After a month of fasting and obeying Allah (SWT), we want to celebrate Eid al-Fitr. As such, it is suitable for every believer to attend the celebration ceremony to take a lesson from it, not to watch and enjoy; so that he is not among those whose Eid is only joy and entertainment. It is said that one of the purposes of this Eid is to remember the Day of Judgment and it horrors; because some of the customs of Eid is similar to the Day of Judgment and reminds us of it. On a day of Eid al Fitr, Amir al-Mu’minin (PBUH) stood in front of the people after performing the Eid prayers and delivered a sermon as follows:
“O People! Today is the day on which the righteous ones will be rewarded and the wicked ones will be losers. This is the day most similar to the Day of Judgment. By leaving your homes (and moving) towards the mosques, remember the time you will leave your graves and be resurrected before Allah (SWT); by standing in prayers, remember your position in front of Allah (SWT); and by returning to your homes, remember your return to the Paradise or the Hell.
O servants of Allah! Know the least the fasting men and women would get is that on the last day of the month of Ramadan, an angel will call: O servants of Allah! Glad tidings for you that all your past sins have been forgiven, so beware how you will be in future (1)”.
Moreover, on another occasion of Eid al Fitr, he said the following:” Verily today is Eid (day of celebration) for anyone whose fasting has been accepted and whose prayers have been acknowledged. Any day on which Allah (SWT) is not disobeyed is Eid (2)”.
Therefore, we have to be careful that the Day of Eid is not just spent in joy and entertainment; rather besides being grateful of worshipping Allah (SWT) for a month, we have to remember what Amir al-Mu’minin (PBUH) has said about this day, and continue our celebration by turning away from disobeying Allah (SWT)…
(The above is a selection taken from “Rawda al-Waaidhin”, by Muhammad bin Hassan Fattal Nayshaburi (with some additions))
The Roshd Website congratulates all Muslims, especially you dear friend, upon the Eid of obedience and the day of return to the Divine nature, Eid al-Fitr.
Footnotes:
1- Amaali of Saduq, pp. 61 & 63
2- Nahj al-Balaghah, Wisdom no. 428