Tuesday, April 9, 2024
Year : 2, Issue : 15
By Shah J. Choudhury
Every Muslim, regardless of gender or wealth, will experience a stream of happiness when the Eid moon is glimpsed at the end of Ramadan. After offering Eid prayers on the morning of Eid, all Muslims, wealthy or not, will exchange greetings. No one will be left out from doing so and eating firni semai.
All of the Eid preparations are completed. Various outfits and accessories are purchased. Gifts are distributed to friends and relatives. Muslims all over the world are waiting for the holy day of Eid al-Fitr. This is a day that everyone ought to rejoice in.
Eid promotes communal well-being and surpasses the bounds of moral, spiritual, and social purity. Eid is achieved by extending a hand of friendship and breaking the barriers of hatred and animosity. This special day arrives to awaken the intellect and satisfy the refined hearts.
Following a month-long fasting or siyam, Muslims celebrate Eid day with excitement and various rituals. This festival is one of love, peace, and joy.
Eid-ul-Fitr is celebrated by Muslims all over the world. On the day of Eid, people congregate together closely, forgetting all the hardships, griefs and sufferings of the year. At Eidgah, exchanging greetings renews the bonds of amity, harmony and love. Eid is a festival of pure delight, a time for people to share and unite in their joy of self-purification.
However, the slaughter that Israeli troops are carrying out in Gaza during the month of Ramadan is a festival of killing people. It is not something that should occur in the human world. Still it is happening. The sound of death resounds in the blood-stained desert every day. During these challenging days of fasting without food, the message of Eid is revealed by the moon’s orbit.
If the moon is visible, as it is in Arab nations, Palestine is also supposed to celebrate the holy Eid-ul-Fitr. But Israel has been bombing Gaza for the past 180 days.
With the full backing of the US, Zionist Jews proclaimed Palestine to be their own nation in the years following World War II. Palestinians have lost millions of people and been driven from their homes. Israel and the Arabs went to war. That was actually the first attempt which Israel is still doing today – to exterminate the Palestinian people. The Palestinians of Gaza, sometimes referred to as the largest prison under the open sky, are among the most persecuted people on the planet today. They have lived by sacrificing their lives in response to the question of whether or not they will be wiped out.
There are two phrases used by Palestinians to describe Israel’s 1948 destruction of Palestine. One, Al-Ghurba, means exile. Two, Al-Nakba, signifies devastation or misfortune. The Palestinian lexicon contains these two new terms that bear the fresh scars of persecution. They have spent 76 years going through this. Israel has assaulted Palestinian territory repeatedly. And this time they are showing their supreme form.
In Palestine, the joyful celebration of Ramadan and Eid was a common scenario. But this time the picture of Palestine, especially Gaza, is different. Food, water, all the food items of the Iftar are uncertain at this time. Parents have to witness the dejected expressions of starving youngsters instead of happy festivities. All the joy has been robbed by Israel’s atrocities.
In fact, everyone, wealthy or not, joyful or sad, experiences a peaceful happiness during Eid. In addition to teaching people to make the greatest sacrifices for one another, Eid aims to bring people from all walks of life together in bonds of love.
Human and social interactions are fostered through greetings, cordialities, and sympathy throughout all the Eid rituals. This is the social significance of Eid al-Fitr. It has been believed that giving more charity, zakat, and fitra throughout the month of Ramadan will ensure that every Muslim on the planet can celebrate Eid. This is the economic significance of Eid al-Fitr.
We wish an end to the Gaza War. We also want the people of Gaza to experience the same joy of Eid-ul-Fitr as all the Muslims worldwide. Those who are assisting Israel in destroying humanity by military means should stop this cooperation. Let those people also should act like sympathetic human beings.
Wishing a very happy Eid-ul-Fitr to each and everyone.
Translated by Sultana Parvin Shimul
