21- Eid Fitr

21- Eid Fitr

Allahu Akbar, Allahu Akbar, Allahu Akbar, Allahu Akbar, Allahu Akbar, Allahu Akbar, Allahu Akbar, Allahu Akbar, Allahu Akbar.

 (Allah is Most Great, Allah is Most Great, Allah is Most Great, Allah is Most Great, Allah is Most Great, Allah is Most Great, Allah is Most Great, Allah is Most Great, Allah is Most Great.)

Allah is Most Great as long as the dawn of Islam breaks and shines forth. Allah is Most Great as long as the month of fasting comes and goes. Allah is Most Great as long as the faster celebrates the completion of his fast and draws hope. Allah is Most Great, and all praise is much due to Allah, and Allah is Exalted eternally. Exalted is He Possessor of Glory and Limitless Oneness. Exalted is He Possessor of Dominion and Kingdom. Exalted is Allah the Eternal the Ever-Lasting, who does not alter nor change.

Exalted is He whose signs are a testament to His existence, and whose evidences of His power and might speak of His sublime-ness. He is the One in His being, attributes and actions, nothing is of His like and He is the All-Hearing, All-Seeing.

And I bear witness that there is no god but Allah alone with no associate. By His praise righteous deeds are completed and through His remembrance blessings continue. And I bear witness that our Master Mohammed is the best who fasted for his Lord and stood in prayer. O Allah, praise, give peace to and bless our Master Mohammed for whom Allah chose the most noble of forefathers and the most chaste of mothers.

O Servants of Allah: This day of yours is a great day. Its bounty is plentiful. In it Allah overwhelms the fasters with their reward and magnifies the reward for them. In it the signs of mercy upon the servants of Allah unfold. In it the beggar is not turned away. Yet mercy on this day envelopes only those who have completed their fast, and giving the zakat cleanses the fast of sin. Congratulations to he who fasted Ramadan and stood in prayer, and breaks his fast on this great day with the halal.

O Muslims: This day of yours is a day of celebration and happiness, so spread the joy among your brothers and neighbors and be dutiful to your fathers and mothers that your children be dutiful to you. Be affectionate to your wives and children. Be the best of parents and the best of spouses, be the best of children and the best of siblings.

The Prophet may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him has said, The best of you is the best of you to his family and I am the best of you to his family. Be good on this day of yours to the poor and needy and stroke the heads of orphans who have lost their fathers and mothers.

Remember the saying of the Prophet may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him to the hard-hearted, Stroke the head of an orphan and your heart will become soft. This day of yours is a day of visiting and having mercy upon each other, so visit each other in it and have mercy upon one another, and be affectionate in it and shake hands, forget differences, forsake racism and set aside tribalism for it is rotten. Know that embracing and shaking hands remove rancor from the heart and revive in it the spirit of affection and love. Know that if two Muslims meet and shake hands they shall not part company until each washes clean the other of his sins. How in need we are brothers in Islam of the implementation of the divine legislation, and how in need we all are of bringing down the reward of Allah upon ourselves through our behavior. How happy is he who is light upon his brothers and soft.

O Muslims: The day of Eid Al-Fitr is the first day of celebration for the fasters, for you know that the faster has two celebrations that he celebrates, If he breaks his fast he celebrates the breaking of his fast and if he meets his Lord he celebrates his fast. For the like of this day let the workers work, and in that let the competitors compete. Do not forget the blessing of Allah upon you on this day in which you glorify your Allah for having guided you and thank him for having chosen you, for as of yesterday you have completed the worship of your fast.

You thank your Lord on this day, yet know brothers in Islam that the Eid is not for he that wears something new; rather it is for he whose acts of obedience to his Lord are on the increase.

The Eid is not for he that wears new clothes and his heart is hardened to his brother Muslim; the Eid is for whoever fears the Day of Judgment, the Eid is for whoever fears the grievances of the servants, the Eid is for whoever pardons mistakes and does good to he who treats him badly and makes amends among people.

Yes, you can wear new clothes but how good it would be if you adorned them with taqwa (fearful consciousness of Allah) for taqwa is the best provision and taqwa is the best clothing. The Most High said, And the clothing of taqwa, that is best. Yesterday you were among the fasters and today you are among the thankful. How good it is for the thankful to stock up with taqwa. The Most High said, And take your provisions for the best provision is taqwa.

