Eid-Ul-Fitr History

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Ramadan, the month of fasting for Muslims last for 29 to 30 days. The
end of the Ramadan marks the beginning of the Eid-Ul-Fitr. Eid occurs
on the first day of the Shawwal, the tenth month of Islamic calendar.
According to the history of Islam and traditions
on the last day of Ramadan after sunset, people start sighting the
crescent moon. As soon as the moon (hilal) is spotted the celebrations
for the Eid-ul-fitr begins for all theMuslims.
Importance Of Eid-ul-Fitr
Ramadan is said to be the holy month of Muslims, it is believed that
holy book Quran was revealed to prophet Muhammad during this month. It
is believed that during this month the gates of hell are closed and
the gates ofheaven are open.
It is also believed that Ramadan is Allah抯 own month. Another event
which took place during the month of Ramadan was the battle of Badr,
thebattle between the inhabitants of Mecca and Medina. It抯 the month
to thank Allah for that he hasgiven to human being. So thereby saying
no to food, drink, smoking and sexual activities during daylight all
the Muslims devote themselves to pray to Allah. Once the crescent moon
is sighted it抯 the time to break the fast and get over with the
Ramadan month and celebrate Eid-Ul-Fitr.
Eid-Ul-Fitr
Once the crescent moon is sighted, the Ramadan month comes to an end
and its now the time for celebrations for the Muslims. Eid-Ul-Fitr
means to break the fast. Eid is thetime to spread happiness, love, and
triumph thereby creating enthusiasm among all the family members. On
the Eid day all the Muslims wear new clothes and go for special Eid
Prayer ceremonies in their near by mosque to thank Allah by reciting
various prayers and Eid-Ul-Fitr Dua抯. After the prayersthere is a get
together at Muslims house for an Eid meal and to celebrate the
occasion together. Muslim children have a joyful Eid Celebration as
they get clothes, gifts, perks, and sweets from all their relatives.
Children also make special Eid greetings for their Friends and
decorate their houses in their special ways to enhance the beauty of
the Eid Festival. Muslims greet each other by wishing Eid Mubarak to
each other, which means Happy Eid!!
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1a. Blessing and Dissipation

1a.

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as weread in Surat al-A'raf, 32:
Say: "Who has forbidden the fine clothing that Allah has produced for
Hisservants and the good kinds of provision?" Say:"On the Day of
Rising, such things will be exclusively for those who had faith during
their life in the hereafter�"
The Qur'an gives the example of Prophet Sulayman (as), to whom Allah
gave great wealth. In fact, it describes these possessions, as well as
his opulent palace and works of art, in Surah Saba', 12-13 and Surat
an-Naml, 44.
The important thing here is that Sulayman (as) gavethanks to Allah
amid all ofthese magnificent possessions, for he knew that they were a
mercy from our Lord. By relating his words: "Truly do I lovethe love
of good with a view to the glory of my Lord" (Surah Sad, 32), the
Qur'an draws our attention to his deep understanding.
This example shows us that the love of possessions, defined here as
"the love of good," is legitimate as long as it is a means to praise
Allah. No doubt, believers who have this kind of love will not
hesitate to use their possessions as Allah directs. Possessions are a
blessing belonging to Allah, and so those who have them will use them
as Allah commands.
But if possessions are not seen as a blessing, dissolution sets in.
The Qur'an gives many examples of how deviators understand the meaning
of riches. One of the clearest examples is that of Qarun, a rich man
who "gloated" (Surat al-Qasas, 76) and said: "I have only been given
it because of the knowledgeI have" (Surat al-Qasas, 78). Such a love
of possessions cannot bring people close to Allah; rather, it diverts
them from His way and alienates them from faith.The Qur'an describes
this type of love as:
Truly man is ungrateful tohis Lord, and indeed he bears witness to
that. Truly he is fierce in his love of wealth. (Surat al-'Adiyat,
6-8)
So, for this reason Muslimsmust view wealth according to the Qur'an's
criteria and pursue it only to please Allah and serve Islam. They must
desire all of Allah's blessings, because all blessings of this earthly
life have beencreated for those faithful and sincere servants who
exert every effort to please and serve Allah. We have to be
continuallythankful for these blessings and follow Sulayman's (as)
example:"What an excellent servant! He truly turned to his Lord"
(Surah Sad, 30).
Those who live according to the real spirit of the Qur'an's moral
teachings and adopt the point of view described above willbe deemed
"worthy and qualified" to enter Paradise, which possesses,as one of
its most salient characteristics, eternal splendor and dazzling wealth
and beauty. People who think and feellike Sulayman (as), who said:
"Truly do I love the love of good with a view to the glory of my Lord"
(Surah Sad, 32) amid all ofthis beauty, are believers.
Since this is how believerswill think in Paradise, their true home,
they must establish this point of view in this world, which is no more
than a preparation for the world to come. Far from regarding wealth,
beauty, and splendor as dissolution, believers must know that every
blessing is a mercy from our Lord, recognize its value, learn to enjoy
it, and be thankful.
The blessings of Paradise that we will look at in thefollowing pages
must be examined from this point of view.
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1. Blessing and Dissipation

