Joys of Eid Marred by Crimes Against Muslims

Date: 11 May 2021 - 21:48

News ID: ۹۰۱۵۱

Seyyed Ali Shahbaz

"O people! Indeed this day of yours is the day when the righteous are awarded and the wretched are losers. It is a day which is similar to the one on which you shall be standing (before your Lord). Therefore, when you come out of your homes to go to places of your prayer, remind yourselves about the day when you (your souls) shall come out of your bodies to go to your Lord. When you stand on places of your prayer, remind yourselves of your standing in presence of your Lord (on the Day of Judgment). And when you return to your homes (after prayer), remind yourselves about your returning to your homes in Paradise.”
The above passage is part of a famous sermon on the occasion of Eid al-Fitr, which the faithful celebrate at the end of the blessed fasting month of Ramadhan.
It was delivered after the Special Eid Prayer by no less a personality than the Barometer of Belief, the Leader of the Pious, the Epitome of Eloquence, the Gateway of Wisdom, the Commander of the Faithful, the Leader of the Pious, Imam Ali ibn Abi Taleb (AS), the Divinely-Designated Heir of the Almighty’s Last and Greatest Messenger, Prophet Muhammad (SAWA).
We are on the eve of the blessed Eid al-Fetr, and are all prepared to celebrate it, starting with the special congregational Eid Prayer, as thanksgiving to the Lord Most High for having given yet another opportunity to partake of the spiritual delights of the fasts of Ramadhan.
Of course, we will be fulling observing of the hygienic and safety guidelines suggested by medical experts in this second successive year of the Coronavirus pandemic.
Eid at-Fitr is the icing to the cake of Ramadhan, and no one understands this better than those who in obedience to God’s commandment in the holy Qur’an and as practically shown by the Prophet and his Infallible Household, had not just fasted in this month, by giving up food, drinks and other lawful pleasures during the daylight hours, but engaged themselves in acts of welfare and charity amongst families and friends, as part of efforts to build morally upright societies.
Perhaps, those who had indulged in the cardinal sin of not fasting during Ramadhan in spite of being able to do so, and never cared to repent and seek forgiveness in the court of the All-Merciful Lord, may turn a deaf ear to these bezels of wisdom and consequently bear the dire consequences of their folly when their tarnished souls leave their wretched bodies.
The faithful, however, whatever the circumstances, including the adversities of harsh weather, never give up fasts during the brief life of the transient world, and as a result, are rewarded with the bliss of paradise.
Imam Ali (AS) whose immortal aphorism that "whenever a person hasn’t committed a sin it is a day of Eid (rejoicing) for him/her,” continues to arouse our conscience, has further said in his Eid al-Fitr sermon:
"O Servants of Allah! Indeed the minimum reward for those men and women who fasted (during Ramadhan), is an angel, who calls out to them on the last day of the month of Ramadhan (saying): O Servants of Allah! Rejoice at the glad tiding that all your previous sins have been forgiven.”
The Eid al-Fitr Prayer is thus a golden opportunity for the masses to strengthen their faith or rectify their behaviour by returning to the path of God, and at the time become aware of the dangers threatening the homeland and the Muslim Ummah, in view of the plots of the Great Satan (the US).
Unfortunately, this year’s Ramadhan witnessed several bitter and tragic incidents, such as the continued desecration of the sacred al-Aqsa Mosque in the occupied Islamic holy city of Bayt al-Moqaddas by the illegal Zionist regime, which has stepped up its atrocities against the oppressed Palestinian people, including those of Gaza.
In Yemen, Saudi Arabia’s unabated aggression has worsened the situation of the people who never get respite from bombs dropped by the aircraft of the Riyadh regime.
In the Persian Gulf island state of Bahrain, the repressive Aal-e Khalifa minority regime continued its crimes against the long suppressed majority to the extent of desecrating mosques and hussainiyes, while backstabbing the Palestinian Muslim people by establishing ties with Israel.
In Afghanistan, the cowardly Daesh terrorists, relocated by the Americans from Syria and Iraq, never stopped for a moment their bomb blasts to murder fasting Muslims, with students being the prime target,
In Nigeria, Sheikh Ibraheem Zakzaki, the Leader of the Islamic Movement, along with his wife and scores of innocent members of the country’s Shi’a Muslim community, continues to be held in prison by the military despite the orders for his release by the Federal Court.
Let us pray to God Almighty to deliver the Muslims from all these vices, as well as the satanic plots of the US and its devilish agents, who are destabilizing the whole world. Amen.
Here is what Imam Ali (AS) has said in the concluding passage of his famous Eid at-Fitr sermon:
"Remember Allah so that He may re-member you, for indeed He remembers those who re-member Him, and beseech Allah for His mercy and grace, for indeed He does not disappoint those who supplicate Him.”