Eid-El-Fitr: Of a festival, its rites and lessons

One of the most celebrated festivals worldwide is ‘Eid-El-Fitr. It occurs on the first day of Shawwal to commemorate the ending of a month of fasting. The word ‘Eid, for short, is an Arabic word that refers to both the Islamic festival and the place where Muslims perform the festival prayers. The happiness that overwhelms Muslims on this day is accrued from the successful completion of the fasting month of Ramadan.

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For many, they consider the season as Sunnah—as Prophet Muhammad used to celebrate it. For others, happiness results from their reuniting with relatives, the feasting, and the amazing outfits that sweep the atmosphere of the day. Funnily enough, some people conceive of it as a day to celebrate the survival of fifty days of missed lunch. Eid-El-Fitr is a festival that should be duly observed.

On Eid, a Muslim takes the ritual bath, wears nice and perfumed clothes (as Muslim men do), walks to the praying ground (if conducive to do so), observes the Eid prayer behind an Imam, listens to the Khutbah (sermon), and returns home via another route (if possible), while magnifying and praising Allah, as enjoined in Qur’an 2:185 (Allahu Akbar Allahu Akbar Allahu Akbar, La Ilaha Illa Allah, Allahu Akbar Allahu Akbar, Wa Lilah al-Hamd). A Muslim should visit his relatives and feast with them. As part of the ideals of Eid-El-Fitr, we share gifts with friends and relatives. It is a festival of love and sharing. A Muslim who has not paid her Zakat-al-Fitr (Zakat of Breaking the Fast of Ramadan) should do so before going to Eid. It is expected that the Muslims are in a happy mood. Among the practices of the righteous predecessors is that they congratulate themselves on Eid, saying Eid-al-Mubaarak (Happy Blessed Eid), and they reply Taqabala Allahu Minna Waminkum (May Allah accept it from us and you as an act of worship). Muslims should glorify Allah with praise for witnessing the day and engage in a lot of supplications. Feast as much as you can, but maintain moderacy—not trespassing Allah’s boundaries or forgetting to perform other acts of worship. Moreover, Eid-El-Fitr is not a festival to resume the corrupt acts that you might have dumped in Ramadan; rather, it is a festival to thank Allah with our words and actions.

What we should learn and unlearn:

As we celebrate the end of the Ramadan fast, we should not forget the lessons that we have subscribed to in our minds. During the just-concluded Islamic month of Ramadan, we saw an appreciable reduction in immorality. We tried to abstain from vulgarity, indecent dressing, fornication and adultery, prostitution, backbiting, slanderous speeches, lies, and corruption of all kinds. On the other hand, honesty, friendliness, generosity, piety, and calmness characterised our affairs. These acts should not be limited to the month of Ramadan. A Muslim should persist in these acts as a fulfilment of the essence of Ramadan. The fact that one quits a corrupt act in Ramadan is a testament to the fact that one can live his or her life without it.

Our perseverance in fighting hunger despite having food to eat should assist us in enduring the economic challenges that the country is facing. Our selfless charity and generosity should persist. Extend palliatives and round-table meals beyond Ramadan. We should continue to pray for our country, as we did in Ramadan. Our preoccupation with the recitation of the Qur’an and other acts of worship, which eschewed us from negative criticisms of the government’s policies, let alone preparing to stage protests against them, should continue. We should remember that we owe much to the good image of this country. Our abstinence from vein talks and misrepresentation of Nigeria (and Nigerian leaders) on X space and other social media platforms, if persisted, is a way to effect the change that we want for Nigeria. Ramadan has gone, but the goodwill for Nigeria must persist!

I join the Muslims to celebrate the Eid-El-Fitr festival. Eid al-Mubaarak!

Abdulkabir Muhammed is the Anchor of LASU Radio Crescent Avenue Program, a Friday programme dedicated to campus Muslims. He writes via [email protected]