By: Saif Ali Budgami
It is not my object here to explain the philosophy of Eid-ul Fitr. Almost everyone realizes the spiritual and social significance. Hence to look forward the humanistic attributes.
As it signifies the end of the month of fasting (Ramazan). its significance is purely spiritual. It is the day when the Muslims thank Allah for having given them the will, the strength and the endurance to observe fast, sharing with poor and destitute and obey His commandment during the holy month of Ramazan.
The day of Fitr is appointed as Eid so that Muslims have a gathering and come out for the sake of Allah and praise Him for the blessings they have been given, and the day of Eid is the day of gathering, day of breaking the fasting, day of giving Zakat, day of happiness and day of worship; and it is the first day of the year in which eating and drinking is permissible, since the month of Ramazan is the first month of the year for the people of truth. So, Allah wanted them to have a gathering to praise the Allah and on this day, saying Takbir in the prayer more than other days, because Takbir is glorifying Allah and praising Him for His blessings
This day, in Muslim world, brings rejoicing and happiness. The rejoicing is not, however, at the departure of the month of Ramazan; it is the happiness which man feels after successfully completing an important task.
The conception of Eid in Islam is not confined only to celebration extravagance, luxurious feasts, friendly handshakes and embraces. The Muslims should rather devote this day to the worship of Allah and should beseech Him to approve their virtuous deeds and forgive their sins, especially help the needy, for the doors of Allah’s pardon are kept open this day and His Blessings are bountiful.
The Prophet Mohammad (pbuh) said, “angels on the day of Eid stand at the alleys and paths and say, ‘rush to the Generous Lord who gives great blessings and forgives great sins.”
The words Eid-ul-Fitr symbolize celebrating the conclusion of the month of fasting. The festival brings opportunities to give comfort to the worries of life, consolidate social relations and spread love and compassion among Muslims especially needy and the poor and, hence, it is a day where Muslims around the world try to show unity through a day of festivity.
Clad in new dresses, Muslims flock to mosques and Eidgahs (the places of Eid prayer) to observe the congregational prayer of Eid. Soon after the Namaz is over in the mosques, Imams and devotees usually pray for communal harmony and welfare of the poor, homeless, destitute, needy, oppressed then share Fitr among needy on the occasion. They also pray for the victims of violence from all parts of the world.
Subsequently, the devout Muslims embrace each other saying Eid Mubarak. They keep on celebrating the festival all day long with great gusto and exchange greetings and gifts visiting each other’s homes and share delicious foods.
Since visiting relatives and family members is one of the ways leading to paradise, the celebration is not just about sharing joys but also for distributing charity.
The rich Muslims can’t help extending food, clothes, money and greetings to the needy and poor people, because the prophet Muhammad (pbuh) asked us not to leave the poor, needy, orphans, elderly and sick. The generosity shown by the Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) on this day motivates us to help others. People may help the way they want to. Giving money to the poor before Eid ul Fitr is considered more virtuous as it helps them make arrangements for the festival.
On the day of Eid-ul-Fitr, Muslims keep all their tensions and conflicts aside and greet each other with love and joy. On this day Muslims forgive each other for all of the previous mistakes and by forgiving all that they hug each other and give their relation a fresh start that is based on love and brotherhood with no ulterior motives.
Furthermore charity open doors to heaven and shorten the distance between Allah and his servants. Thus the greatest significance of this day of rejoicing lies in the mentioned fact that on this day every Muslim is enjoined to give the needy food at the rate of the prescribed weight per every member of his household.
Eid Al-Fitr then serves a three-fold purpose:
• It places upon every Muslim the obligation to remember Allah and offer Him thanks.
• It affords him an opportunity of spiritual stock-taking in that he can now ponder over the strength of his will or the weakness of his character, as the case may be, which manifested itself during the preceding month (Ramazan).
• it also is the day for the haves to share a portion of what they have with the have-nots.
And, for those persons who disobeyed this command of Allah this is the day of an end to the month-long pangs of conscience, inner struggle and continuous realization of the feebleness of their character. No more will they have to argue, without much conviction, against fasting. No more will they have to think up an excuse every morning for not fasting. No more will they have to say “Oh, but fasting is old-fashioned; it was not meant for the modern world.”
Eid-ul-Fitr is a great day of festival for Muslims. It is a day of rejoicing and being happy. But for whom? Is it the day of rejoicing for those who simply put on new clothes and wear perfume? Or is it the day of being happy for those who were eagerly waiting for the release of the greatest enemy of mankind, Satan, from his captivity so that they all revert to committing sins?
Unfortunately, many Muslims abstain from sins during the month of Ramazan, but come Eid-ul-Fitr, they go back to what they were before! Cassettes of prayers, which were in their cars during the holy month of Ramazan, are thrown back into their cases and replaced with those, which are unlawful, by Sharia.
The forbidden places from which they had abstained for month long, are infact the same places they go to celebrate Eid-ul-Fitr.
Just as, when a person goes to a college, or a university and at the completion of his course, he receives his award marking his achievement, we must understand that, the holy month of Ramazan is a spiritual university where we are being trained to achieve Taqwah i.e. piety. The day of Eid-ul-Fitr is when Allah is awarding us for our achievements.
Surely Eid-ul-Fitr is one of most auspicious occasions that is awaited by Muslims all over the world. This festival is a blessing of Allah Almighty and the purpose of it is to help Muslims come close to each other, spread joy and love to all the people that come in contact with a Muslim.
(The author can be reached at : saifaly100@gmail.com)
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