The season of Eid is here, when families and friends gather to share the joy and happiness of the season. Eid entails more than eating and drinking, and it is also a wonderful avenue to experience long lasting joy and family.
The joy of Eid is felt through the slaughtering of permissible animals, hangouts, and family/community events, among others.
Apart from the popular Ojude-Oba in Ijebu-Ode, Ogun State which holds on Tuesday, the 3rd day of Eid this year, sons and daughters of Aran-Orin, Irepodun Local Government in Kwara State will also converge at the village open field on Monday for the annual get-together tagged Baba Ewe, where the elders relate important historical milestones of the town and share jovial moments with the younger ones.
The entertaining and educative event will also feature games, Qur’an and quiz competitions, among other interesting activities.
Similarly, on the fifth day after Eid, the people of Ikirun in the State of Osun will extend their celebrations with the Molepe (meaning Muslims Get-Together), just as the colourful Durbar events will dot the entire Northern Nigerian landscape with series of entertaining activities, including the horseback parade of the Emirs and their entourages.
In Ilorin, Kwara State for instance, no fewer than 700 horses will be deployed for the 2019 Durbar, slated for Monday, the second day of Eid-ul-Adha, which will be headlined by the Emir of Ilorin, Alhaji Ibrahim Sulu-Gambari.
The Ilorin Eid-ul-Adha Durbar is the most anticipated and colourful event of the year, which re-unites all Ilorin indigenes home and abroad every year, and the Chairman of the Ilorin Emirate Durbar Committee, Alhaji Suleiman Alapansanpa has promised that his committee will serve local delicacies of Ilorin such as kangu, kulikuli, robo, masa, kunu and zobo drinks, while a lot of Ilorin indigenes will put on the Aso Ebi customised Durbar cloth.
For many residents and indigenes of Lagos State, notable fun spots will be made available for Muslim faithful to celebrate.
Muslim families can also use the occasion of the Eid celebration to visit beautiful tourist attractions in the Centre of Excellence, such as the first storey building in Nigeria located in Badagry, the National Museum, the National Arts Theatre, the Lekki Conservation Centre and the Bar Beach, where they can settle down to nice picnics with their families.
Don’t commit evil during Eid
No doubt, the Eid is a time to reflect and have a lot of fun with family and friends; yet we must shun “fawaish”, which means all sorts of excesses and shameful acts.
Allah (SWT) warns: “And do not approach immoralities – what is apparent of them and what is concealed.” (Qur’an 6: 151)
We must also avoid visiting or organising unlawful Eid fiestas, where intermingling of Muslim males and females is practised or encouraged.
Muslims who have stocked beers and different alcoholic brands – all in the name of celebrating the Eid with their non-Muslim friends – should fear Allah. There is nothing wrong in you celebrating with your friends who are not hostile to you and your religion.
However, what is wrong is to celebrate with prohibited and sinful materials like alcohol. Allah describes it as “an infamy of Satan’s handiwork” and strongly warns the Believers to shun it (Qur’an 5: 59).
