Eid al-Fitr
Eid al-Fitr address by R. David Coolidge, Wednesday, Oct. 1st 2008, Dartmouth College
The Holy Qur’an states, “Thus, have We made of you a community justly balanced, so that you might be witnesses over humanity and that the Messenger be a witness over yourselves…” (chapter 2, verse 143)
We have just exited Ramadan, and we look back at the last thirty days, and we are impressed. We are impressed that our community came together for many iftars, full of food and fellowship, signaling a new level of interaction amongst the Muslims of the Upper Valley. We are impressed that we stood in the night to pray, both individually and collectively, signaling this community’s commitment to the worship of the All-Merciful Lord of humanity. And we are impressed at this gathering today, bringing together our social and spiritual needs once more in a manifestation of our place as “a community justly balanced.”
We perhaps forget sometimes that it is possible that our community could only pray and never socialize, or that we could only socialize and never pray. But our Ramadan and our Eid is about both, a time for the happiness of family and community and the joy of coming together over a hot meal, and also a time for shedding tears over our weaknesses and our need for the mercy of our Lord and Creator.
Our smiles and our tears convey the message of our Ummah, our community, the Ummah of Muhammad, may the peace and blessings of God be upon him. That we follow in the path of the most successful and balanced man that ever walked this earth. For he was a witness over us. When some of those who followed him wanted to stray towards the path of renunciation, taking vows of celibacy and fasting all year, he urged them to get married, and fast on Mondays and Thursdays. When some of them were laughing too hard and too often, he came to them and reminded them of death, and the seriousness of our lives. When some of them were too excited about what riches might await them at the expansion of the Madinan state, he asked them to remember that the good pleasure of God was far greater than anything that one could attain in this life. Yet, when some of the wealthy members in his community wanted to give everything away in charity, he reminded them of their responsibilities to their families, and the permissibility of comfort and refinement.
And so as we leave this blessed month, we are thankful for being a justly balanced community. We are thankful for the purification of this month, and simultaneously thankful for the fact that it is only one month, and that we were not given an undue burden. As Allah says amidst the verses on fasting, “Allah desires ease for you, and He does not desire difficulty. He wants you to complete the number, and that you should exalt the greatness of God, and that perhaps you would be thankful.” (chapter 2, verse 185) And so we thank Him for the dispensations he has provided for us, such as not fasting if we were sick or travelling at some point during Ramadan, and we intend to make up the same number of days in the coming months. And we thank Him for the increased ability to pray during the nights of this month but we also intend to continue to pray every day throughout the year, as He has instructed us to do. We are neither a community that prays only once a week or one time a year, nor are we a community that prays all day, leaving no time for earning an honest living and contributing to society. We strive to be that justly balanced community.
Whatever reason each of us ended up in the Upper Valley, we now are witnesses for the justly balanced way of our Prophet, may the peace and blessings of Allah be upon him. We have a responsibility to be the best we can be - as individuals, as families, as students, as employees – in both building our fledging Upper Valley Muslim community, and in representing Islam to our neighbors, colleagues, and friends. Let us not simply think back at all the blessings and bounties we experienced this Ramadan, but let us take that gratitude, and let it lead us to roll up our sleeves and work for the sake of Allah, so that a year from now, our community will be bigger and better than we are right now.
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Allah says in the Qur'an, "Help one another in righteousness and piety." (chapter 5, verse 2) According to some scholars, this verse was revealed not just for intra-Muslim encouragement to good, but for Muslims relationships with all of their fellow human beings. So when I speak of "our community," I do not only mean the Muslims of the Upper Valley, but all those good and honest people that every day work to bring benefit to our world. Alhamdulillah, praise be to God, we have many friends here at Dartmouth and around the Upper Valley, and as we strive to be witnesses to our way, let us strengthen our bonds of brotherhood and sisterhood with all those whom Allah has brought in our path.
In the Qur'an it says, “They plot and plan, and Allah too plans; but the best of planners is Allah” (8.30) It is part of the plan of Allah that we are here today. This nation, the United States, is built upon human beings from diverse backgrounds coming together for the common good. And just as this nation has witnessed the arrival of various groups of Christians and Jews and Hindus and Buddhists, so too do Muslims take their place today, and every day, as Americans.
A shaykh once said, “The way of the believer is optimism, because he knows that there is no defeating Allah.” So too must this be our attitude. There is nothing for us to fear as a community, except the displeasure of our Lord. There is nothing for us to worry about, except becoming distant from His mercy. There is only a bright future for us, if we turn to Allah, rely upon Allah, open our eyes and our hearts to the world around us, and strive to follow in the way of the one who was sent as a witness over us.
One of the greatest teachings of our religion is encompassed in the saying "kun haythu aqaamka allah" - be where Allah has placed you. Allah has placed us here, in this moment, for a reason, and may He open our eyes each day to the wisdom in His plan.
So, on this day, let us rejoice. Let us rejoice in where Allah has placed us. Let us rejoice in our love for the Seal of the Prophets, the Beloved of Allah, may the peace and blessings of God be upon him. Let us rejoice in our love for the Creator and Sustainer of all Existence. And let us rejoice in the blessings that God has manifested before our very eyes on this day – friends, family, security, faith, and sustenance. May God be glorified forever and ever, and may we be counted amongst his sincere servants. Amen.
