel that there is a community out there (one which I have yet to tap in to).

People who are praying next to me will come with cups of water and distribute them to those around. They go out of their way to help the elderly find chairs on which to sit and pray and just generally look out for each other.

At sunset today Muslims around the world will mark the start of the last 10 days of Ramadan.

In many ways these are the most important days when even more acts of worship are completed.

For those living near mosques be aware that from tonight there will be late night prayers which may start as early as 12.30am or as late as 2.30am and last for an hour. This is called Qiyam Al Leil, or staying up at night.