Muslims the world over are currently in their festive mood, particularly in Malaysia where they celebrate ‘Idul Fitri for roughly a month.
In appreciating the significance of ‘Idul Fitri, we often come across its explanation as “returning to the fiTrah,” with the “T” therein representing a special Arabic alphabet which is pronounced with a stronger, more emphatic “t” sound.
If one is to delve into that explanation based on the Arabic language, one will realise that there is actually a cluster of meanings, all of which are centred on the three-letter root f–T–r.
For instance, the act of breaking fast itself, which is called ifTar, is clearly tied to that triliteral term.
The term, as enacted in the understanding and performance of a Muslim, may denote either the end of a day and simultaneously the beginning of the following night throughout the month of Ramadan when fasting becomes obligatory upon Muslims, or the end of that month, hence marking the commencement of the subsequent month, Shawwal.
In a Muslim’s religious experience, ifTar relates to two joyous occasions for a fasting Muslim, as clearly stated in a saying of the Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him.
Ultimately, the entire semantic field of f–T–r revolves around a pivot, that is Allah, among whose Majestic Names and Attributes is al-FaTir, generally meaning “the Creator.”
On that note, it is indeed significant that we take cognisance of another Majestic Name and Attribute of His, al-Samad, which in Arabic already encapsulates an essential of fasting, i.e. “one who is absolutely in no need of nourishment,” in utter contrast to His creation.
This latter Name also signifies the Absolutely Eternal in whom ultimate dominion culminates, on whom one is solely dependent, and to whom only one turns in every need.
It is equally significant to bear in mind that this exalted Name of His appears only once in the Qur’an, that is, in its 112th chapter, al-Ikhlas, whose four condensed verses, true to the Arabic name of that chapter, emphasise His Absolute Exclusivity and hence Singularity.
It is particularly noteworthy that in the Qur’an, the connotations of these two Divine Names and Attributes are mentioned concurrently in verse 14 of the sixth chapter, al-An‘am: “Am I to take for my master (wali) anyone but God, the FaTir (Creator) of the heavens and the earth, when it is He who gives nourishment and Himself needs none?”
Most importantly, the ifTar enables one who has really fasted to return to the inner realisation that Allah is the FaTir, manifested at the beginning of Shawwal in the recitation of the melodious takbir, which consists in one’s declaration of Allah’s Glory and Majesty.
In other words, this act of him returning involves his reaffirmation of Allah’s Lordship, which relates to his prior acknowledgment of His Lordship during the spiritual state of existence referred to by Muslim scholars as “the Day of Alastu,” the one stipulated in verse 172 of al-A‘raf, the seventh chapter of the Qur’an.
That primordial state is actually his fiTrah, his true nature.
Should one pay attention to the recital of takbir, one would then realise that it is indeed a joyous pronouncement, so characteristic of the first day of Shawwal, the “breakfast” after a month-long self-restraint.
At the same time, yet in an inner and more intense sense, the takbir is a Muslim’s exuberant enunciation of the Glory and Majesty of the FaTir, as expressly encapsulated in the aforesaid chapter of al-Ikhlas.
This is perhaps one of the imports of the Prophetic declaration that a Muslim who truly fasts shall rejoice in “meeting his Lord,” a joy which is not only reserved for him or her in the Hereafter, being indeed the ultimate happiness, but also experienced by him in this worldly life, although with lesser intensity, when he succeeds in returning to that inner state of testifying to the Lordship of the FaTir.
