The Art of Festive Moderation

With festivity naturally breeding exceptional joy and delight, challenge your mind this year to indulge in all the goodness of Hari Raya in festive moderation.

All cultures and traditions come with their own set of festive celebrations. From the Lunar New Year, Deepavali, all the way to Christmas, festive seasons are often seen synonymous with family, love, and togetherness. This month, Malaysians welcome what Malays call Hari Raya, Celebration Day, a Muslim festival to commemorate the end of the blessed fasting month of Ramadan. 

What’s unique in Malaysian culture as compared to most other Muslim countries is that whilst the Hari Raya festivity abroad is mainly felt in the first three days of Syawal, the 10th month of the Lunar Islamic Calendar, it is fully accepted as a month-long celebration in Malaysia. Yes, one entire month. With extending the festivity by engaging in open-houses and indulging in delicious Malay delicacies, the spirit of celebration is easily felt up until the final days of Syawal. Though it is warming to see such a strong tradition permeating joy in the community, the high spirit of celebration often compels people to luxuriate themselves in behaviours they would otherwise not. From buying multiple pairs of new garments (on sale!) to beautifully clothe ourselves when visiting extended family, to plating that extra bit of rendang when feasting in every open-house – it becomes the norm to spoil ourselves in abundance when immersing ourselves in celebration. However, what are the repercussions of this neglect towards observing our natural boundaries? Should we not be more cautious?

We have all seen first-hand the effect of how not respecting limits play out in the past few months. With travel restrictions imposed at an international level, the overcoming of the global pandemic this year has actually been highly reliant on individuals adopting a community-centred mindset and acting in mindfulness against actions that were previously seen as ‘normal’. It has become more important for us now than ever to not only respect the limits of our granted freedom, but also acknowledge that we play a role in a bigger ecosystem that requires communal participation to remain orderly.

Understanding moderation and the beauty of imposing self-control and limits within freedom is integral for any society to thrive. The Quran tells us, “The servants of the Lord of Mercy are those who walk gently upon the earth…” (Quran 25:63). From this, the word ‘gently’ is used to reflect man’s treatment of not only his body but also the environment around him. Thus, this iterates that self-respect comes in hand with respecting other forms of life, with neither taking precedent over the other. Reflecting on today’s society, we must learn to be conscious of our consumption and honour not only our body but the wealth we have around us. To over-indulge for the sake of ‘it’s there’ is the same ideology that has led us to the degradation of nature.

In Islam, the relationship of man to this Earth is that of a Khalifah, or vicegerent. As said by the Prophet (ﷺ), “The world is beautiful and verdant, and verily God, the Exalted, has made you His stewards in it, and He sees how you acquit yourselves” (Sahih Muslim). This means that although the Earth and its resources created to accommodate and ease human life, it is without a doubt that through this right mankind also assumes the responsibility and accountability of being a caretaker of what is around him. Through this teaching, we must understand that though resources may surround us and humanity in abundance, it does not permit us to degrade, contaminate or immorally exploit it in any way. 

In this month of celebration, as we feast upon the arrival of Syawal, let’s revisit these basic lessons of Islamic teachings. With the situation we are in today, maybe it’s time for us to break old habits and learn the art of festive moderation.

Sources:

• https://quran.com/25/63
• https://www.arrcc.org.au/islamic_scriptures_and_holy_writings