By: Alea Umairah
Edited by: Harith Syafiee
Eid is just around the corner. Are you excited or sad? Some might say that they are sad that Ramadan is ending, while others might be feeling happy about it. When we hear that some of us feel sad about it, we might think that they are better Muslims than us. And we might feel guilty that we are happy that Ramadan is ending. That is fine. You don’t need to feel guilty that you feel that way because Allah is celebrating you too. Eid is a happy day. We are celebrating the worship that Allah has allowed us to do during Ramadan. He has commanded you to do all the good deeds during Ramadan, and He has also allowed you to do them which means he has given you the capacity to do them. And now that Ramadan is ending, Allah wants you to celebrate it. This is because we have tried hard during Ramadan. We fasted, prayed a lot, came to the mosque more often than before, did charity, and did all other good deeds.
But, how do we celebrate Eid? We need to make sure that we do not do anything that will take us away from Him. Firstly, we need to take care of our clothing, especially the sisters. Yes, it is a happy day, and we are celebrating it. A lot of us would want to wear pretty clothes, but make sure they are modest and shariah-compliant. Second, when we celebrate something, we also increase the act of worship. For example, during Eid ul Fitr, we have an extra prayer, which is the Eid prayer, and we are encouraged to attend it. Lastly, we need to avoid eating too much. As everyone knows, on Eid in Malaysia, various kinds of foods are available to us. Hence, most of us tend to eat a lot. Again, yes, we are celebrating, and it is about eating and drinking, but we need to avoid gluttony. It is the day of eating but not the day of gluttony. So, eat moderately and avoid eating too much.
Those are some of the ways we should celebrate Eid. I also came across a lecture by Nouman Ali Khan about Eid and the power of gratitude. The thing that I remember the most about that lecture is that Allah wants us to declare His greatness by the way He guides us, and I want to share it here. He said that ‘Allahu Akbar’ is not just something that you say by mouth; it is something that you live with. During the day of Eid, we chant the word ‘Allahu Akbar’ a lot. Why? During Ramadan, we did put Allah as our greatest priority, and now that Ramadan is over, Allah asks if we can still put him as our greatest priority in the way He guides us. How did He guide us? You know how during Ramadan we wake up earlier than usual for suhoor, we come to the mosque more often, which is almost every day for a month to perform taraweeh prayer, and we also refrain from doing useless and sinful things a lot. And this is the living example of ‘Allahu Akbar’. So, after this, can we put Allah as our very first priority in everything that we do in our lives just like during Ramadan? It is time for us to make ourselves smaller and make Allah greater in our lives again.
What I understand is that Ramadan is like a month of guidance for us. It is a month for us to practise and fix ourselves to become better Muslims. And all the good deeds that we did during Ramadan do not stop there. And now that Eid is in a few days, let us celebrate ourselves for successfully completing our Ramadan and for having worshipped Allah harder than ever. Eid Mubarak, everyone!
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