Eid Fitr (End of Ramadan)

• Beginning:
-Praise the attributes of Allah
-Testimony of Faith

• ‘Eid is a day of joyous celebration and sweetness for the believer
-In fact if one understands the reality of Eid it is even more joyous than the birth
-Because through the month of fasting we experience the rebirth of our souls through the purifying spiritual discipline of fasting
-We experience the reform of our character and personality as we grow in God consciousness
-We experience the renewal of our primordial covenant with Allah
-And a recommitment to dedicate our lives to seeking Allah’s pleasure

• And, so, as we look forward to the coming year, it is important for us to remember today, tomorrow, and everyday the great lessons of Ramadan, and what it taught us both as individuals and as a community.
-As individuals Ramadan is a proof of the great spiritual and moral heights that we as human beings can reach when we make Allah the number one priority in our lives.
-Suddenly we found the time and energy to not only perform our daily prayers, but also to spend a portion of the night in devotion.
-Suddenly we found the ability to restrain ourselves from the sins that were so difficult to ward off earlier.
-Suddenly our sense of generosity, kindness, and compassion increased manifold.
-And, therefore, Ramadan comes every year to show us the spiritual and moral heights that we can achieve if we only put our hearts into it.
-So, even if we maintain half or a third of the immense spiritual and moral strides we made in Ramadan, we will find an enormous improvement in our lives, and the lives of those around us.

-As a community, Ramadan teaches us that as the condition of our souls change, so does the condition of our ummah. Ramadan is a proof of Allah saying: “Verily, God does not change the condition of a people until they change what is within themselves.”
-And, so, suddenly our masjid became filled with people day in and day out.
-Our homes became palaces of dhikr for our family and friends.
-We found the time and energy to host, and to visit our neighbors, to maintain good relations with others.
-We discovered the greatness of sharing our wealth, and our food so that no member of our community would have to go hungry due to a lack of financial resources.
-So, Ramadan is a proof of the great heights we can reach as a community if we make a commitment to community, and if we maintain the spirit of hospitality and generosity that naturally comes with Ramadan.

•We have many things to improve upon as a community in order to gain the good pleasure of Allah, from the activities we put together for the youth in our community to the way we treat the stranger who visits our masjid.

*And we have much to improve upon so that we can become that model community that calls our fellow Americans to the path of Allah, and the path of goodness.

*But, it has to begin with unity…It has to begin with us coming together, irrespective of our ethnicity, age, and gender, to build for a stronger tomorrow. We need the efforts, and the sacrifices, and the energy of everyone, including the silent majority which is primarily made up of the youth and the women in our community. “And hold tightly to the rope of Allah, and be not divided among yourselves.” Perhaps, that is the greatest thing that Ramadan has to teach us as we look ahead.

* And we can immediately put this into practice by greeting as many people as we can among those we know and those we do not know, and asking each other for forgiveness of our shortcomings as we embrace a better tomorrow together, as one community.

• Dua’
• Jazakam’ullah khayr
• Quloo ‘aam wa antum bi khayr
• Eid Mubarak
• WaSalamu’alaykum wa rahmatullahi wa barakatuhu