Eid Ul Fitr 2023

Significance of Eid Ul Fitr

In  Islam, there are two major festivities and these are called The  'Eidain' meaning the two eids. Happy Eid Ul Adha Best Wishes

 in Arabic means something or some  event that recurs or comes back at regular intervals. The two eids are  eid ul fitr and eid ul adha. Eid ul fitr marks the end of the holy month  of Ramadan, which is the eight month of the Islamic calendar  characterized by fasting.

In the month of Ramadan,Muslims all over  the world abstain from eating, drinking, conjugal relations from dawn  to dusk. This is the external manifestation of this spiritual act of  fasting. However, as with all acts of worship there is a deeper inner  dimension as well. This involves the cleansing of the heart and mind  from evil thoughts and purging the tongue and the limbs from the  inclination towards vain talk, gossip, back-biting etc and guarding the  senses from indulging in the Forbidden, looking at the Forbidden,  listening to the Forbidden,touching the Forbidden or walking towards the  Forbidden.

The month of Ramadan is marked by increased acts of  charity, of prayer, of devotion, of remembrance of God and acts of  humanitarian assistance and strengthening familial bonds. The Muslims as  a community, are involved in a month long rigorous exercise in patience  in restraining their desires in self sacrifice, in devout worship and  in magnanimous acts of easing the sufferings of human kind. All of this  constitutes a sustained spiritual and physical exercise in helping them  to become better human beings and more obedient creatures of the All  Mighty.

At the end of this month long fasting with the sighting of  the new moon begins Eid Ul Fitr. This is a unique celebration in that  it is a form of thanksgiving to the Creator for giving them the  opportunity of spiritual cleansing and of sharing the blessings they  enjoy with the less fortunate ones. As Allah says in the Holy Quran Ch 2  V 185 'Allah wishes for you ease and does not wish for you hardship and  that you may fulfil the prescribed period and that you proclaim the  greatness of Allah that He guided you and so that you may be grateful'.

The  eid day is marked by charity which precedes the congregational prayer  and the logical reasoning behind this is to enable the less fortunate  ones to participate in the joys of eid. It has been narrated in a Hadith  that on this day the Angels descend and meet the believers at every  street corner and give them glad tidings of the acceptance of their  fast, their prayers, and their charity and of their deliverance from the  hellfire.

In conclusion, the Eid Ul Fitr distinguishes itself  from standard celebrations in that it is an exercise in spiritual  upliftment and humanitarian acts of kindness and magnanimity.