The end of the fast
Eid al-Fitr, the feast of fast-breaking, falls on the first of Shawwal and marks the completion of the month of Ramadan. Its arrival depends on the sighting of the new moon on the evening of the 29th or 30th, which is why communities in different countries sometimes celebrate on different days; the calendar on this site can be set to follow your own.
The day
Fasting is forbidden on Eid. The day begins with the ghusl and the payment of zakat al-fitra — a measure of food or its value for every member of the household, given to the poor before the Eid prayer so that no one is hungry on the feast. The Eid prayer is offered in the morning with its distinctive takbirs and a sermon; the Shia recite the supplication of the Sahifa for the day and, in many places, the ziyarah of Imam Husayn (a). Families visit, graves are visited, new clothes are worn and sweets are shared.
Its meaning
Hadith calls the Eid a day of reward, when the fasting believer receives the wages of the month; a well-known saying of Imam Ali (a) adds that every day on which God is not disobeyed is an Eid. It is a public holiday, often of several days, in every Muslim country.
Written for Shia Online Community. Dates and facts are checked against the references listed under Research & books; where the tradition records more than one date, all are given.
