Eid al-Fitr is a major Islamic holiday that marks the end of the fasting month of Ramadan. Eid al-fitr begins the day after Ramadan ends. Its name means “festival of the breaking of the fast.” Eid day is the Ist of the month of Shawal ul Mukkaram of Islamic (Lunar) Calendar. The festival starts early in the morning when people wear new clothes and pray for Allah’s blessings. Many of them also recite Takbir – the declaration of faith, while they are going for the prayers. It is traditionally marked with a special meal—which for many Muslims is the first daytime meal they’ve eaten in a month. Though Eid this year will be celebrated without any large gatherings due to the corona virus pandemic. The respective state governments, Religious organisations have requested people to follow social distancing during the celebrations of Eid. Various Islamic Countries have already give Eid celebration instructions to their fellow citizens on this years Eid-ul-Fitr.
Saudi Arabia: The government has extended the working hours in shopping centers to 24 hours so that crowds at peak times can be avoided. All COVID-19 protocols will be followed on the day of Eid.
Oman: The country has decided to cancel the Eid prayers and gatherings in public places due to COVID-19. A ban has also been put on family gatherings or any mass celebrations.
Iran: The country has banned local travel just ahead of the festival of Eid.
Eid-ul-Fitr is celebrated not because the month of Ramadhan is over, but out of gratitude to God for having obeyed the commandments in the holy month. Eid day is an exciting time for Muslims. Before the Eid prayer Muslims give out some money for the poor known as ‘Zakatt ul Fitr’ or ‘Sadqat-ul-Fitr’. This is a reminder that the fasting has made them more understanding of the needs of others. Then people go to mosques for the Eid prayer. After that most people visit family and friends where they will exchange gifts, share sweetmeats, and enjoy time together. Most Muslim communities around the world have tradition of holding an Eid dinner later in the evening for their near & dears, friends to get together. The celebrations continue for a couple of days, sometimes even till the next weekend. During this holiday, Muslims greet each other by saying “Eid mubarak” meaning “blessed Eid,” and “taqabbala allahu a’maalakum” or “may God accept your deeds”. It is a time to reflect on the month that has passed, to be happy at having achieved a month of fasting and worship, and to hope that the deeds have earned the pleasure of the Allah (SWT).
According to certain traditions, the festivals of Eid-ul-Fitr and Eid-ul-Adha were initiated in Medina after the migration of Prophet Muhammad (SAW) from Mecca. Anas bin Malek (RA), a well-known companion of the Prophet Muhammad (SAW), narrated that, when Prophet Muhammad (SAW) arrived in Medina, he found people celebrating two specific days in which they entertained themselves with recreation and merriment. At this, Holy Prophet Muhammad (SAW) remarked that Allah (SWT) had fixed two days of festivity: Eid al-Fitr and Eid al-Adha. (Ahmad ibn Hanbal, Musnad, vol. 4, 141–142, (no. 13210). One of the most important obligations on day of Eid-ul-Fitr is Zakat ul-Fitr also known as Sadaqat ul-Fitr. The word Fitr means the same as Iftar which is breaking a fast. So, Zakat ul-Fitr is the name given to charity which is distributed at the end of the fast of Ramadan. Zakat al-Fitr is the Wajib or we can say it is a duty on every Muslim to pay Sadaqat ul-Fitr before offering Eid prayer. However, it can be paid earlier than that to enable the poor to provide their needs for the Eid day. The main aim of Zakat al-Fitr is to provide the poor with their needs and make them happy on the blessed day of Eid-ul-Fitr. The intention of paying Zakat al-Fitr is to bring happiness to the poor on the day of Eid. And to do that we may pay it a little in advance as much as this is necessary to make it on time to the poor. Zakat al-Fitr is a seasonal payment that has a special time-related objective that is why it must stick to this time frame. Sadaqat ul-Fitr becomes obligatory from sunset on the last day of fasting and remains obligatory until the beginning of Salat