The Festival

Imam Ali (AS) said regarding one of the festivals, ‘Verily it is only a festival for he whose fasts Allah has accepted and whose prayers He has acknowledged, and every day in which we do not disobey Allah is a day of celebration.

Suwayd b. Ghafla narrated, ‘I went to visit him [i.e. Imam Ali (AS)] on one of the festivals, and he had a small table in front of him on which was wheat bread, and a plate of khatifa[khatifa a food made of flour and milk (ed.)] and milbana[milbana a food made of bran, milk and honey (ed.)], so I asked, ‘O Commander of the Faithful, it is a day of celebration and you are eating khatifa! to which he replied, ‘It is only a day of celebration for whoever has been forgiven.