The Gift of Eid

The Gift of Eid

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By: Nazeer Anbalvi



The last day of Sha’ban had arrived. Rehan’s mother had already completed all the preparations for Ramadan and Eid al-Fitr. She had new clothes stitched — three outfits for Rehan and two for his father. She believed in working ahead of time. “Wise people always prepare before the time comes,” she often said.

By the middle of Sha’ban, she had also bought twenty outfits to give as Eid gifts to people around her — the watchman, the housemaid, and even the milkman. Each one received their gift with joy and heartfelt prayers. Rehan’s mother even had special clothes stitched for a widow and her children living in a nearby slum.

Rehan, who was eleven years old, would go to the Gulzar Mosque with his father every day to pray. His mother sent white clothes for the imam, muezzin, and mosque helpers as Eid gifts, delivered through Rehan’s small hands.


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A Stranger in the Mosque

One Friday, as worshippers rushed inside for prayers, the mosque guards noticed a nervous-looking man trying to enter. Security guard Noor Muhammad stopped him.

The man wore deep blue clothes and was visibly trembling. “I… I have nothing. You can search me,” he stammered, raising his hands.

Noor Muhammad and another guard, Masroor, searched him carefully but found nothing. Still, Noor wasn’t convinced.

“Show me your ID card,” he demanded.
“Here… here it is,” said the man nervously.

The guard read the name aloud — “Shaukat Raza.”
Shaukat explained that he lived near the canal in a nearby settlement. After a pause, Noor Muhammad nodded. “You can go in,” he said, though his eyes followed Shaukat closely.

That was the first time Shaukat Raza had ever entered Gulzar Mosque. What no one knew was that he was there with a hidden purpose — a mission that even he didn’t fully understand.


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The Old Friend

A few months earlier, Shaukat had lost his job when the company he worked for went bankrupt. While sipping tea one day at a roadside café, he ran into an old classmate — Raju, whose real name was Riaz Ahmed.

“Shaukat Raza! I can’t believe it’s you!” Raju exclaimed, shaking his hand. “It’s been twenty years since school!”

They talked for a while. When Shaukat mentioned his unemployment, Raju leaned in and said in a low voice,
“Don’t worry. You already have a new job. You’ll just need to do something small… and you’ll earn good money.”

“What kind of job?” Shaukat asked cautiously.

Raju lowered his voice even further and explained. The plan involved the Gulzar Mosque. He gave Shaukat 20,000 rupees in advance and instructed him to start praying there regularly to gain everyone’s trust.

“For one month, go there five times a day,” Raju said. “Talk to the guards, give them food or drinks. Become one of them. And then…”

“And then what?” Shaukat asked.

“Then,” Raju smiled darkly, “we’ll finish the job and get paid.”


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Trust Earned

Following the plan, Shaukat started praying at Gulzar Mosque every day. At first, the guards checked him thoroughly. But over time, they stopped searching him and began greeting him warmly.

He often brought oranges or bottled water for them. The guards started trusting him — except Noor Muhammad, whose instincts told him something wasn’t right.

As Ramadan began, the mosque became busier. Rehan and his father came for Taraweeh prayers every night. Three armed guards stood alert outside the gates.

By mid-Ramadan, Shaukat had become a familiar face in the mosque. Even the imam recognized him and would sometimes chat with him after prayers.

Raju had told him that the operation would happen after the fifteenth of Ramadan. The promised payment was ten lakh rupees — more money than Shaukat had ever seen.


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The Turning Point

One evening, as Shaukat approached the mosque, he saw little Rehan standing with his father and the guards. Rehan was handing them white packets wrapped neatly in plastic.

“These are Eid gifts,” Rehan said with a smile. “From my mother.”

The guards thanked him warmly, holding up the gifts marked “Eid Mubarak.”

Shaukat froze in his tracks. Something broke inside him. That night, during prayer, tears streamed down his face. He couldn’t focus. The image of Rehan’s innocent smile and those white Eid gifts haunted him.

After Taraweeh, Shaukat quietly shook hands with the guards and walked away — but instead of going home, he headed straight to the nearest police station.

There, he confessed everything to Inspector Waseem — the plan, the money, and Raju’s role.

The inspector listened carefully and then said, “You did the right thing, Shaukat. You’ve saved many lives tonight.”

Within hours, Raju and his accomplices were caught. They had planned to carry out a deadly attack during Eid prayers. Shaukat’s confession had saved hundreds of innocent worshippers.


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Eid Morning

Shaukat was kept in protective custody, but the inspector arranged for him to attend Eid prayers at Gulzar Mosque.

That morning, the mosque was filled with four hundred worshippers, all dressed in white, their faces glowing with peace. As the imam led the prayer, Shaukat felt an indescribable calm fill his heart.

He had given the mosque a different kind of Eid gift — not of fabric or money, but of life itself.

The prayer ended with the words:
“Allahu Akbar… peace and blessings upon those who choose truth over fear.”

Shaukat wiped his tears. This was the first Eid he had ever truly celebrated.