Bismillahirrahmanirrahim!
In the name of Allah, the Most Beneficent,
the Most Merciful!
All praise be to, the Lord of the worlds, whom glorify all the creatures
Whose mercy embraces everything!
Peace and blessings be upon the Prophet Muhammad (saw), his family,
Companions and all those who followed him until the Day of Judgement!
Dear brothers and sisters!
As-salamu alaikum wa rahmatullahi wa barakatuh!
May peace, mercy of Allah Almighty and His blessing be upon you!

Today we are celebrating an important holiday — Eid al-Fitr, which marks the end of the month of Ramadhan. This day is celebrated by the believers with great joy, since it shows that we had the opportunity to fulfil the divine order of our Creator. This order was given to all His messengers, was proclaimed in all of His Scriptures and was confirmed in God's final Revelation to the humanity — the Holy Quran, with the words:

"O you who have believed, decreed upon you is fasting as it was decreed upon those before you that you may become righteous"
(The Qur’an, 2:183).

During the entire month of Ramadan, we were united by our desire to gain the satisfaction of Allah through fasting, additional prayers and charitable deeds. During these days, we not only refrained from eating and drinking in the daytime, but also devoted our time to spiritual purification and self-improvement, recited and memorized the Holy Quran and tried to stay away from bad thoughts, words and deeds.
The coronavirus pandemic made significant changes to the way we spent the month of Ramadan. Since we understood the danger of this disease, we had to stop performing tarawih prayers in our mosques and having iftars with our families and friends. But the Almighty gave us the sweetness of sincere prayers and conversations with our loved ones. We did not have much time for that before. Any believer finds pleasure in doing good deeds and showing mercy and kindness towards others.

In these difficult days, the pandemic did not separate us. We came together to demonstrate the beauty of our religion, which calls for helping everyone regardless of gender, nationality, age and religion. As our Prophet Muhammad said,

"Allah will help the servant as long as the servant helps his brother."(Muslim)

We understand that among our fellow believers there are many people who found themselves in a difficult situation due to self-isolation. At the same time, many brothers and sisters decided to volunteer to help those in need. Many of us made donations to support our brothers and sisters. I sincerely pray to the Creator of the worlds that He accepts all deeds performed in the blessed days of Ramadan with sincere and pure intentions and rewards us manifold in this life and Hereafter.

We know that doctors, nurses, paramedics, and other medical workers are at the frontline of the pandemic, risking their lives yet fulfilling their professional duty. We ask Alah to protect them and to grant them countless rewards.

We ask Allah to protect us, help scientists find a cure to coronavirus, save lives and health of all people. But at the same time, we must remember about our duty to follow all sanitary requirements. Our mosques and religious leaders have done everything in order to prevent the further spread of infection and it seems that these measures have proved successful.
Therefore, the greatest joy of Eid al-Fitr is the joy of accomplishment and spiritual purification.

The final action of this month, according to the Sunna of the Prophet Muhammad (saw), is the payment of alms - sadaqa al-fitr. It is obligatory for every Muslim, regardless of his income.

The Messenger of Allah (pbuh) ordained Zakat Al-Fitr to purify the fasting person from indecent words or actions, and to provide food for the needy.
(Sunan by Abu Daoud).

"He has certainly succeeded who purifies himself And mentions the name of his Lord and prays"
(The Qur’an, 87:14-15)

Dear brothers and sisters!
On behalf of the Religious Board of Muslims of the Russian Federation and the Russian Muftis Council, I sincerely congratulate you on the blessed holiday – Eid al-Fitr.
I ask Allah to accept our fasts, prayers and good deeds. May Allah Almighty grant His mercy to all of us. May the month of Ramadan help us heal from all diseases, strengthen our faith and purify our hearts. May Allah give us the opportunity to welcome the next Ramadan in peace and good health!
As-salamu alaikum wa rahmatullahi wa barakatuh!
Mufti Sheikh Ravil Gainutdin,
Chairman of the Religious Board of Muslims of the Russian Federation and the Russian Muftis Council