Eid Greetings 1439/2018

Before I greet my readers with HAPPY EID, let me pen what-it-is about this joyous occasion.

Now is the time when Muslims all over the world pay farewell to their blissful beloved month of Ramazan that brings serenity and tranquility in everyone’s life and temporarily transforms them from earthly to angelic.

With end of Ramazan, comes the time of unwinding and the days of fasting changes into a day of feasting. The day is known as Eid ul Fitr. This feast is however not a feast in the usual sense. There is no splash of colours, no serving of liquor, no hangovers, no pukes, no gambling, and no indecencies.

The morning has an extra compulsory prayer in which the assembly is much larger than other days, even more than Fridays. Small mosques are not capacious enough to provide the services to so many people in one session. Hence this additional prayer is performed in bigger mosques or large open fields. Format of the prayer is completely different and it finishes with a special sermon.

Not only this extra prayer, believers have to pay extra charity before attending the prayer. (This charity is different from Zakat i.e. 2.5 % of yearly savings.)
The extra charity to be paid by every member of the household, even minors, is known as Fitra and that is why this Eid is known as Eid ul Fitr.

Eid is the occasion of thanksgiving to the Almighty. Thanks are expressed to the Compassionate Cherisher Lord in return of His favours. He provided the opportunity and strength to wilfully obey the commands of fasting, prayers, recitation of holy books and free will to seek spiritual enlightenment during the holy month. All these tasks became so easy that outwardly appeared difficult.

Once the duty of extra charity and extra prayers are met, socializing and rejoicing commences. Special joyous occasion is for the little boys and girls who appear to me as the angels and fairies sent from heaven. Thus continues the greeting of each other with vermicelli preparations, sweets, sherbets, exotic food, new clothes and amusing civilized gestures of merriments. In spite of the unwinding, the enjoyments remain socially, culturally and religiously within the permitted limits.

I hope the above brief introduction to this Eid-after -Ramazan is of help to those who are not fully aware. Others may consider this as a summarized refresher.

By the way, Eid literally means the joyous occasion which recurs again and again.

Let me conclude by greeting everyone with supplications for good health- physical as well as spiritual, sound state of mind, adequate wealth, and peaceful happy life.

VERY BLISSFUL EID-UL-FITR TO ALL.

Welcoming Ramadan 1439/2018

Eagerly awaited guest – the month of Ramazan ( also spelled as Ramadan) is already in our midst.

One fourth of world’s population ( Muslims) consider extremely blessed to be part of this month-long journey. I regard this journey as a migration :
From feast to fast; From mundane to sublime; From receiving to giving; From apathy to empathy ; From saving to spending; From anxiety to tranquility; From excitement to restraint; From exasperation to patience; From fiction to scripture; From arrogance to humbleness; From sleepiness to wakefulness; From ostentation to sincerity; From irreverence to piety; From earthly to angelic……..

May the blessings of this month extend to the entire year and also
to all remaining years of our lives. Amen.

Extending supplications and hearty greetings to everyone on this pious and blissful occasion.

How lazy I have been!

I am extremely sorry that I was away from my WordPress for almost two years.

Let it be known that I was not away from pen and paper. However, I was posting my thoughts on Facebook page only.

I do promise that now onward I shall try to post my thoughts on WordPress as well.