Eid Mubarak

The Islamic month of Shawal or known as Eid Mubarak or ‘Hari Raya’ is a celebration for Muslims after fasting for one whole month during Ramadan. The sparkling show of fireworks and the deafening sound of fire crackers can be annoying at times but mostly it was fun, Eid Mubarak feels lively and without the sound of the fire works and fire crackers it would be the other way around.

The main purpose of Eid Mubarak is to celebrate the victory among Muslims who were able to face the challenge of fasting for one month, despite other things like avoiding to commit sinful acts. Muslims especially among Malays take Eid Mubarak as a chance to forgive and have forgiveness from family and friends. In Brunei Eid Mubarak will not be complete without varieties of Malay cuisine such as lemang, rendang, ketupat and many other flavorsome foods.

I managed to take some pictures from one of the event that happened in my village. The people in my village organize a ‘Takbir Raya’ activity. Takbir means praising Allah by saying Allah-hu-akbar Allah-hu-akbar Allah-hu-akbar. The activity which started from the Head of village to other houses who invites to recite the ‘Takbir’ in their house, but with one condition, the house representative must join all the ‘Takbir Raya’ activity till the end and the activity could take at least three hours depending on how many houses that are going to be visited.

But before enjoying the foods and drinks, first of all we must recite the Takbir, some of the youth in my village will lead the Takbir to praise Allah, and then all the villagers will follow it. The activity was fun, and I enjoy it, with different kind of food and drinks are served, seeing friends and relatives, with happy faces and not forgetting the crackling sound of fire crackers. I joined the Takbir Raya and it ended minutes before midnight and ended at my neighbor house. It was tiring but fun.