ul-Eid. Zakat al-Fitr is an obligation which is due to the free or slave Muslim, male or female, young or adult. A man who is the head of a family pays for himself and for whomever he shelters, unless they have enough money of their own, to give out Zakat al-Fitr in Ramadan. A person has to be a Muslim to be required to pay/give and qualify to receive Zakat al-Fitr. It is stated in hadith in these words: “Prophet Muhammad (SAW) made it incumbent on all the slave or free Muslims, male or female, to pay one Sa’ of dates or barley as Zakat-ul-Fitr” (Bukhari). The significant role played by Zakat in the circulation of wealth within the Islamic society is also played by the Sadaqat ul-Fitr. But in the case of Sadaqat ul-Fitr, each individual is required to calculate how much charity is due from himself and his dependents and go into the community in order to find those who deserve such charity. So, we can say that Sadaqat ul-Fitr plays an important role in the development of the bonds of community. The rich are obliged to come in direct contact with the poor, and the poor are put in contact with the extremely poor which helps to build real bonds of brotherhood and love within the Islamic community. Ibn Abbas reported that: “The Prophet (SAW) made Zakat ul-Fitr compulsory so that those who fasted may be purified of their idle deeds and shameful talk (committed during Ramadan) and so that the poor may be fed. Whoever gives it before Salah will have it accepted as Zakat, while he who gives it after the Salah has given Sadaqat.” (Abu Dawud). The amount of Zakat is the same for everyone regardless of their different income brackets. The minimum amount is one Sa’ of food, barley, grain or dried fruit for each member of the family. Paying Zakat ul-Fitr is an act of worship, and all acts of worship are described through the Quran and Sunnah of Prophet Muhammad (SAW). “O you who believe! Fasting is prescribed for you as it has been prescribed for those who have believed before you, so you may be ever God-fearing.It is for a specified number of days. … It was the month of Ramadan in which the Quran was first sent down as guidance for all people, having in it clear proofs of divine guidance and the criterion for right and wrong. So whoever among you bears witness to the month shall then fast it”. (Surat al-Baqarah, 2:183-85). Zakat (alms) is one of the five pillars of Islam. Its importance can be realized from the fact that in 82 verses of the Qur’an Zakat is associated with prayer (Salah), such as: “Establish regular prayer and give Zakat; and obey Allah and His messenger” Quran (33:33). If social justice and compassion to fellow humans who are disadvantaged is one of the central themes in the message of Allah to humanity, then it is no wonder that Zakat, like prayer and fasting, was also enjoined upon the people of the past messengers: “..And We made them (descendants of Abraham) leaders, guiding by Our command, and We sent them inspiration to do good deeds, to establish regular Prayers and to practice Zakat; and they constantly served Us” Quran (21:73). “Establish regular prayer and give Zakat; and obey Allah and His Messenger.” Quran (33:33). “And We made them (descendants of Abraham) leaders, guiding by Our command, and We sent them inspiration to do good deeds, to establish regular Prayers and to practise Zakat; and they constantly served Us” Quran (21:73). The Holy Prophet Muhammad (SAW), specifically called the Ramadan Fast-Breaking Alms “Zakat,” and the Quran says:And duly establish the Salah-Prayer and give the Zakat-Charity. (Surat al-Baqarah, 2:110 and Surat al-Nisa’, 4:77) Holy Prophet Muhammad (SAW), “imposed” the Zakat of Fast-Breaking [at the close of Ramadan] at the measure of one sa‘ (4 double-handfuls) of dates or one sa‘ of barley, on every Muslim, free or bondsman, male or female. The vast majority of scholars recognize this wording as enjoining an “obligatory” alms levy. Similar prophetic reports use other language that directly “commanded” every Muslim to give a required alms payment at the conclusion of Ramadan. So all schools hold Zakat al-Fitr as religiously compulsory, carrying a strength of legal ruling similar to scholarly consensus, or ijma‘.
