Eid-ul-Fitr in West Bengal

Eid-ul-Fitr

Eid-ul-Fitr, Eid al-Fitr, Id-ul-Fitr, or Id al-Fitr,  often abbreviated toEid, is a Muslim holiday that marks the end of Ramadan, the, popularly known as the "Festival of the Breaking of the Fast", is celebrated as soon as the new moon is sighted at the end of the month of fasting i.e. Ramadan.  Eid is an Arabic word meaning "festivity," while Fiṭr means "breaking the fast". The holiday celebrates the conclusion of the 29 or 30 days of dawn-to-su Islamic holy month of fastingnset fasting during the entiremonth of Ramadan. The first day of Eid, therefore, falls on the first day of the month Shawwal . Special food and delicacies are prepared for the day and are presented to neighbors and friends. The Muslims of West Bengal celebrate Id-ul-Fitr with great enthusiasm. Eid-ul-Fitr has a particular salah (Islamic prayer) consisting of two raka'ah (units) and generally offered in an open field or large hall. It may only be performed in congregation (Jama’at) and has an additional extra six Takbirs (raising of the hands to the ears while saying Allah-u-Akbar [God is Great]), three of them in the beginning of the first raka'ah and three of them just beforeruku' in the second raka'ah in the Hanafi school. This Eid ul-Fitr salah is, depending on which juristic opinion is followed, Fard (obligatory), Mustahabb (strongly recommended, just short of obligatory) or mandoob (preferable).