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Shaw'wal
Shaw'wal is the tenth month of the Islamic
lunar calendar, it comes immediately after Ramadan and
has some specific rules attached to it. These are
summarized hereunder:
Beginning of the Ashur-al-Hajj:
Shaw'wal is the first of the three months
named as "Ashhur al-Hajj" (i.e. the months of Hajj).
Although the major acts of Hajj are normally performed in
the first ten days of Zulhijjah, yet the whole period
starting from the first of Shaw'wal upto the 10th of
Zulhijjah is held to be the period of Hajj because some
acts of Hajj can be performed any time during this
period, for example, the Tawaf-ul-qudum, followed by the
Sa'y of Hajj cannot be performed before Shaw'wal, while
it can be performed any day after the beginning of
Shaw'wal.
Similarly, an 'Umrah perfromed before
Shaw'wal cannot be treated as the 'Umrah of Tamattu',
while the 'Umrah performed in Shaw'wal can be affiliated
to the Hajj. making it a hajj of Tamattu.', Moreover,
ih-ram of Hajj should not be started before Shaw'wal,
because it is makruh, even though it may be held as a
valid ih-ram. For thcese reasons these three months have
been named as the 'months of Hajj' and the month of
Shaw'wal has the honour of being the first of
these.
Eid-ul-Fitr:
The second meritorious aspect of Shaw'wal
is that it has been chosen by Allah Almighty for the
celebration of "Eid-ul-fitr", one of the only two annual
festivals recognized by the Shari'ah. This happy day is
designed by the Shari'ah as a sign of gratefulness by the
Muslims on the accomplishment of Ramadan, and as an
immediate reward by Allah for those who spent the month
of Ramadan in fasting and performing other forms of
'ibadah.
Instead of commemorating an even from the
past, the Shari'ah has prescribed the first of Shaw'wal
as an annual festival for the Muslims at an occasion when
they themselves accomplish a great ibadah. This approach
reminds the Muslims that they should not rely only on the
accomplishments of their ancestors, rather, they should
themselves perform meritorious acts to please their
Creator.
In prescribing the ways to celebrate the
happy day, Islam has adopted another unique approach. The
festivals of other religions or nations normally comprise
of some acts of rejoicing and enjoyment. The whole happy
day is normally spent in dancing, singing and
playing.
Islam has, conversely, prescribed a very
simple, prestigious and more humane way to observe the
happy day. First of all, it is mandatory on all the well
off Muslims to start their day by paying
"Sadaqat-ul-fitr" to the poor of their society, so that
they, too, may enjoy the day along with others, and may
not be worried for earning their livelihood at least in
that day of happiness.
After paying the "Sadatjat-ul-fltr", the
Muslims are required to proceed to an open place where
they can offer the Eid prayer collectively. In this way,
they are supposed to present themselves before their
Creator and offer two rak'ats of this special type of
Salah, which makes them receive blessings from Allah and
start their celebration by these divine
blessings.
After the Salah also, they are supposed to
rejoice the day in a responsible manner, without
violating the limits prescribed for them and never
indulging in the acts prohibited by Allah.
Keeping this point in view we will now
discuss specific rules prescribed for observing the day
of 'Eidul-fitr.
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