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.