Eid - Ul- Fitr : Breaking The Fast & Evil Habits

 Ramadan is a very pious and most celebrated month of the Islamic Calendar. Ramdan is one of the five pillars of Islam which occurs during the ninth month of the Islamic calendar which is calculated according to the moon.

The End of Ramadan is marked by Eid - ul - Fitr. Eid is an Arabic word meaning "festivity", while Fir means "to break the fast" (and can also mean "nature", from the word "fitrah") and so symbolizes the breaking of the fasting period. Eid –Ul-Fitr is celebrated on the first day of Shaw'waal, the 10th month of the Islamic calendar. The Eid-al-Fitr is a very joyous day; it is a true Thanksgiving Day for the believing men and women. On this day Muslims show their real joy for the health, strength and the opportunities of life, which Allah has given to them to fulfill their obligation of fasting and other good deeds during the blessed month of Ramadan.

Fasting in the ordinary sense of the word simply means depriving the flesh from the pleasure of food and drink. The Ramadan fast also means the same, however, the physical abstinence from food and drink in Ramadan, with the intent to obey and worship Allah, takes a higher and nobler dimension, it becomes the nourishment of the soul.

Muslims believe this fasting helps them to clean their soul and allows them to practise self control, sacrifice and empathy. Prophet Mohammed (Pbuh) says “Fasting is a shield” However, a mere voluntarily abstaining from food and drink is not enough for the fast to be accepted or effective in purifying soul and inculcating taqwa. With giving up food and drink, it is imperative that the fasting person must also faithfully heed all prohibitions and perform all duties prescribed by Allah and His Holy Prophet. The Holy Prophet Mohammed (Pbuh) made this point abundantly clear in more than one of his sayings. At one occasion he said, "Whoever does not give up vain speech and evil actions, Allah is not in need of his fasting", i.e. Allah will not accept his fasting.

Being aware that fasting is not just remaining hungry and thirsty, one should refrain not only from eating and drinking, but also from all sins and bad habits. Muslims should not think of Ramadan as being “only 30 days”, they should be looking at Ramadan being a training month for the rest of the year and a significant step for improving the self. The fasting in the blessed month of Ramadan is of vital importance among the scheme of things that Islam has planned for a believer to secure the motivation and acquire taqwa. If done properly, fast will take a believer forward to the next eleven months to live in Allah's Will.

Almighty Allah does not expect us to be perfect angels but he will judge us on what efforts we made throughout our lives. Allah has provided us with this most blessed month of Ramadan as a mercy to us and this month is where we can train and develop ourselves and improve ourselves as Muslims for the rest of the year in order to gain the fear of Allah and get closer to him. It is the chance for us to gain forgiveness of all of our sins and freedom from the torment of the grave and of the fire of hell.

"May the Blessings of Allah keep your heart and home happy and joyous Eid - Ul - Fitr Mubarak"

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