In the Name of God, the
Compassionate, the Merciful
Today is first of Shawwal, the day of Eid
Fetr or the Feast ending the month long fasting of Ramadhan. The soul
and life of the faithful is filled with the fragrance of spirituality
and sincerity. The inhabitants on the earth thanks to a whole month of
worship and prayer are celebrating with hopes pinned on God’s rewards.
On this auspicious occasion we offer our congratulations to all Muslims
of the world. Today is the day of prayer and joy of the people who have
got close to God. From the early hours of Eid Fetr the pleasant voice of
the Moazzen who invites the faithful to the Eid Prayer fills up the
city’s atmosphere. The faithful glorifying God Almighty for His bounties
set out towards the mosque or the Mosallas for the congregational Eid
prayers. They seek divine mercy and forgiveness and recite:
“O My Lord I have
come to You with all my heart in the hope of benefiting from Your
mercy. O My God today is one of the days of celebrations for Prophet
Mohammad and his blessed progeny. O my Great God, forgive my grave."
On Eid Fetr the cry of Takbir of the
Greatness of God as is expressed with the recitation of the words
Allaho-Akbar softens the soul and gives new hope to the life of the
faithful. On the eve of the Eid, the majestic cry of Allaho Akbar echoes
from the mosques at the sighting of the crescent. Early the next morning
the Muslims gather for the prayer as thanksgiving to the One and Only
Creator for his spiritual blessings of Ramadhan. The Eid Prayer is
manifestation of Islamic solidarity. It is indication of the human
beings humbleness in the presence of the Omnipresent Lord, to Whom all
bow and prostrate. In some Islamic states the sound of drums and
trumpets at the sighting of the crescent creates a wave of happiness.
The people in these countries prepare themselves in advance for the Eid
celebration. They wear new clothes on Eid and prepare special types of
foods. Indonesia with its population of 220 million people, of whom 85
percent are Muslims, is supposedly the largest Muslim country, although
the Muslims in India number more. During Eid Fetr days the train and bus
stations are extremely crowded with people planning travel to meet their
relatives. The people of Afghanistan who for years have been under the
clutches of oppression enforced by aggressors hold Eid prayer in their
own unique manner and then visit relatives. In Lebanon the drummers who
announce the advent of Eid go from house to house to collect gifts.
On Eid Fetr there is life everywhere and the pure hearts under the
blessing of Ramadhan are hopeful of divine mercy. In Bahrain after the
end of blessed Ramadhan, the drummers accompanied by boys walk on
streets and people give them Eidi and cookies. Bahrainis celebrate Eid
for three days. It is also customary for Bahrainis to visit the tombs of
great Islamic scholars after the Eid prayer.
According to a Hadith, God Almighty says to angels on Eid Fetr: “Do you
know what is the reward of those who have fulfilled their duties? The
angels say: O My Lord their reward is in Your hand. God Almighty says:
You angels be witness that on this day I forgive My servants. “
Praying with sincerity, sympathizing with the deprived, giving to the
oppressed their rights, and being kind towards relatives bring internal
joy and happiness for mankind. A glance at religious teachings indicates
that joy and happiness are part of faith. Seeking the shelter of God
Almighty, Who is the source of all existence, creates a special joy in
hearts. Thus, happiness is not limited only to transient material
values. Refraining from sins is a beautiful experience and this is the
real meaning of Eid. A saying from Imam Ali (AS), reads: the day you
have not committed any sin is a day of Eid for you.
Eid Fetr is therefore the day of salvation and gladness but we should
not neglect fellow humans and their problems. One of the obligatory acts
of Eid Fetr is to give Zakat Fetrey or a specific amount to the poor
before the start of the prayer so as to cleanse oneself of all
impurities. By this deed, a person insures his life and soul and keeps
himself away from calamities. Zakat Fetreh means growth, cleansing and
goodness. Therefore, like prayer it is a factor responsible for boosting
the morale, purifying life and strengthening brotherly relations in
society.
Although Eid Fetr marks the end of a month of fasting, it also ushers in
a march in the right direction for the next eleven months till Ramadhan
comes again with more divine bounties. Once again we congratulate the
auspicious Eid Fetr to all Muslims of the world, and goodbye until we
meet again tomorrow for the second and concluding part of this special
programme.
The glory of the auspicious day of Eid is evident in the mass prayers
for which the faithful gather in the early hours. They raise their hands
in unison for the Qonout and pray for the dignity and honor of Muslims.
The English translation of the Qonout reads:
"O Allah, Lord of
magnificence and greatness; and Lord of generosity and overwhelming
power; and Lord of pardon and mercy. We implore You for the sake of
this day which You have appointed as a Festival for the Muslims and
for Muhammad and his progeny as a reminder, a distinction, an honor,
to bless Muhammad and his progeny and admit me to all the bounties
to which You have admitted Muhammad and his progeny, and keep me
away from all evils from which You have kept away Muhammad and his
progeny. May Your blessings be upon him and his progeny. I beg of
You of the best which has been asked for by Your virtuously good
servants, and I seek Your protection from all those evils from which
Your sincere servants have sought Your protection.”
