Eidl fitr: Celebrating altruism
Zakat ul-fitr gives the poor and the needy a sense of belonging. It is a comforting consolation to the underprivileged members of the Muslim community. Like the Zakat of wealth, Zakat ul-fitr is a wholesome form of internal security against selfishness and greed. While it is an effective instrument for cultivating the spirit of social […]
Zakat ul-fitr gives the poor and the needy a sense of belonging. It is a comforting consolation to the underprivileged members of the Muslim community. Like the Zakat of wealth, Zakat ul-fitr is a wholesome form of internal security against selfishness and greed. While it is an effective instrument for cultivating the spirit of social responsibility in the giver, it provides a feeling of security within the recipient. Zakat ul-fitr is an expression of the general philosophy of Islam, which adopts a moderate or middle but positive and effective course between the individual and society; between capitalism and socialism; and between materialism and spirituality. Zakat ul-fitr, indeed, is a celebration of altruism.
The need to care for others is one most important moral lesson that underlines the object of Zakat ul-fitr. Those eligible to receive Zakat are listed in Qur’an 9:60 which states “Alms are for the poor, and the needy, and those employed to administer the (funds); for those whose hearts have been (recently) reconciled (to the Truth); for those in bondage and in debt; in the cause of Allah; and for the wayfarer: (Thus is it) ordained by Allah and Allah is full of knowledge and wisdom”.
The end of Ramadan fast is not and should not mark the end of a virtuous life which Muslims have lived in the past four weeks. Muslims should sustain all the good acts of devotion (ibadah) they undertook during Ramadan. They include steadfastness in prayers; constant recitation of the Holy Qur’an; seeking much forgiveness and mercy from Allah (SWT); feeding indigent persons and giving alms to the needy. Now that Ramadan is over, we must resolve not to go back to the sins we deserted in the month-long period of Ramadan fast. The life of a true believer during Ramadan should not be different from that which he lives after the holy month.
Sincere Muslims do not, after Ramadan fast, dump their copies of the Holy Qur’an; or refuse to feed and give alms to the indigent; or abandon night prayers (tahajjud); or abstain from the regular observance of salat until probably the Holy month comes around again. The termination of Ramadan fast should not prompt working husbands and wives to resume their usual habits of late return from “work”. Let us strive to sustain the religious duties and moral lessons we imbibed in Ramadan.
Before we round up Eidl-fitr activities, let us plan for the six days of voluntary fasting in this Islamic lunar month of Shawwal, as recommended by the Prophet (SAW). Imam Muslim (RA) relates on the authority of Abi Ayyub (RA) that the Prophet (SAW) said, “whoever observes the Ramadan fast and follows it up with six days of voluntary fast in (the month of) Shawwal shall be (considered) as having fasted a whole lifetime. The Prophet (SAW) is also reported to have said that “Allah (SWT) created the heavens and the earth in six days and whoever fasts (in Shawwal) for six days would receive a reward proportionate to the number of creatures on the earth; erase his mistakes and (forgives) his sins in the same proportion; and would raise the person in ranks (of honour)”.
However, it is wrong to begin the six days of fasting in Shawwal on the Eidl-fitr day. It was for the fear of joining to Ramadan what does not belong to it that some scholars express reservations about the six days of fasting in Shawwal. What ought to be done to forestall any misconceptions about the six days fast is for believers to be properly educated that the six days of fasting is not obligatory buy voluntary.
It is reprehensible to begin the six days voluntary fast during the festive period of Eidl-fitr because eating and drinking is traditionally part of the celebration of the Eid. More so, our physical bodies have certain rights over us, especially the right to enough rest, in the same way we have been naturally empowered to have rights over our physical bodies. Similarly, it is preferred that the six days voluntary fast is observed intermittently. Abdullahi bn Umar (RA) reports that the prophet (SAW) forbade voluntary fast for two or more days without resting in-between. When the Prophet (SAW) was asked by a group of people that he (the prophet) practiced wisal, he (SAW) replied, “I am not the same as you; I am fed and given to drink”. Nevertheless, fasting to make up for days missed in Ramadan is preferred to be observed consecutively. It is also recommended that the days missed in Ramadan fast are re-paid back before observing any voluntary fast including six days in Shawwal.
May Allah (SWT) accept our Ramadan fast and our other acts of devotion as we pray that He (SWT) also guide us to make effective resolutions after Ramadan such that our private and public life after Ramadan fast would be as if it were during the holy month, amin. Eid Mubarak to all!
Re: The last phase of Ramadan
One of the reactions to last week’s piece published on this page was this question: “Salam. I read your article in WT: ‘The last phase of Ramadan’. Sir, I have a maid that comes in the morning to work in my house and leaves in the evening. Am I the one to give the Zakat ul-fitr of such a person or her family? A sha ruwa lafiya” (08063440008).
My modest response to the question, given my limited knowledge, is that you are responsible for paying the Zakat ul-fitr of the maid if she feeds at least twice a day from your house. Allah (SWT) knows best.