by Sadaf Farooqi

Created on: August 27, 2008

After the culmination of the month of worship - Ramadan - the first day of the next month, Shawaal, is the day of `Eid Al-Fitr. "`Eid Al-Fitr" means "the festivity of breaking the fasting (routine)". In Arabic, the word "`Eid" literally means "that which returns" and "Fitr" means "breaking/splitting". In other words, it is a day that returns every year in the Islamic lunar calendar, that signifies the end of the Ramadan fasting.

It is a day of rejoicing, because in Islam, devout worship and the performance of good deeds to get the Pleasure of Allah are considered just cause for celebration. After a month of continuous fasting, Muslims are endorsed to rejoice.

The night before `Eid, the Shawaal moon is sighted:

On the eve of the 29th or 30th of Ramadan, eager eyes look up towards the sky to spot the crescent that signals the arrival of `Eid. Climbing rooftops or gathering in balconies to peer at the night sky is an exciting ritual, especially for children, who love any kind of adventure. Once the crescent is spotted, smiles break across faces as people greet each other with `Eid wishes, recite the Islamic takbeer of "Allahu Akbar" (meaning "Allah is the greatest"), and light-heartedly exchange hugs. Eager hands are raised in supplication to Allah, just the way Prophet Muhammad [ ] prayed on spotting the crescent. Muslims pray to Allah that He accepts all the acts of worship they did during Ramadan, and that He blesses them with higher levels of faith and the steadfastness to continue on the path of righteousness for the rest of the year.

The women hasten to start preparing the recipes for the next day's celebration, a major part of which will be eating a hearty breakfast, lunch and dinner!

Shining new clothes, shoes and accessories are taken out and prepared for the next morning's prayer. The girls and women decorate their hands with mehndi or "henna", and it is permissible for one Muslim household to host a pre-`Eid dinner party for the ladies to get together to put henna on each other. However, staying up late to "party" is discouraged. The focus should be retiring to bed early in order to awaken easily before dawn the next day.

This night is also the time period during which the charity of Fitr should be distributed to the poor and needy by the head of the household. This is a fixed amount of staple food such as flour, dates or rice; alternatively, the price of this staple could also be given as Fitr charity.

A point to note is that some Muslims spend the night

• 1
• 2
• 3
• Next Page >>