President of Jamiyatu Ulama Australia

Eid-ul-Fitr Speech

الله أكبر الله أكبر الله أكبر لا إله إلا الله والله أكبر الله أكبر ولله الحمد

Assalamu ‘alaykum wa-rahmatullahi wa-barakatuh.

Praise and glory to Allah (s.w.t.) Who has given us this opportunity to meet again for ‘Eid, after fasting the blessed month of Ramadan.

May Allah’s blessings and peace be upon the Last Prophet Muhammad and upon his companions and those who followed them in goodness until the Last Hour.

‘Eid is our time of joy and happiness. Let us pray to Allah, that He accepts. Blesses and rewards all our Siyam, our Salat-ut-Tarawih, our Tilawat-ul-Qur’an, our Iftar, our Zakah and our Sadaqat-ul-Fitr. Aameen.

الله أكبر الله أكبر الله أكبر لا إله إلا الله والله أكبر الله أكبر ولله الحمد

We celebrate ‘Eid-ul-Fitr on a day of thanksgiving and joy, for it signifies the successful completion of the month of Ramadan. This blessed month gives the Ummah of Islam the opportunity to practice self-discipline, austerity, solidarity, and endeavour, which are so vital for spiritual and moral regeneration, and for the well-being of the Ummah. We shall, once again, bow our heads before the Almighty in gratitude for having given us the strength to fulfil his commandments.

‘Eid-ul-Fitr teaches us the important lesson that true happiness arises from performing one’s duty and making sacrifice for a noble and high objective.

The manner in which the first ‘Eid-ul-Fitr was celebrated in Madinah has a lesson for all of us. When the first Ramadan in Madinah was about to end, the Prophet (s.a.w.) announced that upon the completion of the Fast, ‘Eid would commence with a congregational prayer in an open space.

The Muslims responded to the call and assembled in the open area; the ladies being assembled separately on one side. The Prophet (s.a.w.) advised them in his Khutbah that everyone should not only enjoy all the lawful things, but that they should also try to make a poorer brother or sister’s ‘Eid more happy and joyful.

Instant was the response to the Prophet’s appeal. Every Muslim tried to excel in giving a gift to a fellow Muslim who happened to be less fortunate than himself. It has been reported in the authentic Ahadith that some of the wealthier Muslim ladies gave away half of their gold jewellery to their poorer sisters.

الله أكبر الله أكبر الله أكبر لا إله إلا الله والله أكبر الله أكبر ولله الحمد

The concept of sacrifice requires Sabr, money, intelligence, devotion, time, and effort. In this respect, we could cite many examples. The best example is that of our Prophet (s.a.w.). He gave his whole time, efforts, and wealth for the sake of Allah, the Lord of the Universe. He sacrificed all that he could for his people, without looking for credit or worldly reward. Many were those that criticised him, reviled him, threw stones at him, oppressed him, and even tried to kill him. Nevertheless, he continued to convey the Message with which he was sent, and he continued to return evil with good. His Sahabah (r.a.a.) imitated him in everything that he did in terms of good deeds, acts of worship, and way of life. Accordingly, Islam was spread throughout the world – from Morocco to Indonesia, and from the Caucasus to East Africa, and later to many other places unknown to the previous generations, and it is still spreading now, Al-hamdu lillah.

It is a well-known fact that Islam provides for the well-being of the individual and society. The development in the Madinah period after the Hijrah of such an all-encompassing way of living in such a short period of time is undoubtedly a miracle.

The Sahabah did not care about selfish individualistic concerns. They cared only about earning the Pleasure of Allah and they made efforts and sacrificed personal ambitions collectively for the entire Ummah. They would favour and prefer others over themselves. There were several of them that contributed their entire wealth in the Cause of Allah.

Dear brothers and sisters, nowadays things have changed to quite the opposite extreme. This has led to backwardness, failure, and successive defeats and humiliation.

Islam provides the clear answer to this problem. Allah says:

إن الله لا يغير ما بقوم حتى يغير ما بأنفسهم
Truly, Allah will never change the condition of a people until they change what is in themselves.

This requires that we take stock of our situation, realise how far we have regressed, learn from the past, correct ourselves, and act in an appropriate way, relying on Allah alone. This is a natural law, and it is the key to success in every endeavour.

The Prophet (s.a.w.) said:

كلكم راع وكلكم مسئول عن رعايته
“Every one of you is responsible, and every one of you will be questioned regarding his responsibility.”

The king’s responsibility is his subjects, about whom he will be questioned. The man’s responsibility is his family, about whom he will be questioned. The woman’s responsibility is her house, about which she will be questioned.

