In the name of Allah, the Beneficent, the Merciful:
Eid ul Fitr Message (1441 Hijrah, May 2020)
And be not like her who unravels her yarn, disintegrating it into pieces, after she has spun it strongly. (Qur’an 16:92)
Dear Sisters and Brothers,
Assalam-o-Alaikum Wa Rakhmatullahi Wa Barakaato Hoo.
A very Happy Eid Mubarak to you all!
This Eid will be like none other in our lives as its usual festivity has been marred by the corona viral pandemic. There will be those who will defy all the advice on prevention and those who will diligently follow all the preventive measures that have been advised. We as a Jama‘at must celebrate this Eid in such a way that we make it safe for ourselves and for other members of our Jama‘at.
Eid celebrations have two aspects; those that reflect the outward indicators of happiness and those that are related to our soul. In his Eid sermon of February 1900, Hazrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad (Allah’s mercy be upon him), the reformer of our era, while not discouraging the festivities of Eid, stressed the spiritual aspect and piety of this festival. This day is not celebrated because Muslims are satisfied that they have faithfully performed a duty; the celebration has a greater spiritual significance. What a Muslim is really celebrating is that he has established a new relationship with Allah and feels the closeness with Him. This day of celebration actually marks the occasion where he can rejoice that he now finds himself nearer to the state which Allah had programmed in his nature or the fitrat. It is human nature or fitrat to seek closeness to God. Having achieved that, his soul is at peace. For him being away from God is like the death of his soul. Ramadan has given us a new life by bringing us closer to Allah. What is important now is that we maintain this nearness with Him and build on it through the next eleven months till we are given another Ramadan when we can achieve further nearness to Him.
If we reflect on the verse I have quoted above, those who undo all the efforts they have made in the month of Ramadan to seek nearness to Allah, they have an unfortunate likeness to one who unravels her yarn, disintegrating it into pieces, after she has spun it strongly.
Let us all make a strong resolve this Eid day that we will maintain our nearness to Allah through prayers and fortitude and by following the injunctions of the Holy Qur’an and the example of the Holy Prophet (Peace and Blessings of Allah be upon him).
I wish you a very happy Eid ul Fitr and pray that Allah help us maintain our efforts to build on what we have achieved during Ramadan. I pray that Allah grants acceptance to our prayers and devotional services during Ramadan. Let us also pray that Allah protects us all from the lethal pandemic that is rampant in the world.
Aameen summa aameen.