Eid al-Fitr, Cash Flows, and Cash Waqf

By Prof Achmad Firdaus*)

Eid al-Fitr is commonly understood as a spiritual moment, a day of victory after a month of fasting. This is the time when Muslims return to their innate nature, strengthen family ties, and renew their moral commitments before Allah SWT.

However, behind its spiritual and cultural face, Eid al-Fitr is actually a very significant economic event. At this moment, there is a massive flow of funds from urban centres to hometowns, extended families, and broader layers of society.

Holiday allowances (THR), bonuses, zakat, alms, travel costs, remittances to parents, gifts for relatives, and seasonal shopping form an extraordinary wave of liquidity redistribution.

This phenomenon needs to be read more seriously. So far, discussions about the Eid economy have focused more on the rise in household consumption, the surge in money circulation, seasonal inflation, transport congestion, or the vibrancy of trade. All of that is indeed true.

However, there is a more fundamental question: will the large cash flows during Eid al-Fitr end only as short-term consumption, or can they be transformed into a social-economic force with benefits that are much longer-lasting for the ummah?

This is where the real issue begins. Most of the Eid cash flows are absorbed into consumption patterns. Spending on food, clothing, travel, hampers, souvenirs, gifts, family celebrations, and household needs increases sharply.

This consumption, of course, cannot be viewed entirely negatively. To a certain extent, consumption is even needed to drive the economy, strengthen family happiness, and preserve deeply rooted social traditions.

The problem is not with consumption itself, but with its dominance as the ultimate goal.

As a result, the ummah’s enormous economic energy during the Eid season is mostly spent on momentary expenditures, not as social capital that can continue to grow.

We are actually witnessing a paradox.