The 'Bid'ah' of Eid Parties

In his Friday Sermon of 05 July 2019~ 02 Dhul-Qaddah 1440 AH, Imam- Jamaat Ul Sahih Al Islam Hadhrat Muhyi-ud-Din Al Khalifatullah Munir Ahmad Azim Saheb (atba) of Mauritius comprehensively examines a contemporary practice among sections of Muslims, including Ahmadis of Mauritius: the celebration of religious festivals in the manner and style of other communities and peoples. In adopting 'modern ways' of branding Muslim festivals, the celebrationists are blindly following misguided, hedonistic elitism; seriously eroding the sanctity of the Islamic Pathway as taught by the Holy Prophet (sa) through his own sacred practices at such times. Apart from being a deviant practice (Bid'ah), such grand parties also dilute attention away from important interests and issues of the community. Through a sociological and political analysis also of the phenomenon of 'Eid Parties' in Mauritius, the Imam of the Era (atba) provides important insights and lessons to liberate common folks from being puppets in the hands of  wrong-headed elitists and the wily politicians of our societies. 

Read the Friday Sermon Below: 

Celebrating Eid-ul-Fitr

It is a shame to see the Muslim Community organising big parties and dinners and labelling them all as “Eid Party” after the month of Ramadan. After this [blessed] month, there is the month of Shawwal, and Eid-ul-Fitr marks the start of Shawwal on its very first day. Eid-ul-Fitr is a day of rejoice for all believers found in the Muslim Community; it is a day when Allah gives permission to the believers to eat, drink and be happy, and moreover to share this happiness with the family and also the non-Muslim neighbours and friends. Thus, on this occasion, vermicelli and cakes are distributed, and sometimes, the Briani [a special rice and meat dish] as well.

Therefore, Eid-ul-Fitr’s actual duration is one day of joy bestowed to us, believers, by Allah after the Ramadan, a month-long of sacrifice. Eid-ul-Fitr is for those who have obeyed the Creator and have done a lot of sacrifice for the cause of Allah. And after this time-frame of about 29 or 30 days, you [i.e. the true believers] have obeyed Allah, and have stayed away from all licit things which became restricted and forbidden during the fasting time from early morning before dawn till sunset. When Allah said: “Obey Me”, you have obeyed and sacrificed, and spent much time in Ibadat (Worship), Zikr (Remembrance of Allah), Tilawat Quran (Recitation of the Holy Quran), Duahs (invocations to Allah), Farz & Nafl Salat/ Namaz (Obligatory & Voluntary prayers), giving away charity, eating little, and sleeping less, and maximizing your time in such acts of worships.

So, after the Ramadan, Eid-ul-Fitr is a day when Allah (swt) manifests His pleasure for His loyal servants, those who showed complete obedience to Him, their Creator. Eid-ul-Fitr is thus not only a day of rejoice and a day for the distribution of cakes and to eat and drink, but it is also an opportunity to forget family tiffs and rancour and to purify ourselves, our souls by giving away the Sadaqat-i-Fitr.

It is narrated from Abu Ayyub al-Ansari (ra) that the Messenger of Allah (pbuh) said: “Whoever fasts Ramadan then follows it with six days (fasting) of Shawwal, it is as if he fasted a lifetime.” (Muslim)

In another Hadith, Hazrat Muhammad (pbuh) has said: “Fasting Ramadan is like fasting ten months, and fasting six days [of Shawwal] is like fasting for two months. That is like fasting a full year.” (Ahmad & Nasai).

When we ponder on these Hadiths, we see that a good deed is rewarded 10 times more. The 30 days of Ramadan in addition to the 6 days of Shawwal – 36 days – are multiplied by 10 which gives us rewards which are equal to 360 days of the lunar Hijri Calendar, i.e. one whole year of rewards. Alhamdulillah.

So, the Eid-ul-Fitr’s celebration is restricted to only one day like I told you at the beginning of my sermon, and I explained the same in the past in my Eid-ul-Fitr sermons after Ramadan. Our Eid celebrations is purely spiritual; it must not be that when the moon of Eid-ul-Fitr (Shawwal) becomes visible, you return back to your old [unislamic] ways. If so, then the month of Ramadan would have brought no change in your lives, especially in terms of spirituality.

The Bid'ah of 'Eid Parties'

But, for the [true] believers, when Ramadan leaves them, they feel sad. As for the those whose faith is weak, they rejoice, as if Ramadan was a jail for their desires and fun. What is sad to see today, especially in Mauritius is the throwing of “Eid Parties”!

In the month of Ramadan, we have seen a new trend taking place as well, which is: “Iftar Party”. And after the Eid-ul-Fitr, there are “Eid Parties” being held. Many people do not even ponder over what they are doing whereby they are no longer practicing the good which the blessed month of Ramadan had taught them. They have forgotten how the month of Ramadan had changed them both materially and spiritually, and now many have not even observed the six additional fasts after the Eid-ul-Fitr [and now we are already in the month of Dhul-Qaddah]; but what do we see? Many are now celebrating every week. There are “Eid Parties” being held everywhere. It is such a term and event which did not even exist in the times of our noble prophet (pbuh)!

Lots of Muslims are now celebrating “Eid Parties” as if the month of Shawwal is a month completely reserved for the celebration of such parties. When other Muslims [other than Ahmadi Muslims] are celebrating such events, we understand that they have lost their way because of their faith on Jesus (as) being alive in the heavens, their belief in the Holy Prophet (pbuh) being the absolutely last prophet and that the door of divine revelations and the coming of prophets is closed. For them, Allah has stopped talking [i.e. giving divine revelations], they celebrate all kinds of innovative events such as the Urus of such and such Pirs, Chalisma, Mawlud, 8 to 40 days Khatam for the dead, and cooking Briani in large quantities, providing fruits also and inviting the Mullahs to come and read, eat and drink and paying them on top of all that. There are moreover other innovations which exist which have cropped in the teachings of Islam. They [unfortunately] put all these innovations into practice [instead of following the right practices of Islam].