Britain’s Horace Leef is one of those who
embraced Islam. He considers the cause behind his interest in Islam to
be observing the beautiful and glorious scene of Eid Fetr. He says:
“I have seen many
churches and temples of the world where there is no equality. I
thought that the same discrimination prevails at mosques. But on the
day of Eid Fetr in a mosque in London I saw the highest type of
equality and the most interesting shape of worship among Muslims and
I was amazed. I saw that different ethnic groups and classes of
people joined shoulders together in prayer and worship. They
sincerely shook hands with each other and exchanged congratulations
on the auspicious day of Eid. I saw a similar scene in a mosque in
an African country. All Muslims considered themselves equal before
God. When the prayer leader said that all Prophets were righteous
there remained no doubt that Islam is the only religion with a
global and universal message in the real meaning of the word.”
These were the remarks of a British Muslim
on Eid Fetr as a manifestation of Islamic unity. This great feast is
held with specific traditions in Iran. In many Iranian cities, at
evening on the last day of Ramadhan people go to their roofs to try
sight the crescent. People in Saqqez city of Iran’s Kurdistan Province
hold a mirror in their hands and try to see the new moon in the mirror,
for according to them seeing the moon in a mirror is a good omen. Those
who succeed in seeing the moon light fire on mountains overlooking the
city in order to inform others that the moon had been sighted.
In Yazd Province in central Iran on the morning of Eid Fetr three
reciters of the holy Quran go to the top of the mosque and in their good
voices recite the verses of the Holy Book. They then call the people to
prayer. In Tehran, the capital of the Islamic Republic of Iran, on the
morning of Eid Fetr large number of people flock to the grand Mosalla
named in honour of the late Imam Khomeini (may his soul rest in peace).
Leader of the Islamic Revolution, Ayatollah Seyed Ali Khamenei, leads
the Eid prayer in Tehran. Of course, those who cannot make it to the
Mossalla converge on mosques in their localities for the Eid prayer. In
the streets and alleys the majestic cry of Allaho Akbar is heard and so
also Salawat or sending of blessings on the Prophet and his infallible
household. This is a token of the people’s thanksgiving to God for
having granted the opportunity to fast and pray for a whole month. The
Eid Fetr prayer is thus a crowning moment for the faithful. Many in
Tehran visit the Behesht-e Zahra cemetery after the Eid prayer to
remember the martyrs and their dear ones. They take along with them
candles to light on the tombstone and sweets to distribute. People also
visit family members, friends and acquaintances.
It is said that the followers of Prophet Moses (PBUH) used to adorn
themselves on a determined day and decorate markets on a specific day as
Eid. This feast commemorated the day on which Prophet Moses, through
divine assistance, aborted the sorcery of the magicians in the court of
the Pharaoh and returned victoriously. It is also related that one day
Prophet Jesus (PBUH) beseeched God to send food from heaven, praying, as
is mentioned in Ayah 114 of Surah Ma’edah:
“O Allah, our Lord! Send down to us
food from heaven which should be to us to an ever-recurring
happiness, to the first of us and to the last of us, and a sign from
Thee.”
In response to the prayer of Prophet Jesus
(PBUH), a banquet of heavenly food was descended and this was the day of
Eid. In Islamic culture Eid is thus a special occasion, when needs to
thank God for His bounties and to desist from sins and frivolities. The
Prophet’s first infallible successor in one of his sermons likened the
Day of Eid to the Day of Resurrection, saying: “O people this day of
yours is a day when the pious people are awarded and the losers are
disappointed and this has a great similarity to the Day of Resurrection.
So when leaving your homes and setting out for the Mosalla reflect on
your coming out of graves and your going towards Allah. O you the
servants of God the least thing which is given to the fasting men and
women is that an angel on the last day of Ramadhan calls them saying: O
the servants of God, tidings to you that your past sins have been
forgiven. Now think of your future and how to spend the rest of the
days.
Before ending let us recount to you a very interesting incident
concerning Eid Fetr. It was the city of Merv in Khorasan, a city that is
presently in the modern Republic of Turkmenistan. It was the era of the
oppressive Abbasid caliphate that had forced the Prophet’s 8th
infallible successor Imam Reza (AS) to leave Medina and come and reside
at the court in that city. The caliph Mamoun, as part of his plot to
discredit the Imam pressured him to lead the Eid Fetr prayer in the
belief that the people when they see the Prophet’s infallible successor
acting according to the instructions of the caliph would either change
their view on the illegitimacy of the Abbasid caliph or at least lose
confidence in the Imam. He though he would benefit both ways. Imam Reza
(AS) seeing no way out made it clear that he would lead the Eid Fetr
prayer but in the manner of his ancestor the Prophet. On the morning of
the Eid, immediately after sunrise the Imam set out barefoot with a
staff in his hand towards the Mosalla of Merv. The caliphs courtiers and
commanders were on horseback but when the saw the Imam barefoot and
walking, they immediately got off their mounts, took off their shoes and
joined the procession. Every few steps the Imam stopped and recited the
majesty cry of Allaho Akbar or God is Great. People heard the cry and
flocked towards the Imam and soon tens of thousands of people joined the
procession. The cry of Allaho Akbar was so vociferous that even women
and children on rooftops joined the chorus. It seemed the earth and
heavens were echoing with the cry of Allaho Akbar. The people were
enthusiastic that the Prophet’s successor was to lead the prayer and not
any corrupt caliph. The agents of the caliph became alarmed and reported
to Mamoun that his rule was in danger. He immediately sent a message to
Imam Reza (AS) to turn back and not to lead the prayer. The Imam
smilingly stopped, got on horseback and returned home. This was a wise
move. It saved the position of the imamate and made the people more
repugnant of the Abbasid caliphate.
Source: IRIB
World Service
