What eid should be like

By Hira Khan

So as Eid approaches I ask myself yet another question. For those who are not used to this habit of mine, I must say my brains are my good teacher if not the best.

Coming back to the question, I asked myself a simple thing. What is Eid all about?  Avoiding getting into the labyrinth of religion which answers it in relation to Ramadan, the month of fasting and explains that it is the day of joy upon completion of the month of fasting, Ramadan, and seeing the new moon of the next month. The first day of this new month is taken as the day of Eid for Muslims to rejoice their combined act of obligatory worship of fasting for one whole month and then celebrating their accomplishment in being grateful to Allah for having given them the life and strength to have completed  yet another round of annual fasting.

But when thinking rationally the mind moves from one question to another, I was automatically moved on to question of how do we celebrate? All of a sudden the thoughts of the last 20 years of my life began to play a kaleidoscope of visions before my eyes. I began seeing…

Seeing my father and brothers getting up early to go for Eid prayer in the mosque, seeing mum cooking sweet dishes, seeing my friends and neighbors going a day before Eid to get their hands henna  painted with different designs, seeing my dad taking me out a night before to buy choorian/ glass bangles to  match my Eid dress. I also watched mum running to and fro from the market to the tailor to get new clothes stitched for every family member, seeing myself taking the sweets to each house in the neighborhood  as is the custom to share the happiness with the people we see daily, seeing people greet each other with ‘eid mubarak’, seeing men embracing whoever they see and greeting them with Eid wishes. Then my parents making calls to each number on the phone diary and wishing all the relatives and then finally seeing myself dressed up in the new clothes with matching bangles and jewelry and my hands designed with henna and going off with my family to see the rest of the relatives and have a combined dinner  feast with them all for the sake of a family reunion.

Is that all? My mind asked me. Other than having my inbox filled with texts wishing me Eid, and a few statuses on face book and the news channels also wishing and playing relevant films and theatrical dramas and Eid cards in the market and the Eid greetings from the presidency and eating sweets of all sorts, what else is Eid about? My mind went blank.

As they say after every silence is a storm waiting, I felt an urge to grab a piece of paper and a pen and begin jotting down. I needed to break away from the selfishness mentioned above. If Allah has made this festival an annual ritual, there has to be much more than just wishing it in every way, with every preparation, with every form of sweets cooked, and celebrate it with everyone we know using every form of communication available. Text, call, face book, radio, television and face to face.

I began writing down everything that I want to do on this Eid, which I never done before and never seen happening around me.

• Instead of buying myself yet another pair of shoes and clothes, give that amount of money to a needy or buy those clothes for a poor or may even subtract a few old clothes from my closet to hand down to a destitute.
• Instead of distributing sweet dishes to the neighbors who are doing pretty well and eat them every day, go against the custom and feed them to a hungry stomach of a poor.
• Instead of spending entire day on phone with friends or hanging out with friends and relatives, visit an orphanage and spend Eid with those kids who have no one to wish Eid to. Who have no family and no parents to buy them clothes, give them eidee/money and take them out.
• Instead of spending the entire day in front of tv or laptop as I do daily, visit a nearby hospital and meet all the patients admit there who cannot spend Eid at home. Wish them, distribute sweets and tell them that inshaAllah next Eid will be home. Make the day of a few strangers in sickness and tell them that they have me, if no one else to share the Eid joys. Give my eidee to any patient unable to afford his medication and sit and talk with those who are deprived of family reunions.
• Instead of going to the same old friend and wasting yet another day in our daily chit chat, get out and be on the streets, on the high way and in the market. Meet all passerby and strangers and beggars and hawkers and traffic police and cab drivers and all guards. To greet everyone on duty who cannot enjoying the day off.   To embrace them and share the sweets with them.

I know I would be cutting down on my family time and the usual friends may wait for my text and calls but I know they have a huge bunch of friends and their families to enjoy with and they get to have me almost daily. This time I will be with those who have none to look forward to. Who have neither any friend nor any family? Who have not a cell phone nor possess any computer and tv to entertain themselves. Who are sick and poisoned in the hospitals or the four walls of their orphanage.  Who cannot go out and enjoy and do not even have any one visiting them.  Who are on duty even on Eid when the entire Muslim world is celebrating. Who cannot meet their siblings and children for they guard us, control traffic flow for us, look after patients for us, and beg and work even on Eid to buy themselves food at night while we distribute ours to the well off neighbors and buy more clothes.

Family and friends, I see daily, this time I want to be with people who are my brothers, my sisters and my nation but who do not even know that I exist. I want to be real happy this time, hence; I choose them for in fulfilling their day with a mere wish, a few rupees and a bit of sweets I will  celebrate in the real sense of eid!

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