By: MuslimVillage
Source: MuslimVillage
Eid Message from MuslimVillage.com
At MuslimVillage we are aware of the realities that confront the Umma and the wonderful people and causes that are there to help us take on the challenges and remove the obstacles. May Allah accept all of those efforts and aid us in them. Yet this Eid we want to go back to the basics and remember two important matters we all can and must attend to even if the troubles of the world seem too much for any one of us.
Eid al Fitr is meant to be a time of joy after a time of effort. It is a time for food, drink, and keeping up family ties. In all of that, and most important of all, it is a time for the remembrance of our Lord, Most High.
And why not remember our Lord – that is our purpose. Indeed Allah has bestowed upon us many blessings by way of health, wealth, intellect, strength, and most importantly iman or faith. With faith we have Allah, Most High and nothing can be more precious than that! So let us make this Eid and what comes after it remembrance with gratitude to Allah, Most High.
Yet gratitude is more than just a word it is a state that begins with submitting to our Lord. We would like to focus on two practical aspects of gratitude which are both prominent in our religion and our Eid celebrations.
First and foremost is salat, prayer – like the Eid prayer and the five daily prayers. Allah has made it obligatory that through it we stay close to Him for our own benefit! So let us never depart from Him by leaving them!
And the prayer is not just a ritual. Rather it is a ritual that drives and perpetuates a spiritual state of awe that can also entail praise, humility, joy, yearning, and love. Let us in our prayers on Eid resolve to work on our salat. Some of us need to get all five in, others need to work on punctuality, others miss its inward reality. Yet salat binds us all together in striving for our Lord. So let’s not lag or get left behind.
Another important component of gratitude that we want to remember is spending. Allah, Most High, often speaks of prayer and spending together in the Quran. Indeed for this Eid we give the Sadaqa al-Fitr before the prayer. Many of us also pay or Zakat in Ramadan. May Allah accept that from us and fill our hearts with the beautiful light of His own generosity so that we may spend more than what it required- so that we spend to the extent that we need His love and pleasure.
Yet spending it not only from wealth but is is also in the form of time and effort that are required to build character, bridges, and family and community ties that extend beyond this world into the next. A charitable smile can go as far as a charitable dollar. So even those of us who are poor can spend of ourselves for our Lord, Most High.
And then we stand side by side before Him in prayer praising and thanking Him and asking for His forgiveness and pleasure and help for us all, especially those in need and oppressed everywhere just as we do in the Eid prayer. So let us strive for that, as much as possible, not just on Eid but every day of our lives.
Eid Mubarak from the entire team at MuslimVillage.com
Ahmed Kilani, Mohammad Kandil, Muhammad Tariq, Qays Arthur
