1.9 billion Muslims of the world will celebrate their joyous holiday, Eid al-Fitr on Saturday, October 13, 2007 (and some on October 14, 2007) depending on the visibility of crescent. The new moon is on October 10th this year. The possibility to witness the crescent, Hilal is on Friday, October 12, just after sunset on the western horizon. Eid-al-Fitr is celebrated on the first day of Shaw'waal, at the completion of Ramadan. Shaw'waal is the 10th month of the Islamic calendar.



The Eid-al-Fitr is a very joyous day; it is a true Thanksgiving Day for the believing men and women. It will evident on their faces the day of Eid-al-Fitr. On this day Muslims show their real gratitude for their health, strength and the opportunities in life, which Allah, God has blessed them with to fulfill their obligations including fasting and accomplishing other good deeds during the blessed month of Ramadan.



Historic Significance of this Day:

Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) also wanted to develop a distinct identity of Muslims, culturally and ideologically. When he migrated from Makkah to Madinah, he found the people of Madinah celebrating two holidays. On those two days they had carnivals and festivity. Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) inquired the Muslims of Madinah about it. They replied that before Islam they used to have carnivals on those two joyous days. On that he told them: “Instead of these two days Allah, God has appointed two other days which are better: the days of Eid-al-Fitr and Eid-al-Adha.” Unas (ra) reported this Hadith.



Salient features of Thanksgiving, Eid-al-Fitr:

The holiday of Eid-al-Fitr begins with Muslim men, women, and children dressing up and putting on their best clothes available, whether new or cleaned old ones and going to the Eid congregation. Remembering the poor by giving a special charity, Zakat-al-Fitr, before the congregation of Eid (on Eid-al-Fitr). Proclaiming God Almighty by offering prayer in an open and inviting place for any one to participate and receive the joy of the holiday. They use two separate routes to and from the prayer to spread the joy by reciting and glorifying the Lord on the way to the congregation and until the beginning of the congregation, Salat-al-Eid: “Allah is great! Allah is great! There is no god but Allah. Allah is great! Allah is great! And all praises are for Allah.” Eid congregations are very large gatherings of Muslim men, women, and children across the country. You can witness these gathering at local Convention Centers, Fair grounds, Community Parks and/or at local Masjid/Islamic Centers.



A Gathering of men, women and children - the whole family and the community

Muhammad (peace be upon him), the Messenger of Allah commanded the Muslim community to bring out on the day of Eid-al-Fit and Eid-al-Adha, young women, Hijab-observing adult women and the menstruating women and participate in this very joyous day by participating in the prayer and festivities of the day. When one woman asked Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him): “O! Messenger of Allah, if one does not have an outer garment?” He replied: "Let her sister cover her with her garment." Umm Attia (ra) reported it in Hadith Muslim.



It is indeed a gathering of the whole community; and every believing man, woman and child participate in this joyous occasion.



At the culmination of prayer, Imam reminds the community its responsibilities and obligations towards Allah, God, the members of the community, and the fellow human beings. Imam also encourages the Muslims to proclaim good and ward off wrong and evil. It is also the time to become aware of the state of the community resulting in the Spirit of sacrifice, community and struggle.



At the conclusion of the congregation, Muslims convey greetings to each other with hugs and handshakes; give reasonable gifts (usually cash) to the youngsters and visit each other at their homes and hold lunches or dinners for family and friends. They also invite their non-Muslims neighbors, co-workers, classmates and business acquaintances to Eid festivities to share the joy. Don’t be surprised if you are also invited to an Eid dinner or a celebration by your Muslim neighbors or friends. Please do accept such an invitation. The hospitality, friendliness, and variety of international Muslim cuisine will pleasantly surprise you.

Greetings of Eid, Eid Mubarak!

©Imam Ali Siddiqui, 2007



About the author

Imam Ali Siddiqui with 35 years of service, is a Friday Khatib, Islamic teacher, Muslim Chaplain, youth advisor, family counselor, educator, poet and writer with a vision who has been involved in the teaching Islam, history, comparative religion, contemporary issues to Muslims and non-Muslims. He is actively involved in the community service including spiritual/educational development, service to the sick and the incarcerated. He has been on speaking tours to the Belgium, Canada, Germany, Great Britain, Switzerland, India, Iran, Pakistan, and across the USA. He frequently presents Islamic Prospective and Muslim Point of View on current affairs to Non-Muslims and Muslims. He has been very active in organizing seminars, workshops, conferences, and teach-ins to promote Islamic awareness and inter-faith understanding. He has received numerous commendations for his work, service, and scholarship. Presently, Imam Siddiqui is the President of California Muslim Institute; Vice Chair/Director, Peace with Justice Center of the Pomona Valley; and member of the Board of Directors: Corona-Norco Interfaith Association, and Clergy and Laity United for Economic Justice, Los Angeles. For additional information about author’s involvement, please Google: “Imam Ali Siddiqui”

Permission (with proper credit to the writer) is granted to any individual/organization to use this material for teaching, Tabligh and Dawa and publication for promoting understanding between people of the world.