Bid'ah among the Ahmadis

What is an unfortunate trend today is that the Ahmadis are also celebrating “Eid Parties”. They take themselves as better Muslims than others, thinking that the door of paradise is opened for them because of their belief in Hazrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad (as) as the Messiah and Mahdi who came to remove all evils and innovations which grew and struck in the teachings of Islam. And indeed he came in such a time when the teachings of Islam had been trampled by the fanatic Mullahs.

What is now happening with the Ahmadis? It is them who are trampling the true teachings of Islam and that which the Promised Messiah (as) had taught us. They have trampled these teachings into dust. They have become worse than the others. Funds are coming in the treasury of the Jamaat of the Promised Messiah (as), such funds which represent the hard-earned money sacrificed by many who contributed in the form of Chanda (donations) and other funds. In this case, it is those at the head who are wasting this money, for bear in mind that this money should have been spent in the cause of Allah to do Deen works.

Deen [i.e. Deen-i-Islam] is a favour of Almighty Allah to whole mankind. It is a way of life which guarantees complete success in this world and in the life to come. Whoever turns his back to the favours of Allah is in fact showing ingratitude to Almighty Allah. These kinds of people are taking the money meant to be spent in the way of Allah, and using them to finance big parties with big expensive tents, menus and drinks – mineral water, juice and soft drinks as well as desserts – to please those so-called high-profiled people. They invite politicians and ministers as well as these so-called high-profiled people [from within the Jamaat Ahmadiyya] who are always present to get mundane grandeur before those politicians, and members of parliament and government etc.

It is always the same faces that are visibly present in those celebrations; same families are selected and invited. As for the common people, poor families, they are barred from these functions. You can see only few of them present, only to act as servers and/ or to wash dishes. As for the big men, they groom themselves and are at the table to be served. Where are we heading to? Is it in that path that the month of Ramadan has taken us? Indeed, these kinds of people are ungrateful towards their Creator, and they are not praiseworthy or people who can be appreciated for their deeds. That is why, it is those kinds of people, those who are devoid of Taqwa and who do not know the true value of Deen and who not follow the commandments of Allah which He has placed in this [blessed & perfect] Deen, it is them who are detestable in the eyes of Allah. How can a person be praiseworthy when he is detestable in the sight of Allah?

We need to be frank. Let me say this absolute truth. The Eid festival is for the believers who have kept the fast. Eid is an internal celebration of the Muslim Community. It is such a celebration which has been decreed for the believers by the Creator. The true message which we need to hear on that day is the message of our Creator and the teachings of our beloved prophet Muhammad (pbuh).

We need not give politicians the opportunity to dirty our Eid celebration [on that particular day]. The politicians seize the opportunity of these kinds of celebrations to come and talk nonsense and to criticize their adversaries in the political arena. They also make false promises to the Muslim Community to get your/ our votes. They take our purely spiritual celebrations to cement their politics and the Muslims keep on listening to them despite that they find themselves crushed by those politicians.

In our religious festivals such as the Eid-ul-Fitr, Eid-ul-Adha, and also the Sirat-un-Nabi (pbuh), we should not give the politicians the chance to address the audience (i.e. in our spiritual gatherings). [Take example from the other religions! When they invite the politicians, they do not give them the opportunity to speak, but they have to sit and listen to the spiritual sermons etc.] We should have the courage to tell these politicians to reserve their political speeches for political meetings only. But unfortunately, like in the other religions there are people who are thirsty for power and personal gain, there are similar people in the Muslim Community also, and [unfortunately] in the Jamaat Ahmadiyya also. They want to have a good image in the sight of the State for their personal gain only. And these kinds of people, thirsty of power and personal gain are also found among those who supposedly have more love for the prophet (pbuh) [than the rest of the Ummah]. If there is a community which is being crushed by the present government, it is verily the Muslim Community. But Muslims are not taking any lesson from it.

The government is ignoring the minorities in this country and is favouring only a community. How can we tolerate such politicians coming to address us on such a [blessed] day which Eid represents? And moreover, they are again invited, this time for “Eid Parties” to address the audience. You readily listen to them? For you, no “so-called politicians” or “so-called promises”? When Allah (swt) sends His Messenger with the Holy Spirit, you turn your backs with arrogance and label the Messenger of Allah a rebel, liar, “so-called prophet”, “so-called Khalifatullah” and label divine revelations as “so-called revelations”! As for the others, you readily listen to them, even if they are talking nonsense, without any respect for the assistance. They prefer to backbite others and eat the flesh of their colleagues/ adversaries in our purely spiritual celebrations.

I appeal to all Muslim brothers and sisters: do not fall into the trap of innovations, such as “Eid Parties”. There are Muslim groups who are celebrating “Eid Parties”, where men and women are together [mixed] with strangers. Muslim women are barred from entering the Mosque, but when there are entertainments such as singing, dancing, Qawwali parties etc., they are allowed to be present and participate, and there is no segregation between men and women?

So, I advise those who are partying like this without regard to the divine commandments, stop all this. Do not mock the Deen which Allah has perfected. Do not turn your backs to these teachings just for some worldly gains. Fear Allah, do not be cheap.

To attract the pleasure of Allah on us, we need to obey His commandments and follow the Sunnah of our beloved prophet (pbuh). All this can be remediated when people start living for Almighty Allah. To live for Almighty Allah is to live according to the divine precepts. So, live according to the divine teachings which makes people become truly humane, filled with Taqwa – the fear of Allah. Insha-Allah.