Eid ul-Fitr : A Commitment To Reform And Rectitude

“O’ You who believe! If you develop Allah consciousness, He (Allah) will (in return) grant you the furqaan, expiate your sins and forgive you…”

Praise be to Allah, Who had granted us the opportunity to complete the month of Ramadan in pursuit of His pleasure and obedience. Fasting moulds and purifies the believer, in the same way that the furnace moulds and purifies metal. The furnace churns out blazing flames, unbearable heat, and molten lead, yet the intensity of the heat simply serves to purify the metal. In the like manner, fasting entails thirst, hunger, sleeplessness, fatigue, and tiredness. Yet, it is a cleansing process, a system that purifies, moulds and develops the spiritual worth of the believer. Eid is a day, wherein the devout believer reaps the fruits for his labour and toil. It is a day of thanks giving, forgiveness, and joy. Joy at the accomplishment of a vigorous month of striving and self surrender.

Eid also signifies the rebirth of a vibrant, purged and spiritually enlightened believer. Allah has promised three favours to a person who has developed taqwa through his fasting.

“He will grant you the Furqaan”

Furqaan has two meanings:

1. The mental foresight to differentiate between that which is harmful and that which is beneficial, together with the propensity to shun vice and adopt virtue. It is effulgence that radiates the intellectual and emotional discernment of a believer.

A clear illustration of the lack of furqaan among the kufaar, is their inability to effectively deal with the scourge of Aids. Everyone knows that it is a killer disease, yet no one has the morality to speak out against the vice that causes Aids.

2. The battle of Badr is also called, “The day of Furqaan.” In terms of human resources, armaments, etc. the Muslims were hopelessly equipped. Purely from a material view, they were doomed to destruction. Yet Allah, against all human odds sent down his unseen help in the form of Angels who physically took part in the battle. In the like manner when all doors seem closed, when life seems humanely impossible, Allah will send down His unseen help, from avenues beyond our imagination.

“He will expiate your sins”

Allah will subject you to minor difficulties through which your sins will be commuted. Prophet Muhammad (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam) has said that even a thorn that pricks a believer will serve to expiate his sins. So, by virtue of fear, pain, anxiety, hunger etc. Allah will cleanse the believer of his shortcomings and sins.

Prophet Muhammad (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam) has said:

“A Muslim is never afflicted with any trouble, pain, anxiety, sorrow, harm, grief, upto the extent of a thorn that pricks him, except that Allah expiates his sins thereby.”

“He will forgive you”

In the hereafter will He admit you to paradise, without calling you to account for your deeds, nor will He expose your vices before humanity on that Day.

Ramadan was therefore a month of immense spiritual significance of the believer. A month that has cleansed the believer of sin, moulded his character and blessed him with an intellectual awareness of right from wrong. A month that has drawn him closer to Jannah and a month that has increased his awareness of Allah. Eid is therefore a day that marks a believer’s commitment to reform and recititude for the rest of the year. We need to ensure that we do not forget the lessons of Ramadan.

May Allah grant us the taufeeq to translate the spirit of Ramadan into our daily lives. Ameen.