EID AL-FITR SERMON

DELIVERED AT AL-MAHDI CENTRE-WESSEX JAMAAT

In the Name of Allah, the Beneficent, the Merciful

Praise be to Allah, the Lord of the worlds

May His blessings be upon the Holy Prophet (saw) and his pure progeny (as)

ZAKAT AL-FITR:

It is the duty of the Imam to remind his congregation on the day of Eid al-Fitr about their obligation of paying Zakat al-Fitr. Zakat al-Fitr is basically the religious tax which Muslims are required to pay on Eid al-Fitr to amrk the end of the holy month of Ramadhan.

"Indeed whosever purifies himself shall achieve success; and glorifies the Name of his Lord and prays"

                                                                                                                                                         (87:14/15)

According to the tafseer of Ahlul-Bayt (as), this verse refers to giving of Zakat al-Fitr and saying prayer on the day of Eid. Imam Ja'ffar ibn Muhammad al-sadiq (as) has said, For your fast to be accepted, give Zakat".

This Zakat is compulsory on every Muslim who is an adult, sane, neither unconscious, nor poor, nor the slave of another. Such a person should give, on his own behalf, and on belaf of his dependants, three kilos per head of wheat or barley or dates or raisins or rice or millet etc OR  pay amount of the price of any one of these items in cash. Fitra becomes compulsory after sunset on the eve of Eid (night preceding Eid day) and should be paid before Eid prayer by those attending the prayer OR before midday for those who cannot say their Eid prayer. The intention should be wajib qurbatan ilallahi Ta'ala.

Fitra should be given to a needy who is unable to meet his own or his dependant's annual living expenses and according to Ayatullah as-Seestani, the needy should be Shia'h Ithna 'Ashari. One cannot pay Fitra to a needy who consumes alcohol, does not say his daily wajib prayers, commits sins openly or to one who is known for using Fitra money in an unlawful way. Fitra should not be sent outside one's town of residence, if there are deserving believers in that town. Amongst the needy, preference should be given to relatives, then the neighbours, then the religious scholars and so on and so forth. For more, refer the Masa-il of Mujtahideen.

TRUE EID IS FOR THE RIGHTEOUS:

Eid al-Fitr is a great day of festival for Muslims. It is a day of rejoicing and being happy. But for whom?? Is it the day of rejoicing for those who simply put on new clothes and wear perfume? Or is it the day of being happy for those who were eagerly waiting for the release of the greatest enemy of mankind, Satan, from his captivity so that they all revert to committing sins? Unfortunately, many Muslims abstain from sins during the month of Ramadhan, but come Eid, they go back to what they were before! Cassettes of prayers which were in their cars during the holy month are thrown back into their cases and replaced with those which are unlawful by Shari'ah. The forbidden places from which they had abstained for month long, are infact the same places they go to celebrate Eid.

Just as, when a person goes to a college, or a university and at the completion of his course, he receives his award marking his achievement, we must understand that, the holy month of Ramadhan is a spiritual university where we are being trained to achieve Taqwa i.e. piety. The day of Eid al-Fitr is when Allah (SWT) is awarding us for our achievements. On the day of Eid al-Fitr, Imam Ali bin Abi Talib (as) delivered a sermon in which he said: "O people! Verily this day of yours is the day when the righteous are awarded and the wretched are losers. It is a day which is similar to the one on which you shall be standing (before your Lord). Therefore, when you come out of your homes to go to places of your prayer, remind yourselves about the day when you (your souls) shall come out of your bodies to go to your Lord. When you stand on places of your prayer, remind yourselves of your standing in presence of your Lord (on the day of Judgement). And when you return to your homes (after prayer), remind yourselves about your returning to your homes in Paradise. O Servants of Allah! Verily the minimum reward for those men and women who fasted (during Ramadhan), is an Angel, who calls out to them on the last day of the month of Ramadhan (saying): O SERVANTS OF ALLAH! REJOICE THE GLAD TIDING THAT ALL YOUR PREVIOUS SINS HAVE BEEN FORGIVEN. Therefore, watch out in those things which serve as your re-creation (on this day and days to follow)"  (Nahjul-Balaghah)

Therefore, let us be extremely careful on this day lest we commit what will ruin our whole month's efforts.

RECOMMENDED DEEDS FOR EID DAY:

To continuously recite Takbeer by saying Allahu Akbar meaning Allah is the greatest.

To do Silah ar-Rahim with the relatives by calling them or visiting them and exchanging greetings and gifts with them.

To patch up differences with all the relatives and believers.

To continuously do Istighfar i.e. seeking forgiveness from Allah (SWT) for ones sins and shortcomings. Seeking forgiveness is the key to our success both, in this world as well as in the hereafter.

"And O my people! Ask forgiveness of your Lord, then turn to Him, He will send on you clouds pouring down abundance of rain and add strength to your strength, and do not turn back guilty". (11:52)

Zamakhshari states in the tafseer of this verse that:

[ Imam Hassan al-Mujtaba (as) was going towards Mua'wiyah when one of his companions said, "O Maula! I am wealthy but have no children. Teach me something so that Allah grants me children". Imam (as) said, "Do Istighfar". The man started doing Istighfar so much that some days he exceeded seven hundred times. As a result, Allah (SWT) gave him ten sons. Later on, when Imam (as) was asked to explain this, he (as) said, "Haven't you read what Hud said to his people (that whoever did Istighfar) He (SWT) adds strength to his strength and Noah said that He (SWT) will help you with wealth and children". (Quran-o-'Itrat)

It is also reported that whenever anyone came to Imam Hassan (as) with any complain, whether it was about debts, poverty or any other worldly problems, he (as) always prescribed Istighfar as best remedy.

We pray to Allah (SWT) to forgive all our sins, accept all our fasts and good deeds of the holy month of Ramadhan, guide us to His right path, the path of those with whom He is pleased with and not the path of those who are astray.
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Mulla Mujaheedali Sheriff

mulla@almahdi.org.uk