The narrations indicate that the Prophet, may God bless him and grant him peace, had something like a procession on the day of Eid, and he was holding a spear while leading this blessed procession.
Al-Qadi al-Tanukhi (d. 384 AH / 995 AD) - in 'Nashwar al-Mahazar' - narrated that one of the "beauties of Islam on the feast of Tarsus", which is located in southern Turkey today, and was a great opening to confront the Byzantines until they seized it in 354 AH / 966 AD, was the feast - although it An occasion of joy and pleasure - an opportunity to display the military power of the Mujahideen stationed there!!
The reader of this article will not miss this remarkable feature that links the feast with the parade of military parades and the joyful and arrogant crowds that have not stopped in the cities of the Islamic world for centuries.
Muslims knew the holidays, and they had seasons of joy, fun and social encounter, as well as worship, sacrifices, and rituals, strength and fatwas, and a display of the political and urban gains achieved by the state and society.
The feasts were a boost of joy and overwhelming joy in the cities of the Islamic world, even as if Muslims on their feast days are only occupied with fruit and a happy life.
The pioneer of Muslims in this joyful behavior was the Prophet, may God bless him and grant him peace, who guided his nation to the ways of noble joy, and he was keen that he and those around him would be the most joyful people in the holidays, and the truth is that the source of this is the balance between spirit and matter, fun and novelty that built the structure of urbanization and society Islamic;
In this regard, download this article, observing the features of the joy of holidays in the history of Muslims!
Prophetic joy
since the dawn of Islam; The joy of the feast preceded it before it came, so the night of the crescent sighting was the night of Anas and Habbur. The feast of the Prophet, may God’s prayers and peace be upon him, and his companions was modest and simple, but he took from the delights a lot of luck so that it would be a day of complete beauty in everything by order of the Prophet, may God’s prayers and peace be upon him; Al-Hakim (d. 405 AH / 1015 AD) - in 'Al-Mustadrak' - reported that Al-Hasan bin Ali (d. 49 AH / 670 AD) said: "The Messenger of God, may God bless him and grant him peace, commanded us on the two Eids to wear the best of what we find, and to wear perfume with the best of what we find, and that We sacrifice what we find!
And the Prophet, may God’s prayers and peace be upon him, used to “go on the day of Eid to the prayer-place by the greatest route, and when he returns, he will return by the other route.”
As al-Shafi’i (d. 204 AH/820 AD) narrated in his book ‘The Mother’.
On the day of Eid, he had something like a procession.
Al-Bukhari (d. 256 AH / 870 AD) - in his Sahih - narrated that he, peace and blessings of God be upon him, used to “when he came out on the day of Eid, he ordered the spear to be placed in front of him, and he prayed to it..., and then the princes took it.”
More than one of the historians mentioned this spear;
Al-Waqidi (d. 207 AH / 823 AD) - as was reported by Samhoudi (d. 911 AH / 1505 AD) in 'Wafa al-Wafa' - that "it belonged to Al-Zubayr bin Al-Awwam (d. 36 AH / 657 AD) - the Negus gave it to him (d. 9 AH / 631 AD) - so he gave it to the Prophet He, may God bless him and grant him peace, used to go out with it on the day of Eid.
Carrying it in the hands of the Prophet and his successors after him was an honor that was preserved and inherited by the Caliphs and Kings.
Ibn Katheer (d. 774 AH / 1372 AD) - in 'The Beginning and the End' - stated that Saad al-Qurazi (d. 39 AH / 660 AD) "was the muezzin of the Quba Mosque in the time of the Messenger of God, peace and blessings be upon him, and when Omar (d. 23 AH / 645 CE) became the caliph. And he appointed the call to prayer of the Prophet’s Mosque, and his origin was a follower of Ammar bin Yasir (d. 37 AH / 658 AD), and he was the one who carried the goat (= the spear) in the hands of Abu Bakr (d. 13 AH / 634 AD) and Omar and Ali (d. 40 AH / 661 AD) to the chapel on the day of Eid, The call to prayer remained in his offspring for a long time.
The continuation of the previous report of Al-Waqidi mentioned the continuation of this spear among the princes during the first century of the Abbasid state;
He said: "And it is (= the Prophet's spear) today in Medina with the muezzins, meaning they go out with it before the imams (= princes) of his time";
Any time Al-Waqidi.
The joy of Eid was general in the time of the Prophet, may God’s prayers and peace be upon him, as the two Sahihs and others narrated on the authority of Umm Attia al-Ansari (d. about 70 AH / 690 AD) that “the Messenger of God, may God bless him and grant him peace, used to bring out virgins and maidens (= girls) and women with puberty and menstruating women on the two Eids. menstruating women, they should withdraw from the prayer space and witness the call of the Muslims.” (This is the wording of al-Tirmidhi in 279 AH/892 AD). And the Eid prayer preceded his sermon until the Umayyads came and the people began to abandon their political sermons after the end of the prayer, and they wanted to get them to stay to hear it. He was “the first person to start the sermon on the day of Eid - before the prayer - Marwan (Ben Al-Hakam 65 AH / 685 AD)”; As in Sahih Muslim'.
The Eid in the Prophet’s time was not free of amusement and games.
Al-Bukhari narrated on the authority of Aisha (d. 58 AH / 678 AD) that she said: “Abu Bakr entered and I had two maidservants from among the companions of the Ansar singing what the Ansar said on the day of Ba’ath (= the last battle between the Aws and Khazraj 617 CE), she said: They are not two singers; Abu Bakr said: The Psalms of Satan In the house of the Messenger of God, may God’s prayers and peace be upon him?! And that was on the day of Eid, so the Messenger of God, may God’s prayers and peace be upon him, said: “O Abu Bakr, every nation has a festival, and this is our festival!”
Al-Bukhari added in another narration: “She said: On the day of Eid, Sudan was playing with shields (= leather gears) and spears, so either I asked the Messenger of God, may God’s prayers and peace be upon him, or he said: “Do you desire to look?” She said: Yes, so he set me up behind him, my cheek on his cheek. .
