by Asma bint Shameem Subhaan Allaah! Eid seems to be becoming more and more bizarre with each passing year! You can’t help but notice that when you look at everyone who shows up for the annual (well, actually twice yearly) Muslim fashion show, also known as the 'Eid prayer’! Just one look at the sisters and you’ll know what I mean....beautifully made up faces, salon done hair, shimmering clothes and glittering jewelry, not to mention the sleeveless shirts, stilettos, and waves after waves of perfume! Subhaan Allaah! Is this what Eid is all about? Is this what a whole month of fasting teaches us? Is this what we learn after contemplating the Qur’aan? I DON’T THINK SO. Yet, it seems like we completely missed the very essence of Ramadhaan and the beautiful message it teaches us. 🍃Allaah says in Surah al-Baqarah :“O you who believe! Fasting is prescribed for you as it was prescribed for those before you, that you may become Al-Muttaqoon (the pious)”. Ask yourself this…..Is this the way of the Muttaqoon? Eid or no Eid, aren’t we women supposed to cover ourselves and dress modestly in front of non-Mahram men? Didn’t we read this order of Allaah in the Qur’aan to the believing women? 🍃Didn’t the Prophet (sal Allaahu Alaiyhi wa sallam) say: “Any woman who puts on perfume and passes by people so that they can smell her fragrance, is an adulteress.” (al-Nasaa’i, al-Tirmidhi: hasan by al-Albaani) 🍃Did we forget that the Prophet (sal Allaahu Alaiyhi wa sallam) said: “There are two types of the people of Hell whom I have not seen…..women who are clothed yet naked, going astray and leading others astray, with their heads looking like the humps of camels, leaning to one side. They will not enter Paradise nor even smell its fragrance, although its fragrance may be detected from such and such a distance.” (Muslim). My sisters need to realize that they are being sinful in more than one way: Not only are these sisters being sinful themselves dressing this way, by openly defying the direct order of Allaah to cover and dress modestly, but they also share a part of the sin when they make the brothers look at them by dressing inappropriately. And they also set a distorted, misleading example for all the young girls who come for the Eid prayer, giving them the impression that its OK to dress like that. 🍃The Prophet (sal Allaahu Alaiyhi wa sallam) said: “Whoever calls people to misguidance will have a burden of sin like that of those who follow him, without it detracting from their burden in the slightest.” (Muslim) And what about the Eid Khutbah? If you ask most of the sisters what the khateeb said, they wouldn’t have the slightest idea whatsoever. Why? Because they are so busy chatting. Did we come to the Eid prayer to pray or to socialize? Sure, we are all happy to see our friends and family and want to wish them ‘Eid Mubarak’ and make plans to get together. But, aren’t we supposed to listen quietly to the Eid Khutbah first and be thankful to Allaah for enabling us to fast and guiding us? 🍃Allaah says: “Allaah intends for you ease, and He does not want to make things difficult for you. (He wants that you) must complete the same number (of days of fasting), and that you must magnify Allah for having guidedyou so that you may be grateful to Him.” (Baqarah:185) And yes, Eid is a celebration for us and we should rejoice and be happy. But that doesn’t mean that we forget the laws of Allaah and lose all the hard work and effort we put in the last 30 days just for a few hours of ‘looking good’ in front of others. What’s important is to look good in front of Allaah. What excuse will we have in front of Him regarding our inappropriate behavior….flirting with the opposite sex, the smiles and the looks, the loud music? How can we use our eyes and ears and mind and body to disobey the One who gave us all these blessings in the first place? And that too, right after Ramadhaan. My dear brothers and sisters, there is SO MUCH MORE to Eid than dressing up and hanging out with friends. REFLECT on what has gone and what is to come. How can we think that Eid Prayer is the time to let our guards down and stop performing good deeds? Let's not throw away all of the good deeds that we have gained during the blessed month of Ramadhaan. Think of ways to multiply your deeds well into the year and continue to improve. Let's celebrate, talk, wear make-up, and dress up on Eid. But let's do it in our homes and in our private parties. Eid is a time to give thanks to Allaah for his mercy and generosity….it’s a time to be humble and obedient. Let's go to the Eid Prayer with the intention of submission to the Almighty, doing only those things that would please Him. Look at what one of the righteous people said when they passed by some people who were engaged in idle entertainment on the day of Eid: *“If you did well in Ramadhaan, this is not the way to give thanks for that. If you did badly in Ramadhaan, this is not the way that the one who did badly should behave.”* Remember…. *For the Mu’min, Eid does not mark the end of righteousness. Rather it is just the beginning….*
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