About Eid
Coming
with the new moon, the festival marks the end of 'Ramadan' - a month when
Muslims fast throughout the day and eat only at night Prayers, feasts and
family get- together are the major highlights of the Eid
Ul Fitr celebrations. It was during this month that the holy Koran
was revealed. Eid means recurring happiness or festivity. Eid is celebrated in
India with much enthusiasm and fervor and Muslims from all strata of life can
be seen adorned in beautiful new clothes, visiting the mosques to attend
Salatul Eid (Eid prayers). Greetings of "Eid-Mubarak"
or "a blessed Eid" are exchanged worldwide
A
very important aspect of eid is the charity, which all the Muslims are expected
to extend to the needy. Earlier, this was in the form of gifts in kind but now
cash is given to the needy. The first Eid of the year is known as "Eid Ul
Fitr". Ul Fitr literally means breaking of fast. Thus Eid Ul Fitr is
celebrated on the first day of Shawaal, the tenth
month in the Muslim calendar, to mark the end of a month long fast during the
month of Ramadan.
As
the third "pillar" or religious obligation of Islam, fasting has many
special benefits. Among these, the most important is that it is a means of
learning self-control. Due to the lack of preoccupation with the satisfaction
of bodily appetites during the daylight hours of fasting, a measure of
ascendancy is given to one's spiritual nature, which becomes a means of coming
closer to Allah. Ramadan is also a time of concentrated worship, reading of the
Quran, purifying one's behavior, giving charity and doing virtuous deeds.
The
secondary objective of fasting is a way of experiencing hunger and developing
compassion for the less fortunate, and learn to be thankful and appreciative
for all of God's bounties. Fasting is also advantageous to the health and
provides a break in the cycle of rigid habits.
