CELEBRATION OF EID FITR

Eid Fitr is the Day of Thanksgiving to Allah swt, for giving His servants the opportunity to fast and to worship Him in the month of Ramadan. On this Day, Muslims leave their jobs, wear clean clothes, offer special Eid prayer and after prayers go to visit one another and take part in festivities. Small children wear beautiful new clothes, and are very busy enjoying the festival. Their angelic faces beam with joy.

Islam wants that all Muslims, whether rich or poor, should enjoy Eid. It has, therefore, commanded all the well-to-do people to pay the Zakat e-fitr. The payment of Zakat-e-Fitr is obligatory upon every person who is adult, sane and free at the time of the sunset on the last day of Ramadan, and is also not dependent upon others for means of subsistence. If the person concerned is the head of a family, it is incumbent upon him to pay his own Zakat e-Fitr as well. Zakat-e-Fitr is the right of the poor and the needy, and can be spent for those purposes only, for which Zakat, payable on property, is expendable. This includes helping the deserving people and building hospitals, bridges, schools, etc.

The following acts are prescribed as Sunnah at the beginning of the day of Eid ul-Fitr before proceeding to the Eid prayer. 1) Muslims should put on their best available clothes Ibn Al-Qayyim said : "The Prophet (saw), used to wear his best clothes for the Eid prayers and he (saw) had clothes that he reserved for the two Eids and Jumu'ah." (Muslim) It is reported that Prophet (saw) used to wear a special dress to grace the occasion, but it was never a costly one and was always within the reach of everybody. Once Umar brought a costly dress for him requesting him to wear it on Eid days and other ceremonial occasions. Holy Prophet Muhammad (saw) immediately returned the dress observing that it did not behave a believer to wear such a costly dress. The result was that all the Companions dressed simply on this occasion and consequently this simplicity became a symbol of the Islamic society. 2) Muslims should eat before going to Eid prayer. This is Sunnah and will also help to circumvent the assumption that one must continue to fast until the Eid prayer is over. Anas (ra) narrated : "Allah's Messenger would not leave (his house) on the day of Fitr until he ate some dates." (al-Bukhari) Buraydah Bin al-Haseeb (ra) narrated : "The Prophet (saw) would not leave (his house) on the day of Fir until he ate. On the day of Nahr (slaughtering) he would not eat until he returned - so that he would eat from his sacrifice." (at-Tirmidzi)
Muslims celebrate 'Eid ul Fitr on the first day of Shawal the tenth month of the Islamic calendar, following the month of Ramadhan. The 'Eid prayer is important for Muslims as it has the merits of the daily prayers and the weekly gathering (Jumu'ah). On the day of Eid, fasting is forbidden since this day marks the end of the month-long fast. For those who fasted during the month of Ramadhan, there is a sense of triumph and accomplishment.

Eid Al-Fitr serves a three-fold purpose: It places upon every Muslim the obligation to remember Allah swt 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 (Ramadhan); 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 swt 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."

The measure of a man's love for his Creator is his unquestioned obedience to the commands of the Creator. When for whole month a Muslim has obeyed Allah swt, unquestioningly, without complaint, without regret, and when he has spent his time in prayers, in humility and in charity, should one wonder, if at the end of this period, the Creator may Himself turn to such creature of His and say: "It is now for thee to ask for Me to give."