In the name of Allah, The Beneficent, the Merciful
Assalamo Alaikum Warahmatullahi Wabarakatuh! May the Peace, Mercy and Blessings of Allah (SWT) be with you.
All praises are due to Allah (SWT) who guides us through the Holy Quran and the Seerah – May Allah have blessings and peace upon His last Messenger (peace be upon him). May this Eid ul Fitr brings blessings of Allah (SWT) to have peace and harmony in this world and open the doors of success for all of us in the hereafter. Alhamdulillah, we all tried our best to get closer to Allah and attain Taqwa during the blessed month of Ramadan that would insha-Allah help us continue the A’mal-Saleh (good deeds) throughout the years ahead of us.
On the auspicious occasion of Eid-El-Fitr, which marks the end of the Holy month of Ramadan, volunteers of the Sheikh Tamim Bin Hamad Foundation convey best wishes to Muslims across the global village.
Eid-ul-Fitr is a special occasion that provides us opportunity to renew our spiritual lives and engage in soul searching with a view to improving our character and our absolute faith in Allah (SWT).
For a true Muslim, everyday should be spent like how we generally spend our precious time in Ramadan, full of virtuous acts. Let us formulate strategies and ways to uphold this spirit and actions. Remember true and eternal happiness, bliss and joy can only be achieved by leading our lives according to the Commandments of Allah (SWT) and following the beautiful and noble lifestyle (sunnah) of His Beloved Messenger Muhammad (pbuh).
Eid-ul-Fitr demands an end to all conflicts, differences, hatreds, malice and grudges, for enhancing peace, fraternity and love amongst Muslim communities. We congratulate all Muslims around the world on this auspicious occasion of Eid-ul-Fitr. We are not unaware of the realities that confront Muslims and the opportunity Eid-ul-Fitr creates to tackle those challenges and remove the obstacles. May Allah (SWT) accept all of those efforts and accompany us make His commandants a living guide to our daily lives.
Eid-ul-Fitr marks the culmination of the period of fasting during the Holy month of Ramadan, which is a month of blessings, forgiveness and doing and thinking all that is good for humanity and discarding evil thoughts and acts. The occasion reminds us of our duties towards the poor, impoverished and downtrodden. It also pricks our conscience to give charity to the needy and generosity towards all.
As we commemorate this occasion, we call upon all Muslims to come closer to Allah (SWT), the Merciful and the Compassionate, as revealed by the Quran to Prophet Muhammad (pbuh). We celebrate this festival to thank Allah (SWT) for His kindness and generosity in giving to us His word, that we may be guided in the ways and truth of purpose towards paradise.
This occasion comes at a most auspicious time when violence has resumed again in the Sudan. Much as we join voices around the world to reiterate our call for immediate and unconditional lasting ceasefire in the ongoing violence in the Sudan, we call for an end to the hostilities and for a negotiated peace settlement to the conflict. This has been our goal since the outbreak of the violence this week, and which has left over 200 people dead and destruction on infrastructure. It is unfortunate that this violence is taking place during the Holy month of Ramadan, and wish that all the warring parties and their collaborators will understand that they cannot achieve their goals through the barrel of the gun; and that no conflict ever ended in the frontlines, but on the mahogany table.
The essence of Ramadan is to become humble, simple and free from ill-will, anger, meanness and hate. It is in this spirit we pray that Ramadan gets into our hearts and minds and make us embrace all humanity and make our environment conducive for all to live in peace, harmony and treat every human on earth with dignity, respect and care. That is indeed the wisdom expressed in Qur’an, Al-Hujurat, Surah 49:13: “O mankind! We have created you male and female, and have made you nations and tribes that ye may know one another. The noblest of you, in sight of God, is the best in conduct. God Knows and is Aware of everything you do.”
Ramadan is the best month for sober reflection and to acquaint oneself with tolerance and patience and make the teachings of the Holy Ramadan a part of each life by every individual. Eid-ul-Fitr is the day to bow heads before Allah Almighty who gifted chance to get goodness of Ramadan and fasting.
