"But how can we have more than one Eid?"
The answer: why
not?!
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, andturning 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."
Source:www.duas.org
