Eid: A Festival of Togetherness
Festivals are found in all nations and countries. They exist in every society in some form. In fact, festivals continue all year round. Every day of the year, a festival is being celebrated somewhere. There is not a single day in the year that is free from festivals.
This is because a festival is a social need. It is something natural in human life. Throughout the year, people remain busy with their work and rarely get the chance to meet one another on a large scale. Meeting people is an important social need. However, as people lead busy lives, this need is often not fulfilled.
In the same way, it is also a fact that due to one reason or another, every person experiences some kind of stress or boredom. Everyone lives as if carrying a heavy mental load on their shoulders. Every person is, more or less, a case of tension.
A festival is a solution to this. To remove this condition, every society has maintained the system of festivals, so that people can come out of their daily routines, meet one another, and celebrate together in an open environment. They break the circle of loneliness and join the larger circle of society.
Festivals are usually held on special historical days so that people become more interested in them. This is also the case with the festival of Eid. The day of Eid is fixed for the first date of the next month, right after Ramadan ends.
The month of Ramadan is the time when the Quran was first revealed (Quran, 2:185). That is why Muslims around the world fast during this month. It is a fast that is observed with great seriousness. By fasting during this month, Muslims cultivate spirituality within themselves so they can thank God for guiding them on the true path during this period.
Along with that, Ramadan is called the month of patience and taqwa. (Quran, 2:183; Musnad Ahmad, Hadith No. 7577) This means that fasting helps a Muslim live life according to the teachings of the Quran. In this way, the month of fasting holds special significance in Islam. That is why, as soon as Ramadan ends, the festival of Eid is celebrated on the first day of the following month, Shawwal.
If the month of Ramadan is the month of fasting, then the month of Shawwal is the month of eating, drinking, and celebrating. The last day of Ramadan shows that the restrictions are ending, and the first day of Shawwal shows that those restrictions are being lifted.
When the new moon of Shawwal is sighted in the evening, Muslims say: “O God, make this moon a moon of peace and spirituality.” In this way, the new moon is welcomed with the feeling that peace and happiness should spread in the world, and people should live a life of obedience to their Lord.
It is commanded that before Eid, all Muslims should give charity (sadaqah) to the poor people of the society, so that no one is left out of sharing in the joy of Eid. Everyone should be able to prepare for Eid in a basic and necessary way.
In the morning, all Muslims wake up early, take a bath, and stay clean. They wear new clothes. They apply perfume. They eat something sweet. They greet each other with Eid Mubarak. Then all people come out of their homes and gather in the Eidgah or in an open ground or a mosque.
Everyone gathers there to perform two units (rakats) of Eid prayer. During this prayer, it is repeatedly said: “God is the Greatest, God is the Greatest.” This means that in this world, greatness belongs only to one God. All human beings are small compared to Him. In God’s world, the right way for people is to live with humility and friendliness. No one should think they are above others or try to show off their greatness to others.
After the Eid prayer, the imam gives the khutbah. Everyone sits quietly and listens. In this speech, it is said that human beings are servants of God. All human beings are equal. Every person will have to give an account of their actions to God. A person has the right to live a happy life in this world, but no one has the right to disturb the happiness and peace of another person.
After the prayer ends, all Muslims meet each other. They exchange greetings of Eid Mubarak with one another. They eat and drink together. They give gifts to one another. Staying within the circle of peace and good manners, they plan celebrations to share joy.
During the month of Ramadan, it is obligatory to fast and forbidden to abstain from fasting without a valid reason. On the day of Eid, however, it is forbidden to fast. The reason is that if fasting were allowed on the day of Eid, a person would again go into isolation. They would not be able to join people and celebrate the festival with others. They would not be able to take part in everyone’s happiness.
The whole day of Eid is for celebrating joy and happiness. But the regular five daily prayers are still necessary for everyone. The instruction is that when the time for prayer comes, people should leave the entertainment programmes and immediately go for prayer and worship God as usual.
This teaches us that even in happiness, a person must stay within limits. Even during fun times, one should not forget God. Eid is a day of light-heartedness, but at the same time, a person must always remember that they have obligations, and those cannot be abandoned, regardless of the situation.
Before the advent of Islam, festivals were common in Arab society, but they often involved crude and inhumane forms of celebration and entertainment. The Prophet of Islam advised people to abandon such forms of festivity and adopt a more refined and dignified way of celebrating. Accordingly, Islam introduced Eid as its own form of festival. Thus, Eid is essentially the Islamic version of a festival.
On Eid, be happy and have fun, but don’t be noisy or disturb others. When you meet people, don’t use bad language. Eat and drink, but stay away from things that can intoxicate you and from being wasteful. When you walk around, make sure not to make the streets dirty. Meet with others, but don’t interfere in their lives.
Eid is more than just a festival of Muslims—it is a human festival. It does not give a message of narrowness or separation, but it gives a message of openness and togetherness.
Eid begins with seeing the new moon in the sky. This is a sign that Eid is a universal festival and is connected to the whole world. Then during Eid, all Muslims—young and old—come out of their homes. In this way, Muslims meet with one another. The day of Eid becomes a practical day of meeting and connecting with people. In the same way, Muslims also invite non-Muslims to share in their celebration.
In this way, Eid increases the spirit of unity among people. It creates an atmosphere of coming together. Eid reduces tension between people and brings them closer to each other. Words of love and peace start echoing everywhere.
Eid begins with the new moon of Shawwal. So, Eid is a festival of new hopes. Eid is connected to the worship of God—this reminds the person of their true identity. Eid includes meeting others—this shows that all people are part of one family. Eid includes giving charity, feeding others—this gives the message to share your happiness with others. Before Eid, there is fasting—this points to the truth that in this world, responsibilities come first, and only after that, one receives their rights. Eid is, in one way, a yearly festival, and in another way, a complete lesson for everyday life.
All India Radio, Delhi (Hindi Varta),
21 February 1996.