My dear brothers and sisters: I would now like to invite you to think deeply about the meaning of the following Hadith:

كل مولود يولد على الفطرة، فأبواه يهودانه وينصرانه ويمجسانه.
“Every new-born baby is born upon the Fitrah, but his parents then make him into a Jew, or a Christian, or a Zoroastrian.”

This Hadith is very important in relation to Islamic educational psychology. The understanding of its meaning is fundamental in establishing any Islamic theory and policy of a child’s cognitive and pedagogical development. The responsibility is, therefore, upon the parents first and foremost to protect the children and nourish the latent potential of their natural Islamic Fitrah.

Again, and again, we are enjoined by the Qur’an and the Ahadith, but we are so lost, so drowned in the Dunya that we do not give our children’s Islamic education and character building its proper importance. We refuse to open our eyes to the importance of imparting the Islamic culture and character to them, and, because of that many of them are getting lost today, and then we are sitting down in regret and despair.

Dear brothers and sisters! There are 4000 school-aged Muslim children in Brisbane, yet only one-tenth of that amount is receiving any form of Islamic education in the Masjid, Madrassa, Dar-ul-Ulooms and Islamic Schools. Many of these children are growing up in an environment where they know nothing about Islam. A considerable number of them do not even know the basic Kalimah, much less the basic ‘Aqeedah of Islam.

There are various associations and organisations in Australia, all striving for the proper upbringing of our children. Hardly a week passes when somewhere, somehow, in one way or another, we Muslims are reminded of our children not growing up in an Islamic atmosphere. Examples are given of various places where our children have gone astray and the listeners lament the sad situation, that our children have become alienated from the teachings of the Qur’an.

The Imams, the Maulanas, the Presidents and the ‘Alims continue to talk and advise, while the rest of the community listens and often strongly expresses the opinion that we must have our Madrasahs reorganised properly, that we must arrange Madrasahs in every Masjid, that we must use the opportunity of Islamic religious education in every public school, and that we must build a Darul Uloom for intensive and exclusive Islamic education for our children. This subject is then closed and forgotten, some time passes, and then the process is repeated: the same talk, the same debate, the same expression of opinions and then the same lapse of silence. And so, it has been going on. Maybe we are awaiting Allah’s angels to come down from the sky and do the work for us?

Dear brothers and sisters, we must wake up now. Our children are facing the threat of an anti-Islamic cultural onslaught. This issue must be investigated and acted upon, or else we will have to face the consequences of our own neglect of our responsibilities.

Until we take the concrete step to provide proper Islamic education and the appropriate facilities for it, our young Muslim children will slowly but surely be amalgamated, assimilated, and integrated with non-Islamic society. This is what happened to the Muslims in Spain 500 years ago. Later, it happened to the Turks in the Balkan lands and to the Afghans in Australia, and now it is happening in Indonesia.

May Allah protect us and our children.

الله أكبر الله أكبر الله أكبر لا إله إلا الله والله أكبر الله أكبرر ولله الحمد

On the day of ‘Eid-ul-Fitr, the day of our joy and happiness, bounty and benevolence, our heart goes out to the victims of Algeria. Who could believe that a baby could be nailed to walls, or burned on gas stoves? In the last massacre by the accursed government troops in this month of Ramadan, Muslim villagers, most of them supporters of the Islamic Salvation Front, were dismembered. The corrupt and evil government of Algeria, with the backing of the West, has been behind these shocking crimes against humanity. May Allah destroy the current government of Algeria and deal justly with them, and may he aid the Mujahideen there and in every other country.

Our heart goes out to the millions of boys and girls in Turkey who have been so unjustly deprived of the knowledge of Islam by the atheist Turkish colonels and generals. Turkey will only regain its former glory through Islam.

Our heart goes out to Afghanistan, where the march of Islam has been halted by tribalism and ethnicism. Where the image is being engineered that Islam is a backward way of life incapable of progress and unity. May Allah give victory and help to the Taliban and may He cause them to become shining examples for the entire Muslim world.

Our heart goes out to the holy land of Palestine, the city of Al-Quds and Al-Masjid-ul-Aqsa, and to its people whose right has been usurped and trampled upon by the accursed Zionists. May Allah destroy the Jewish State and may the Muslims reclaim their right.

On this day we remember the 1000 flood victims in Katherine, Northern Territory. May Allah help them, and may He guide them to the Straight Path of Islam.

الله أكبر الله أكبر الله أكبر لا إله إلا الله والله أكبر الله أكبر ولله الحمد