Muslims throughout the world celebrate Eid Al-Fitr today marking the end of the fasting month of Ramadan. Ramadan is not only abstaining from food and drink; it is a time of intense spiritual renewal for those who observe it in a truly Islamic way. The same spirit should inform and illuminate our celebration of Eid too. This means we should spend the day and those following it in enhanced piety and with a sense of fellowship, brotherhood and unity. True, we should make our friends and relatives happy, but without forgetting those who are less fortunate. Eid should be celebrated in a spirit of giving and sharing. For the last few days, Muslims all over the world have been shopping and looking around for gifts for those they love. But the dazzling array of lights in the shopping arcades should not make us blind to the pockets of extreme poverty and deprivation around us.
Eid should be an occasion of unalloyed joy but without forgetting those who can’t share in this joy for various reasons.
The true believers will not forget or overlook those among us — perhaps in our own community as well as in more distant ones — who are unable to celebrate Eid — unable on account of poverty, military occupation or oppression or even religious persecution. There are those who open their cupboards on Eid day and find them bare. There are those who are in hospitals who will have a bleak and lonely day with no one visiting them. Friendless, alone and deprived of company, they will have no one to offer solace or comfort. Let us, therefore, help our unfortunate brothers and sisters to welcome the day of Eid with warmth and hope.
We should pray for those in Palestine who, on this sacred day, will receive their gifts in the form of Israeli bombs and bullets. They will huddle together, not knowing how long they will have a roof over their heads or whether family members and friends who have ventured out will return alive. Making things more painful for Palestinians and making things much more easier for their enemies are the increasing signs of split within the Palestinian ranks. The takeover by Hamas of Gaza Strip in June this year has added a geographical dimension to a division that until then was based on ideological differences or personal piques.
There are places in different parts of the world where military actions continue against Muslim minorities with people struggling to survive without the most basic necessities; they are without shelter, being abused and humiliated by one national army/police or the other. Worse still, they have little hope given the change in the attitudes of those who once championed their cause in the name of human rights.
In Afghanistan, devastated by 20 years of war and foreign invasions, Eid will be just another day with the thunder of bombs taking the place of crackers. Afghan people continue to get killed either by their own people or foreign troops, both claiming the noblest of motives for their murderous activities.
As for Iraq, the less said the better. This proud and ancient Arab nation has become a daily horror show with people getting killed by cluster bombs dropped by the so-called liberators or because of the nihilistic violence unleashed by the Al-Qaeda, extremists and insurgents of various hues or just common criminals. Iraq now exemplifies the worst features of the killing fields of Cambodia under Pol Pot and Rwanda of the 1994 massacre. And if the neocons in Washington and outside have their way we may very soon see a replay of this bloodbath in another Middle Eastern country.
Nor can we allow ourselves to forget those all over the world who need our help and our prayers. We should also remember those innocent people who were the victims of terror attacks in the US and elsewhere including Saudi Arabia. Some of them and their families will be traumatized for years to come. We should beseech God to give them the courage and fortitude to bear their great losses.
We should also think of the victims of the post-Sept. 11 hysteria or witch-hunt in some parts of the West. We should pray that merchants of hate and conflict in the United States return to their senses after all the death and destruction they brought on people who never did any harm to them.
We should also pray to God Almighty to guide us and give us the determination and resolve to build a different world — one based on peace and the opportunity to work together in a spirit of friendship and cooperation based on mutual respect, tolerance and understanding. We pray for this so that bigotry, intolerance and hatred may be forever eliminated, leaving what is left a brighter and more wonderful thing than we could ever have imagined.
As we buy gifts and clothes for our children, let us set apart a small sum for those who cannot afford to buy. We must not neglect to instill in our children a sense of compassion so that when they buy something they will remember their less fortunate brethren. Our children must be taught the virtue of giving. They must be taught that there are millions of children all over the world who lack the basic necessities that we fortunate ones may take for granted. We cannot make ourselves oblivious to the misery of others. We cannot shrug off their hardships, saying that they do not concern us. These days too many people are inward looking; very commendably, they donate to appeals for charity and when they have done so, they feel that they have done their duty. Real charity, on the other hand, comes when the giver and the receiver meet and see each other.
Islam teaches us to be both kind and compassionate. Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him, said, “I and the provider of the orphan will be together.” And what greater prize is there for any of us than to be in the company of our beloved Prophet? What is required is compassion, sincerity plus true brotherhood and understanding. By striving for these, we can determine the quality of our lives here on earth and also the quality of our lives in the world to come. Let us celebrate Eid in its true spirit, as it is meant to be celebrated. To all of you, I wish a blessed Eid.
Eid Mubarak.
