Eid

Here's an interesting article I was sent about Eid. Some of you will be interested to know that moon-sighting issues aren't restricted to London - we have them in Qum too!

Belated Eid Mubarak - whenever you celebrated the Eid

"But how can we have more than one Eid?"

The answer: why not?!

Instead of making mountains out of molehills, let's try to resolve such issues with a little bit of common sense. If Ramadan ended on Saturday for the parents (i.e. Sunday Eid) and on Sunday for the children (i.e. Monday Eid) and on Monday for the followers of Ayt.. Sistani in Europe (i.e. Tuesday Eid), surely the parents can wait just one or more days to wear their new clothes or cook up all sorts of ethnic delicacies! If the other members of your family are fasting today, and you are not, just drink a glass of water in the morning – you don't have to eat a four-course meal in front of them! In regards to Eid prayers, most places have services to accommodate various situations, and even if your community doesn't, keep in mind that Eid prayers are not obligatory during the occultation of the Twelfth Imam (may Allah hasten his reappearance) and can also be offered individually (Ayatollah Sistani: Islamic Laws, ruling #1525).

Furthermore, even if we see the Arab community celebrating Eid on one day, the Pakistanis the next days, and as usual the Khojas after them, what exactly is the big deal? In many parts of the Muslim world, people celebrate Eid for a whole week. The more, the merrier! I for one fail to see the problem with being able to dress up, visit friends and having delicious meals in the evening for three days instead of just one!

Instead of panicking and rushing to hurl the vilest accusations at our religious scholars, and turning and twisting their research and presentations to suit our needs, let us try to be a bit more reasonable. Unity does not mean uniformity. Instead of becoming upset at such minor differences, let us learn to appreciate and enjoy the blessings of variety and diversity.

Also, we must realize that even if we ignore all jurisprudential differences, we still would not be able to avoid the issue of multiple Eids. Indeed, we see that during the caliphate of Imam Ali (peace be upon him), a man once came and told him that he had sighted the crescent for the month of Shawwal, while no one else had. The Imam told him that since he has sighted the moon himself, it was Eid for him the next day, but for the rest of the community, since there were not two reliable testimonies (as required by Shariah), it would be the 30th of Ramadan. So while it was haram for the man to fast the next day, it was in fact wajib upon everyone else!

Hence, for those who have proper knowledge and understanding of Islamic jurisprudence, this is really a non-issue. In all honesty, the moonsighting drama has nothing to do with unity or keeping our families intact. The Shia world has had multiple Eids for centuries now, so it has hard to fathom why this has become such a divisive issue. The fact of the matter is that this is a simple jurisprudential technicality which certain nefarious elements have hijacked and used to attack our Maraja-e-Taqleed, and many simple-minded Shias are sadly following suit. If we are really so concerned about maintaining unity, let us keep in mind that the one institution that has safeguarded and protected Shi'ism for the past 1200 years and the only platform that is capable of uniting us is the same Marjaiyyat which we so quickly rush to accuse of causing disunity amongst us!

On a final note, History tell us that in the 16th century, as Mongol armies were about to overrun Baghdad, the Muslim world was too busy fighting among itself over apparently a far more pertinent matter: whether it is permissible to consume owl meat or not! While they were busy discussing this issue, Baghdad was captured and run over. Today, as we face enemies and calamities from all sides, let us learn from our own history, let us cease from wasting so much time and energy complaining about such trivial matters, let us unite under the banner of the Marjaiyyat, and let us focus on the greater problems that threaten to overrun our communities and the Muslim Ummah today. Remember the famous statement of Ayt. Khomeini (r.a.) who used to say: Muslim world is fighting whether to keep hands open or closed during prayers, forgetting that enemies are ever ready and waiting for the chance to chop those hands."

It is time to wake up and face up the real danger which is on our doorstep. May Allah swt accept all your Ibadat's of the Holy Month and the special Ibadat of the Eid day - no matter, whenever you celebrated it!