In this Eid-feast I noticed that many young people of the new generation do not know what to do at the Eid-feast. That’s why I decided to write about it and summarize what the duties and customs are on this subject.
In the following video you will see an imam who tries to make it clear to the listeners how much the meaning of the Eid-feast has diminished. He says: If only 10-20 years ago someone had told us how much the Eid feast is going to lose importance, we would not have believed that.
Before Eid
Many think that an Eid feast is only on the first day and that you are done after that. However, it starts much earlier. Let me explain it briefly.
Gifts
It is important to think about your financial situation in advance and to set up gifts for your loved ones at the Eid feast, or at least to give them the feeling that it is a special day.
To be present
You have to make all your arrangements for the Eid feast. This means that you must do your best to get holiday at least for the Eid prayer. The Eid-prayer is in Islamic jurisprudence Vacib. This means that it is mandatory and should be considered a duty.
It should be noted that the supervisor, be it at school or at work, must be made aware that this is an important matter.
This means that you should make no holiday but on the spot (in the family) you must be available. From a legal Islamic point of view there is no excuse for the absence. Every Muslim has to internalize that.
The mosque
The mosque is one of the most important components for this day. As a Muslim, one is required to perform every prayer in a mosque based on İhlas (fear of God).
It should be clear that every prayer in a mosque that is not built on İhlas is void.
The Eid morning
An Eid feast does not begin with the prayer in the mosque, nor does it stop there … It begins with the Fajr prayer of the day.
The Fajr prayer
You have to set the alarm clock so that you wake up to Fajr prayer. Imagine that you had booked a cheap flight, which is at 6 o’clock in the morning. You get up at least 3 o clock, because you look forward to your vacation. So why not the Eid feast?
If you have managed to be in time in the mosque, for example, you could already make tea so that the Muslims who come to prayer can drink it.
The Eid prayer
I once again saw that the İmam says a few days before: The Eid prayer will be performed at 7:15 am. And the Muslims actually arrive punctually at 7:15 am, as if they have a doctor appointment.
In fact, it does not hurt to be there at least half an hour earlier to hear what the İmam has to say.
After the Eid prayer
After the Eid prayer, a chain is usually formed so that everyone can congratulate everyone to the Eid feast. I have seen Muslims who got up and left immediately after prayer by just saying: my family is waiting .
What is it, when you take some time to congratulate the people with whom you have performed your Eid prayer in the same order? It would be nice if you spent some time in the mosque after the prayer. Not much. Just about 15 – 20 minutes.
Rest of the day
Breakfast
“The Messenger of Allah did not go to the Ramadan Eid prayer without eating, and he did not eat at the eid feast until he returned from prayer.
Büreyde, Kütüb’ü-custom: Hadis no: 3048
If breakfast is offered at the mosque, try to be there and bring your whole family.
If this is not the case, you should ask the family eldest if he is preparing breakfast. If so, you should let everyone know that they have breakfast there.
If that’s not the case then you should organize a breakfast and invite everyone.
Visits
After breakfast, you should visit the Respects in turn. These include:
- Grandma Grandpa
- Father, mother
- Brother, sister
- Aunt uncle
- The imam
- Your boss (if Muslim)
- etc.
You should visit all of them and if you do not have the opportunity you call them. If you do not have the chance to do so, you can write them via WhatsApp, which is the least recognition of respect.
The graves
If you live near an Islamic cemetery, you should visit your family / friends there. Here, your visit should not only consist of being physically present, but you should read Koran there. If you can not do that, you should start learning it or at least memorize some little verses.
After reading Qur’an, you should think about how much your life corresponds to what “currently” the Hajis say (Talbiyah) … This is extremely important!
Here I am in your service, O God, here I am. Here I am in your service and you have no partners ( Sharik ) . Yours alone is all praise and all gift, and yours alone is sovereignty. You have no partners ( Sharik ).
talbiyah
The sacrificial animal
Who has the opportunity to sacrifice and yet does not, should not approach our house of prayer!
İbni Mace 3123, Hakim 2/389, Ahmed 2/321, Albânî Cami 6490
Nowadays the sacrifice of the animals has degenerated into a collective order of meat. This has to do with the fact that Muslims have lost sight of the significance of the sacrificial animal.
If you want to sacrifice an animal, you should do it yourself. If you can not, you should at least be there when the animal is sacrificed.
Allah has prescribed a good execution for all things. So if you kill, kill with beauty! If you slaughter, be gracious! If one of you wants to slaughter an animal, he should hone his knife, comfort the animal and cut it nicely.
Müslim 1955/57, Ebu Davud 2815, Nesei 4417, 1409 Tirmizi, İbni Mace 3170, İbnu’l-Carud 839, İbni Hibban 5883, Begavi 2873, Ahmed 4/123, 124, Albânî İrva 2231
The meat
If you have sacrificed an animal, you should remember that this was not just a shop where you buy an animal and kill it. It is a sacrificial animal and must be distributed to the needy.
Say, “My prayer and my sacrificial animal and my life and death belong to Allah, the Lord of the worlds.
Sura Al-An’am – 162
The Prophet Muhammad (sav) made the distribution of the meat obligatory in the case of poverty. When poverty subsided, this duty was lifted. Now a question arises. Is poverty today non-existent?
Nowadays, distributing the meat is just an exchange. One brings meat to the other. He also gets meat out of his fridge and gives it to someone who has brought meat. This is not the sense of sharing and has never been.
The following days
At least the second day of the Eid feast, the husband and wife should keep their day free for their family. On this days they should do something and if they have children, do something with them.
It should be designed as nice as possible for the children so that this day is something special for the kids.
If they do not have children, couples should spend their time together and do something together. For example, they could go for a nice walk and / or go for a meal / drink.
If they go to work on the second day and do not take time for their family, they do not have the right to say anything if their children later on Bayram do not involve them in their plans.
Conclusion
As I write these lines, I don’t even know if it will work and if the kids will understand it.
Visiting the family does not bring any money and to appear Fajr prayer in the mosque does not bring any followers. If you still have more questions you can send them to me.
The young Muslims of this world are trying to save humanity and have completely forgotten that Islam was spread by good Ahlak. With my best wishes and prayers. Selamun aleykum.