An updated ceremony
Nothing was reported from the Prophet, may God bless him and grant him peace, in the wording of congratulations on Eid, but it was transmitted from the Companions and followers; Perhaps the most famous of it is what came in the “Chapter of Supplications on the Two Eids” from the book “Supplications” by Al-Tabarani (d. 360 AH / 971 AD): “On the authority of Rashid bin Saad (Al-Maqra’i d. 113 AH / 732 AD) that [the two companions] Abu Umamah Al-Bahili (d. 86 AH / 705 AD) and Wathila Ibn al-Asqa (d. 85 AH / 704 AD) .. They met him on the day of Eid and said: “May God accept from us and from you”!
With the development of Islamic state ceremonies; The Eid prayer - and the sultans were its imams - and his sermon became greater and greater arrangements, until Al-Qadi Al-Tanukhi (d. 384 AH / 995 AD) narrated - in 'Nashwar al-Mahazar' - that "It was said: Among the beauties of Islam: Friday in Baghdad, Tarawih prayer in Mecca, and the day of Eid Peter! This al-Maqrizi (d. 845 AH / 1441 AD) describes to us - in 'The Hanafa's Teachings' - the preparations for the Eid prayer during the time of the Fatimid Caliph al-Aziz (d. 386 AH / 997 AD); He says: "And built terraces (= plural mastaba: a slightly elevated place) between the palace and the prayer hall... on which the muezzins and jurists would be on them, until the takbeer reached from the chapel to the palace..., and the Aziz rode, prayed and delivered sermons."
Prayers were held in open and specific places, and some of them were given names not far from the names of the public squares in our cities today; In 'The Paths and Kingdoms' of Al-Istakhri (d. 346 AH / 957 AD) that "the chapel of the Messenger of God in which he used to pray the feasts [is located] in the west of the city," and in Baghdad al-Tanoukhi tells us - in 'Nishwar al-Muhazar' - that "the Eid chapel is on the eastern side of the city." Peace.” In Egypt, Al-Maqrizi says - in “Plan and Athar” - that “the Khawlan chapel.. [was] the scene of the feasts and leads people and preaches to them.. On the day of Eid, the preacher of the Amr ibn al-Aas mosque (d. 43 AH / 664 AD)” and in Damascus They used to pray in a square called the Green Square, mentioned by Ibn Taghri Bardi (d. 874 AH / 1470 AD) - in the 'Brilliant Stars' - when he described the Eid prayer and said: "And they showed the pulpit to the Green Square."
And the Eid prayers may be multiple in one city with the multiplicity of jurisprudential schools in it, as was the case in the city of Saqsin in the country of the Khazars - which is the area between the Caspian Sea and the Black Sea - about which Al-Qazwini (d. 632 AH / 1235 AD) - in 'Athar al-Bilad' - says that "its people are Muslims, most of them follow the madhhab of Imam Abu Hanifa (d. 150 AH / 767 AD), and some of them follow the madhhab of Imam al-Shafi`i, and there are mosques for every people who pray in it, and on the day of Eid pulpits come out, for every people a pulpit on which they sermon and pray with their imam.”
One of the funny situations associated with the Eid prayers is what happened in one of them in the Far Maghreb during the days of Sultan Abi Al-Abbas Al-Wattisi (d. about 960 AH / 1552 AD); Al-Nasiri al-Salawi (d. 1315 AH / 1898 AD) mentioned - in 'The Investigation of the News of the Far Maghreb Countries' - that "the people went out on the day of Eid to pray, so they waited for the Sultan, but he slowed them down and did not come until [when] the time for prayer came, and then the Sultan accepted .. in his pomp and when he finished Sheikh Abu Malik (= Abd al-Wahed bin Ahmad al-Wonsharisi, d. 955 AH / 1548 AD) looked at the prayer hall and saw that it was too late, so split the pulpit and said: Muslims, may God reward you for the Eid prayer, because it is back at noon! Then he ordered the muezzin, who gave the call to prayer and established the prayer, so Sheikh Abu came forward Malik prayed [with] the people the back, so Sultan Abu al-Abbas was ashamed and confessed his sin!!
One of the old celebrations - and which continues until now - was the covering of the Kaaba on Eid al-Adha in particular; Al-Fassi (d. 832 AH / 1429 AD) said - in 'Shifa al-Gharam' - that "the Kaaba is covered - in our time - on the Day of Sacrifice every year, except that the covering on this day is lowered from its top, and it is not stretched until it reaches its end - on the The custom - only a few days after the day of Sacrifice. It seems that this custom was a little different from what had been practiced centuries before; Al-Fassi said, commenting: “And Ibn Jubayr mentioned [in his journey] what necessitates that the Kaaba is not covered on the Day of Sacrifice, but rather on the second Day of An-Nafr (= the third day of Tashreeq).”
The remembrance of sorrows on Eid seems ancient in our history. The custom of visiting cemeteries on holidays is deeply rooted, despite the absence of a legal basis for it. Perhaps this angered the authority at some times, as it saw it as an unwanted distraction from the joy of Eid; Al-Maqrizi tells us - in 'Plan and Athar' - that in the year 402 AH / 1012 AD the Fatimids issued an official decision "preventing women from visiting the graves, as not a single woman was seen on holidays in the cemeteries." Then the matter was repeated in the days of the Mamluks, as Al-Maqrizi says - in 'Al-Suluk' - that on the 29th of Ramadan 792 AH / 1390 AD, "a call was made in Cairo to prevent women from going out on the day of Eid to the soil (= graves)"!
Great beautification.
Perhaps the most important preparations for the feast is the people’s care for their adornment, the cleanliness of their bodies, and the renewal of their clothes, which is a prophetic matter - as previously mentioned - the jurists were so keen on emphasizing it that they preferred it to the washing of the Friday prayer even though its prayer is an obligation and Eid is a Sunnah; Because “the washing of Eid is enjoined to take the adornment, so those who attended the feast and those who did not attend are equal in it, as is the dress, and the Friday washing is commanded to cut off the smell - so that it does not harm those around him [in the mosque] - and if he does not attend, its meaning ceases.” According to Imam al-Mawardi (d. 450 AH/1058 AD) in 'Al-Hawi al-Kabir'. And also because Sharia “demands... [on Eid he wears] the most valuable and best-looking clothes, and the adornment in it is not restricted to the one who wants to attend [for the Eid prayer]”! As al-Ramli al-Shafi’i (d. 1004 AH / 1596 AD) says in Nihayat al-Muhtaaj.
