The Festivals:
Eid al Fith’r and Eid
al Ad’haa
These are the two Festivals that bring immense
joy and fulfillment to every Muslim.
Eidul Fith’r: After 29 to 30 days of rigorous
fasting in the month of Ramadan we celebrate our great accomplishment. We rejoice that the approval of Allah has
been gained. We decorate and beautify
our homes, don new clothes, put on fragrances, give away Fith’r charity to the
indigent and hasten to the Eidgah for Salaah. We also have a sumptuous feast
and invite guests to it.
Fith’r,
the very special charity by which the festival is named, is another
evidence of the economic advancement of the community as a whole, that Islam
advocates.
Alham’dulillah! All praise to Allah! Allah,
Our Lord and Benefactor, has indeed blessed us with earnings adequate to our
needs. The Fith’r is, therefore,
obligatory on us.
We celebrate this glorious festival on the
completion of a thrty day discipline we had imposed on ourselves and abided by
in an exemplary manner. There was every
justification to name it the Ediual Ramadan.
But we call it the Eidul Fith’r, the Festival of Charity.
Festivals bring joy to the affluent and quite
a few problems to those who are not able to meet all their needs. Whether we
admit it or not, everyone of us has passed through times of stress and
shortage. Deep within our hearts, we are aware of the sense of deprivation and
even a measure of starvation that prevails,
at times, in some homes.
To bring them the light of happiness on this
day of universal rejoicing, Allah has enjoined on us that we reach out to them
and provide them this Fith’r.
Fith’r
is a specified quantity of wheat or rice that is given away to the
needy.
This is computed according to the number of
members in our family. In every masjid, we are informed, well before Eid, as to
the exact measure and its cost equivalent, relative to the place where we
live.
Fith’r can be given in cash or grain). It must be conveyed to whom it is due, even
before we proceed to the masjid or eidgaah for the Eid prayers.
The Eid-al-Adh'haa: The 12th and last month
of our calendar is Zul Hajj, the month of Haj.
On the 9th of this month, over two million Hajis assemble in the plain
of Arafaath for the crowning glory of Haj-- the prayers, the Wukhoof of
Arafaath.
The Rahmath, the Mercy and Compassion, of
Allah is nearest to them this day. And
every Haji prays directly to his/her Maker and secures the fulfillment of
his/her highest aspirations.
The next day, Muslims all over the world,
take part in the Salaah Eid al Adh'haa and hasten home to perform the holy rite
of sacrifice.
In this way we celebrate and commemorate the
sacrifice Prophet Syedina Ibrahim Alaihis Salaam performed five thousand years
ago for Allah.
The Patriarch Prophet was ready to sacrifice
one most beloved to him, his own son Ismail, to please Allah. Blindfolding himself, he actually passed the
knife across the throat of what he believed was his son.
But Allah ordained His Archangel Gibrayeel to
substitute a sheep for the boy. It was the sheep that was indeed
slaugtered. And Ismail was safe.
The commemorative sacrifice is obligatory on
all Muslims who can afford the cost of one or more animals, according to their
economic status.
They:
retain a third of the meat for themselves,
distribute a third to relatives and
give away the remainder to the poor.
By this, every family, rich or poor, enjoys
on the Eid day a square meal, enriched by the incomparable taste of qurbani
meat.
The Eid Salaah’s are generally held in one or
more open grounds and in major Masaajid.
It is better to hold this organized Salaah as
early in the day as possible. In the
Harmain Sharifain this glorious Salaah is performed an hour and a half after
Salaahul Faj'r.
The early performance of Salaah, especially
in the Eid al Ad’haa will enable the assembly to return home sooner and attend
to the sacrifice rites and to the speedy distribution of meat. As this
auspicious meat is to be cooked and savoured for lunch, the quicker the rites
are performed, the better for all.
May Allah kindly accept this offering of His
devoted slaves. A’meen!
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