Happy Eid Mubarak.

Aidilfitri is here again. I am celebrating aidilfitri in Labuan this year. And as usual, it still feel the same like last year, and the year before, and the year before that, and so on. Nothing much has change in Aidilfitri celebration. Started by performing prayer in the morning, visit graveyard to recite the Quran as a symbol that we are still not forgetting those who already went back to see their creator. Then visit family and friend…and always, lots of food. 

Even though it seem like nothing much has change, still, Aidilfitri is one of the celebrated day among Muslim around the world. I would say the most celebrated in Malaysia because I am seeing everything from Malaysia’s persepctive. 

The day marked our achievement in fighting ourselves during ramadhan. We resist food, drink, and all the bad thing and after 30 days, we deserved to celebrate it. Celebrate it by meeting up with distance relative or long lost friends, giving pocket money or Duit Raya to children, eventually doing more good deeds. It is one of the most interesting thing in Islam. The real one. Not the other Islam who preach for war. 

Talking about that, I believe that some Muslim are still living in the past. Some Muslim still preaching something that has been preach thousand years ago. I am not saying about the law in Islam, I am talking about the tradition. 

As you can see, religion and tradition is two different thing but most of us cannot differentiate this two entity. For example, people say during Hari raya, we must go to graveyard and recite Yassin. While this sound Islamic, however this is tradition. It is not a law in Islam to do that. Same goes to the way we dress, the way we talk. We are actually influence by those tradition that has been practiced by people before us. The worse is then the tradition was actually practiced by people in the middle east and not us. The land where prophet Muhammad (p.b.u.h) was born and start spreading this word of Allah. 

Is it wrong to follow that? No. Is it a must to do that? No. You get my point. 

For example, some muslims said that you must grow a beard, even prophet himself had one. Thus, you can see many muslim having beard right. Another example, when you break your fast during Ramadhan you must eat date or kurma. Prophet himself doing that. Is it a must to eat kurma when we break our fast?No. It’s not wrong but because of the tradition, people always bought dates during Ramadhan. Some poor people that could not afford it, still have to buy it. Once in a year they said. Sometime their money are better to be saved to buy vegetables or fish rather than dates, but it’s not wrong, and it’s not right also. 

Luckily dates are not that expensive. 

Furthermore, some people said that dates or kurma is the most healthy food. Prophet ate it so it must be no harm to that. It must be a miracle food. Thus, those auntie or uncle who has diabetes, enjoyed their fair share of dates fruit during ramadhan and start blaming western medicine to be not effective in controlling their blood sugar. 

The point is, some tradition has become a law in our islamic way of living. I am not saying it’s wrong. Why not right? We can choose whatever way we want to live. It’s the tradition no matter which one we follow that make life more colourful. 

Just don’t be judgemental towards other. I hate that. When I serve roasted duck during Aidilfitri morning, would you say I am not following tradition and not islamic. Serving duck is a Christian way of or maybe buddhist way of celebrating. Not us the Malay, and Muslim. That’s judgemental. I will still serve roasted duck because I love it and I am not eating duck every other day. Only once in  a year. 

In the end, tradition and religion can’t never be separated. We can practice both, but we must not make tradition a law. When it came to law, find the real way of religion, the Quran, and not to refer to another tradition that has been practice by someone else. 

Happy Aidilfitri!!

17/07/2015