Notable people and common people were keen to beautify themselves during the holidays, to the extent that men used to decorate themselves with henna and black! It is beautiful what happened from that what Ibn Adhari al-Marrakchi (d. after 712 AH / 1312 AD) - in 'Al Bayan al-Maghrib' within the story of the conquest of the Andalusian city of Merida 94 AH / 713 AD - that the leader of the conquest Musa bin Nasir (d. 97 AH / 716 AD) was at that time A young man, the Romans came to him once and found him with a white head and beard, then they came to him and he had dyed him with henna, then they came to him a third time “and that is the day of Eid al-Fitr. The old man! Their king has returned as a juvenile (= young man) after he was an old man! They said: Go to him and give him what he asked you! So they reached him and reconciled him." Moses used to adorn himself for the feast, not knowing what was going on in the hearts of his enemies because of that strange coincidence!!
It seems that it was the custom of some societies in the Islamic West for the groom to dye his hands with henna on the feast, as stated in a jurisprudential clarification recorded by the scholar Mayyara al-Fassi (d. 1072 AH / 1662 AD) in 'Al-Itqan wal-Ahkam', in which he stated that "the husband did the custom of his family from He kissed his hands, and the feast came, so he sent the wife a ram [as a gift], and he was determined to build and for the wedding, so I cut him (= kidnapped him) and died!!”
And the men - Muslims and others - decorated them each on his feast, and one of the funniest details of men’s clothes was what was reported by al-Khatib al-Baghdadi (d. 463 AH / 1071 AD) - in “The History of Baghdad” - about a man named Abu Qaboos - and he was a Christian - who told the story of his clothing on The hand of Jaafar bin Yahya al-Baramaki (d. 187 AH 803 AD); He said: "I went to Jaafar.. on a cold day, and I got cold. He said: Boy, put on him a garment of Christian clothing, so he put on me a piece of silk (= a kind of silk) worth a thousand! He said: So I went to my house, so I wanted to wear it on the day of Eid, so I did not I will give him a garment that matches him in my house, and she said to me with my intention: Write to the one who gave it to you so that he may send you the clothes that match it…”; So he wrote to him a poetic piece in which he endowed him with four additional garments, which he named by their names, including his saying:
Aba Al-Fadl, if you could see us on the day of our feast ** you saw our pride in the churches,
then I must have a robe from your cloak ** and a talusan from the horses of the dress
If the dresses on Eid are completed five ** your sufficiency, you do not need to wear a sixth!
As for the women, they also took care of dyeing the clothes, and this meant the virtuous people, their scholars, and their elders, and they did not see any embarrassment in it.
Ibn Asaker (d. 571 AH / 1175 AD) - in the History of Damascus - narrated on the authority of Hafsa bint Sirin (d. 101 AH / 720 AD) - who is the sister of the great Imam Muhammad bin Sirin (d. 110 AH / 729 AD) - that she said: “She was the mother of Muhammad [ Ibn Sirin] is a Hijazi woman, and she liked to dye, and if Muhammad bought her clothes, he would buy as easy as he could find.. If every day was a feast, he dyed her clothes for her.”
This imam was in charge of his mother's clothes and dyed her for her on the feast!
Since this is the state of the people in adornment, it was not necessary for the beauty of women to appear on the feast more than others; Here is Imam Ibn al-Jawzi (d. 597 AH / 1175 AD) telling us - in 'The Regular' - the story of a nice home investigation to which the ascetic Tabi jurist Hassan bin Abi Sinan (d. 54 AH / 674 AD) underwent, and he says that "he went out on the day of Eid, and when he returned, she said to him His wife: How many beautiful women have you seen today? And when she multiplied, he said: Woe to you! I have only looked at my thumb since I left you until I came back to you!! Al-Baladhuri (d. 279 AH / 892 AD) - in 'Ansab al-Ashraf' - relates that "when the pilgrims (Al-Thaqafi, d. 95 AH / 715 AD) came to Basra, he attended the feast (= Eid al-Fitr 75 AH / 695 AD) and saw a large number of women who attended, and said: If the people of Al-Sham and these corrupted them, so he built his palace and took a bewildered (= enclosed place) in it for more than a mile long, and the people of Al-Sham brought it down with no Iraqi mixed with them!!
Perhaps the Eid celebrations were accompanied by incidents of harassment of women, although they were still viewed as a major evil. This is evidenced by the fact that a war took place due to an incident of harassment on Eid that took place in Cordoba during the Almoravid state. The historian Ibn al-Atheer (d. 630 AH / 1233 AD) mentions - in 'Al-Kamil' - that in 514 AH, "a strife occurred between the army of the ruler of the Muslims, Ali bin Yusuf [bin Tashfin d. 537 AH / 1143 AD] and the people of Cordoba." The reason for this is that when it was “the Day of Al-Adha, people came out spectators, so a slave of the servants of Abu Bakr (= the commander of the army) extended his hand to a woman and he caught her, and she pleaded with the Muslims, and they rescued her, and a great strife occurred between the slaves and the people of the country, and the whole day and the war between them continued on one leg. “, in a multi-round battle that ended in a humiliating defeat for the authority and its acquiescence to the reconciliation of the population; These are the people of a country who revolted against their emir and his army, and fought them in a desperate fight because of one incident of harassment that occurred on the day of Eid!!
Boats and processions
The official processions were one of the most important scenes of the feast that the state was keen on, and through which it showed its prestige and power, and the pride of its rulers in the pomp of their power, and in its details it is awe-inspiring. Ibn al-Jawzi stated - in al-Muntazam - in his monitoring of the news of the Abbasid Caliph al-Muqtafi (d. 555 AH / 1160 AD) that “on the day of Eid (= Eid al-Fitr 553 AH / 1158 AD), the procession went out in a dress that was not seen in the likeness of horses and drying (= what horses wear to protect them). surgeon) and the flags and the large number of soldiers and princes!
