Eid-ul-Fitr and its Tawil (esoteric interpretation)
Nasir-i Khusraw in his Wajh-i Din: Discourse 23 writes that exoterically Eid-ul-Fitr is the day when the fast breakers are liberated from the fast and can obtain food and drink and attain physical strength. Similarly, the human soul also requires its own type of food - which is knowledge. And Eid-ul-Fitr, esoterically, refers to the Mawlana 'Ali, because his esoteric interpretation (ta'wil) liberates the people from the lack of knowledge and allows them to attain spiritual strength by gaining knowledge of the tawil. Just as on Eid, the fast-breakers become eaters, through the knowledge brought by Mawlana 'Ali, the silent ones become speakers - in that they are able to share and discuss knowledge with each other and rejoice with the ta'wil.
"I am the purpose of fasting, and the sacred anniversaries in the months of the year.”
– Imām 'Alī ibn Abī Ṭālib, (Khuṭbah al-Iftikhār)
And so while we rejoice on this day of Eid, we should also remember that with the presence of the Imam, who is the present and living 'Ali of the time, with his continuous blessings and guidance our Jamat can always be liberated from the lack of knowledge. And in this sense, every day in Jamat Khana is an Eid. Perhaps it is in relation to this that Imam Sultan Muhammad Shah had explained to the community that in Jamatkhana, for all twelve months of the year, it is Eid.
May both the Day and the Person of Eid-ul-Fitr shower blessings upon us all.