Brothers in Islam: Spread the greeting of peace on this day, feed food and remind your children of the blessings of Allah. Raise them according to the teachings of Islam. Raise them with taqwa of Allah that they be the apple of your eye in this life and a source of security and happiness in the Afterlife.

Know that your children copy you, so be the best example to them and the finest model. Omer Ibn AbdulAzeez the ascetic Khalifa saw one of his sons on the day of Eid wearing a tattered shirt. Omer cried. His son said to him, What makes you cry, my father? He said, I fear that your heart will break on the day of Eid if the children see you in your tattered clothes.

He said, O Leader of the Believers, the heart breaks of one whom Allah denies His acceptance or casts aside his father or mother, and I hope that Allah accepts me through your acceptance of me. Omer may Allah be well pleased with him cried, embraced him and kissed him on his forehead and prayed for him, and he became the most ascetic person after him.

O Muslims: The predecessors used to consider every day that passes in obedience to Allah an Eid, and the best Eid for them is the moment of closeness to the Lord of the Worlds.

One of them said:
Time is a funeral wake if you are absent, my hope And Eid is when you are visible and audible to me So fear Allah o Muslims and take glad tidings of the plentiful gifts of the Lord of the Earth and the Heavens.

The Messenger of Allah may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him said, On the day of Eid Al-Fitr the Angels stand in the entryways of the streets and call out: Go hence O Muslims to a generous Lord who provides blessings then rewards them with plenty.

You were ordered to stand in prayer during the night and you stood. You were ordered to fast during the day and you fasted. You obeyed your Lord so take your prizes. When they finish praying someone cries out: Your Lord has forgiven you. Return to your residences rightly-guided.

The Second Sermon
Allahu Akbar, Allahu Akbar, Allahu Akbar, Allahu Akbar, Allahu Akbar, Allahu Akbar, Allahu Akbar. (Allah is Most Great, Allah is Most Great, Allah is Most Great, Allah is Most Great, Allah is Most Great, Allah is Most Great, Allah is Most Great.)

Allah is Most Great, and all praise is much due to Allah, and Allah is Exalted in the morning and the evening. And I bear witness that there is no god but Allah alone with no associate. He made the Eids days of love and kindness and being merciful and affectionate to each other.

And I bear witness that our Master Mohammed is the servant of Allah and His Messenger, the best who greeted on the Eid and was greeted, and was happy with it and made others happy. O Allah, praise, give peace to and bless him and his family and companions.

O Servants of Allah: Glad tidings for you with the completion of the fast; with that celebrate. Glad tidings to you of the intercession of the Koran; for that be thankful. Say with the bounty of Allah and His mercy, with that let them celebrate, it is better than what they gather.

Servants of Allah: Make much remembrance of Allah, thank Him and exalt Him in the morning and the evening, for He is the Lord of generosity and beneficence. Visit each other in this day of yours, have mercy upon each other and shake each others hands, for it has been narrated from the Messenger of Allah may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him that he said, There are no two Muslims that meet and shake hands but that they are forgiven before they part. 

And he said may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him, If two Muslims meet and one of them greets the other the most beloved of them to Allah is the one who is most welcoming of his companion. If they shake hands Allah sends down upon them a hundred mercies, to the one who held out his hand ninety and to the one who shook it ten. Be among those who travel on his example may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him. If one of you attends from one path let him return by another that the two paths might bear witness for him.

Servants of Allah: Honor is in obedience to your Lord, so be obedient and on this blessed day do many good deeds, for good deeds protect one from an evil end. Join with you in your celebration the poor and needy. And that which you put forth for yourselves you will find it with Allah better and greater in reward, and ask Allah for forgiveness. Allah is forgiving, merciful.

Say with me: Our Lord forgive us and our brothers who have preceded us in belief, and do not make in our hearts rancor for those who believe. Our Lord, you are gentle, merciful. Ask Allah with me to bring together the hearts of the believers and gather the Muslims and accept the repentant.

He is the best protector and the best supporter. Servants of Allah, Allah orders justice and doing good and giving to relatives and forbids indecency and the reprehensible and tyranny. He warns you that you might pay heed. May every year find you well. Peace be upon you and the mercy of Allah and His blessings.