On this auspicious occasion, we feel happy and give thanks to Allah (SWT) that we obeyed His commands; we fasted during the month of Ramadan. Allah’s commands are good for us. They are for our benefit. Allah does not want to put any burden on anyone, but He gave us fasting for our own benefit.
We are the people of faith. We are the servants of Allah (SWT). What pleases us is that which pleases our Lord. We are brothers and sisters in faith. We feel happy when we come together in the name of our faith, representing diverse colors, races, and ethnic backgrounds.
Islam is the religion of worship, ibadah. But worship in Islam is not a mere collection of rituals. It is a whole way of life. Worship helps us to remain conscious of Allah (SWT) and of our own selves. It makes right our relations with every person and with everything. The people of worship are the people who are good to their families, to their children, to their parents, to their neighbors, to their co-workers, and to the world at large. The people of worship make everything right and everything good.
Worship sets aright our relations with our Creator, with our own selves, with our families and with others. If we worship, but others are not safe and secure from our words and our actions, then we have not learned anything from our worship. If we pray and do injustice to others, if we pray and ignore the cries of the poor and those in pain, if we pray and do not care for those who are suffering in our neighborhood and around the world, then our prayers have not done us any good. If we pray but we do not try to provide for those in need, the poor, impoverished and downtrodden, then we have not realized the true meaning of our worship.
The real ibadah or worship is that which changes the people. It transforms them into the real people of Allah (SWT). The people of Allah (SWT) are described in the Qur’an: “So whatever thing you have been given – it is but [for] enjoyment of the worldly life. But what is with Allah is better and more lasting for those who have believed and upon their Lord rely: And those who avoid the major sins and immoralities, and when they are angry, they forgive; And those who have responded to their lord and established prayer and whose affair is [determined by] consultation among themselves, and from what We have provided them, they spend. And those who, when tyranny strikes them, they defend themselves”! Ash-Shura 36–39.
We have to remove misunderstandings about our faith from the minds of other people, especially those who practice their religion, which is not Islam. We must continue building the bridges of understanding with others to build a peaceful, just and diverse world. Tackling these challenges calls for one to be courageous, confident and wise.
No one denies the fact that there have been attacks on Islam; despite these, we should be thankful to Allah (SWT) that there are still a very large number of people who have goodwill towards Islam and Muslims, and who want to know more about our faith. Let us build on this trust. Let us use whatever freedom we have and whatever opportunities we find to help others to know us as believers, to know about the universal values of Islam.
We must pay special attention to the future generations of Muslims. They need good upbringing and extensive Islamic education. We must protect them from the wrong influences of drugs, violence, immoral behavior, and the evils that are affecting youth and eating them up. We must give them knowledge, give them hope, give them love and care, and do our best to keep them on the path of Allah (SWT).
In one of the hadiths of the Prophet (pbuh), Amr ibn Maymun Al-Awdi reported that the Messenger of Allah (pbuh) said: “Take advantage of five things before five others: your youth before your old age, your health before your illness, your riches before your poverty, your leisure before your work, and your life before your death.” (At-Tirmidhi).
DUA FOR THE MUSLIM UMMAH:
“O Allah, we thank You for all Your gifts and favors to us. You sent to us the best Book, chose for us the best human being as a Prophet (pbuh), and gave us the best guidance that You chose for us. O Allah, we thank You, You deserve all thanks. We thank You in private and in public. O Allah, We thank You with love and with our free choice. O Allah, we thank You that You blessed us with faith in You. You made it easy for us to fast in the month of Ramadan, to pray in its nights, and to recite Your Glorious Book”.
Concluding, we once again extend best wishes to Muslims across the world on this blessed holiday.
Eid Mubarak!
By:
Foday M. Kamara
Acting Country Director
The Sheikh Tamim Bin Hamad Foundation
STBHF
