Peace be on thee and thy excellence of which we have been deprived...

Peace be on thee and thy excellence of which we have been deprived, and thy blessings which will no longer be with us." These few words are the mirror which show the true Islamic feeling towards the month of Ramadhan and its blessings and spiritual benefits. Eid-ul -Fitr is related to such a month of blessings, because it is on this day that the strict restrictions of the preceding month are lifted.

Unfortunately, in some places, this resumption of the normal activities is misinterpreted as a licence to indulge in activities prohibited in Islam, like gambling, etc. Fortunately, such trends are not common yet; but such people should be made to understand the significance of Eid -ul-Fitr. Religious observances of the Eid-ul-Fitr are designed to offer thanks to Allah that He helped us in accomplishing the aim of Ramadhan.

Surely, it would be an affront to Allah if anybody, after thanking Him for completing that spiritual training, goes right away sinning against Him! Had such person known the meaning and purpose of Eid-ul -Fitr, he could not have indulged in such un-Islamic activities. Eid-ul-Fitr can be interpreted as a three-fold blessing: First it provides one more occasion for the Muslims to thank God and remember His blessings.

Secondly, it affords an opportunity of spiritual stock-taking, after the month of Ramadhan. A Muslim can now ponder over the strength (or weakness) of his will power; he can see, in the mirror of Ramadhan, what were the strong (or weak) points of his character, because under the stress of fasting, the hidden qualities (or evils) of human character come to surface in such clear way which is, perhaps, not possible otherwise.

Thus a man gets a chance of self-diagnosis of the traits of his character, which probably no one else may ever detect. Thirdly, it enjoins the well-to -do persons to share a portion of what they have with their poor brethren. On the eve of Eid-ul-Fitr, a Muslim is obliged to give to the needy food-stuff at the rate of a prescribed weight, on behalf of himself and of every member of his family, including servants and guests who were sheltered under his roof on that night.

It would certainly be pleasing to God if we did not forget these lessons after Eid-ul-Fitr. Incidentally, here the difference between religious and materialistic outlooks becomes sharper. Religion exhorts a man to give, by his own free will, a share of his wealth to those who are less fortunate, and to give it for obtaining the blessings of God.