Salaam Alaikum,

On this auspicious occasion of Eid-ul Fitr, I wish to convey my heartiest felicitations to each and every member of our entire community.

How true have we been to our spiritual goal …

As so beautifully defined by Shahid Ustaad Mutahhari

We all welcomed the holy month of Ramadan with great expectations. The Blessed Prophet (SAWW) informed us that during the holy month of Ramadhan, We were the guests of Allah, and the doors of mercy and forgiveness had been opened. 

As we made our niyyah for the first fast, we also set ourselves spiritual goals by emphasizing our intention with ‘Qurbatan Ilallah - seek nearness of Allah as the spiritual objective. 

Now that we eagerly await the Crescent of Shawwal, each of us needs to ask as to how true have we been to that spiritual goal and how we have scaled the heights of spirituality and Taqwa.  Indeed it is that very message, reminding us of taqwa recommended for Imam -e -Juma to recite during the Juma Khutba which  signifies the importance of the khutba as much as the person  who delivers the Khutba.

It has been the good fortune of this Community to have been blessed with those Ulama and Muballigheen who have endeavored to remind us of our duties and helped the Community, over five generations, to acquire Taqwa and remain steadfast on the path as taught to us by the Ahlul Bait (AS).  

Our history clearly shows that Muballighs and scholars who were most effective in doing so, were those from within the Community, who understood our communities challenges and addressed them appropriate to the time and era.

In stark contrast, communities which have not had the benefit of Muballigheen can be seen as evidence of having lost Taqwa over time. An example is that of the notorious Hosay Festival, which demonstrates to us how it is to ensure that we continue to hold steadfast the teachings of our Ahlul Bayt.

Some of you may be aware of a community of Shia Ithna-asheris from Bihar, who left the sub continent around the same time as our forefathers traveled from the Indian shores to Eastern Africa.  This community, settled in the Caribbean, has fared quite differently from the Khoja Shia Ithna Asheri Community. Famed for their ‘Hosay Festival’, they lost it all - language, culture, and faith in two generations. All that remained were the signs of the Ashura Julus, now celebrated as the   ‘Hosay Festival’ – regrettably a procession of merrymaking, music and drink in true West Indian fashion.

This example should serve as an eye opener for us, to ensure that, God forbid, this never happens to our Community, wherever they may live. Our leaders must look into ways to ensure that our youths do not loiter around during Majalises.  

Our assurance and indeed insurance, lies in the following command of Allah”

“So it should be that a party from each group go forth in order to gain knowledge in religion, and upon returning educate their people to guard themselves” - Surah at-Tawba, 9:122

It is therefore imperative that we as a Community engage in facilitating our young men and women, to pursue the study of Islam as a discipline, with deep grounding and roots in the pristine teachings of  the Ahlul Bait (AS) and at the same time be able to discuss and address  the different challenges of the twenty-first century in as many  global contexts. 

Our aim must be to produce scholars with the skills and knowledge to be effective within a changing world.Recognizing the dire need to have Muballigheen who are well versed and rounded in Islamic disciplines as well as aware of the challenges of the lands where they will be serving the Community, We have moved quite far ahead, through the World Federation, in establishing The Islamic Institute for Postgraduate Studies in the proximity of the shrine of Seyyida Zaynab (sa) now running in Damascus, This Institution, an independent institute, is an exciting development in teaching, and research in the study of Islam. It offers a postgraduate Master’s programme in Islamic Studies, combining standard Hawza training subjects with modern academic modules, validated by a renowned university in England.

As we celebrate this milestone development, I wish to encourage the young men and women of the Community to consider joining this program and urge leaders, elders and especially our Muballigheen, to encourage our young men and women to consider this course as a viable and a noble career choice, which Inshallah, has its rewards both here and in the hereafter.

Our salvation lies in ensuring that we create an enabling environment for our future generation to retain the Taqwa which hitherto has kept our faith alive and vibrant.

Finally as we go through this day of Eid, with happiness and joy having offered our deepest gratitude and thanks to Allah by paying fitra and offering Salatul Eid let us remember the plight of millions of less fortunate people celebrating their Eid too. 

As we sit down to that sumptuous Eid feast let us spare  a moment to feel the agony of the mother struggling to buy a half decent meal to give to her children on this day of Eid.

Let us all pledge to engage with our Jamaats and Federations in unison strive to do what we can to alleviate the plight of humanity with the resources we have been blessed with.

I end this Eid Message with the inspired words of Imam Ali Zainul Abedeen (A.S.) -  Sahifa Al-Sajjadiyya

"O Allah ! Bless us in the day of our Eid and our fast breaking and let it be the best day that has passed over us" 

In closing I ask you to remember all the marhumeen, and especially those who were with us last Eid, and are no longer with us with a Sura-e Fateha.

Wasalaam.

1^st Shawwal 1428AH