The Abbasids had rituals on Eid, including the spear that is attributed to the Prophet, may God bless him and grant him peace, and is similar to the “burdah” attributed to him and which “the Abbasids “inherited…” as successors, [so] the Caliph wore it on his shoulders on the day of Eid, on the day of Eid, And he takes the rod attributed to him (= the Prophet) in one of his hands, and he comes out with serenity and dignity, which cracks hearts and dazzles the eyes, and wears black [which is their motto] on Fridays and holidays.”
The feast was sometimes an occasion to remind the nation of the position of the caliph as the king who is transcendent over his flock, even his senior officials and his own. It was not his habit for anyone to sit next to him on the day of the feast;
It came to al-Dhahabi (d. 748 AH / 1348 AD) - in 'History of Islam' - that the judge of the Fatimids, Abdul Aziz bin Muhammad bin al-Nu'man (d. 401 AH / 1011 AD) "ascended his rank with [their caliph] al-Hakim (d. 411 AH / 1021 AD) until he ascended with him. On the pulpit on the day of Eid.
It is surprising that you find that no one sits next to the supreme ruler or walks alongside him in the procession as something historians argue for; Ibn Taghri Bardi says: “And in it (= 289 AH / 902 AD) the sufficient [Caliph] (d. 295 AH / 907 AD) prayed with people on the day of Eid al-Adha, and in his hands were the brigades of kings, and the kings and princes dismounted in his hands, except for his minister, Al-Qasim bin Obaid Allah (d. 291 AH). /904 AD), for he rode and went along with him without the people, and before that he had not seen a caliph who was matched by a minister other than him! Then Ibn Taghri Bardi adds, commenting: "And this is the first weakness that occurred against the Caliphs! And I say: Al-Mu'tadid (d. 289 AH / 902 AD) is the last caliph who contracted a law (= safeguarded its prestige) the caliphate, and then after him the order of the caliphs in Idbar to this day was taken. "!!
Although the honorable Companions hated carrying weapons on Eid - except for what was related to the Prophet's spear - until Imam al-Bukhari - in his Sahih - addressed the topic by saying: “Chapter on what is disliked for carrying arms on Eid and the Haram”; Since the rule of the Umayyads, the tradition of organizing military parades has taken root. Then their successors soon made bearing arms a manifestation of the feast. The historian Ibn al-Atheer mentioned that the Caliph Yazid ibn al-Walid (d. 126 AH / 744 AD) was "the first to go out with weapons on the day of Eid, he went out between two rows with weapons!" Then this became a habit that the caliphs and kings colluded with, even from the enemies of the Umayyads, such as the Abbasids and the Fatimids.
This is Ibrahim bin Muhammad al-Bayhaqi, the writer (d. about 320 AH / 933 AD), who tells us - in the 'Advantages and Disadvantages' - about a massive military parade organized by Caliph al-Mu'tasim (d. 227 AH / 843 AD); He says: “The Eid came, and al-Mu’tasim by God galloped his horses, the like of which was not heard, nor was he seen by anyone from the sons of al-Abbas similar to it. Al-Fitr on the day the pimp and their companions came in the most beautiful outfit and the best form, so they kept in line with them from the time of noon until Al-Mu`tasim by God rode to the prayer place.., and put on his clothes and sat on a chair waiting for the pimp to go, and when their matter ended, he presented to the men in the march in front of him, and seven thousand of them came forward (= archer) from the loyalists, every three hundred of them in a dress different from that of the rest!!
Ibn al-Jawzi mentions - in al-Muntazim - a similar exposition to the previous one that occurred in 549 AH / 1155 AD;
He says that "the soldiers went out on Eid al-Fitr in a dress the like of which has not been seen, due to the gathering of soldiers and the large number of princes"!!
In fact, the convoys of the military have become extremely sanctified, and those who cause their sabotage will be punished with death!
Al-Dhahabi said in “History of Islam” in the context of the events of the year 528 AH / 1134 AD: “Then the Caliph (= Al-Murshid Allah t. 529 AH / 1135 AD) took off on the princes (= clothed them with the Eid clothing), and presented the army on the day of Eid, and called: No one should mix with the army, and whoever Ride a mule or a donkey, the blood of which is clear!!
Various offers
Among the most interesting scenes of Eid traditions in Islamic societies are those that were carefully monitored by the traveler Ibn Battuta (d. 779 AH / 1378 AD) in various parts of Islam and included his famous journey. Including the scene of the feast in one of the sultanates of the land of the Romans [Turkey today]; As he says to you, “And we kept Eid al-Fitr (733 AH / 1333 AD) in this town, so we went out to the prayer hall, and the Sultan (Yanj Beck T. after 338 AH / 1337 AD) went out in his soldiers and the brotherly boys (= the fatwa groups) all with weapons, and for the people of all the manufacture of flags, trumpets, drums and horns, and some of them are proud Some people are proud of them in their good looks and perfect skepticism (= weapons), and the people of every industry go out with them cows, sheep and loads of bread, so they slaughter the animals in the tombs and give them in charity with the bread, and they go out first to the cemeteries and from there to the chapel.And when we prayed the Eid prayer, we entered with the Sultan to his house, and the food was prepared. So the jurists, the sheikhs and the young men were made separate sats, and the poor and the needy were given saddles separately, and neither the poor nor the rich would come to his door on that day!
One of the most amazing things that was seen in the processions of kings is the bringing of wild animals, lions and others to display them in front of the procession; Al-Jahiz (d. 255 AH / 869 AD) tells us - in 'The Animals' - about his observations on one of the holidays, saying: "I went out on the day of Eid, and when I came to Isabad (= an area that was in Baghdad), if I am a hill covered with cuts and pieces, and if men sit on them with their weapons, I asked some of He is witnessing the feast, so I said: What is the matter with this armed force (= guards) in this place when people have surrounded that hill? He said to me: This elephant!
