id ul fitri, the day of victory

This is the end of the series “Introducing Islam as a religion of the heart”, for the month of Ramadhan

Gerardette Philips rscj (second from left) breaking the fast with friends in Jakarta

In entering into the atmosphere of the feast of Id ul Fitri, which is referred to as the feast of Victory, it may be helpful to understand again the meaning of the Arabic words “Id al-fithr”. The word “Id” has the same root as the word “awdah” which mean “return” or “repeat”. This celebration is referred to as “Id” because it returns and repeats itself over a period of time. The word “fitri” means our original pure/holy nature. It also has the same meaning as “khilqah”, meaning creation or creator. Food, drink, sleep and all that is normal is created by the Divine Creator and is good and holy because it was designed by God.

The time of breaking of the fast each evening is a reminder to “return to food and drink” which really means “return to your pure natural self.” For those who have journeyed during this month of Ramadhan it was practicing the “return” to the essence of oneself, as created by God. This return is expressed very vividly here in Indonesia when all modes of transport are full and overflowing with joyful faces, all going “homeward” to celebrate Id ul Fitri in its true meaning, a confirmation that in life we all long to return home, to go back to what is normal and familiar.

This desire and journey is not just psychological but spiritual. The Heart's longing is born from the soul's memory that it has come from God. The soul remembers that its real home is with God and awakens the seeker with this memory. The Spiritual journey is a journey that takes us back home, from separation to union. The journey and longing for God begins when God looks into our hearts and infuses it with divine love. This is the moment of tauba, “the turning of the heart”.

The glance of the Beloved awakens the memory of the soul, the memory of our primordial state of oneness with God. The memory of this union makes us aware that we are now separate from the One we love, and so ignites the fire of longing. Without the glance of the Beloved there would be no longing for God and no spiritual journey. It is because God wants us that we remember our real Home and begin the long and sometimes even lonely journey back to the Beloved, our Source!

The song of the reed-flute at the beginning of Rumi's Mathnawi captures the longing of the soul for the Source.

“Listen to the reed how it tells a tale
Complaining of separations,
Saying, “Ever since I was parted from the reed-bed, my lament has caused man and woman to moan.
It is only to a bosom torn by severance that I can unfold the pain of love-desire.
Everyone who is left far from his source wishes back the time when he was united with it.”

Therefore, the atmosphere of Idul Fitri is truly in the atmosphere of a return to holiness, external and internal. The exercise to train oneself (shiyam, upavasa) which we have practiced during this whole month of Ramadan in the nature of purgatory, is the centre of our exercise to fully feel the presence of God in our personal lives. In a spirit of “God with us” (Immanuel or - inna “ lah-a ma”ana), human beings find the origin of holiness - the nature of paradise and returns to Fitra (id al-fithr). This too is born in holiness, returning to the origin in a primordial joy.

For the grace and gift of Allah, man gets this primordial joy, that's why he is grateful to God, by glorifying and praising Him ( takbir and tahmid).
For Christians the spirit of Ramadhan and Id ul Fitri continues as we enter into the season of Advent, the season of waiting for Jesus' birth. This longing can be expressed using the feminine side of love. Love's feminine aspect is “I am longing for you,” “I am waiting for you.” The feminine side of love is the cup waiting to be filled. The mystery of the soul's feminine nature is one of love's secrets. The soul waits and opens to the Beloved, just as the heart waits and then opens to the tenderness of the touch, to the infusion of His love. The mystical path is in essence a feminine path of surrender and devotion, as expressed in a simply Sufi prayer:

I offer to Thee the only thing I have
My capacity of being filled with Thee.


May this advent be a time of returning to our deepest selves to know again that in that place Jesus is born and alive.

TAWOBBALALLOH MINNA WA MINKUM (May your fast and mine take us closer to God), another way of greeting at Id ul Fitri.

And wishing you all joy as you return to your “real self” this season of Advent.