The Imam Mahdi Association of Marjaeya, Dearborn chapter, held an auspicious celebratory program marking the…
Eid al-Fitr: A Day of Celebration
The first of the month of Shawwal marks the day of Eid al-Fitr , or the Festival of Breaking Fast. This day is among the most celebratory days in the Islamic calendar. It is a day of prayers, charity, and building relations with community and family. But most importantly, Eid al-Fitr is an opportunity for believers to be thankful to God for giving us the blessing of the month of Ramadan, where we devoted ourselves to Him for one month through our acts of worship and obedience.
Imam al-Rida (p) said, “The day of Fitr is appointed as a celebration so that Muslims may gather together for the sake of God and praise Him for the blessings they have been given. And the day of Eid is the day of gathering, breaking the fast, giving charity. And it is a day of happiness and a day of worship.”1
The Conclusion of the Holy Month of Ramadan
The day of Eid is a day of celebration, as we have cleansed our hearts of vice and transgression during the month of Ramadan. In the supplication of Imam Ali Zayn al-Abidin (p), when he is bidding farewell to the holy month of Ramadan, he says, “Oh God…bless us on this day of celebration [Eid] and our fast-breaking. Make it one of the best of days that have passed over us, the greatest in attaining Your pardon, and the most effacing toward sins. Forgive our sins, both the concealed and the public! Oh God, with the passing of this month make us pass forth from our offenses. With its departure, make us depart from our evil deeds, and appoint us among the most fortunate people!”2
The sacred words of this supplication from the Imam teach us that during the holy month, we pray, fast, and give in charity with the hope of seeking blessings and forgiveness from God, and the day of Eid al-Fitr is when we reap those benefits.
Supplication of the Qunoot in the Eid Prayers
On the day of Eid, one of the most recommended acts is to perform is the prayer of Eid. In this prayer, after reciting the two chapters of the Holy Quran, we make five qunoot in each cycle of the prayer, the supplication which we usually recite before the second ruku in the second cycle of prayer. We start the supplication by praising the Almighty saying, “Oh God! [You are] the source of greatness and might. And the Lord of pardon and mercy. And the source of God consciousness (taqwa) and forgiveness.”3
After praising God, we pray for a few things. Firstly, we ask God “on behalf of this day, which [he] has made to be a celebration for the Muslims,”4 to “send blessings on Muhammad and his progeny.”5 We ask God to shower his blessings on the Holy Prophet and his family (pbut), as it is our way to show our love and loyalty towards them.
Secondly, we pray to God to “include [us] in every goodness that [He] brought on Muhammad and his family.”6 We are asking God to keep us on the path of righteousness where He has placed the Holy Prophet and his family (pbut).
Thirdly, we pray to God to “remove [us] from any evil from which [He] has removed from Muhammad and his family, peace be upon them.”7 We are asking God to honor us in the same way that he honored the Prophet and his progeny (pbut).
At the end of the supplication, we say, “Oh God, [we] ask for the best of that which your righteous servants have asked of You. And seek Your protection from that which your sincere servants have sought your protection.”8 We are asking God to allow us to attain the best of things that have been asked from the greatest of people. Then we ask Him to protect us from those evils that have been separated from God’s pure servants.
Celebrating the Joyous Occasion
1. Offer gifts to family and friends: On any happy occasion, be it birthdays, weddings, or anniversaries, we commonly give gifts. We should do the same on the day of Eid as well, especially for our young children to cultivate their love for the blessed month of Ramadan. This also allows them to feel that God rewarded them for their efforts.
2. Be thankful. When the month of Ramadan passes, we celebrate the forgiveness of our sins and acceptance of our prayers and fasting. Thus, the major theme of the blessed day of Eid is to be thankful to our Creator for consistently offering us new opportunities to purify ourselves. God says, “If you give thanks, I shall give you greater (favors).”9 Thanking God for his blessings will help us be hopeful that He will allow us to live through another month of Ramadan in the following year.
3. Give something in charity. The day of Eid consists of an obligatory charity known as zakat al-fitrah which must be given to the less fortunate. But for those of us who do not have the responsibility of giving the obligatory charity, it is important to go out of our way and give whatever we can. On the day of Eid, when most of us spend time with our loved ones, there are millions of families who do not have the financial means to give gifts and offer the best foods to their children.
Click here to read more about zakat al-fitrah and how pay the obligatory dues.
1. Hurr al-Amili, Wasail al-Shia, vol. 5, p. 140-141.
2. Al-sahifah al-sajjadiyyah, Supplication 45.
3. Abbas al-Qummi, Mafatih al-jinan, Beirut, Al-alami Library, 2006, 327.
4. Abbas al-Qummi, Mafatih al-jinan, Beirut, Al-alami Library, 2006, 327.
5. Abbas al-Qummi, Mafatih al-jinan, Beirut, Al-alami Library, 2006, 327.
6. Abbas al-Qummi, Mafatih al-jinan, Beirut, Al-alami Library, 2006, 327.
7. Abbas al-Qummi, Mafatih al-jinan, Beirut, Al-alami Library, 2006, 327.
8. Abbas al-Qummi, Mafatih al-jinan, Beirut, Al-alami Library, 2006, 327.
9. The Holy Quran 14:7.
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