I extend my heartiest greetings to the people of Pakistan and the expatriate community living abroad on the blessed occasion of Eid-ul-Fitr. This day marks the conclusion of the holy month of Ramadan and is Allah’s conferment of blessing and happiness on the Muslims. We are to celebrate this day, bowing our heads before Allah Almighty to express our profound gratitude to our Lord for His countless blessings.

Specially on the eve of Eid-ul-Fitr, Islam enjoins us to attend to the underprivileged and, take care of the disadvantaged and share happiness and joy with the destitute sections of society. The Holy Prophet (SAW) has commanded the faithful the payment of ‘Fitr’ donation to make sure that our brethren also celebrate this occasion in a befitting manner. Sayyidna Abdullah bin Abbas (R.A) narrates in Sunan Abi Dawood that the Holy Prophet (SAW) enjoined the payment of ‘Fitr’ donation, so that whatever immoral word one might have said during the fasting may be purged. It also fosters welfare of the poor.

This is also called Eid-ul-Fitr because the donation distributed among the destitute, the poor and the downtrodden sections of society before the offering of Eid prayers is called ‘Fitr’. Socially speaking, Eid-ul-Ftir is an occasion to reach out to the less fortunate people and share their happiness and grief. This produces socially positive impact on the well-being of society.