AID. Practicing Muslims in France will celebrate Eid 2023 (Aid el-Fitr), the end of Ramadan celebration, tomorrow Friday according to the forecasts of several Islamic authorities. The date of Eid should be confirmed this Thursday evening by the Grand Mosque of Paris during the Night of Doubt.
[Updated April 19, 2023 8:16 PM] The date of Eid al-Fitr is no longer a secret. At least, for those who rely on astronomical calculations. Because for the others, it will still be necessary to wait a few hours, until the Night of Doubt organized by the Grand Mosque of Paris on Thursday April 20, at 6 p.m., to be officially fixed. And for good reason, to determine the end of the month of Ramadan, and with the date of Eid el-Fitr, there are two methods. The traditional one, used since the dawn of time, is the sighting of the moon. If the beginning of a crescent appears on Thursday evening, then it will mean that the new month is beginning and, therefore, that of Ramadan is coming to an end, the Hijri calendar being based on the cycle of the moon and not on that of the sun as our Gregorian calendar. Otherwise, it will mean that practicing Muslims will have to fast one more day. The other method consists in carrying out scholarly calculations. It has the advantage of determining the date of Eid al-Fitr well in advance. According to these calculations, the date of Eid al-Fitr will fall this year on Friday, April 21, 2023.
If it has yet to be confirmed, the possible date of Eid al-Fitr has already been advanced, especially by those who consider that science is sufficient to estimate the presence and visibility of the moon: astronomical calculations fix this date at Friday 21 April 2023, date officially retained by CFCM and CTMF.
The day of Eid-el-Fitr is not determined at random, it actually corresponds to the first day of the month of Shawwal, which follows the month of Ramadan (ninth month of the Hijri calendar).
The Muslim fast runs from sunrise to sunset for a whole month, that of Ramadan. Religious authorities thus model themselves on the lunar cycles to determine the date of the start of the fast and that of Eid-el-Fitr, which ends Ramadan and during which the faithful must pay Zakat al-Fitr , alms for the poorest. To observe the moon and confirm the transition from one month to another, a “Night of Doubt” always takes place on the 29th day of the current month: if a crescent moon (which marks the start of a new cycle) is visible, then the new month starts the day after the observation, otherwise the month extends one more day. In this case, if on the evening of the 29th day of the month of Ramadan, the moon is observed, then Eid-el-Fitr will be celebrated the next day.
If the theological commission of the Great Mosque of Paris is based on the observation of the moon in addition to astronomical calculations, the French Council of the Muslim Worship (CFCM), representative body of Islam in France whose authority is currently in question, is based solely on astronomical calculations to determine the start and end dates of Ramadan in advance. These calculations set the first day of the month of Shawwal in the Hijri year 1444 as Friday, April 21, 2023. Will the Night of Doubt in the month of Ramadan confirm this date?
Also called “Aïd el-Seghir”, Eid el-Fitr means “little party” in French (“Fitr” meaning “to eat, to have lunch” in Arabic). Feast of forgiveness and peace, it can last up to three days. Tradition has it that on this occasion, the practitioner pays zakat (alms intended for the poorest), which represents the donation of four times the content of two joined hands of food. Six additional days of fasting can be traditionally practiced after the “breaking feast” that is Eid al-Fitr: “the six days of chawwal”, named after the month following Ramadan in the “Hijri” calendar. (name of the Muslim calendar).
But beware, the celebration of Eid al-Fitr is not “just” a way to mark the end of the fasting month of Ramadan. It also symbolizes, for Muslim communities around the world, a great moment of sharing, peace and joy. Concretely, the feast of Eid el-Fitr is thus the occasion, usually, of gatherings at the mosque followed by large family meals, gifts, visits to relatives…
During the festivities, Muslims also exchange mutual wishes for “Aïd Mubarak”, “Happy Eid Day” in French. Finally, Eid al-Fitr is also called “sweet feast”. She therefore gives pride of place to desserts, once the morning prayer is over. Ftour, zlabia, gazelle horns or even chebakia, without forgetting the dates stuffed with marzipan… All these foodstuffs will be tasted for this celebration.
Before the Eid prayer, Muslims must have given Zakât al-fitr, the alms at the end of Ramadan. This can be offered in food or money for people in need. To validate the efforts made during Ramadan, each believing Muslim must pay alms to the needy, as a mark of solidarity.
The “zakat al-Fitr” allows those in need to celebrate Eid like any Muslim, without having to beg on that day. Recently, the representative bodies of the Muslim faith in France set the amount of this alms at 7 euros per person. The person responsible for the family must pay it by paying it for each member of the family for whom he is responsible, including children and babies. A family of 5 with 3 children, even young children, must therefore pay the sum of 35 euros for the end of this Ramadan, in order to “purify” the fast.
Eid al-Fitr is first and foremost a spiritually important day. It allows you to come back to learn the lessons of this month of fasting, to take stock of the good or bad deeds accomplished. Eid is particularly marked by its morning prayer (Salat el aid) which is specific. According to the specialized site Al Kanz, this Eid al-Fitr prayer theoretically takes place when the sun “rises above the horizon the length of a spear” (about three meters).
More concretely, the Eid prayer is inserted between two of the five daily prayers of practitioners, it takes place a few minutes after sunrise (Fajr) and ends shortly before noon (Dhuhr). This prayer is usually performed in a meeting or at the mosque. In practice, the mosques set the time for collective prayer themselves.
How to wish Eid al-Fitr? Which happy birthday messages to favor? The specialized site Assabile.com offers different formulas to Muslims and non-Muslims to wish each other a happy Eid al-Fitr at the end of the holy month of fasting for the faithful. Here is a selection of those messages:
