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:Eid
Al-Fitr`
A Return to the Original State of Purity
Many
of us have a certain concept of `Eid in our minds. When the day comes,
if that concept is not practically realized, we tend to think that our
`Eid was boring or did not pass very well.
The
concept is as follows:
*
Eating good food and having good lawful drinks
* Intermingling with relatives and/or friends
* Dressing oneself in new or beautiful clothes
The
reality, however, is quite different. Islamic traditions have a more
sublime or rather “the correct” definition of `Eid. The word `Eid
comes from the word `awd meaning “return.” `Eid means a specific
kind of return: days in which the previous state of prosperity of a
community returns after the miseries it was facing, which are known as
the days of `Eid. The reason why the day following the month of Ramadan
or the compulsory Hajj is known as `Eid is due to the soul’s return to
its original state of inborn purity. We must understand that this is
only possible by self-purification or the removal of a variety of
curtains of darkness and light that cover the lofty human soul and hide
one from one’s own higher God-loving reality.
However,
one who was indifferent to the act of self-purification during the month
of Ramadan or while performing the great pilgrimage should not consider
the day of `Eid to be `Eid for one, simply because one’s initial state
of purity has made no return.
Excerpted,
with slight modifications, from: http://members.ozemail.com.au/~azma/Eid.htm
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