Eid-ul Fitr sermon delivered by Sheik Amir at Avondale Islamic Centre on Wednesday 6 July 2016
بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم
وقال تعالى من عمل صالحا من ذكر أو أنثى فلنحيينه حياة طيبة و لنجزينهم أجرهم بأحسن ما كانوا يعملون.
وقد قال النبي صلى الله عليه و سلم من صام في رمضان ثم أتبعه ستا من شوال كان كصيام الدهر.
وقد قال رسول الله صلى الله عليه و سلم إن لكل قوم عيد و هذا عيدنا
الله أكبر الله أكبر الله أكبر، لا إله إلا الله، الله أكبر الله أكبر، و لله الحمد
Glory be to Allah, Who has given us the precious gift of life. We thank Allah for this wonderful and beautiful day of Eid.
The sacred days of the glorious month of Ramadhan have gone past so rapidly. People everywhere are making preparations for the celebration of Eid-ul Fitr. We sadly bid farewell to the blessed month of Ramadhan, knowing that ahead of us lie many Ramadhan, which we may or may not reach.
let us not just forget fasting and othere worships until next year. Let us do all the good things of Ramadhan throughout the year, to keep us spiritually healthy and focussed.
It is a recommended Sunnah to fast for 6 days of Shawwal and on every Monday and Thursday throughout the year. This will be a great experience, because it will keep us connected to the spirit of Ramadhan. It will keep us connected to Allah’s blessings and it will keep us self disciplined. It will keep us away from excessive eating and drinking. It will moderates our behaviour. Prophet Muhammad said: “the worst thing a man can fill is his stomach”.
The blessed day of Eid is a time of great joy for having served our Lord sincerely and feeling spiritually recharged.
Worshipping Almighty Allah swt. Is the most important and essencial eliment of human life. In fact the whole purpose of its creation lies in it, and the whole life is based upon this basic fact. Even the concept of Eid and festival in Islam is nothing more than but a collective worship of Allah swt. That is where the saying of Umar Ibn Abdul Aziz comes from, which explains the real concept of Eid in Islam:
(ليس العيد لمن لبس الجديد إنما العيد لمن خاف يوم الوعيد)
“Eid is not for those who have worn beautiful new dresses, but the real Eid however is for those who fear the promised Day [i.e. Qeyamah and therefore have been mindful of their duties and responsibilities]”
Fasting in the month of Ramadhan is an excellent deed, and attending the Traweeh prayer is a very good practice, but it is not good enough to mark our identity as Muslim. A muslim, a true believer is one who realizes the importance of application of Shariah on the basis of day to day life, and on the basis of each and every moment. As muslim we are bound by the rules of Islam, which means we have to pass our life in accordance with the Quran and Sunnah. A life will only be considered a successful one if it was lived in conformity to the commandment of Allah and the way shown by Rasulullah saw; he has set up a pattern, and established a modal and example, as how a muslim’s life should be. And also told in details the purpose and objective of it. The Holy Quran proclaims:
“Indeed you have a fair example in the messenger of Allah, for whosoever hopes for Allah and the last day and remembers Allah much” (33: 21.
So by the departure of Ramadhan we should not depart our good deeds and Amal as well, and wait for the next Ramadhan to come and then start another lot. We rather should be a practicing Muslim by practicing the religion in every sphere of life at all time.
We have forgotten that we are believers in our creator the Almighty Allah and his beloved messenger Mohammad saw, we have forgotten that we are believers in the day of judgment and the life in the Hereafter. We have become unmindful of our duty to show the world by example that the solution to all problems lies in our beautiful religion Islam. Jus to give you an example of its golden teaching that the Islam instruct its followers to curb their hand and tongue from evil, and not to do bad in return to bad, but to do the best in return to the worst, not for fear from any one, but rather for fear from Allah Alone.
But where we are from this teaching? Just what percentage of the Muslims practice Islam in their homes, businesses, social gatherings and relationships? We should measure ourselves in the light of Quran and Sunnah as to where do we stand. We call ourselves muslim and follower of prophet Mohammad saw. Does Islam reflects on our daily life? Do we ever think as a muslim what our duties are? Moreover we always look for some excuse to avoid the religious obligation. Slight flue and cold becomes an excuse to leave the prayers even inside the house. Jobs and personal commitments ar being considered as valid reasons to stay behind the congregational prayers. Whereas as at the same time all our worldly affairs are normal and go well. The only thing which is effected by is the religious obligations.
How long are we going to continue like this? How long are we going to offer flimsy excuse? Knowing that Allah swt is well aware of everything, hidden or exposed, we can deceive each other, but we can never deceive the All knowing Allah, He is fully aware of our situation.
