Day 31 – Reflections on Eid ul Fitr

Most of us spend Eid worried about appearances—clothes, social standing, or social media posts. But what if Eid is really an invitation to look inward? Imam Safraz Bacchus challenges you to see Eid as a reflection of your spiritual transformation, not just a celebration of the conclusion of Ramadan.

This episode is a powerful reminder that true Eid isn’t about new outfits or social status; it’s about inner peace and genuine self-improvement. Imam Safraz shares profound insights on how Ramadan’s true gift is awareness—an awakening that calls you to change from within. He reveals that peace isn’t perfection but surrender—an acceptance that whatever life throws your way is under divine control.

Transcript

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Assalamu alaikum warahmatullahi uberkatu. May the peace and blessings of Allah be with all of you. Eid Mubarak Eid Sarid to all of you, and welcome to another episode of our Ramadan podcast. We are celebrating Eid today. And I'll commence in sharing with all of you the tekbirat. And these are words of glorification of the divine that we constantly utter the name of God as we celebrate and as we rejoice. Allahu Akbar, Allahu Akbar, Allahu Akbar. God is the greatest, God is the greatest, God is the greatest. There is no deity deserved to be worshiped but God. God is the greatest, God is the greatest. And to him belongs all praise. Brothers and sisters, today is Eid. It's Eid al-Fitter, is a day of festivity where Muslims rejoice. We rejoice because we will be reaping the fruits of our good deeds and our sacrifices. It's a day of gratitude, a day of celebration. But I want you to understand something deeply. Not a battle with people. We fought a battle, but not a battle with the world. We fought a battle. And that battle was with yourself. You fought your nafs. You fought your desire. You fought your bad habits. You had evil inclinations and you fought them. And for moments in Ramadan, you won. You became softer. You became very calm. So you have a calmer self. You became more connected. You became closer to Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. So now I ask you, who are you after Ramadan? Look at yourself, panda, reflect, and ask yourself, who are you after Ramadan? Are you the same person you were before? Or something inside of you, right? Shifted. Because God Almighty He says in Al-Quran, Kad Aflaham and Zekkaha wa cad hobim and dasah. Successful is the one who purifies the soul. And lost is the one who buries it. You know, when we think of Eid, people often think it's about our clothing, our appearance. So we spend so much resources behind clothing. We want to look nice, we want to look different, we don't want our outfits to match others, we don't want to look like others. So we want to stand out. It's about ourselves, the the focus on me right now, right? So it's important for you to note that it's not about your clothing and your appearance. And that new heart, the first thing that we should focus on is inner peace. Because only when we find that inner peace, we will understand true transformation. And despite what life throws at you, whatever circumstances you may have, if you do not have that inner peace, your war, your world is gonna uh collapse. Things are not gonna go right for you. So before we talk about peace in the world, we must speak about peace with a deeper understanding, peace with ourselves. Because there are people here today that are living in our midst, smiling on the outside, from the outside, they are smiling. It seems as everything is okay, but struggling on the inside. There are people living in our world that whatever you're seeing outwardly is not what is actually inwardly. They're struggling from the inside. Their hearts are here today, they're tired, they're heavy, they're overwhelmed. Some of you and some of us, we are carrying pain no one knows about. Notice that Allah did not say, O perfect soul. He said, O peaceful soul, peace is not perfection, peace is surrender, peace is not trusting. Peace is knowing. Even when life is not in your control, understand that when everything seems as if it is collapsing and life has gone far away from your grasp, your comprehension. And if you want to find inner peace, you say to yourself, God is in control, Allah is in control. Let's take a pause here and invite you into a moment of reflection. Ask yourself honestly. What disturbed my peace before Ramadan? What gave me peace during Ramadan? Who did I became when I was closest to Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala? But there is something powerful we say in coaching, right? I have done training as a life coach, and I am a certified life coach, and we have learned this that awareness is the beginning of transformation. Ramadan, give me awareness. And it is asking you for a decision. And what is that decision? Will you go back or will you go