Sometimes distractions deviate us from the path of obedience and take us away from the true path. One of the mercies of Allah (SWT) upon us is the possibility of returning to the path of obedience at all times. Allah (SWT) has put some turning points to remove our carelessness and direct us towards the right path. The night of Eid al-Fitr is one of those opportunities; it is narrated in a Hadith that: The Almighty Allah (SWT) will forgive people who seek repentance on this night as many as He has forgiven throughout the days and nights of the month of Ramadan.
In the Islamic view, Eid is a day on which a new beginning forms, and a new life commences (1). Eid al-Fitr is an example to which we arrive after a month of fasting, Salat, and prayer, and we create a new page for the future based on love of Allah (SWT); this is new beginning based on what we have collected in the preceding days.
Nevertheless, one should not forget that returning to the path does not guarantee staying on it. We unfortunately see people who repent one day but commit a sin the following day. These people wonder between sin and repentance; they do not how their life would come to an end, or at least they do not have any plan for the condition in which their life would end. In fact, it is an established fact in the religion that the condition of people on the Day of Judgment is related to the last moments of their life. If they are in a good condition on the last moments, they will be fine in the Hereafter, and if not, they will suffer in the Hereafter.
Therefore, Allah (SWT) has addressed the believers in the Holy Quran by saying, ”O you who believe! Turn to Allah (repent) a sincere and firm turning (repentance); maybe your Lord will remove from you your evil and cause you to enter gardens beneath which rivers flow…(2)”
A sincere repentance means that the person is determined to stay committed to his repentance until the last moments of his life. This is what Allah (SWT) has ordered the believers to do. With such determination, it is hoped that Allah (SWT) will forgive our sins and evil acts, as the verse of the Holy Quran states. A sincere repentance is one that removes all the sins and allows the believers to show the clear pages of their book of deeds free of any impurity to their Lord.
For instance, Imam Sajjad (PBUH) has referred to this issue in the “Supplication of Repenters” (Munajat Ta’ibeen):
“O Lord! You are He who has opened a door to Your pardon and named it ‘repentance’, for You said, “Repent to God with unswerving and sincere repentance”. What is the excuse of him who remains heedless of entering the door after its opening…? (3)”
How beautiful it is to make a serious will to return to our Lord at this glorious moment; let us raise our hands towards His mercy and kindness and ask for a true, everlasting repentance from His Highness .
(The above is a selection taken from,” The Ahadith of Ramadan”, by Ayatullah Sayyid Muhammad Taqi Mudarrisi (with some changes))
The Roshd Website congratulate all Muslims, especially you dear friend, upon the Eid of obedience and the time of returning to Divine character, Eid al-Fitr.
Footnotes:
1. The word “Eid” in Arabic is derived from the rout “Awd” which means to return.
2. The Holy Quran, (66:8)
3. Mafaatih al-Jinan, Munajat Ta’ibeen