Eid al-Fitr is commonly known as the festival of breaking of the fast. It is an important religious holiday which is celebrated by Muslims worldwide that marks the end of Ramadan Mubarak. The holy month Ramadan is a month of fasting for a whole one month so Allah blessed Muslims a gift in reward in the shape of Eid al-Fitr celebration. this religious Eid is commenced after the sighting of Shawwal moon and it is the first and only day in the month of Shawwal during which Muslims are not permitted to fast. This holiday celebrates the conclusion of the 29 or 30 days of dawn-to-dusk fasting during the entire month of Ramadan. For that reason, the day of Eid falls on the first day of the month of Shawwal. Normally, the date for the start of one lunar Hijri month differs based on the observation of the new moon by local religious authorities, so the exact day of celebration varies by locality.
Various names of Eid al-Fitr Celebration:
People use various alternative terms in English to describe Eid al-Fitr celebration. Some say it a fast-breaking Eid, Sweet Festival, Ramadan feast, Feast of Fasting while others denote it as Small Eid, Eid feast, Eid al-Saghir, Sugar Feast, and Eid of happiness. Thus various names are adopted to explain this beautiful occasion.
Prayer of Eid al-Fitr Celebration
We know Eid al-Fitr has a specific Islamic prayer consisting of two rakats and it is generally offered in an open field or large hall as a large number of people participated in performing this prayer. It may be performed only in gathering and has an additional extra six takbirs that rising of the hands to the ears while saying "Allāhu Akbar", literally "God is great". Three of them….. at the beginning of the first raka'ah and three of them just before ruku in the second raka'ah in the Hanafi school of Sunni Islam while Other Sunni schools usually have twelve takbirs, seven in the first, and five at the beginning of the second raka'ah. Consequently, this Eid al-Fitr salat is, depending on which juristic opinion is followed. But all the Muslims believe that they are instructed by Allah to continue their fast until the last day of Ramadan and pay the zakat and fitrana before offering the Eid prayer.
Rituals of Eid al-Fitr Celebration 2024:
There are some formalities for Eid al Fitr celebration. One of them is that Eid al-Fitr is celebrated for one, two, or three days. The most common greetings during this holiday are Eid Mubarak or happy eid. Thus, Muslims are also heartened on this day to forgive and forget any differences with others or entities that may have occurred during the year which is also the best part of the Eid al-Fitr's celebration.
Normally, on this day Muslims wake up early in the morning, before sunrise to offer Fajr prayer and in keeping with the Sunnat to clean their teeth with a toothbrush, take a shower before prayer, put on new clothes or the best available ones, and apply perfume. Money is paid to the poor and the needy as an essential act of charity before performing the 'Eid prayer. Other general rituals include: To show happiness, to give as much charity as is possible, to pray Fajr in the local Masjid and after that, they have to go early for Eid salaat, to read the takbirat in an open field. And people have to go to the Eid prayer on foot.