forward? Because Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala says, In Nallahala you gay rumabi kaumin. That Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala will not change the condition of a people until they change what is in themselves. You want change, you want change in the society in which you live in, you want your community to be changed, then change yourself. Brothers and sisters and friends, you know, listeners, Ramadan was not just about fasting from food, it was about about fasting from anger, it was fasting from ego, from negativity. And let me tell you something, something quite important that the hardest person that you will ever have to manage in your life is not your spouse. The hardest person you will have to manage in your life is not your children, is not your boss, it is yourself. It is not your boss, it is yourself, and that is why the Prophet Muhammad said the strongest person is not the one who can empower others, but the one who controls himself when angry. That is peace, that is strength, that is victory, peace with others, we should understand that as well. Because it is a day of happiness, it's also a day of healing, their relationships that are broken, their families that are divided, their people we have not spoken to in years, and today Allah is giving you an opportunity to fix it, so fix it. Prophet Muhammad said, Should I not tell you what is better than prayer, fasting and charity? He's asking. Should I not tell you that there is something better than fasting, prayer, and charity? And they said, Yes, Ya Rasulullah. I said, reconciling with people. Let me say something that may make you know you think, and something that may be difficult for you to hear as well. You don't need closure. You need to be free because holding on to anger, it is like carrying weight and expecting someone else to feel it. It's too much to ask. Let it go, not because they deserve it, but because you deserve peace. I want to also say that we live in a world that is hurting. There are people today waking up to bomb, their families today breaking on the oppression, their children today crying without safety, and sometimes we feel helpless, you know. What do we do? But understand, understand this. I often think, you know, I ponder, and I know that peace in the world does not begin with politics, peace in the world begins in the heart. And God Almighty He says, Umar Rasulna Ka illa rahmatalilla Alameen. And we have not sent you, O Muhammad, except as a mercy to all the worlds, not just Muslims, all the world. So ask yourself that question. Right? Ask yourself that question. Are you a source of peace or a source of tension? Do people see feel safe around me? Or my words causes people to run away from me? Do your words heal or hurt? That's something that you need to ask yourself. Remember that your inner self is where peace begins. Another important thing to mention is about consistency, and we had an entire episode about consistency. So remember that. And I want to close with this very beautiful story. Right? That there was a young man, and he hadn't spoken to his father for over ten years, ten years of silence, ten years of pride, ten years of pain, and every Eid will come, and he will say, Not this year, next year. Until one Ramadan, he was sitting alone in Tarawi, and something inside of him broke. He realized at that particular point that these years he was waiting for his father to change, but he never asked himself, why can't I change? And that night he made a very important decision in his life. Not because his father deserved it, but because he wanted peace. So on the morning of Eid, with a heavy heart, a trembling hand, he picked up the phone, he dialed the number. And as he dialed the number, a number that he hasn't dialed for decades. It rang once, it rang twice. And it rang again for the tr for the third time. And then a voice answered his father. There was a silence at that particular point, right? And then the young man said, Dad eid mubarak. And the other side his father began to cry. Not speak. Began to cry, quite emotional. And he said, I've been waiting for this call for ten years. Ten years I've been waiting for this call. Brothers and sisters, you know, sometimes the peace you're waiting for is waiting for you to make the next step. Don't wait for ten years. Make that decision now because it may be late. We ask Allah to forgive us, guide us, and protect us. We ask Him for our guidance and our protection. We ask Him for our strength to continuously observe these acts of devotion. Whatever lesson we learned in Ramadan, let's take it with us and carry it with us and live by them. Peace and love. Kindly follow me on YouTube, Safraz Bacchus Life Institute, on Spotify, and also on Apple Podcasts. This is Imam Safraz Bakr, spiritual leader of Majal Abideen, and also a peace ambassador and a healthcare chaplain. Take care and enjoy your eid. Assalamu alaikum.