Al-Maqrizi recorded - in 'Ita'az al-Hanafa' - the scenes of Eid in 395 AH / 1004 AD, and stated that "[the Caliph] al-Hakim rode on the day of Eid al-Fitr..., and tied in his hands were six mares - with saddles studded with jewels - and six elephants and five giraffes! He led the people in the Eid prayer and their sermons! "! Ibn Battuta also mentioned the use of elephants in the celebrations of Indian Muslims for their holidays; He said, "If it was the night of the feast, the sultan sent to the kings, the private, the heads of state and the nobles (= his guests from the strangers).. the khula' (= the clothes that the sultan gives) that pervades them all. If it is the morning of the feast, all the elephants are decorated with silk, gold and jewels, and there are sixteen of them. A villa that no one rides, but it is dedicated to riding the Sultan!
Although most of the caliphs and princes exaggerate the manifestations of glamor and bragging during the holidays, those who see true pride in practical achievements for the benefit of peoples and nations are not executed. Sibt Ibn al-Jawzi (d. 654 AH / 1256 AD) - in “Mirr’at al-Zaman” - translated by the Buihy leader Abu al-Tahir al-Mushatab, nicknamed al-Saeed (d. 408 AH / 1018 AD), in which he said: The people of Baghdad, if they saw someone who put on a new shirt, they said: May God have mercy on the happy, because he clothed the orphans, the needy and the weak, and he was the one who built the bridge of Iraq and the bridge of the trench - at the door of Harb - and Al-Yasiriya and Al-Zayatin and others.. = horses that are not mounted) on gold boats and they showed the adornment, so some of his companions said to him: If we had something, we would show it! Al-Saeed said to him: They do not have in their pockets the arch of the trench, the Yasiriya and the Zayatin!!
It was among the decorations of the feast for them that they made tents and domes, and these domes were headquarters for celebration and a place for eating, drinking and having fun, and what is surprising in their manufacture and decoration! Imam Ibn al-Jawzi describes in beautiful detail the tent of the Caliph on Eid al-Adha - in al-Muntazim. He says that on the Day of Sacrifice (520 AH / 1126 AD) the Commander of the Faithful [Guided by God] ordered to erect a large tent and in front of it another tent.., and they set up in the chest of the tent a high pulpit, and the elite of the Caliph, his minister, the captains, the chiefs of positions, the nobles, the Hashemites, the Talibs, and a creation of faces (= Notables), and the Caliph - and with him his son Al-Rashid (d. 530 AH / 1136 AD), who is his crown prince - stood next to the pulpit and led the people in the Eid prayer, and the loudspeakers were the preachers of the mosques.
But if the holiday is associated with a military victory, the decorations are multiplied, and the celebration of the military leaders is exaggerated. This imam al-Dhahabi paints for us - in 'History of Islam' - a picture of the meeting of Eid and victory in one day, and the wondrous domes that were built for celebrations in the year 547 AH / 1152 AD: "Then [Caliph al-Muqtafi] returned to Baghdad in support of Mansur [by ending a sedition that broke out in Wasit] So, Baghdad was closed and decorated, domes were made, and the golden ones (= goldsmiths) made the door of the ancient khan a dome bearing the image of [Seljuk Sultan] Masoud (d. 547 AH / 1152 AD) and yours (Turkmen leader t. 548 AD) and General Director Abbas / 1153 AH D. 541 AH / 1146 AD) with revolving movements, and many domes were built on this model. The people of Baghdad began playing... and having fun until the day of Eid al-Adha [of the same year]!!"
Tables and Customs
Perhaps the delicacies of food and drink were the most delightful thing in the feast for many, and therefore the ancients had a passion, art and a wide history. Al-Suyuti (d. 911 AH / 1506 AD) - in the “History of the Caliphs” - narrated from one of the companions of the Caliph Al-Ma’mun (d. 218 AH / 833 AD) an amazing description of the diversity of his table and his experience with food and its health benefits; He said: We had lunch with al-Ma’mun on the day of Eid, and more than three hundred colors were placed on his table. He said: Whenever a color was placed, al-Ma’mun looked at it and said: This is beneficial for this and harmful for that. This, and whoever is overpowered by blackness, he should not be exposed to this!!
As for the Fatimids, they were keen on sweets and refreshments, according to what al-Maqrizi tells us by photographing him on the morning of a feast in the palace of the Fatimid Caliph al-Amir (d. 524 AH / 1130 AD); He said: "When the morning became, at night, there were loads of rafts (= deep plates) from the palace, which contained several tables for breaking the fast on the day of Eid, and the golden trays were carried by the caliph's mushrooms... So when the magic of Eid al-Fitr came before the Caliph with what he had brought from his palaces in His bowls are studded with gold - and on them are golden napkins - of stuffed dates and garnishes (= a kind of sweet) with all kinds of perfume and so on.
Their tables, especially on Eid, were full of foods and sweets, as we find in Ibn Taghri Bardi’s description of the table of the Fatimid Caliph al-Aziz. On one of the feasts, “a fountain (= a water basin with a fountain) was set up in the middle of the iwan, which was a tablecloth (= a long table) of twenty reeds, on it was made of khushkanan (= fried stuffed bread), bastandod (= stuffed pies), and buzmaward (= sweet dough). with sugar) like a high mountain! And in each piece of it is a quarter of a quintal or less to a pound, so people enter and eat, and there is no prevention or stone.. Rather, it is divided among the people and carried to their turn.” Then he mentioned that Al-Aziz “was the first to arrange it on Eid al-Fitr in particular.”
He elaborates on the description after that, saying: "As for the dining table, on the day of Eid al-Fitr two... and on Eid al-Adha once, and the table is packed at night, and its length is three hundred cubits (= approximately 184 m) and its width is seven cubits, and it contains many types of food. The vizier came to him at the beginning of the dawn prayer, and the caliph was sitting in the window, and people were able to use it, so they carried and plundered what they did not eat, sell it and store it, and this is before the Eid prayer. Silver, gold, and Chinese, and there are special foods in them that are ashamed to mention.
a tablecloth along the hall; It is painted wood, ten cubits wide. Twenty-one plates are placed in the center of the table, in each plate twenty-one lambs; And of the chickens three hundred and fifty birds, and of broilers like it, and of chicks of pigeons like that. Sweets are of various types; Then he spreads among those dishes, earthenware plates on the sides of the samat, in each plate are nine chickens in super colors of sweets, and the tabaha (= kebabs) which are rich in musk. The number of dishes is five hundred, all arranged in the best order. Then he brings two palaces (= two carts) of sweets that have been made into “Dar Al-Fitra” (= a government store for making and distributing sweets), each weighing seventeen quintals (= today approximately 650 kg).. Then the minister comes out and goes to his house; A table is made similar to that of the Caliph. Thus, it falls on the Feast of Sacrifice on the first day of it!
