Salaamun ’ala man ittaba’ al-Huda.
I guess I’m a bit late this year to wish “Selamat Hari Raya” to all my blog readers specifically and to all Muslims generally. So, Selamat Hari Raya! To quote the traditional Islamic greeting for every celebration, kullu 'aam wa antum bikhair
. It means, may you be in wellness every year. My Eid this year is not so much different this year compared to last year, except that I now own a DSLR and I still don't get angpau from Ummi and Abah yet! :)
Eid al-Fitr means celebration of fitrah. Fitrah on the other hand, means “the original state”. This Eid is to celebrate the return of a Muslim to his fitrah; his original state of creation. Man, and all other creatures, originally submit to the decree of Allah. However, Allah has honoured man by giving him free will. This free will, other than being an honour, is also a tribulation. Man can choose whether he wants to stay on his fitrah as all other creatures in this universe do, or deviate from God's path and become astray.
What's Ramadhan got to do with fitrah?
In one year's time, man can be deviated too far from Allah— too far from his fitrah. Allah, the Most Compassionate, prepares for him a month for him to cleanse his heart from all things that deviate him from the Straight Path. He fasts and he prays during the month of Ramadhan. He disassociates himself from food, women and vain things. He concentrates on prayer, Qur'anic recitation and charity. Now, after thirty days of intense cleansing, his heart is pure. He has now returned to his fitrah. His eyes, his ears, his mouth, his limbs and his heart; all now submit solely to Allah the Exalted. Allah, the Most Merciful now give him a gift: Eid al-Fitr.
The Road Not Taken
At this point, the man has two choices: to pay back the 30-day abstinence or to keep the momentum going. For those who choose to former, I want to tell you a story. A story of a peasant who was one day given hell loads of money. The money was just enough to build a three-story grand bungalow on top of a hill near the beach. So, he contacted a construction company to build for him his bungalow. The contractor told him that the project would take about one month. So the now-rich peasant waited patiently for his bungalow to be completed. After one month, that is, after the bungalow was complete, the peasant now decided to destroy the bungalow built in one month; in just one day after its completion! Now he has lost his bungalow and the money went to waste. You built a palace of taqwa in thirty days just for you to destroy on the first day of Syawal! Oh, what a waste … verily, what a waste!
Those who choose the latter are those who succeed. The man, after thinking deep on Syawal Eve, decides to take the second option. He wakes up the next morning and glorify his Lord with the holy exclamation of joy: Allahuakbar, Allahuakbar, Allahuakbar, Lailahaillallah wa Allahuakbar, Allahuakbar, wa Lillahilhamd!
He cleanses himself by doing the nafilah bath of Eid al-Fitr. He prays fajr in congregation with his family before he thanks Allah for giving him the chance to complete Ramadhan this year. After that, he continues to glorify his Lord with the holy exclamation of joy until it's the time to go to the mosque to pray Solat Aidilfitri with the Muslim society in the neighbourhood. Oh, what a joy he feels to live in Islam! Not long after, he goes to the houses of his kith and kin. He eats moderately to make sure he doesn’t stun his stomach. Lastly, her friends and family come over to his house to strengthen the bonds on the blessed day.
Make It A Year
On the next day, he decides he wants to start the nafilah 6-day fasting. It is the tradition of the Prophet to fast six days in the month of Syawal, preferably starting the second day of the month. He knows that as a weak servant of Allah, his Ramadhan must have some weakness. Therefore, he feels the need to compensate that with at least six days of fasting when other people are busy eating. He also knows that he has to keep the momentum going to preserve the palace he built for thirty days! Lastly, he also knows the fasting a month in Ramadhan followed by six days in Syawal is equal to fasting the whole year. All he wants is the pleasure of his Lord.
The man keeps his momentum going with little fluctuations but steadily increasing until the day he dies; and then he lives happily ever after (literally)! Now after following the journey of the man, which option do you opt for?
Last Bit
Before I end this post, I want to share an Arabic saying related to Eid:
ليس العيد لمن لبس الجديد ولكن العيد لمن طاعته يزيد
The celebration of Eid is not for those who wear new clothes, but it is for those whose obedience to Allah increase.
Wallahua'lam, wassalam.
*I’ll try to post my raya pics later! (insyaAllah)
*Thanks to Ustaz Muzakkir for his post in PeWaris Y!Groups.
jazakallah ashraff atas komen nta :)
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