Chino (California, USA): Over 1,000 Ahmadi Muslims gathered at the Baitul Hameed Mosque on Ramona Ave. in Chino on Friday to observe Eid-ul-Fitr, or the commemoration of the end of Ramadan.

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Imam Shamshad A. Nasir led the Eid prayer at 10am and then delivered a 45-minute sermon reflecting on the goals and of the faithful during the month of Ramadan. A key element to the Imam’s sermon was also the central theme of the hour-long lectures he delivered daily in Ramadan — the importance of proper training in the etiquettes, rituals, prayers and teachings of Islam.

Ramadan, he explained, was not simply a month of self-deprivation of food and sleep, but a willful seeking of God through the taking of spiritual nourishment and increasing one’s supplications and weeping in prayers before God Almighty, begging for His Mercy and Forgiveness. The point of Ramadan was not to just get through the month so you can eat and drink as you did before the start of the fast, but to strengthen yourself spiritually so you can strive even harder in righteousness the rest of the year until the next Ramadan.

In this way, Imam Shamshad said, a Muslim should strive to become closer to God with every Ramadan he or she passes through. The end of Ramadan should mark the renewed beginning, not the end, of your efforts to become a better Muslim, a better husband or wife, a better boss or employee, a better neighbor and friend, and a better overall human being.

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The Imam also recapped the Friday Sermon from the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community’s Khalifa, or spiritual leader, Mirza Masroor Ahmad, which was delivered via satellite in early morning (our time) from London. This included exposition of verses 152 and 153 of chapter 6, which present many of the fundamental teachings of Islam with regard to what a good Muslim is expected to believe and put into practice:

6:152 Say [O Muhammad, to the believers], “Come, I will rehearse to you what your Lord has made inviolable for you: that you may not associate anything with Him as a partner and that you must treat parents with exceeding kindness, and that you kill not your children for fear of poverty – it is We Who provide for you and for them – and that you approach not foul deeds, whether open or secret; and that you kill not the life which Allah has made sacred, save by right [of the laws of the land]. That is what He has enjoined upon you, that you may understand.

6:153 “And approach not the property of the orphan, except in a way which is best, till he attains his maturity. And give full measure and weigh with equity. We task not any soul except according to its capacity. And when you speak, observe justice, even if it the concerned person be a relative, and fulfill the covenant of Allah. That is what He enjoins upon you, that you may remember.”

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Imam Shamshad also related many sayings (hadith) from the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him), along with teaching stories from Islamic scholars and saints throughout Muslim history. After the Eid prayer and sermon ended at noon, light refreshments were served. The regular Friday Sermon and congregational Prayer were held from 12:45pm to 1:00pm.

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For more information about Islam or the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community, please visit Baitul Hameed Mosque, 11941 Ramona Ave. Chino, CA 91710 OR call the Baitul Hameed Mosque at 909-627-2252 or Imam Shamshad directly at 909-636-8332 or via Email at: Shamshadanasir@Gmail.com, or visit the Community’s websites at: http://www.Alislam.org or http://www.TheChinoMosque.org.