“We Muslims feel Sorry and Sad at the departure of Ramadan”
A Pious Statement? or An Innocent Hypocrisy?
After Maghreb, on the last day of Ramadan we thank Allah Ta'aala Subhaanahoo for his blessing to give us a great opportunity in the the Holy month of Ramadan, plead to HIM to accept our efforts and urge HIM to endow us with a similar opportunity next year. This generates in the entire Muslim community an intense wave of jubilation. It starts the same night. Relatives and friends get together on Chand raat at parties with delicious food; henna application is the favorite item for all: small, medium and big. Bazaar are jam packed with thrilled boys and girls, men and women looking for bangles, jewelry, shoes etc. etc. Cars, bikes, donkey carts packed with rowdy, singing and shouting men and women speed towards the beeches for a frolic outing. All this fun and frolic drags on till early hours of morning.
Next day is the official—sanctioned and encouraged by our Holy Prophet himself—day of Eid celebrations. As the Islamicity puts it “we usher in Eid-ul-Fitr by saying farewell to the blessed month of Ramadan and reflect on how our devotions through Ramadan have effectively impacted on our attitudes, our relationships, our bodies, our hearts, our minds and our souls”. We all try—unfortunately mostly unsuccessfully—that the Spirit of Ramadan Remains till the next Ramadan. Emotional and happy embracing goes on for at least three days. A feeling of happiness and elation is permeating the atmosphere for three to ten days; this is unique to this day. The second eid does not even come close. Visiting friends and the loved ones, lunches and dinners at home and restaurants is the order of the day, for days. Beeches, lawns and makeshift amusement parks are beaming with gleaming boys and girls in colorful new outfits. This all pervasive atmosphere of revelry goes on for at least two days if not longer. Any semblance or sign of sorrow or regret is totally absent from the faces of children, young men and women and their seniors. Nor is it called for. The Quran has clearly mandated fasting on all Muslims for a “month” year after year.
Yet I keep hearing after every Ramadan from honest and sincere Muslims “We Muslims feel Sorry and Sad at the departure of Ramadan”. How come? These Muslims have been a very active part of the tremendous celebration. How to explain this dichotomy: intense festivity together with a heavy heart. I presume it is the result of uncritical conformity to some hadith to this effect. I also think there must already be some attempt at tatbeeq—reconciliation—of this paradox of joy and festivity despite internal sadness and sorrow. Usually such attempts are very amusing. I will give you an example. There is a hadith wherein Sayyeda Ayesha stated that we used to visit the graveyard during the life time of the Holy Prophet. Yasir Qhadi opines that women are not allowed in the graveyard in our Fiqh. As an attempt at tatbeeq of his views and the hadith mentioned here he explains that she was referring to her passing through the graveyard while going from spot A to spot B. It is clear that taqleed—blind following—forces even great scholars to be simple and naive.
