Eid & Divine Forgiveness
When
Ramadan comes to an end, we get the night of Eid - Lailatul
Jaa’izah, that is to say, the night
of retribution. On the morning of Eid, Allah (swt) sends the angels
to earth, where they take up positions shouting in a voice that all
except humans and Jinn can hear: “O
Ummah of Muhammad (pbuh), come forth from your houses towards a Lord
that is noble and gracious, who grants much and pardons the major
sins.”
When
the people proceed for the Eid prayer, Allah asks the angels :
“What indeed is the reward of that
employee who had rendered his services?”
The angels reply: “O Lord and Master,
it is only right that he should receive his reward in full for his
services.”
Allah then says: “I
call you to witness, O My angels, that for their having fasted during
the month of Ramadan, and for their having stood in prayer by night,
I have granted to them as reward My pleasure and have granted them
forgiveness.”
Addressing
His servants, Allah says: “O My
servants ask now of Me, for I swear by My honour and My greatness,
that whatsoever you shall beg of me this day in this assembly of
yours for the needs of the Hereafter and this world, I shall grant
you. By My honour I swear, as long as you shall obey my commands, I
shall cover your faults. By My honour and by My greatness do I swear
that I shall never disgrace you among the evil-doing ones and
disbelievers. Depart now from here, you are forgiven. You have
pleased Me, and I am pleased with you.”
The
angels upon seeing this great reward bestowed by Allah upon the Ummah
of Hazrat Muhammad (pbuh) on the day of Eid
(Eid-ul Fitr)
become greatly pleased and happy.
*** O
Allah count us also among those fortunate people,
Ameen. ***
Sin & Divine Displeasure
We
see that in this Hadith, there is mention of people who do not enjoy
general forgiveness during the month of Ramadan, and these
unfortunate ones do not even enjoy a share of divine forgiveness on
the morning of Eid. Among these people are those who argue among
themselves, those who continued to commit sins, and have not shown
respect for this blessed month. They persisted in their sinful ways
(throughout this blessed month) and were disobedient to their
parents. They drew upon them the displeasure of Allah, and now where
can they go? (In other words, what will
be their fate if they have not even managed to acquire the blessings
and the pleasure of Allah during the blessed month of Ramadan?)
It
is truly heartbreaking that for some worldly gains or honour, they
have become targets of the curse of Allah, His Messenger, and the
angels, and at the same time they have excluded themselves from
Allah’s abundant forgiveness. You may succeed in gaining a
temporary victory over your enemy, as well as gaining worldly honour,
but this gain is nothing at all against the curses of Allah (swt),
those of His Messenger and the curses of the angels upon you where
you fail to obtain the forgiveness and mercy of Allah. Wherever you
are, forget all your conflicts; there is still time to correct
yourselves and repent sincerely today.
On the Day of Judgement
Remember that tomorrow you
will stand before a Judge (The Just One) and that neither your rank,
honour, job positions, nor your status, wealth - money and property -
will be of any use to you. You
will stand before a righteous Judge, and only your good deeds will be
counted. It is He (Allah) alone Who is aware of all your movements
(actions) and Who especially knows all your intentions. Remember that
Allah can forgive us all our failings towards Him, but He will not
forgive us, without giving us equal punishment, for transgressions in
our relationships towards our fellow human beings.
The
Holy Prophet (pbuh) has said that the bankrupt of his nation is the
one who comes on the Day of Resurrection with prayers, fasting, and
charity, but also with insults and slander. The oppressed shall
complain to Allah and they shall each be given from his good deeds.
If his good deeds run out before justice is fulfilled, then their
sins will be cast upon him and he will be thrown into the Hellfire.
(Muslim).
So,
we see that even though there are also a lot of good deeds, he will
be in great despair. The first Hadith also carries a happy message.
Allah (swt) proclaims that He will not dishonour, disgrace, and
humiliate His sincere servant before and among non-believers and
sinners/ evil people. Is that not a great favour for those who seek
His benevolence, (to know) that He will hide their sins and not show
them to others?
Abdullah
ibn Umar narrated that the Messenger of Allah (pbuh) has said:
“On
the Day of Resurrection, Allah will draw near to a believer and put
His forgiveness over him and screen him (his sins); then Allah will
say: ‘Do you know such and such sin? Do you know such and such?’
He will say: ‘Yes, my Lord!’ This conversation will continue
until Allah will make him confess his sins, and thinks that he is
ruined. Then Allah will say: ‘I
concealed them (your sins in the world) and I do forgive you today.’
Then he will be given the record
book containing his good deeds.”
(Bukhari, Muslim, Ibn Majah).
Overlook Others' Faults
In
many Hadiths there is the mention of forgiveness for those who seek
the pleasure of Allah. We must therefore be very careful not to
attack people for their faults, because we are the ones who will be
the true losers through slandering and taunting those who do their
best, in their own way to please Allah. It may be that Allah (swt)
covers their faults and forgives them through their deeds, while we,
through slander, buffoonery, arguments, jealousy, hatred and taunts,
cause our own destruction.
The night of the Eid: Significance
The
night of the Eid is the night of retribution. When I say the night of
the Eid I mean the night when the moon of Eid (Shawwal)
is sighted and the month of Ramadan ends with the appearance of this
new moon; or if we do not see the moon on the 29th
night of Ramadan, like this year, the night after the 30th
day of Ramadan, after sunset when we enter the month of Shawwal,
i.e., the first day of Shawwal, and Eid-ul-Fitr.
So Allah (swt) rewards His servants who give this night its true
value.
The
majority of Muslims feel tired – i.e. they feel the fatigue of
Ramadan - as soon as the announcement of the Eid is given and they go
to bed and rest. There are those who are happy and prepare menus such
as cakes, brianni
etc. for the next day. There are those who prepare their clothes
instead of enjoying the night of Eid-ul-Fitr
in acts of worship (Ibaadat)
and supplications to Allah (duahs).
The
Messenger of Allah (pbuh) has said : “Whoever
stands up (in worship) in the nights preceding the two Eids expecting
rewards from his Lord, his heart will not die when the other hearts
will die.” (Ibn Majah).
So,
finally, we pray Allah (swt) to give us the faculty and guidance to
understand this message and for us to correct ourselves and repent.
O
Allah, protect us and guide us so that we do not fall into the
category of people who do not receive Your Mercy. O
Allah help us to continue in our mission and to make You happy.
Ameen, Summa Ameen!
I
wish you all Eid
Mubarak. May Allah make you
Mubarak with every day that comes into your life and that which you
devote to Him (i.e., you consecrate your time to serve Him) and serve
humanity in any way so that peace may be restored to the world and
the world gets back the divine light by recognizing the uniqueness of
Allah and reuniting as one body and one soul. Insha-Allah,
Ameen.
--- Eid-ul-Fitr Sermon of 16 June 2018 (01 Shawwal 1439 AH) delivered by Muhyi-ud-Din Al Khalifatullah Hadhrat Munir Ahmad Azim Saheb (atba) of Mauritius.