Social affection.
Other than kings, ministers and princes, they held their feasts and extended their arms during the feasts; Similar to this was reported from some notable scholars, scholars and others, as Ibn Asaker informs us - in 'History of Damascus' - quoting from Imam Abdullah bin Awn Al-Muzni (d. 151 AH / 767 AD) that he said: "We did not come to Muhammad (= Ibn Sirin) on the day of Eid Never feed us Khabees or Valuzaga.” These were among the most famous and best sweets at the time.
Ibn Bashkwal (d. 578 AH / 1183 AD) - in 'The Connection' - tells us that Imam Hisham bin Suleiman al-Qaisi (d. 420 AH / 1030 AD) used to "make a lot of food on Eid al-Fitr for the people of the fortress (= the fortress of the Fahmiyyin near Toledo) and for those who attended him from the Almoravids and spent there A lot of money, and he was fixing himself in the gaps! Ibn Wahas al-Zubaidi (d. 812 AH / 1410 AD) - in 'Pearl Contracts' - narrated that "the jurist Abd al-Rahman (al-Shihabi d. 649 AH / 1251 AD)... was... the greatest of the jurists, and the jurists in Dhu Jableh did not go out from the Eid prayer-place - on the day of Eid - Except to his house, they enter a table that he makes for them.”
The affluent used to visit their neighbors during the holidays - even with secret alms - so that they would receive a share of its bounties and happiness. Among the oddities of this is what was reported by Ibn Shaheen Al-Malti (d. 920 AH / 1515 AD) - in 'Neel Al-Amal' - he said: "And in it (= Al-Adha 825 AH / 1423 AD) a rare strange occurred, which is that a man has a family and children and he is one of the poor..., when he came Eid was slaughtered, the victims were slaughtered, and grilled meat was eaten, their desire to eat something that people roasted, and the children asked this poor person for something of that, but he found nothing. He and the mother of the children.. Then when they became a lot of meat they found a lot of meat in their house, the mare was carrying it all night long, they didn't know where he was from!
The aforementioned Imam Ibn Sirin’s devotion and his preparation of sweets for every feast indicates that preparing them on the occasion of feasts is a very old custom, as is the preparation of fesikh on feasts, and they used to call it salted fish;
The tribe of Ibn al-Jawzi - in Mirat al-Zaman - informed us of eating fesikh once on Eid al-Fitr. He said in the translation of Sheikh Abdullah al-Armani ascetic (d. 631 AH / 1244 AD): “I used to meet with him [in Jerusalem], and it was agreed that on Eid al-Fitr I ate salty fish and went up to his corner and we sat down to talk."
It was their custom to take advantage of the holidays to establish happy occasions, such as becoming the crown prince, imitating the emirate, and circumcision of sons;
Al-Maqrizi informs us - in 'The Hanafi's Ta'ataaz' - that the Fatimid Caliph al-Mu'izz (d. 365 AH / 975 AD) "when he died, his death was concealed [from Rabi' al-Awwal] until the day of sacrifice (= Eid al-Adha) and his death was revealed. himself, and the people greeted him with the caliphate, and he rode to his palace.”
Thus, Al-Aziz made Eid an occasion to announce his assumption of the position of Caliph!
It is similar to what al-Bandari al-Isfahani (d. 643 AH / 1245 AD) recorded - in the “Mukhtasar Sana al-Baraq al-Shami” - about the celebration of the appointment of the good king Ismail (d. 577 AH / 1182 AD), the son of Nur al-Din Mahmoud Zangi (d. 569 AH / 1174 AD); He said: "Nur al-Din ordered his son, the righteous king Ismail, on the day of Eid al-Fitr, and we celebrated this matter, and the shops of Damascus were closed for days, and the palaces were built in floors, and each of them arranged the singers (= singers) with songs." As for circumcision, the most famous of what was mentioned is the circumcision of Khader (d. 708 AH / 1308 AD) by Ibn al-Zahir Baybars (d. 676 AH / 1277 AD); It was stated by al-Dhahabi - in 'History of Islam' - that "on the day of Eid (= al-Fitr 772 AH/1370 CE) the son of the Sultan was circumcised among several boys from among the children of the princes."
أساليب لطيفة
لعلّ أصل هدايا العيد ما كان يصنعه الملوك من "الخِلَعَ" أي الثياب التي يُهديها السلطان تكريما للأمراء والوجهاء والأعيان. على أن التاريخ الإسلامي احتوى نماذج لهدايا نقدية، تُعطى في العيد لمن تُرجى بركته، للفقير على وجه الصدقة وللعلماء والأدباء على سبيل الإحسان والإكرام؛ فمن ذلك ما ذكره ابن كثير -في ‘البداية والنهاية‘- من أن الخليفة المستنصر (ت 640هـ/1242م) بعث "يوم العيد صدقاتٍ كثيرة، وإنعامًا جزيلا إلى الفقهاء والصوفية وأئمة المساجد، على يديْ محيي الدين ابن الجوزي (ت 656هـ/1258م)".
وأما الفاطميون فقد عُرفوا بهذا التقليد الذي كانوا يدعونه باسمه المعروف اليوم "العيديّة"؛ فقد قال المقريزي -في ‘اتعاظ الحنفا‘- إن الخليفة الفاطميّ… "قرر للشيخ أبي جعفر يوسف بن أحمد بن حسديه (حسداي) بن يوسف (ت نحو 530هـ/1136م) -الإسرائيلي (= اليهودي) الأصل- لما قدم من الأندلس وصار ضيف الدولة [وكان طبيبًا حاذقًا]: جاريًا (= راتباً)، وكسوة شتوية، وعيدية". ويبدو أنه حتى الملوك كانوا يتلقون "عيديات" بلَبوس هدايا في الأعياد يقدمها رجالات بلاطهم؛ فهذا ابن دحية (ت 633هـ/1235م) يخبرنا -في ‘المُطرب‘ أنه "أهدى الناسُ في يوم عيد إلى السلطان المعتمد.. ابن عباد (ت 488هـ/1095م) مما يُهدَى للملوك في الأعياد"!!
