Eid al-Fitr is the annual celebration marking the end of Ramadan, the Muslim holy month of fasting. As a convert to Islam who grew up in the U.S., I would compare the atmosphere of Eid al-Fitr to that of New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day, with a Thanksgiving feast thrown on top.

Although this year’s Eid was met with its usual excitement and optimism for the year ahead until the next Ramadan, there were also heavy hearts around the Muslim world.

As Ramadan came to a close this week, suicide bombers carried out attacks near Al-Masjid an-Nabawi in Medina, Saudi Arabia — also known as the Prophet’s Mosque because it was built by the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him). Not including the perpetrators, four people were killed. And earlier this week in Baghdad, Iraq, another bomb struck a predominantly Muslim city as innocent civilians prepared for Eid. The death toll in the Baghdad attack stands at 250.

In the wake of these tragedies, Muslim athletes from a variety of sports and countries shared prayers and well-wishes for the ummah during the holiday:

Amna Al Haddad — Weightlifting — United Arab Emirates

Aly Ghazal — Soccer (Portugal’s Primeira Liga) — Egypt

Kurt Zouma — Soccer (England’s Premier League) — France

Abdul-Malik Abu — Basketball (NCAA, North Carolina State) — USA

Mo Farah — Track & Field — Great Britain

Arda Turan — Soccer (Spain’s La Liga) — Turkey

Ruqsana Begum — Kickboxing, Muay Thai — Great Britain

Amir Khan — Boxing — Great Britain

Andre Ayew — Soccer (England’s Premier League) — Ghana

Edin Dzeko — Soccer (Italy’s Serie A) — Bosnia & Herzegovina

Fatau Dauda — Soccer (Ghana’s Premier League) — Ghana

Felix Sturm — Boxing — Germany

Hajra Khan — Soccer (Maldives’ Dhivehi League) — Pakistan

Ahmed Hassan Kouka — Soccer (Portugal’s Primeira Liga) — Egypt

Hedo Turkoglu — Basketball (retired NBA) — Turkey

Husain Abdullah — Football (retired NFL) — USA

Karim Benzema — Soccer (Spain’s La Liga) — France

Karl Dargan — Boxing — USA

Marco Huck — Boxing — Germany

Mehmet Okur — Basketball (retired NBA) — Turkey

Mesut Ozil — Soccer (England’s Premier League) — Germany

Khabib Nurmagomedov — Mixed Martial Arts — Russia

Moeen Ali — Cricket — England

Mohamed Elneny — Soccer (England’s Premier League) — Egypt

Mohamed Salah — Soccer (Italy’s Serie A) — Egypt

Muhammad Wilkerson — Football (NFL) — USA

Mohamed Sanu — Football (NFL) — USA

Nour El Sherbini — Squash — Egypt

Razak Brimah — Soccer (Spain’s La Liga 2) — Ghana

Ryan Harris — Football (NFL) — USA

Sonny Bill Williams — Rugby, Boxing — New Zealand

Wakaso Mubarak — Soccer (Russia’s Premier League) — Ghana

Yaya Toure — Soccer (England’s Premier League) — Ivory Coast

GLOSSARY OF TERMS

Eid al-Fitr — A Muslim holiday celebrating the end of Ramadan.

Ramadan — the holy month of prescribed fasting for Muslims. It was during this month that the Quranic revelations began. Fasting during Ramadan is the fourth of Islam’s five pillars.

Eid Mubarak — “Blessed Eid”

Ummah — Arabic for “community.” The global Muslim community is often referred to as the Muslim ummah, or the ummah of Islam.