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| Hari Raya Puasa | |
|---|---|
| Name | Hari Raya Puasa |
| Nickname | Eid al-Fitr |
| Observedby | Muslims |
| Significance | Conclusion of Ramadan |
| Date | First day of Shawwal |
| Frequency | Annual |
Hari Raya Puasa is the Malay name for the festival marking the end of the month of Ramadan and the onset of the month of Shawwal, observed widely across Southeast Asia, South Asia, and diaspora communities. The celebration combines liturgical observance with local customs drawn from diverse histories such as the Srivijaya, Majapahit, Malacca Sultanate, and colonial encounters involving the British Empire, Dutch East Indies, and Portuguese Empire. As a major religious and social event, it intersects with legal frameworks, public holidays, and cultural institutions across nations including Malaysia, Indonesia, Singapore, Brunei, Thailand, Philippines, Myanmar, Bangladesh, India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Mauritius, South Africa, United Kingdom, United States, and Australia.
The term derives from Malay vocabulary shaped by interactions with Arabic terms and transregional trade networks like the Maritime Silk Road and the Indian Ocean trade. Comparable names include Eid al-Fitr in Arabic, Idul Fitri in Indonesian, Lebaran in Javanese and Sundanese, and localized forms in Tamil and Urdu. Historical records from the Aceh Sultanate, Johor Sultanate, Banten Sultanate, and Malacca Sultanate show terminological evolution influenced by missionary encounters involving figures linked to the Ottoman Empire, Safavid dynasty, and Mughal Empire.
Religiously, it commemorates the completion of obligatory fasting established in the Quran and elaborated in the Hadith. Ritual observance includes communal Salat al-Eid in mosques, outdoor grounds, and designated prayer fields like those sanctioned in urban centers such as Kuala Lumpur, Jakarta, Singapore City, Bandar Seri Begawan, Bangkok, Manila, Colombo, Dhaka, Karachi, Lahore, New Delhi, Hyderabad, Cape Town, London, New York City, Sydney, and Toronto. Scholarly exegesis by jurists from the Shafi'i school, Hanafi school, Maliki school, and Hanbali school frames practices such as Zakat al-Fitr as a purificatory duty, debated in institutions like the Al-Azhar University, Darul Uloom Deoband, and regional ulema councils in Jakarta, Kuala Lumpur, and Dhaka.
Early Islamic inscriptions and trade chronicles from port polities like Gresik, Samudera Pasai, Cirebon, and Aceh document adoption of Eid celebrations. The spread via the Mughal Empire into South Asia and through the Ottoman Empire into North Africa intersected with local monarchies such as the Sultanate of Sulu, Kingdom of Siam, Kingdom of Burma, Zanzibari Sultanate, and colonial administrations in Batavia, Penang, Malacca, Colombo, Chittagong, Kandy, and Mombasa. Colonial-era ordinances from the British Raj, Dutch East Indies administration, and later nation-state codifications in constitutions of Malaysia, Indonesia, Singapore, and Brunei Darussalam institutionalized public observance and holiday status, while grassroots traditions persisted in villages, kampungs, and urban kampongs across regional centers like Medan, Surabaya, Ipoh, George Town, Malacca City, Yogyakarta, Semarang, Palembang, Makassar, and Banda Aceh.
Common practices include pre-dawn meals and communal prayers, feasting on dishes associated with regional cuisines like rendang, ketupat, lemang, opor ayam, sambal, nasi minyak, korma, sheer khurma, seviyan, baklava in diaspora, and sweets found in Malay, Javanese, Sundanese, Minangkabau, Bugis, Banjar, Acehnese, Bengali, Punjabi, Tamil Muslim, and Arab-Indonesian communities. Social rituals feature forgiveness visits to elders, open houses in Kuala Lumpur and Jakarta neighborhoods, gift-giving of duit raya envelopes, wearing traditional attire like the baju kurung, songkok, kebaya, sampin, sarong, kurta, and shalwar kameez, and ceremonial uses of music and performing arts such as gamelan, kompang, ghazal, qawwali, and nasyid.
Regional variation is extensive: in Java and Sumatra practices reflect syncretism with pre-Islamic court traditions of the Mataram Sultanate and Palembang Sultanate; in Kelantan and Terengganu distinct customs echo the legacy of the Patani Kingdom and Terengganu Sultanate; in Peninsular Malaysia and Sabah local festivals incorporate elements from Iban, Kadazan-Dusun, and Murut interactions; in South Asia communities in Kolkata, Karachi, Lahore, Dhaka, Chittagong, Chennai, and Kandy blend Urdu, Bengali, Tamil, and Sinhalese culinary and social forms; in diasporas across London, Manchester, Edmonton, Brussels, Amsterdam, Paris, Berlin, Melbourne, Perth, Auckland, Vancouver, New York City, Boston, Chicago, Johannesburg, and Durban adaptations reflect multicultural urban settings.
States mark the festival as a statutory holiday in constitutions and labor codes of Malaysia, Indonesia, Brunei, Singapore, Bangladesh, Pakistan, Mauritius, Maldives, and parts of India and Philippines with specific directives from ministries such as Ministry of Home Affairs (Malaysia), Ministry of Religious Affairs (Indonesia), and municipal councils in Kuala Lumpur City Hall, Jakarta Provincial Government, Singapore Islamic Religious Council, and Bandar Seri Begawan City Council. Public events include official royal proclamations in monarchies like Brunei Sultanate and the Yang di-Pertuan Agong announcements in Malaysia, televised messages from leaders including prime ministers and presidents in capitals like Putrajaya, Jakarta, Dhaka, Islamabad, Colombo, New Delhi, and Abu Dhabi, and civic arrangements for traffic management, halal certification, and health services coordinated with agencies such as Ministry of Health (Malaysia), Indonesian Ministry of Health, and municipal emergency services.
Contemporary debates engage questions of religious authority from institutions such as Majlis Ugama Islam Singapura, Islamic Religious Council of Brunei, and national fatwa councils; legal pluralism in family law adjudicated by courts like the Syariah Court of Malaysia, Sharia Court of Indonesia, and Federal Shariat Court; commercialization and consumerism in urban centers such as Kuala Lumpur City Centre and Jakarta Old Town; tensions over public space, secularism, and multicultural policy in plural societies like Singapore, United Kingdom, and France; and transnational dynamics including migration studies by scholars affiliated with SOAS University of London, National University of Singapore, University of Malaya, University of Indonesia, Dhaka University, and policy research at think tanks like ISEAS–Yusof Ishak Institute, ISEAS, and Center for Strategic and International Studies.
Category:Islamic festivals