أما أظرف العيديّات فهو ما كان يُمنح للضيوف عينيًّا دون أن يشعروا وبطريقةٍ غاية في اللطف، وذلك بأن يُحشى الكعك بالدنانير الذهبية بدلًا من السكر، أو تُلبّس الحلوى على فستقٍ من ذهب! فقد ذكر المقريزي -في ‘اتعاظ الحنفا‘- قصة هذين الصنفين العجيبين من الضيافة؛ فقال في ترجمة القاضي ابن مُيَسَّر (ت 531هـ/1137م): "وهو الذي أخرج الفستق الملبَّس بالحلوى، فإنه بلغه أن [الوزير الإخشيدي] أبا بكر.. المادَرائي (ت 345هـ/956م) عمل الكعك.. وعمل عوضاً من حشو السكر دنانير..؛ فأراد القاضي ابن مُيسر أن يتشبه بأبي بكر المادرائي في ذلك؛ فعمل صحناً منه لكن جعل فستقًا قد لُبّس حلوى وذلك الفستق من ذهب، وأباحه أهلَ مجلسه"!
وقد كان مشهورًا تقديم الكعك والملبّس والمكسّرات والفواكه المجففة في العيد، وكلٌّ يقدّم على قدر طاقته وبما تقتضيه مروءته؛ فها هو ابن عساكر يروي -في ‘تاريخ دمشق‘- بإسناده إلى خالد بن يزيد المرّي (ت 166هـ/782م)، قال: "رأيت مكحولاً (الإمام التابعيّ ت 112هـ/731م) يفرّق على أصحابه الزبيب، يعني يوم العيد".
وكان من طقوس كثيرٍ من الملوك والأمراء في العيد أن يخرجوا للصيد؛ ومن ذلك ما ذكره ابن تغري بردي من أن الأمير الطولوني "خُمارَوَيْه (ت 282هـ/896م) كان يتقلّد في يوم العيد سيفًا بحمائل، ولا يزال يتفرّج ويتنزّه ويخرج إلى المواضع.. كالأهرام ومدينة العقاب.. لأجل الصيد فإنه كان مشغوفا به، لا يكاد يسمع بسَبُع إلا قصده ومعه رجال عليهم لُبُود (= أغطية صوف سميكة) فيدخلون إلى الأسد ويتناولونه بأيديهم من غابته عُنْوَةً وهو سليم" فيضعونه في قفص خشبي مُحْكَم الصنعة! ثم عقّب المصنّف مقارنا بين عادات العيد في العصرين بقوله: "إن أعيادنا الآن كالمآتم بالنسبة لتلك الأعياد السالفة"!!
لهو ولعب
يعود أصلُ اللعب يوم العيد إلى زمن النبيّ صلى الله عليه وسلم، وقد سبق حديثُ عائشة عن نظرها إلى لعب السودان بالحراب يوم العيد، ثم تطوّر الأمرُ تطورًا كبيرًا. وكان من أشهر ألعابهم في العيد لعبة: "رمْيُ القبق" التي ذكر ابن واصل الحموي (ت 697هـ/1298م) -في ‘مفرج الكروب‘- أن السلطان نور الدين زنكي كان شغوفًا بها. والقبق بالتركية هي: القَرْع، وقد شرحها المقريزي -في ‘الخطط والآثار‘- فقال: "القبق عبارة عن خشبة عالية جدا، تُنصب في براح من الأرض، ويُعمل بأعلاها دائرة من خشب [تُشبّه بالقرعة]، وتقف الرماة بقسيها وترمي بالسهام جوف الدائرة لكي تمر من داخلها إلى غرض هناك، تمريناً لهم على إحكام الرمي، ويعبّر عن هذا بالقبق في لغة الترك".
وإذا كان للفُرسان والعساكر ألعابهم ذات الطابع الحربي فإن للأطفال لعبهم الخاصة في العيد، ومنها أنهم كانوا يلعبون بالجوز؛ فقد جاء عند ابن كثير -في ‘البداية والنهاية‘- من أخبار الزاهد السَّرِيّ السقطيّ (ت 253هـ/867م)، أنه قال: "مررت في يوم عيد فإذا معروف (الكرخيّ ت 200هـ/816م) ومعه صغير شَعِثُ (= رثُّ) الحال، فقلت: ما هذا؟ فقال: هذا كان واقفًا عند صبيان يلعبون بالجوز وهو مُفكّر (= مهموم)، فقلتُ له: ما لك لا تلعب كما يلعبون؟ فقال: أنا يتيم ولا شيء معي أشتري به جَوْزاً ألعب به"؛ فاشترى له السريّ وأفرحه!
لقد سبق ذكْرُنا لخبر الجاريتين الأنصاريتين وغنائهما لعائشة في بيت النبيّ صلى الله عليه وسلم يوم العيد، ولعلّ ذلك ما جعل التابعين يرون أن الغناء وضرب الدفّ في العيد من السُّنَّة؛ فقد روى الذهبيّ -في ‘تاريخ الإسلام‘- عن الإمام الكبير عامر الشَّعبيّ (ت 106هـ/725م)، أنه قال: "مَرَّ [الصحابي] عِيَاضُ بْنُ عَمْرٍو الأَشْعَرِيُّ (ت نحو 80هـ/699م) فِي يَوْمِ عيد فقال: ما لي لا أَرَاهُمْ يُقَلِّسُونَ فَإِنَّهُ مِنَ السُّنَّةِ؟! قَالَ [الإمام] هُشَيْمٌ (ت 183هـ/799م): التَّقْلِيسُ: الضَّرْبُ بِالدُّفِّ".
