The Final Days of the Holy Month of Ramadhan

with all its Blessings and Bounties - Mubarak

"But how can we have more than one Eid?"

The answer: Why not ?!
- Br. Mustafa Mawjee

Instead of making mountains out of molehills, Muslims and specially Shi'ias should try to resolve such issues with a little bit of common sense. If Ramadan ends on Wednesday for some people (i.e. Thursday Eid) and on Thursday for muqallids of Ayt. Khui (i.e. Friday Eid) and on Friday or Saturday for the muqallids of Ayt. Seestani in Europe (i.e. Saturday/Sunday Eid), surely there is nothing wrong in it. Each one interprets the 'Sighting of New Moon' according to the verdict of his religious authority and their interpretation of the verdict. This is a sign of a healthy & mature community which is prepared to think and lead rather than follow others without understanding.

If the other members of your family are fasting on the day you are celebrating Eid, and you are not, just drink a glass of water in the morning - you don't have to eat a four-course meal in front of them! In regards to Eid prayers, most places have services to accommodate various situations, and even if your community doesn't, keep in mind that Eid prayers are not obligatory during the occultation of the Twelfth Imam (may Allah hasten his reappearance) and can also be offered individually (Ayatollah Sistani: Islamic Laws, ruling #1525). Remember in Islam, the Day of Eid is a day of Ibadat and not merry making and Ibadat should be performed according to its religious rules and regulations and not as we think fit or for our own pleasure or as others do.

In days long gone by, the same things used to happen, only we did not know because we as a community, we all mostly followed only one Marja and we lived in a small towns or villages - so we all used to celebrate Eid together, thinking that the whole world celebrated it with us. Today, with Ilm, education, outlook and our circumstances we re spread around the globe and so we find this phenomena a bit vied.

Furthermore, even if we see the Arab community celebrating Eid on one day, the Pakistanis the next days, and as usual the mature Khoja community after them, what exactly is the big deal? In many parts of the Muslim world, people celebrate Eid for a whole week. The more, the merrier! I for one fail to see the problem with being able to dress up, visit friends and having delicious meals in the evening for three days instead of just one! Talking to Non-Muslims, whenever they ask me about Eid Day, I tell them that we celebrate Eid over 3 days - everyone at their convenience and this avoids many questions from them.

Instead of panicking and rushing to hurl the vilest accusations at our religious scholars, and turning and twisting their research and presentations to suit our needs, let us try to be a bit more reasonable. Unity does not mean uniformity. Instead of becoming upset at such minor differences, let us learn to appreciate and enjoy the blessings of variety and diversity.

Also, we must realize that even if we ignore all jurisprudential differences, we still would not be able to avoid the issue of multiple Eids. Indeed, we see that during the caliphate of Imam Ali (peace be upon him), a man once came and told him that he had sighted the crescent for the month of Shawwal, while no one else had. The Imam a.s. told him that since he has sighted the moon himself, it was Eid for him the next day, but for the rest of the community, since there were not two reliable testimonies (as required by Shariah), it would be the 30th of Ramadan. So while it was haram for the man to fast the next day, it was in fact wajib upon everyone else!

Hence, for those who have proper knowledge and understanding of Islamic jurisprudence, this is really a non-issue. In all honesty, the moonsighting drama has nothing to do with unity or keeping our families intact. The Shia world has had multiple Eids for centuries now, so it is hard to fathom why this has become such a divisive issue. The fact of the matter is that this is a simple jurisprudential technicality which certain nefarious elements have hijacked and used to attack our Maraja-e-Taqleed, and many simple-minded Shias are sadly following suit.If we are really so concerned about maintaining unity, let us keep in mind that the one institution that has safeguarded and protected Shi'ism for the past 1200 years and the only platform that is capable of uniting us, is the same Marjaiyyat which we so quickly rush to accuse of causing disunity amongst us!

On a final note, History tell us that in the 16th century, as Mongol armies were about to overrun Baghdad, the Muslim world was too busy fighting among itself over apparently a far more pertinent matter: whether it is permissible to consume owl meat or not! While they were busy discussing this issue, Baghdad was captured and run over. Today, as we face enemies and calamities from all sides, let us learn from our own history, let us cease from wasting so much time and energy complaining about such trivial matters, let us unite under the banner of the Marjaiyyat, and let us focus on the greater problems that threaten to overrun our communities and the Muslim Ummah today. Remember the famous statement of Ayt. Khomeini (r.a.) who used to say: "Muslim world is fighting whether to keep hands open or closed during prayers, forgetting that enemies are ever ready and waiting for the chance to chop those hands."

It is time to wake up and face up the real danger which is on our doorstep. May Allah swt accept all your Ibadats of the Holy Month and the special Ibadat of the Eid Day - no matter, whenever you celebrate it!