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mercy and blessings abundantly. The Islamic society, on the other hand, collects the
due subscriptions to religious brotherhood and social responsibility, in which
subscriptions are paid in the form of mutual love, sympathy and concern. Every
member of the Islamic society will be reaping some fruits or collecting some revenue
in one way or another. God gives infinitely, especially to those who are sincerely
concerned with the general welfare of their fellow believers. Those beneficiaries who
cannot give will receive, along with God’ s enormous grants, the contributions of their
fellow benefactors. The haves and have-nots will all enjoy the providence of God in a
most plural fashion, and the Day will indeed be a Good Harvest Day
6. Each ‘Eed is a Day of Forgiveness. When the Muslims assemble in the
congregation of the Day, they all wholeheartedly pray for forgiveness and strength of
Faith. And God has assured those who approach Him with sincerity of His mercy and
forgiveness. In that pure assembly and highly spiritual congregation any true Muslim
would feel ashamed of himself before God to hold any enmity or ill feelings toward
his brethren. A true Muslim would be deeply impressed by this brotherly and spiritual
assembly, and would overcome his ill feelings if he has been exposed to any.
Consequently, he would find himself moving along with others responding to the
spirit of the Day to purify his heart and soul. In this case, he would forgive those who
might have wronged him; because he himself would be praying for God’ s
forgiveness, and would do his best to acquire it. The spirit of this highly devotional
assembly would teach him that if he forgives he will be forgiven. And when he
forgives, the virtue of forgiveness will be mercifully exercised by God, and widely
exchanged between the Muslims. And that marks the Day as a Day of Forgiveness
7. Each ‘Eed is a Day of Peace. When the Muslim establishes peace within his heart
by obeying the law of God and leading a disciplinary life, he has certainly concluded
a most inviolable treaty of peace with God. Once a person is at peace with God, he is
at peace with himself and, consequently, with the rest of the universe. So when he
celebrates the ‘Eed in the right manner, he is actually celebrating the conclusion of a
Peace Treaty between himself and God, and this marks the ‘Eed as a day of Peace.
That is the proper meaning of an Islamic ‘Eed: a Day of Peace and Thanksgiving, a
Day of Forgiveness and Moral Victory, a Day of Good Harvest and remarkable
Achievements, and a Day of festive Remembrance. An Islamic ‘Eed is all this and
much more; because it is a Day of Islam, a Day of God
The Performance of ‘Eed Prayers (Salatu-l-‘Eed)
1. As on Friday, every worshipper should go to the ‘Eed Congregation in his best,
neat, tidy and high – spirited. In the mosque or the place of assembly a certain verbal
prayer is said before the actual prayer begins. This is know as Takbeer and will be
found at the end of this Chapter
2. The time of the ‘Eed prayers is any time after sunrise and before noon. No Adhan
or Iqamah is required. The prayer consists of two units with the Imam reciting in each
the Fatihah and another passage from the Qur’ an audibly
3. The Imam declares his intention to lead the prayer saying Allahu Akbar (God is the
Greatest of all), then he repeats the same utterance seven times, raising his hands up
to the ears and dropping them by his sides at the end of each utterance. On completion
of the seventh Takbeer (utterance) he places the right hand over the left one under the
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