What to do and what not to do on the blessed day of Eid

THE Holy Month of Ramadan has come to a close. Muslims from all over the world are set to enjoy celebrations and festivities to mark the Eid-Al-Fitr holidays.

The Eid holidays are a time to be thankful to Allah for the innumerable bounties He alone has given to us. It is also a time to spend time with your families and meet your friends away from home. Children especially enjoy the Eid holidays as they typically get whirled and swung upside down at the nearest amusement park or haul in an awesome array of toys and candies from their loved ones.

Despite all the fun and enjoyment associated with Eid, Muslims should be conscious of mistakes that many of us make during the Eid holidays, sometimes without even realising it. Some of these mistakes include:

Gossip, slander & backbiting

Sins of the tongue are one of the major things that Muslims avoid during Ramadan but for some reason they use the Eid holidays to catch up on all the juicy gossip. They slander and defame their brothers and sisters in Islam without even batting an eyelash.

The Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) once advised a questioner about this issue:

"I asked the Messenger of God (pbuh): Who is the best Muslim? The Messenger of God (pbuh) replied, "He is the one from whom Muslims are safe from the evil of his tongue and hands." (Muslim)

Refrain from backbiting during Eid as well as in your daily dealings and encourage others to do so as well. If you are sitting with people who are slandering another person remind them that what they are doing is forbidden. And if they continue to do it, simply remove yourself from the gathering.

Lying and deceptiveness in dealings

Telling lies, even tiny white ones, and being deceptive with others is a sin in Islam. Ramadan is a time when Muslims who engage in these sins really try to be on their best behaviour so that their month long fast will be accepted. But come the light of the first day of Eid and they return to their wicked ways. I assume they feel that since Ramadan is over they are no longer under Allah’s scrutiny when in fact Allah sees all that we do no matter what month it is.

If you did a magnificent job being truthful and honest in all your affairs during Ramadan then you have the willpower to apply this behaviour in your life until the day you die.

The Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) said:

"The signs of the hypocrite are three: when he speaks he lies, when he promises he breaks his promise and when he is entrusted he betrays the trust." (Bukhari and Muslim)

Returning to vices

It would be naïve to say that simply because alcohol and drugs are forbidden in Islam that some Muslims do not engage in these vices. There are most assuredly Muslims who struggle with these vices every day of their lives. Many may have curbed these vices during the holy month of Ramadan to ensure they reaped the benefits of the holy month. Yet during the Eid holidays they jump right off the wagon and begin partaking in these intoxicants once again. Rather than returning to these vices, Muslims suffering from addiction should find the support they need to succeed in kicking these forbidden habits once in for all even if it means they spend the Eid holidays locked up in a treatment facility.

Allah Almighty says in the Holy Quran:

O ye who believe! Intoxicants and gambling, (dedication of) stones, and (divination by) arrows, are an abomination of Satan’s handiwork; Eschew such (abomination), That ye may prosper. (Quran 5:90)

Even cigarettes and ‘Shisha’ are a form of an addiction. Muslims who controlled the urge to smoke during the fasting hours of dawn until dusk in Ramadan can certainly kick the habit once and for all without using the Eid holidays as an excuse to light up. Cigarette smoke is harmful to the smoker and its’ by-product of second hand smoke is harmful to others.

Allah Almighty says in the Holy Quran:

"...make not your own hands contribute to your destruction..."(Quran 2:195)

Start your life anew on the first day of Eid by vowing not to light up and use the money you would have otherwise spent on cigarettes to do something nice for your family or someone in need.