وقد توسّع الخلفاء بعدُ في الغناء وصنوفه وأحيَوْا ليالي العيد بالطرب؛ ومن ذلك ما أورده ابن الجوزي -في ‘المنتظم‘- من خبر هارون الرشيد (ت 193هـ/809م) ومغنيه الأثير إبراهيم الموصلي (ت 188هـ/804م)؛ فقال: "أتى إبراهيمُ الموصلي يوم العيد عند الرشيد وغنّاه فأطربه، فَقَالَ: يا إبْرَاهِيم، سَلْ ما شئتَ…"! فوهبه الرشيد مسألته وأكرمه.
ومن مظاهر الابتهاج في العيد اعتبارُه مناسبةً أدبيّة ينالُ فيها الشعراء أحسن المكافآت بإلقاء القصائد بين أيدي الملوك، إذ كان بعضُ الملوك يحرصُ على إكرام الشعراء والسماع منهم في الأعياد خاصة؛ فقد ذكر الشاعر المؤرخ عمارة اليمني (ت 569هـ/1174م) -في ‘تاريخ اليمن‘- من أخبار سلطان اليمن المعظّم محمّد بن سبأ (ت 548هـ/1153م)، قال: "ورأيته في يوم عيد وقد أحرقته الشمس في المصلى بظاهر مدينة الجُوَّة (= مدينة مندثرة الآن)، والشعراء يتسابقون بالنشيد؛ فقال لي: قل لهم -وارفع صوتك- لا يتزاحمون! فلست أقوم حتى يفرغوا، وكانوا ثلاثين شاعرا، ثم أثابهم جميعا"!!
جوائز ثمينة
ومن حفلات قصائد العيد المشهودة ما ذكره الناصري في كتابه ‘الاستقصا‘؛ قال: "وأعد الشعراء كلمات أنشدوها يوم عيد الفطر بمشهد الملأ في مجلس السلطان، وكان من أسبقهم في ذلك الميدان شاعر الدولة أبو فارس عبد العزيز الملزوزي (ت 697هـ/1298م)..، أَتَى بقصيدة طويلة..، ذكر فيها سيرة السلطان وغزواته، وغزوات بنيه وحفدته..، وأُنشِدت بمحضر السلطان والحاشية، فأمر لمنشئها بألف دينار (= اليوم 170 ألف دولار أميركي تقريبا) وخلعة ولمنشدها بمئتيْ دينار".
ومن اللافت أنه كان للنساء الشواعر حضور في هذه المناسبات الأدبية والمنافسات الشعرية؛ فالقاضي التنوخي يخبرنا -في ‘نشوار المحاضرة‘- قائلا: "حضرتُ بغداد في مجلس الملك عضد الدولة (البويهي ت 372هـ/983م) في يوم عيد الفطر سنة سبع وستين وثلاثمئة والشعراء ينشدونه التهاني، فحضرت عابدةُ الجُهَنية.. فأنشدت قصيدةً لم أظفر منها بشيء"!
وقد كان لعادة الإفراج عن السجناء في الأعياد جذورٌ ممتدة في تاريخنا؛ فسبط ابن الجوزي يقول إنه "في شهر رجب وشعبان ورمضان (402هـ/1012م) واصل [الوزير البويهي] فخر الملك (ت 407هـ/1017م) الصدقاتِ..، وفرَّق الثيابَ والحنطةَ والتمرَ والدراهمَ والدنانيرَ يوم العيد فِي الفقراء والمساكين، وركبَ إلى الصلاة فِي الجوامع، وأعطى الخطباء والمؤذنين الثياب والدنانير، وأطلق [أصحاب] الحُبوس، ومن كان محبوسًا فِي حبس القاضي على دينار وعشرة دنانير قضاها عنه، ومن كان عليه أكثر أقام الكفيل وخرج، فأطلق من كان فِي حبس المعونة ممَّن صَغُرت جنايتُه وحسُنَتْ توبتُه؛ فكثُر الدُّعاءُ له فِي الجوامعِ والمساجدِ والأسواقِ".
ولم تكن إفراجات العيد حصرًا على الغارمين وأشباههم، بل كانت تشملُ السجناء السياسيين والمتمردين السابقين أحيانًا؛ فابن تغري بردي يذكر أنه "في يوم عيد الفطر سنة [764هـ/1363م] رَسَمَ (= أمَر) السلطان (الأشرف شعبان ت 778هـ/1377م) بالإفراج عمن بقي في الإسكندرية من أصحاب [القائد المتمرد] طيبغا الطويل (ت 770هـ/1371م)، فأفرِج عنهم وحضروا فأخرجوا إلى الشام متفرّقين بطّالين"!
وإذا كان بعضُ السجناء حظي بإفراجٍ بادرتْ إليه الحكومة، فإنّ بعض من ضنّ سجانوهم بإطلاقهم بادروا فانتزعوا حريتهم بأنفسهم مستفيدين من أجواء العيد؛ فقد وثّق الذهبيّ -في ‘تاريخ الإسلام‘- قصة هروب "محمد بن القاسم بْن عليّ بْن عُمَر بْن زين العابدين عليّ بن الحسين" (ت بعد 219هـ/834م) الذي كان أحد الثائرين على العباسيين؛ فقال: "وقُبِضَ عَلَيْهِ وأُتِيَ بِهِ إلى [الخليفة] المعتصم في شهر ربيع الآخر من السنة، سنة تسع عشرة [ومئتين] فحُبس بسامرّاء، ثمّ إنّه هرب من حبْسه يوم العيد، وستر اللَّه عَلَيْهِ وأضمرته البلاد"!
ومن عجيب ما شملته إفراجات العيد الإفراجُ عن الجثامين المحتجزة؛ فقد ذكر ابن كثير -في ‘البداية والنهاية‘- ضمن أحداث 237هـ/852م أنه "في عيد الفطر منها أمر [الخليفة] المتوكل (ت 247هـ/861م) بإنزال جثة [الثائر المصلوب الإمام] أحمد بن نصر الخزاعي (ت 231هـ/846م)، والجمعِ بين رأسه وجسده وأن يسلم إلى أوليائه، ففرح الناس بذلك فرحًا شديدًا، واجتمع في جنازته خلق كثير جدا"!!