|
The Eid-Ul-Fitr is celebrated on the 1st of Shawwal which is the month following that of Ramadhan. It follows the completion of a month of obligatory
fasting and abstinence among Muslims, accompanied by great devotion, charity and study of the Holy Quran. The Ramadhan is the ninth month of the Islamic Calendar. It was in this month that the Holy Quran was
revealed to Prophet Muhammad and it was for this reason that it was chosen for fasting.
‘This fast’, writes A Guillaume, ‘can be a very severe strain, because unlike the Jewish and Christian months, which fall at a definite period of the
solar year, the months of the Muslim year, which is lunar, may begin at any season over a given period of years. During the fast no one may eat, drink, or smoke, between sunrise and sunset, and when the temperature
is over 100 degrees in the shade, to be deprived of water is a serious trial. Sick people and travellers are exempt, but are expected to fast an equal number of days when they are in a position to do so
Fortunately the climate of Mauritius does not lend itself to such extremes of temperature, but the fasting, commonly known by the Urdu term ‘Roza’, is
nonetheless just as rigorous as anywhere in the world. During the holy month of Ramadhan, Mauritian Muslims, like Muslims the world over, go without food or drink from dawn to sundown endeavouring to live a life of
great piety and charity. The fasting (roza) is undertaken for religious, moral and health reasons. It is perceived as a spiritual training in self-control and humility. Fasting demands mental discipline since the
individual has to abstain from the fulfilment of desires of a passionate, sensual and other immoral and unsocial nature. It also evokes in the individual a social conscience, which Islam emphasizes, regarding the
poor and the starving. It is also considered as a very healthy exercise, as it cleanses the body of accumulated wastes and contributes to better physical and mental health.
Notwithstanding the many benefits that fasting confers, the central focus of the fast is the individual and his development within the framework of
Islam. Leo Tolstoy says
‘To eat when one is hungry, drink water when one is thirsty, these are great pleasures of the body, but to refuse food and drink and everything the body
desires is more than a pleasure, it is the joy of the soul’.
And when such abstinence is coupled with deep devotion, piety and communion with the Divine, the spiritual riches that accrue to the individual and the
society are beyond measure. Indeed during the holy month of Ramadhan, the faces of devout Muslims glow with a special light as if a lamp has been lit from within; peace descends on earth as the country is filled
with spiritual light.
The common practice is to get up in the early hours of the morning and take a meal, called ‘sehri’ (from the word ‘sehr’ meaning dawn). Allowing for
personal variations, the meal consists of ‘parathas’~ or ‘naan’9, meat, eggs with some vegetable, milk and plenty of water. The ‘roza’ starts with the first call for prayer (‘azan’) just before sunrise. The pious
Muslim will not eat and drink. Not the smallest particle of food, not a single drop of water is allowed to pass down his throat or even touch his lips. Smoking is also forbidden. The fast is broken at the call of
the early evening prayer at sunset by a cool draught commonly called ‘alouda’. This is usually composed of tookmarian seeds, melon seeds, cold water and rose water syrup. After this a hearty dinner is taken.
On the 29th night of Ramadhan, Muslims search the sky above for the first sign of the New Moon— a thin, pale line. When it appears, Ramadhan, the month
of prayer and fasting is over and EidUI-Fitr begins. Eid is therefore a day of thanksgiving. There is rejoicing within limits as neither waste nor extravagance is permitted in Islam.
|