~ All praise to YHWH ~

On Sukkot (Succos/ Tabernacles) we are commanded to build a Sukkah (Booth) using as building materials the "4 species" listed in Lev 23,40, which the Rabbanites claim are to be carried as a bundle.

The Torah commands us to celebrate the Feast of Booths (Hag ha-Sukkot) for 7 days, from the 15th to the 21st of the Seventh month (Tishray). This holiday is also known as "Succos" and the "Feast of Tabernacles". Work is forbidden on the 1st day of the seven days. Sukkot is one of the three "Pilgrimage Festivals" which means every Jewish male is required to come to Jerusalem during this 7 day period. Most laws in the Torah apply to both males and females, however, the Pilgrimage law refers specifically to males. Both males and females are required to dwell in a Sukkah (Booth) for all 7 days of the Festival whether at home or in Jerusalem.

Building a Sukkah

The Torah requires that we build a Sukkah on Hag ha-Sukkot but does not say how many walls it must have or describe it beyond saying what materials it must be made out of (see below). This means that a Sukkah does not have to comply to any of the Rabbinite specifications laid out in Massekhet Sukkot and other Rabbinic literature.

The Torah commands in Leviticus 23,40 that we "take" on the first day of Hag ha-Sukkot "fruit of a splendorous tree [or, a splendorous fruit tree], date branches, the branch of a thick tree and willows of the creek". Upon first reading this it is not immediately clear what to do with these branches and reeds. The rabbis claim that one is supposed to make these plants into a bundle which is waved during the prayer service. However, this is not said anywhere in the Tanakh [Jewish Bible]. On the contrary, in the Biblical book of Nehemia (ch. 8) we are told of a national gathering in which the Torah is read to the people and they rediscover what is commanded in it. We are told in verses 14-16:

"And they found written in the Torah that YHWH commanded through Moshe that the Children of Israel dwell in Booths (Sukkot) in the Seventh month. And concerning that which they heard [in the public reading] they passed a voice through all their cities and Jerusalem saying 'Go out to the mountain and bring olive branches and oil tree branches and myrtle branches and date branches and branches of thick trees to make booths, as it is written.' And the people went out and they brought and they made for themselves booths, each man on his roof and in their courtyards and in the courtyard of the House of God and in the broad areas of the Water Gate and the broad areas of Ephraim Gate."

Clearly according to the book of Nehemia the "Four Species" are to be used as materials for building a Sukkah. Note that according to Neh 8,15 using the "Four Species" to build a Sukkah is what is required because "it is written". In other words, when they read Lev 23,40 they understood it to be commanding the taking of the "Four Species" for the purpose of building Sukkot. The Qaraite Jews have always accepted the interpretation of Neh 8,14-16 over the Rabbinic interpretation. Notice also that the Etrog (citron) is not mentioned anywhere. Instead the "splendorous fruit tree" of Lev 23 is represented in Nehemia 8 by "olive branches and oil tree branches". "Splendorous fruit tree" is a very appropriate description of the olive tree considering the place of olive oil and the olive tree in ancient Israelite society.

So after comparing the two passages in Lev 23 and Neh 8 it becomes clear that there are 4 categories of vegetation which can be used to build a Sukkah:

* Any leafy tree that can give shade (compare Ez 20,28).

* A date palm and presumably any palm tree

* Any fruit tree (compare Lev 23 and Neh 8)

* `Arvei Nahal - usually translated as "willows of the creek". Based on Neh 8 which replaces "Willows of the Creek" with "myrtle branches" it would seem that this refers to various types of trees that grow along the banks of the Wadis (see Isa 44,4) of Israel and Babylon (see Ps 137,2).

The word "Sukkah" comes from the root S.KH.KH. meaning "to cover" and the main part of the Sukkah is the roof or covering which must be made from one or all of the above materials. The walls can be made of any material available.

~ Shemini `Atzeret

The "8th day" of this 7 day Festival is a day of rest called in the Torah "Shemini `Atzeret". This holiday is widely known today by the Rabbinic moniker "Simhat Torah" ("Celebration of the Torah"). The Rabbanites made up this name which refers to their annual reading of the Torah in weekly portions which ends on Shemini `Atzeret. Neither the annual reading of the Torah nor the name "Simhat Torah" appear in the Jewish Bible and these are later Rabbinic renditions of God's law. Shemini `Atzeret is not part of Sukkot and the laws of Sukkot do not extend to this day (i.e. Pilgrimage, dwelling in a booth). As a day of rest all work is forbidden on Shemini `Atzeret.

Will plywood and two by 4's work?

Its so hard to find materials in the city....