SAHRDAYA COLLEGE OF ADVANCED STUDIES FOR ARTS AND SCIENCE

Eid- Ul- Fitr

Eid- Ul- Fitr is one of the most important occasions for Muslims. It falls on the first day of shawaal, the tenth month of the Hijarah year, following the month of Ramzan in which the Holy Qur'an was revealed. This festival is rejoiced by all Muslims as it is full of blessings of Allah and comes after observing fasting for the whole month. On the eve of Eid-ul-Fitr, rise of moon will be observed in the sky and it is the indication of the birth of the next month, shawaal.  Eid-ul-Fitr is definitely the day for enjoyment and happiness in the manner, it permits. Also Eid- Ul- Fitr  has its own significance, since the first day of shawaal comes only after the fruitful days of fasting, sacrifice, mutual respect, mercy, forgiveness, patience and along with the deep prayers to the Almighty. The concept of fasting is not only to make people starve but to help people take themselves to a level of spiritualism which helps them get fully devoted to God and feel for those who get very little to eat daily. Fasting also helps get rid of toxins that get accumulated in body otherwise.The Holy Quran says that a Muslim is bound to give a certain portion of his/her wealth acquired every year, for uplifting the poor and for the people, who are lacking care. For the wealth such as money, gold, agricultural products, land  or any other form of wealth, the mode of calculation, collection and disbursal of Zakkath is well explained in the Holy Quran. Definitely Zakkath is the right of the poor and disbursal of Zakkath is mandatory for the people who are not poor. Normally people prefer to disburse the Zakkath in the Holy Month of Ramzan, because the reward of the Almighty will be many fold in the Holy month. In the duration between last day of Holy Ramzan and shawaal first, every Muslim family has to disburse Fitr-Zakkath to the poor in the neighborhood , to ensure that nobody should be there without food. For which a family is supposed to spare the food grains except the quantity, essential and needed to them.

On the day of Eid-ul-Fitr people wear new clothes and offer special group prayer in the mosques or in Eid-Gah. Eid-ul-Fitr is celebrated in a unique way all over the world. After the prayers, Muslims greet each other and they do not celebrate the festival not only with their families but with neighborhoods and relatives as well. Also we can observe large communal gatherings here and there and people share gifts too with their friends and relatives on the day.

Festivals are great opportunities for people to mingle with each other and give life, in a different, memorable way. This is the reason why even people participate in the rejoicing, irrespective of the religion, cast and creed. In most part of the world people show their love and appreciation towards the festival and feelings of their Muslim friends. Each year this much awaited festival is celebrated with eagerness and enthusiasm all over the world. Let us hope that the way of celebration of such festivals of different religions bring socio-cultural gatherings to promote communal harmony among the people of the globe.

 Prof.K.A.Siraj(Dean and Faculty of Science)

Sahrdaya College of Advanced Studies for Arts and Science, Kodakara.