Indeed all praise and thanks are due to Allah, we praise him, we seek his assistance, we seek his forgiveness, we seek his guidance.

The first day of Shawwal, and the 10th, 11th and 12th of Dhul-Hijjah are the days of Eid for the Muslims. They are the days of celebration, festivities, gathering and love.

These two Eids have been legislated for us by the Creator, and He (swt) has allowed us to enjoy ourselves during these days. So it is common to find the Muslims meeting their families, eating together from their slaughtered meat, giving gifts to each other and rejoicing in the blessings their Lord has bestowed upon them.

What is important for us to highlight, is that living in the West, we are accustomed to indirectly celebrating the festivals and holidays of the Westerners. This is because we live in their countries, listen and watch their media, so we are desensitised to their holidays and festivals, and we make our holidays small and insignificant. It is common to find Muslim children still in school on the days of Eid, and their parents working 9-5 on the days of Eid.

We have to remind ourselves and our children that our holidays are legislated by our Lord, so it is more befitting to take days off and celebrate it in the loudest way. These days should be taken as gifts from our Lord, so we must rejoice, celebrate and show love towards Allah (swt) for allowing us to have these days of Eid.

What is also important for us to note as Muslims, is that the West does not congratulate the Muslims on their day of Eid. you do not find a non-Muslim giving us Eid cards, or greeting us with Eid greetings, yet it is expected for us to say ‘Merry Christmas’ and ‘Happy Easter’. They want us to integrate and become like them, while they do not want to be like us.

It is also a day where Muslims should wear their traditional and best clothing. We wear shirts and trousers all year round for our jobs, so we should change it up and wear the best clothes on Eid, especially clothes that highlight our different cultures, because that is one of the strengths of this Ummah, that she is united despite differences in languages and colours.