The Eid that took us by surprise

I hope that you all had a fulfilling and blessed month of Ramadhaan (May Allah Almighty accept all our efforts). And I also hope that you had a beautiful day of Eid. Let me tell you a little about my Eid.

We were really all expecting to fast for thirty days instead of twenty nine this year. Many people including the experts were adamant that the new moon would be too young and we would not be able to site it in South Africa. We were so convinced that Eid would be on Tuesday that when the announcement was made that the moon was sited briefly and thus Eid will be on Monday, many of us were taken completely off guard. Not only had we not bid a final farewell to the month of Ramadhaan, we also had Eid preparations that we were still planning on doing. What resulted was a bit of a scuffle as many women hurried to complete their Eid preparation in time for the unexpected day of Eid.

Alhamdulillah, Eid came and went and I am sure that it was a joyous day for everyone, despite the previous evening’s hurriedness. As we tried to see what to do first on the night before Eid, my mother pointed out something crucial which was so relevant. She said, you see, just like that, at the end of our lives, we will wish that we had one more day.

And this statement is so profound when you actually think about it. Just like we hurried to do whatever we could at the last minute before Eid, so too will we hurriedly try to do what we can before we meet our Lord. Just like we were not ready to bid Ramadhaan farewell, so too will we be reluctant to bid farewell to this world when our time comes. Just like we felt that the Eid announcement was unexpected, so too will the announcement of our death be unexpected. If this isn’t a perfect reminder to us then I don’t know what is.

But here’s the important difference- the day of Eid was still a success, even if we hadn’t managed to prepare all the foods we wanted, or to get all the Eid goodies that we had hoped to get, but the day of reckoning will not be a success if we hadn’t manage to prepare appropriately (may Allah save us from destruction on that day and accept us amongst the true Believers, Inshaa-Allah Ameen!)

So this reminds us once again that our preparation for things in this world should be nothing in comparison to our preparation for the Hereafter. We should not spend our lives preparing for various things in this world, while forgetting to prepare for what is still to come. When we put things into perspective, nothing in this temporary world is a big deal, because everything passes. And this is contrary to the Hereafter, where things will last forever.  

May Almighty Allah guide us all and save us from futile pursuits and may we be granted success in the hereafter and in this world Inshaa-Allah!

Image from here