What Is the Purpose of Zakat al-Fitr? Zakat al-Fitr has two primary purposes, one spiritual for the individual worshiper and the other communal.
The Spiritual Function of Zakat al-Fitr: As a worship form, fasting constitutes, if you will, a “spiritual technology” that God has taught the human being. Its purpose is to help someone unfetter his or her soul for an interim from the worldly appetites that preoccupy it, to free its heavenly nature somewhat from its clay confines so that it may draw itself nearer in consciousness to God. This, as we’ve just seen, the Quran itself tells us: So that you may be ever God-fearing. Practically speaking, the Arabic word that “God-fearing” translates is the unique religious term taqwa, meaning, in its essence, to keep mindful of God so that one becomes habituated to doing what He commands and resolute in holding back from what He forbids. As such, the perfection of fasting, the worship rite, demands of one more than merely depriving his or her body of drink, food and passionate fulfillment. It aims to train the human spirit to master the physical nature that frames it. So fasting also requires us to hold our tongues from unseemly speech (In the past, fasting meant to some no speech at all. See Mary, mother of Jesus, peace on him: Indeed, I have vowed a fast to the All-Merciful. Thus, I shall not speak today to any human being (Surat Maryam, 19:26)); and to keep our hands from bad action; as well as to deny our hearts impure thought. This is fasting in its purity — an ideal, perhaps, no human being can attain. Zakat al-Fitr, the obligatory alms at the breaking of Ramadan’s month-long fast cleanses our fast from the adulterations we have accumulated in the course of observing it.
The Communal Function of Zakat al-Fitr: Ramadan’s fast concludes with one of the two great celebrations in the Muslim year, Eid al-Fitr, the Commemoration of Fast-Breaking. On this day of joyful prayer and gathering (may Allah return it to us soon), every Muslim in every locality is to receive it with an obligatory charity, communal Salah-Prayer, and a feast. Zakat al-Fitr infuses the fasting and believing poor with the food resources to whole-heartedly glorify God, celebrate the Eid Prayer, and share the day’s merriment and delight with their children and families. The Prophet, on him be peace, famously said in this regard: “Gratify [the poor] on this day” (Al-Shawkani, Nayl Al-Awtar). Zakat purifies your wealth as Allah (SWT) says in the Qur’an: “Take alms from their wealth in order to purify them and sanctify them with it and pray for them.” Quran (9:103). It reminds Muslims of the fact that whatever wealth they may possess is due to the blessings of Allah and as such it is to be spent according to the His commands. Zakat functions as a social security for all. Those who have enough money today pay for what they have. If they need money tomorrow, they will get what is necessary to help them live decently. Zakat payer pays his dues to Allah as an act of worship, a token of submission and an acknowledgment of gratitude. The receiver of Zakat receives it as a grant from Allah out of His bounty, a favor for which he is thankful to Allah. Economically, Zakat is the best check against hoarding. Those who do not invest their wealth but prefer to save or hoard it would see their wealth dwindling year after year due to inflation etc. Zakat helps increase production and stimulates supply because it is a redistribution of income that enhances the demand by putting more real purchasing power in the hands of poor. It keeps one away from sin and saves the giver from the moral ill arising from the love and greed of wealth. Through Zakat, the poor are cared for, these include widows, orphans, the disabled, the needy and the destitute. Zakat is the right of the poor. Zakat is not considered a favor that is given to the poor by the rich. It is the right of the poor on the wealth of the rich. Allah says: “..(In their) wealth there is a known share for the beggars and the destitute” Quran (70:24-25). Zakat, therefore, is unlike charity that is given to the needy voluntarily. Withholding Zakat is considered depriving the poor of their due share. Thus one who pays Zakat actually “purifies” his wealth by separating from it the portion that belongs to the poor. May Allah accept our fasts and give us the strength to complete them in a better way by paying Zakat al-Fitr. Ameen!
( The author is a Social Activist and writes frequently for “ Kashmir Horizon”. Views are his own)
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