1]

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In the following sections, we will analyze how the Qur'an looks at
Paradise and, based upon these descriptions,"try to imagine this
perfect place.But before we do this, let's look at a few important
points. In today's societies, many people have erroneous ideas and
impressions in their conscious and subconscious minds. As such
obstacles cause themto formulate a mistaken view, we must describe
some basic Islamic concepts whose meaningshave departed from their
original understanding.
With this in mind, we firsthave to distinguish between "blessing"
and"dissipation."
In the following pages, we will see that the Qur'an describes Paradise
as an extremely luxurious and magnificent place, and that life therein
is as comfortable and attractive as it can be.
However, to many people today, such a life is not so much "Islamic" as
it is a natural outcome of being alienated from Allah and religious
moral teaching.
So, because of this erroneous understanding that dominates society,
very many people think that a comfortable, luxurious, and ostentatious
life, and all that goes along with it, are "un-Islamic." They see such
things as expensive clothes, rich food, entertainment, dinner parties,
magnificently appointed houses, d�cor, and valuable art works as
belonging to ignorant people cut off from their religion. They usually
call a life filled with these things "dissolute," and criticize those
who give this society its name as"living undisciplined lives of
dissolution." The word"dissolution" (safahat) comes from the Arabic
safih, and can be translated as "a lack of discipline,
overindulgence,a weakness of mind that comes from living an
irresponsible life of wealth and comfort."
Here, we encounter a falseunderstanding that must be corrected. The
life of Paradise that Allah has been pleased to choose for His
servants, as well asa life that contains every kind of luxury,
comfort, and ostentation, is also the most beautiful and noble way of
life, one thatconforms as closely as possible to religious moral
teaching.
A false definition of dissolution opens the wayto misunderstanding.
Dissolution, or rebellion against Allah through a lack of discipline
and overindulgence, is a condition of the human mind. People are not
dissolute because of their clothes, ostentatious houses, aesthetic
environments, or materialwealth. Rather, the problem is in their
minds.
The natural result of this situation is this: If people have a
Qur'anic morality and a strong faith, they can live among the
richestopulence imaginable without ever becoming dissolute. On the
contrary,because they view everything they encounter according to the
Qur'anic criteria and moral teaching, they see all of the beauty
surrounding them as a blessing. In other words, they realize that all
of these things are gifts fromAllah. So, if Muslims know that Allah
has given all of the surrounding riches, beauty, opulence, and
magnificence, naturally they thank our Lord for what He has provided.
This is, after all, why all blessings have been created.
If we applied this general way of thinking to our present society, we
wouldhave to say that those who live a dissolute life and turn away
from Allah's commands have gone astray, because theydo not see that
all of theirpossibilities are blessings from Him. If they saw these
things as blessings, this understanding would lead them to give thanks
to Allah. And then, they would use these blessingsas Allah intended
them to be used: avoiding waste and using them in a way pleasing to
Him.
So, wealth can be defined in two ways. Some rich people are believers
who consider all of their possessions to be blessings from Allah,
while other rich people goastray by considering all of their
possessions as their own, forget Allah, and fall into dissolution.
However, the model that Allah has proposed for all of His servants is
wealth, as mentioned in the first model above. Wealth and poverty are
tests for believers. Although some believers may be tested by poverty,
Allah commands: "We desired to show kindness to thosewho were
oppressed in the land, and to make them leaders and inheritors" (Surat
al-Qasas,5). This might happen in the world, but it certainly will
happen in the afterlife.
Therefore, it would be very wrong for Muslims tofind fault with grand,
luxurious, and opulent lives. Muslims must not shun such people and
regard them with disdain,because, after all, all material things in
this life (e.g., fine clothes, deliciousfood, magnificent homes and
works of art) were created for Muslims, as weread in Surat al-A'raf,
32:
Say: "Who has forbidden the fine clothing that Allah has produced for
Hisservants and the good kinds of provision? :->
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Paradise: Introduction

