Omkar Dattatray
Eid-ul-Fitr is one of the two major festivals celebrated by Muslims around the world. It can be translated as ‘the feast of fast-breaking’ as it commemorates the end of the holy month of Ramadan in which Muslims who are able to do so will fast from dawn to dusk for a month. Eid-ul-Fitr is celebrated by holding a community-wide prayer service in an open field or large hall which often attracts a large number of attendees, even those who do not typically attend prayer services throughout the year. Eid in fact implies kindness, sympathy, and empathy for the poor, widows and weak. It teaches us simplicity, brotherhood, unity and peace. It also ordains us to help the poor, weak, widows and those who fail to celebrate the EID festival on their own and therefore they need your help and attention so that they also will celebrate the festival of Eid with happiness and joy. People wear new or clean clothes to offer prayers on various cultural forms and religiously there is a special mandatory charity called Zakat-ul-Fitr that helps ensure that all can afford to participate in the festivities. The prayer consists of two cycles of standing and reciting the Quran, bowing and prostrating in glorification of Allah, followed by sermon and supplications all led by an Imman. After prayers and throughout the day, it is common to visit family, neighbors, friends and exchange gifts. The names of this festival differ from culture to culture and country to country, though the Arabic ”Eid -ul-Fitr has become the standard in North America. Eid-ul-Fitr 2023 was celebrated on April 22, 2023. As Muslims across the globe prepare for the holy month of Ramadan to end, they also gear up to mark and celebrate the festival of Eid-ul-Fitr. Also known as Meethi Eid or Eid-ul-Fitr, the festival marks the end of the holy month of Ramadan, during which Muslims observe/hold dawn to dusk fast for a month and engage in acts of worship and spiritual reflection. Eid -ul-Fitr is a joyous occasion, one of the most significant festivals of the Muslims and is celebrated throughout the globe. The celebration of this festival ensures that the believers follow strict discipline, self control, patience, avoid negativity and worship Allah and all this is possible because Muslims observe month long fast of Ramadan and remember God and do right things and abjure enmity and bad deeds and thus Ramadan and its culmination and observing Eid-ul-Fitr leads to simplicity in the lives of people and the Muslims help their community members with financial help especially those who cannot enjoy the festivities, joy and preparing of the delicacies on the day of Eid.
The festival of Eid-ul-Fitr teaches us fellow feeling, sympathy, equality and unity and so it has great significance in the life of Muslims who celebrate this festival with great pomp and show every year after the culmination of holy Ramadan, Muslims celebrate Eid. The festival teaches us how to help the people who are poor and in need of help and thus it teaches people to help others who are in need of help. Eid-ul-Fitr also helps people to ensure equality and to do good to the people in need. Eid-ul-Fitr marks the end of Ramadan, the Muslim holy month of fasting and is celebrated during the first three days of Shawwal, the 10th month of the Islamic calendar. After Ramadan month of fasting, Muslims celebrate Eid-ul-Fitr with feasts and family visits. The start of the festival is traditionally based on sighting of the new moon, which vary according to geographic location. Moon has been cited in India, as such Eid-ul-Fitr will be celebrated today on 22rd of April 2023 including in Jammu and Kashmir. The Muslims worldwide are getting ready to celebrate Eid-ul-Fitr as the month-long fasting of Ramadan draws to close. The date of Eid varies, depending on the sighting of the moon but this year, Eid-ul-Fitr was celebrated with fervor and traditional gaiety. In Poonch, Army officers and BDC chairpersons and many people from Muslim community participated in Iftaar party after praying for peace, happiness, prosperity and good health of all countrymen in the nation. The spirit behind organizing the event was to celebrate the core values of our nation, synopsized by unity in diversity, brotherhood and secularism.
The night before the Eid-ul-Fitr is called moon night and on this night moon is sighted. If moon is sighted, Muslims and others as well greet each other for Eid-ul-Fitr. Eid-ul-Fitr features two to three days of celebrations that include special morning prayers as the Muslims gather at Eid Gah and offer congregational prayers and the Muslims greet each other and also hug each other. The Hindus and Sikhs also greet Muslim brothers on the occasion of Eid and they also visit the places of Eid Namaz and greet their Muslim brothers. Muslims are seen dressed in new clothes and they make merry and enjoy the Eid festivities and wish each other and thank the Almighty for giving them patience and endurance for fasting in the holy month of Ramadan. Eid-ul-Fitr is in fact the occasion for making merry and feeling joyous because Muslims fasting comes to end with celebration of Jamat-ul-Vida and they thank Almighty for giving them courage to fast for the month. On this auspicious occasion people greet each other with ‘Eid Mubark’ meaning blessed Eid and will formal embraces. Sweet dishes are prepared at home and served to friends, neighbors and relatives. Eid-ul-Fitr is one of the two major festivals of Muslims celebrated across the country and also worldwide. It can be translated as the feast of fasting as it commemorates the end of the holy month of Ramadan in which Muslims who are able to do so will fast from before dawn until other sunset. This festival and holiday is celebrated by Muslims worldwide because it marks the end of the month long dawn to dusk fasting of Ramadan. It falls on the first day of Shawwal in the Islamic calendar, it does not always fall on the same Gregorian day as the start of any luner Hijri month varies based on when the new moon is sighted by local religious authorities. The day is also called Lesser Eid or simply Eid. In brief Eid-ul-Fitr is the day of rejoicing and joyous occasion to offer Namaz and meet people and greet Muslim brethren on this occasion. Let us pray Allah for the peace, security, happiness, prosperity and good health of not only the people of Jammu and Kashmir but pray for the whole world happiness and peace. This in fact is the festival of peace, brotherhood, happiness and prosperity and unity and so Muslims should celebrate Eid in the spirit of brotherhood and communal harmony and mutual brotherhood. Eid greetings to all countrymen.
(The author is a
columnist, social and KP activist).