Significance of Fasting and Iftar

SIGNIFICANCE OF FASTING AND IFTAR In the same spirit, the whole month of Ramadan resembles the conditioned life of this world. Likewise, Eid al-Fitr, the day of feasting, also gives us a faint taste and semblance of the life Hereafter. The day of the festival brings an end to the prohibitions and restrictions placed during the period of fasting. Eid reminds us of the joys and pleasures of the Hereafter for a believer who has successfully passed this worldly test. A true believer, having undergone the period of fasting in a most sincere way, gets the feeling of the Hereafter as soon as the month of Ramadan is finished and the celebrations for Eid are under way. He feels as if he is being entertained as a guest by God Himself. From the depths of his being, his heart cries out: ‘Oh God, as you have helped me carry out the injunctions of fasting and at the culmination of the month have bestowed on me the joys of Eid, accept this life of mine as one spent in fasting and bestow on me the delights of Paradise. Write me down amongst the list of persons who have been bestowed the life of Paradise by opening thy gates of mercy.’ As fasting does not imply mere hunger and thirst, the day of the festival does not imply mere feasting and celebration. It should rather strengthen in us the right perspective of the ephemeral nature of this worldly life and the imminent delights of the life Hereafter that are sure to follow. This should be truly manifested in the thankfulness we present to the Creator by offering prayers and also by giving more in charity to the needy. As the period of fasting was spent in selfpreparation and spiritual development, the day of Eid should inculcate in the believer a new spirit and a renewed sense of zeal and determination towards the journey to the life Hereafter. The message of Eid fosters the rekindling of our faith and the opening of new vistas and an entirely fresh and innovative approach to the