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What do you want most out of life? A nice house, expensive clothes,
money,wealth, opulence? What ifyou were told about a place where you
could geteverything you wanted and keep it forever? Whatwould you say?
Of course you would be very excited and want to see this perfect place
right away. Surely no one would ever object to living in such a
wonderful place.
Now just think. Has anyone ever talked to youabout a place filled with
acountless array of blessings, where beauty isspread out at your feet?
Surely someone must have done so, telling you and all other people
about the existence of a life - the life of Paradise - where
everything that you want will be prepared for you. Everyone knows that
afterdeath there is an endless Paradise. Everyone judgedworthy to
enter it will find everything they desire there; they will receive
their rewards and blessings, and live in a perfect place surrounded by
beauty forever. To those faithful servants who pass the test of this
earthly life, Allah has promised an unprecedented land. The limited
time one spends in this world, on the otherhand, is an opportunity
toattain these beauties.
So what keeps people from being overcome with joy at the good newsof
Paradise? What stops them from longing for it, from expending every
effort to attain it? Why dopeople, knowing that they will receive
these blessings as a divine reward, not prepare for Paradise? Surely
the most important reason is that some people do not have an assured
faith that it exists; others are not convinced. There may be other
reasons why peopledo not believe in or have doubts about it. But the
basic thing that we must consider is that this doubtsometimes arises
from a lack of knowledge.
The only remedy for this lack of knowledge is the Qur'an.
In the Qur'an, Allah describes a wonderful life of perfect and endless
beauty in Paradise. Someone who does not know this beauty's extentor
how the Qur'an describes it may have difficulty envisioning Paradise
and the kind of life there.
This book tells people about Paradise, which Allah offers to them,
describes its great blessings, and proclaims its beauties to everyone.
It informs people that Paradise is one of two ways of life prepared
for them in the afterworld, and that every good thingwill be theirs in
Paradise to a degree that surpassesour present ability to imagine. It
also shows that Paradise, is a place where all blessings have been
created perfectly and where people will be offered everything their
souls and hearts will desire; that people will befar removed from want
and need, anxiety or sadness, sorrow and regret. Every kind of beauty
and blessing existsin Paradise and will be revealed with a
perfectionnever seen or known before. Allah has preparedsuch blessings
there as a gift, and these will be offered only to people with whom He
is pleased.
This book describes everything about Paradisein the light of the
Qur'an'sverses. So, as you read this information and try to envision
that blessed place, remember that the Qur'an is the truth. Based on
this information, consider the perfection of the real land that is
waiting for you, and makeevery effort to be worthy of it. Be aware
that Allah will give you all of these things by His grace, and that
they can be yours forever. Given all of this, ifyou still cannot
decide in favor of eternal beauty, remember that the only choice left
is Hell, a place full of anguish from where you will observe the
comfort of those in Paradise and experience eternal anxiety, sadness,
misery, and sorrow.
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