Idd-ul Fitr Card 3

Spiritual Aspirations for Idd-ul-Fitr

Bismillahir Rahmanir Rahim
In the name of Allah, the Most Beneficent, the Most Merciful.

Ya Ali Madad! This post has two parts:

1. Festival Card;
2. Angelic Salwat Dhikr.

Part 1: Knowledge Section

Idd Mubarak. On the occasion of Idd-ul-Fitr, may Allah grant material, spiritual and intellectual happiness to Muslims all over the world, and to all those who have submitted their wills to He Who is Above All Else. Ameen.

I have just come across a book entitled "Orations of the Fatimid Caliphs: Festival Sermons of the Ismaili Imams" by Paul Walker. The book was published in 2009 by I. B. Tauris in association with The Institute of Ismaili Studies, London. The book is divided into two parts. The first part has two chapters: (1) A History of the Fatimid Khutba; and (2) Rhetoric and Themes in the Surviving Khutbas. The second part has 13 Khutbas.

Part 1: Spiritual Aspirations for Idd-ul-Fitr

The following excerpt is taken from Khutba of al-Mansur* as Wali li'l-ahd (Heir-apparent) on the Id al-fitr, 334 (6 May 946) at al-Mahdiyya, North West Africa, present day Tunisia:

"Servants of God! This day of yours is a day of festival. God honours it and makes it important; He gives preference to it and exalts it; by it He closes the month of Ramadan and opens through it the pilgrimage to His noble house. Be faithful in it to your intentions and in it submit your requests to God. Seek forgiveness for your sins. Truly He whose praise is glorious and His names are sacred, says: 'Ask your Lord to forgive you; most certainly He is most forgiving' [71:10]. Fear God, you servants of God! In fearing Him lies the success of those who seek and triumph of those who win. And that is the counsel of God to those who came before and those who come after. Persist in obeying Him. Be heedful of what God the Exalted entrusted to you as His religion and His book, and has you observe His rights and His penalties. What He causes you to desire of the bounty of His rewards and the nobility of His place of return, or He causes you to dread of His penalties and the pain of His punishment, '[for that] toil as the strivers should'[37:61].

God inspires us and you with our guidance, and makes us and you be resolved on fearing Him, following His guidance and attaining His approval."

Source: Paul Walker. 2009. Orations of the Fatimid Caliphs: Festival Sermons of the Ismaili Imams. p.96

*Noor Mowlana Al-Mansur became our 13th Holy Imam and the third Fatimid Caliph after Noor Mowlana Al-Qaim

Part 2: Example of Angelic Salwat for the Holy Prophet Muhammad (s.a.s) and His Family

The following excerpts are also taken from the same khutba:

"Praise be to God who bestows favours liberally, who crushes enemies, who deserves thanks and praise. God blesses with the most excellent of His blessings the most excellent of His prophets, Muhammad, the seal of the prophets and the lord of messengers. [Bless] his pure family. O God, bless Muhammad and the family of Muhammad; have mercy on Muhammad and the family of Muhammad. Bless Muhammad and the family of Muhammad just as the most excellent of Your blessings, Your sanction, and Your mercy, fell on Abraham and the family of Abraham, 'Truly You are worthy of praise and glory' [11.73].

O God! bless also the sun of guidance by whose radiance of Islam is made to shine, dispelling the darkness, empowering religion, completing favours for the believers, the servant of God, Abu Muhammad, the Imam, the Commander of the Believers, al-Mahdi bi-llah, son of the Rightly Guided Ones (al-Mahdiyyin), the noble son of the most noble. May God and His angels bless him; may God honour his dwelling place near to Him, in noble mansions and gardens of endless bliss.

O God, bless as well the one who holds power, the heir to glory and honour, through whom You increase Your benevolence, and bestowed Your favours profusely. You clothed him in the vestments of high nobility and crowned him with regal splendour and the caliphate. You combined in him the succession of those prophets who were sent as messengers with the inheritance of his fathers, the Imams who succeeded, the rightly guiding guides, the chosen legatees, Muhammad al-Qa'im bi-Amr Allah**, the Commander of the Believers."

Source: Paul Walker. 2009. Orations of the Fatimid Caliphs: Festival Sermons of the Ismaili Imams. pp.96-97

**Noor Mowlana Al-Qaim was our 12th Holy Imam and the second Fatimid Caliph

Part 2. Angelic Salwat
Let us recite angelic salwats to invoke Divine grace and mercy.

Bismillahir Rahmanir Rahim
In the name of Allah, the Most Beneficent, the Most Merciful

Allâhumâ salli alâ Muhammadin wa âle Muhammad:
O Allah! Bestow Peace on and through Muhammad and his Descendants

33 beads recited by Noorallah Juma

101 beads recited by Noorallah Juma

Al-hamdu lillahi rabbil 'alamin.
Praise be to Allah, the Lord of the worlds!

Haizinda — Qayampaya
(Our Present Imam is Living and His NOOR is Eternal)

Idd-ul Fitr Cards