By M. Burhanuddin Qasmi
Eidul Fitr Mubarak to all who are celebrating it either on Sunday or Monday as per the moon sighting on their respective countries of living. The very word Eid in Arabic means happiness. The Eid day is a gift-day from the Lord almighty – Allah, where He rewards His slaves with forgiveness, His happiness and Jannah in return of what the slave has done for the preceeding one month – keeping Ramadhan fast with patience, caring poor with charity and praying to Lord with sincerity.
Eid in Islam is an Ibadah (worship) too. Every Muslim male and female, poor and rich, old and young ought to celebrate it with all possible and Islamically prescribed joys; and share the same spirit of Eid with maximum people around. Eid is to express that whatever means Allah has gifted us with, whatever in life Allah has destined for us in this world as His creature, we are simply happy with all these and we express our gratitude towards Allah’s will without complain or grief. This is in clear term, to show and declare our full acceptance and agreement to the wish of Allah – the Creator of us, and all these, in this universe.
On Eid day show off must be shunned by those who have extra means. Similarly those who have less must avoid demonstrating their lack of means by putting poverty on display. It is the day when we all must be humbled to our Lord – Allah and caring about our fellow human beings. It is the day to pray, to eat, to dress well, to smell good and to be sweet by all means possible for friends and foe alike.
This is what Allah ordained us to be as Muslims on Eid day. No extravaganzas, no glitterings and no possible mourns, no complaints on anything.
This author came to know that some Muslims both organisations and individuals might be planning to demonstrate their anger and disappointment over what is going on with Muslims in India on Eid day by putting black ribbon on arms, hanging black flags around Eidgah or even by making silent marches. They want to let the world know that lynching of poor innocent Muslims on petty grounds, humiliation of minorities and killing of Muslims and Dalits became a normal day-to-day business in India, which is no way acceptable anymore. Gau-terror has, as if, taken the shape of state policy in certain regions, those who are in the realm of government are yet faking with good governance!
The cause and the reasoning for panic is obvious. No human being with genuine wisdom can deny it. The law and order situation, and life safety of Muslim and Dalit citizens of this country is growing to be catastrophic each passing day. Most media houses in India have gone to Hitlar era or present-day Al-Sisi’s Egypt – competing to please the rulling bosses with spice and lies to earn their bread and butter only. Common people, especially, minority and Dalit communities are getting fedup. The human tolerance level of commonmen is about to spill over.
However, I find the timing to present our disagreement or anger against such inhumanities, cruelties is utterly unacceptable. Eid day, Eid prayer and Eidgah must not be a place to demonstrate or show our anger over anyone on anything. Eid day is a gift from Allah, it is a worship and it must be observed only as our Creator – Allah has ordained us to do. It is Islamically not right to spoil the happiness of Eid or alter it’s way of celebration by any means, whatsoever.
Our pains, our anguish are genuine against repeated lynchings, mob-killings of fellow human beings – men and women in trains, public places at both rural and urban locations of India. But the show off protest must not be on Eid Day.
The author is director of Markazul Ma’arif Education and Research Centre, Mumbai and editor of Eastern Crescent magazine.