Islam is the religion of worship, `ibadah. But worship in Islam is not a mere collection of rituals. It is a whole way of life. Worship helps us to remain conscious of Allah and of our own selves. It makes right our relations with every person and with everything. The people who worship are the people who are good to their families, to their children, to their parents, to their neighbors, to their co-workers, to the environment, to the resources of the earth, and to the world at large. The people of worship make everything right and everything good. `Ibadah is the crux of the matter. It is the purpose of our creation. [I did not create the jinn and mankind except to worship me] (Adh-Dhariyat 51:56).
We are facing many challenges at this time. But with faith and trust in Allah and with unity and solidarity among ourselves, we can overcome all challenges and difficulties. We must not succumb to despair, fear, or anxiety. We must continue working with sincerity, honesty, and wisdom. We must work together. We must continue building our institutions, our community centers, our educational programs, and activities. We must continue and increase our involvement with others on the interfaith and political level. We have to remove misunderstandings about us and about our faith from the minds of other non Muslims. We must continue building the bridges of understanding with others to keep this society just and peaceful, diverse and pluralistic. I remind you and myself to face the challenges with courage, confidence, and wisdom.
We must pay special attention to the next generation of Muslims growing up here. They need good sound upbringing and extensive Islamic education. We must protect them from the wrong influences of drugs, violence, immoral behavior, and the evils that are affecting youth and eating them up. We must give them knowledge, give them hope, give them love and care, and do our best to keep them on the straight path.
Oh Muslims! Heed the golden teaching of Islam. Enhance your days of Eid with good actions. Beautify your Eid day by giving charity to the poor and needy, supplicate to Allah and reconcile with your families, mending your estranged relations. Glorify your Lord, as He looks upon you with divine Mercy. Reach out to the orphans and the under privileged, that you may be mercifully received by Prophet Muhammad (pbuh), who was the greatest orphan that ever lived.
Remember brothere and sisters,
Eid is not a day to walk around boastfully with expensive garments to show off.
Eid is not for those who ate and drank during Ramadhan without a valid excuse.
Eid is not for those who neglect their parents, causing them hurt.
Eid is for those only who are conscious of the meeting with their Lord, who live in His obedience and strive for the good and upliftment of humanity.
Oh Muslims! As we stretch forth our hand of Eid Mubarak, let it be a resolve to be part and bring about positive change. Let our Eid be a meaningful step towards a spiritual and moral revolution of love, justice, peace and harmonious co-existence.
We in this blessed gathering in this happy day have to start true steps towards love and harmony. Let us forget what might have happened among us from faults or anything that was not done on purpose. Let’s decide on achieving more ties of relationships among us. Let’s remember everything that Allah asked us to do. Look at what Allah (S.W.T.) says in Surat An-Noor, (Verse 22), “Let them pardon and forgive. Do you not love that Allah should forgive you?”
Let us conclude this by a saying of the prophet saw, in which he admonished a man:
(اغتنم خمسا قبل خمس: شبابك قبل هرمك، وصحتك قبل سقمك، وغناك قبل فقرك، وفراغك قبل شغلك، وحياتك قبل موتك)
“Take advantage of five (by doing good deeds and making amends for the bad ones) before another five befall you. Take advantage of your youth before you grow old, your health before you become ill, your wealth before you become poor, your free time before you become busy, and your life before it is time for you to die” (Musnad Ahmad, Hakim).
Eid is an occasion to rejoice in the bounties of Allah SWT and celebrate the fulfilment of the obligation of fasting. Congratulate one another, visit one another and enjoy the bounties of Allah SWT but be moderate and value the blessings, and keep up the spirit of obedience to Allah SWT which you have developed over the fasting month of Ramadhan. For Muslims, the Eid is an occasion to increase in good deeds. Each Eid marks the conclusion of an important worship, and the determination to continue in obedience and submission to Allah SWT.
We should also not forget on this auspicious occasion our less fortunate brothers and sister in many parts of the world who are going through hardship and difficult time, Specially the situation in Syria where the Government is responsible for gross acts of violence, murder, and torture. Some of the other influential countries of the world are not just sitting by but preventing stopping this brutal act. It all to serve their own vested interest.
Bearing in mind these devastating and heart-breaking situations where even women and children are being deliberately targeted, we have a moral and religious responsibility to help our brothers and sisters, we can help them in in a number of ways; first of all donate generously to support them. Secondly, which is even more important, is to raise your hand in du’a and and ask Allah SWT with a sincere heart to release them from all calamities and suffering, and give them a happy and peaceful life. And may this Eid bring for them an end to all disaster and sorrow.
Amen. الله أكبر الله أكبر لا إله إلا الله و الله أكبر الله أكبر و لله الحمد