Salaam/peace
Establishing Prayer… Even in Eid?
Q. Bijorin - Austria
Why do Muslims have this Eid (Feast) immediately after Ramadan? They keep fasting and praying long prayers for a whole month… and then… after they are done with that… they do not go and have fun… they go to pray… even in their feast!!!
Why do you make prayers in your Eid? What is the wisdom of that prayer?? You worship even in your fun time?!
Name of Counselor : Shahul Hameed
…What is really your concern here is that Muslims pray even in the midst of celebration, or “fun”!
To many people, especially in the West, the word “fun” evokes, for instance, the colorful images of the world’s biggest and grandest carnival in Rio de Janeiro or the Mardi Gras in New Orleans. They may also think of the wild revelries and partying they have during other festivals and fiestas throughout the world.
…The Muslim fast itself may be viewed by others as a little too harsh. But we can see that the fast referred to by Jesus in the Gospels must have been as “severe” as the Muslim fast (Matthew 6:16–18).
As Islam declares itself to be the latest and the most finalized form of the same message and religion taught by all prophets, including Jesus, this is not surprising.
God commands that after a month of rigorous fast, the believers can rejoice and celebrate. But mind you, we should never ever forget God and His blessings.
This is because the core of a Muslim’s life is devotion to God and eagerness to obey and show gratitude to Him.
For this reason, the core of the Eid celebration is prayer! All the festivities on the occasion are subordinated to the grateful remembrance of God…
…The salah or the five ritual Prayers a day are meant to keep the remembrance of God. The exact Qur’anic command is not just ‘pray’, but ‘establish prayer’, which suggests, among other things, that no human activity is exempt from the remembrance of God.
…All activities of a Muslim, therefore are bound to be God-directed; and a Muslim should like to spend every moment of his life in prayer, if possible. That is due to the fact that he believes that this life is transient and his real destination is the eternal abode in the hereafter.
So, fun time is also prayer time, though it may sound… funny!
Useful Links:
A Day of Celebration: Idris Tawfiq’s First Eid
Celebrations and Prayers
Muslims and Fun: Culture or Religion?
Fun and Celebrations in Islam
readingislam.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1123996015846&pagename=IslamOnline-English-AAbout_Islam%2FAskAboutIslamE%2FAskAboutIslamE