The Spirit of `Eid Al-Fitr*

By Dr. Muzammil H. Siddiqi**(excerpt of article from Islamonline.net..for more on article,Click here!!

[Praise be to Allah Who guided us to this (way). Never could we have found guidance, had it not been for the guidance of Allah.] (Al-A`raf 7:43)

[If you give thanks I shall give you more, and if you are ungrateful then My punishment is severe indeed.] (Ibrahim 14:7)

[Remember Me and I shall remember you, and give thanks to Me and be not ungrateful.] (Al-Baqarah 2:152)

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, 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.

Today is the day of `Eid, and `Eid is the day of thanks. It marks the end of the month of fasting. We feel happy and we give thanks to Allah 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 the rules of fasting for our own benefit. Fasting has many benefits for individuals and for communities. It has spiritual, moral, and physical benefits. It has benefits for the individuals and for the society.......

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Let me close this khutbah with a hadith of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him). `Amr ibn Maymun Al-Awdi reported that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) 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).

* Based on the `Eid Al-Fitr khutbah delivered by Dr. Muzammil H. Siddiqi at the `Eid Prayer gathering held by the Islamic Society of Orange County at the Anaheim Convention Center in Anaheim, California, on Tuesday, November 25, 2003. Here excerpted, with some modifications from:http://www.pakistanlink.com

** Dr. Muzammil H. Siddiqi is the President of the Fiqh Council of North America.