By Dr. Muna Bilgrami
Ramadan and the Return
The end of Ramadan brings with it a ‘return’ which we know as Eid ul-Fitr. The special Eid prayer is followed by celebration with family and friends. Clean, perhaps new, clothes are donned, perfume is dabbed on, and the expectation is of joyfulness at having been able to complete this demanding act of worship.
Imam al-Baqir (A) tells us that the Prophet (S) said,
“When the first of Shawwal comes, the caller will call ‘O believers! Rush to your rewards in the morning!”
The Imam explained to his companion: “O Jabir! Rewards of God are not like the rewards of kings…That day [Eid] is the day of rewards.”
We observe the sunnah of the Eid ul-Fitr, giving a fitrah on every member of our household as the day of Eid begins, and hasten to join our communities in the two rak‘at of Salat ul-Eid, which differs slightly from the prescribed daily prayers, with an increased number of takbīrs and qunūt. It is said that the Prophet (S) himself used to come out of his home on the day of Eid, reciting the Takbir and glorifying Allah in a loud voice. The Blessed Prophet (S) said:
“Give beauty to your Eid by doing Takbir.”
The freshness of Eid brings with it the promise of a fresh start. For those who can the rest of the day is spent joyfully with family and friends. Since it is forbidden to fast on the day of Eid ul-Fitr, socializing invariably revolves around sharing feasts:
Imam al-Rida (a) said,
“The day of Fitr is appointed as Eid so that Muslims have a gathering and come out for the sake of God and praise Him for the blessings they have been given; and the day of Eid is the day of gathering, the day of breaking the fasting, the day of giving Zakat, the day of happiness and the day of worship; and it is the first day of the year in which eating and drinking is permissible, since the month of Ramadan is the first month of the year for the people of truth. Thus, God wanted them to have a gathering to praise the Lord and on this day, saying Takbir in the prayer is more than other days, because Takbir is glorifying God and praising Him for His blessings.”
Eid returns us
The word Eid derives from the root verb meaning to return, (‘āda) while fitr derives from fatara, meaning to break, cleave apart – from which we also get iftār (fast break) and also infitār (cleaving asunder). The appearance of this Eid that signifies the breaking of the fasting cycle is cyclical, as it returns every year, just as the months following one another in their annual march.
On the face of it the first of Shawwāl signifies the ‘return’ to our normal routines and quotidian life. For some the end of Ramadan brings with it welcome relief from the strictures of fasting and the up-ending of our day and night patterns. For others a sweet sorrow infuses our spirit as we bid adieu to the sanctuary which the fast of Ramadan had given us. During Ramadan, as our traditions teach, Shaytan is held in chains, our foul breath is deemed sweet by Allah (SWT), and even our sleep is counted as worship. Ramadan is like a citadel for the believer and Muslim. The weight of past sins is released, and forgiveness descends upon us. The safety – najat – which we hope to have attained by persevering throughout the month, is no longer guaranteed to us.
To what do we return?
And so we ‘return’. The question we ought to ask ourselves is: to what do we return? Is all the goodness stored up for us during this month dissipated? Don’t we all feel we are losing something precious by returning to our humdrum routine, taking for granted being able to drink and eat whenever and whatever we want, to blurt out every random thought that tickertapes through our minds, to freely indulge our sensory proclivities? We all felt lighter, clearer, and purer by the outer constrictions and abstentions of Ramadan. Does this all dissipate so ephemerally?
The pendulum need not swing from one extreme to another. Imam Ali (A) shows us the way. In a khutbah on Eid ul-Fitr he (A) said:
O people! Verily this day of yours is the day when the righteous are awarded and the wretched are losers. It is a day which is similar to the one on which you shall be standing [before your Lord]. Therefore, when you come out of your homes to go to places of your prayer, remind yourselves about the day when you [your souls] shall come out of your bodies to go to your Lord. When you stand on places of your prayer, remind yourselves of your standing in presence of your Lord (on the day of Judgment). And when you return to your homes [after prayer], remind yourselves about your
returning to your homes in Paradise.
O Servants of Allah! Verily the minimum reward for those men and women who fasted [during Ramadan], is an Angel, who calls out to them on the last day of the month of Ramadan [saying): O Servants of Allah! Rejoice the Glad Tiding that all your previous sins have been forgiven. Therefore, watch out in those things which serve as your re- creation [on this day and days to follow].
From Imam Ali (A) we learn that this day is in fact momentous. If we have been sincere and true and offered our fasts faithfully, we are rewarded. Leaving the home to go to the place of Eid prayer, Imam Ali asks us to consider it as if our soul is leaving our body. It is a metaphorical death! A practice run, if you will. And standing in Eid prayer is akin to the day in which we stand before our Creator – a metaphorical yawm al-qiyāmah! The image invoked is humbling, for that is indeed a day filled with awe and trepidation. After the Eid prayer, he likens the return to our homes to returning to our real home in Paradise. What joyfulness is this?!
I would like to suggest we think of each Ramadan as a layering, or, if you like, stepping up on a ladder of consciousness. In part, the return from Ramadan is to sensory engagement: from restriction to release from the obligation to withhold from food and drink, physical urges and intimacy, and scents, negative thoughts – indeed any thinking that does not center around Allah (SWT). But every time we engage with the fast of Ramadan, we create and affirm sub-cellular neural pathways that keep us oriented towards consciousness of ourselves as worshipers of Allah – as ‘ibad ullah. This annual cyclical repetition reinforces that conscious connection. The entire month acts a tuning fork to align our attitude to one of humility and gratitude to our Creator and Maker, in whose hand is held the time we remain in this realm.
Taqwa demands that we inhabit the disposition of God-fearingness or awareness at all times. And Imam Ali indicated this in another of his comments:
“This is Eid of the one from whom God has accepted his fasting and worship, and every day in which God is not disobeyed is Eid.”
Potentially, then, Eid is every day! Every day we avoid disobedience to Allah is a day in which we have protected ourselves from disarray and disharmony and maintained our integrity. Every day that we keep ourselves in check, in alignment with the disposition of being ‘abd Allah, is a day of return to safety, reward, grace and blessing. The fast of Ramadan teaches and shows us that we are capable – by the grace of Allah – of reigning in our natural animalistic and egoistic tendencies so that the light of our soul – a light that is already present – can shine through. When our ruh or soul has mastery over our nafs or self then that is truly worthy of melting in gratitude to the Lord of all the Worlds. Such a day is truly blessed!