Eid alone! Today I have done Eid on my own without my wife and children, they are are abroad. However old habits die hard. I woke up very early in the morning thinking I must wake the children up for Eid preparation but quickly realised their room was empty. Sadly the house had pin drop silence! Its not the type of Eid I am used to. I arrived at the mosque and found a comfortable space for a friend. I took a non-Muslim friend of mine to Eid prayers. He finds Muslim prayers very inspiring. I was leading the 08.45 congregation at the Palmers Green mosque. I was preparing for the sermon when a person asked if I could help his friends wife embrace Islam. She is of Spanish origin and was interested in becoming a Muslim. I invited her and her husband along with two witnesses into god mosque office. I asked her if she was becoming a Muslim out of her free will and she was happy to declare her faith in public. She was very happy to declare her faith and pronounce the shahada. And her husband was over the moon. It was the best Eid gift for them and a brilliant way to start the day of Eid. It certainly was a brilliant day to embrace Islam. May Allah bless the sister and her family. I thought I would be alone but Allah had other plans. I was invited to Forest Gate to address an Eid in the park audience and raise money for a medical project in Syria/Palestine. I found it strange that even on Eid day many Muslims found it hard to smile or show happiness on their faces. It was hard work getting the crowd to laugh or even smile. I said to the gathering - for Allahs sake, its Eid, the day of happiness and joy. Please smile and rejoice! Some did lighten up especially when I warned them that their unhappy faces may be the cause of rain soon! But thanks God some people responded to my call and donated. My Eid message at both the congregation was about the day of celebration, thanks giving and sacrifice. True piety is always demonstrated in our abilities to sacrifice things that we love most. In Eid while we enjoy our lush varieties of food, expensive gifts and loving families a small sacrifice would make a great deal of difference in the poorest parts of the world. Eid al-Adha is about remembering the sacrifice, devotion and endurance of Ibrahim. Following on the footsteps of Prophet Ibrahim whose supplications had most profound impact on the humanity and its future. He prayed for God to accept all his efforts, make him and his offsprings surrender to God, grant a messenger in his family who would expound the signs of God, teach people the scripture, its innate wisdom and help people grow in purity. Eid is about recognising the teachings of Ibrahim, connecting with them and making a pledge to live by them. In the spirit of sacrifice, today my team in the Burmese refugee camps in Bangladesh have assigned 73 cows for Qurbani, that is 511 Qurbanis, each cow providing 60kg of meat, and we provide 1kg of meat per family. So 73 cows will provide meat for 4,380 families. If average family size is 6, then we will reach 26,280 people with your qurbanis. I thought my Eid would be lonely but it was far from that . I had very day with my parents, siblings and nieces and nephews. We had the traditional Eid Al-Adha meal consisting of rice flower dumplings steams and baked and eaten in saucy lamb and pumpkin curry. Its one of those Bangladeshi food and Eid tradition I throughly enjoy and would like to keep alive. In the evening I was invited to a late night Eid gig - free style Islamic talks, current affairs discussions and songs. I didnt have a lonely Eid at all, I had a brilliantly busy and exciting Eid but nothing can ever replace the joy and true happiness one gets from being with ones wife and children! I terribly miss them today! May God keep your Eid days filled with happiness and joy and fill your lives with His Grace and light.
Posted on: Sat, 04 Oct 2014 22:56:59 +0000
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