Idul Fitri

Eid-ul-Fitr, Eid al-Fitr, Id-ul-Fitr, or Id al-Fitr (Arabic: ‎عيد الفطر ‘Īdu l-Fiṭr), often abbreviated to Eid, is a Muslim holiday that marks the end of Ramadan, the Islamic holy month of fasting (sawm). Eid is an Arabic word meaning "festivity", while Fiṭr means "breaking the fast". The holiday celebrates the conclusion of the 29 or 30 days of dawn-to-sunset fasting during the entire month of Ramadan. Eid-ul-Fitr has a particular salah (Islamic prayer) consisting of two raka'ah (units) and generally offered in an open field or large hall. This Eid ul-Fitr salah is, depending on which juristic opinion is followed, Fard (obligatory), Mustahabb (strongly recommended, just short of obligatory) or mandoob (preferable).

Muslims believe that they are commanded by God, as mentioned in the Qur'an, to continue their fast until the last day of Ramadan and pay the Zakat al-fitr before doing the Eid prayer.

History
Before the advent of Islam in Arabia, there is mention of Eid festivals as yawm al-sab‘ and yawm al-sabasab as well as some others among the Arabs. The Israelites had festivals as well but as is evident from the Old Testament and other scriptures, these festivals related more to commemorating certain days of their history.
The Eid al-fitr was originated by Islamic prophet Muhammad and is observed on the first of the month of Shawwal right after the end of the holy month of Ramadan in which the believers undergo a period of fasting.
According to certain Ahadith, these festivals were initiated in Madinah after migration. Anas reports:
When the Prophet arrived in Madinah, he found people celebrating two specific days in which they used to entertain themselves by playing and merriment. He asked them about the nature of these festivities at which they replied that these days were occasions of fun and recreation of the days of jahilliyah.
For Muslims, both the festivals of Eid al-fitr and Eid al-adha are occasions of showing gratitude to God and remembering him and are a means of entertainment. ‘A’ishah narrates that when on an Eid day her father Abu Bakr stopped young girls from singing, Muhammad said: Abu Bakr! [Let them sing]; every nation has an ‘id and [this day] is our Eid.

Read More...

Ramadan calendar

A Ramadan calendar is a paper based calendar used by Muslims during Ramadan, the ninth month of the Islamic calendar. It has a small flap for each day of the month, similar to an Advent calendar. One flap is opened each day, and there may be a small piece of chocolate, a sweet or a toy behind each flap.

Origins of the Ramadan calendar
An Advent calendar is used as a countdown towards a specific Advent, for example a Christmas Advent Calendar counts down the days starting from December 1 and ending on December 24 - Christmas Eve, the night before the Advent of Christmas, which celebrates the birth of Jesus.

Similar to that, the Ramadan calendar is used to count down the days of the month of Ramadan in the Islamic calendar, which can be either 1 to 29, or to 30 days. As the Islamic calendar is lunar-based the length of the Ramadan month depends on changes of the moon during the specific year.

Ramadan calendar in social integration
The month of Ramadan is a time for fasting from sunrise to sunset, spiritual reflection, prayer, doing good deeds and spending time with family and friends. It is of key importance for Mum to teach her childen the principles of the Islamic faith from an early age and to help them fast for longer and longer periods every day until, by the time they reach maturity (puberty) they are able to fast for the entire day. Whilst most children are eager to learn and participate it is not easy and every bit of encouragement is welcome.
The Ramadan calendar was developed in order to help parents teach and encourage their children about the religious beliefs and practices of the Islamic faith in a way which is easy and appealing to children. It consists of 29/30 windows or little doors behind which is a small chocolate and sometimes also a Good Deed Suggestion. At sunset, or after the child has fasted for the prescribed time, or he/she has done a good deed, the child opens the door for the correct day of Ramadan, to enjoy the chocolate reward and read the good deed which he/ she should do the next day. Thus the calendar acts as a motivational tool as well as helping to keep track of the number of days that the child has fasted and done a good deed during the month of Ramadan. It is an instrument, both inspirational and practical in nature, for instilling religious beliefs and creating long lasting traditions. It teaches children in a fun and easy way the traditions and beauty of Islam, whilst creating family moments between parent and child.
It goes a long way to meet the words of the Quran: “He who provides a fasting person something with which to break his fasting, or he who equips a ‘fighter’ with the means to motivate and maintain his fast, will earn the same reward as the one doing it” (At Tirmidhi, authenticated by Shaikh Al-Albani In Sahih At-Targhib, no. 1072)
In the past, many Mums have created their own home-made calendars for their children. The very first commercialized Ramadan Calendars specifically for the Middle East / Arab region were made available for Ramadan in 2011. Produced by a company based in United Arab Emirates, they are manufactured to meet the strict Islamic regulations.
The original concept of the calendars was for children however this has been extended and the first production of Adult Ramadan Calendars was introduced in 2011 to be used for gifting between colleagues in the work place, neighbours and family.


References

1. ^ "The history of Islam". HISTORY.com (USA: HISTORY.com). http://www.history.com/content/ramadan. Retrieved 15 December 2009.
2. ^ "Islam". BBC (UK: BBC). http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/religion/islam/ramadan.shtml. Retrieved 15 December 2009.

Read More...