ASSALAMU ALAIKUM OH DEAR READER
Shaykh
al-Islam Ibn Taymiyah (may Allaah have mercy on him) said in his commentary on
the aayah (interpretation of the meaning), "And those who do not
witness falsehood (al-zoor)…" [al-Furqaan 25:72]: "As
regards the festivals of the mushrikeen: they combine confusion, physical desires
and falsehood, there is nothing in them that is of any religious benefit, and
the instant gratification involved in them only ends up in pain. Thus they are
falsehood, and witnessing them means attending them."
This
aaayah itself praises and commends (those who do not witness falsehood), which
has the meaning of urging people to avoid taking part in their festivals and
other kinds of falsehood. We understand that it is bad to attend their
festivals because they are called al-zoor (falsehood).
It
indicates that it is haraam to do this for many reasons, because Allaah has
called it al-zoor. Allaah condemns the one who speaks falsehood (al-zoor) even
if no-one else is harmed by it, as in the aayah forbidding zihaar (a form of
divorce in which the man says to his wife "You are to me like the back
of my mother"), where He says (interpretation of the meaning): "…
And verily, they utter an ill word and a lie (zooran)…" [al-Mujaadilah
58:2]. And Allaah says (interpretation of the meaning): "… So shun
the abomination of idols, and shun lying speech (false statements,
al-zoor)." [al-Hajj 22:30]. So the one who does al-zoor is
condemned in this fashion.
In
the Sunnah: Anas ibn Maalik (may Allaah be pleased with him) said: The
Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) came (to
Madeenah) and they had two days in which they would (relax and) play. He said, "What
are these two days?" They said, "We used to play (on these two
days) during the Jaahiliyyah." The Messenger of Allaah (peace and
blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: "Allaah has given you something
better instead of them: Yawm al-Duhaa (Eid al-Adha) and Yawm al-Fitr (Eid
al-Fitr)." [Reported by Abu Dawood]
This
indicates clearly that the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him)
definitely forbade his ummah to celebrate the festivals of the kuffaar, and he
strove to wipe them out by all possible means. The fact that the religion of
the People of the Book is accepted does not mean that their festivals are approved
of or should be preserved by the ummah, just as the rest of their kufr and sins
are not approved of. Indeed, the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon
him) went to great lengths to command his ummah to be different from them in
many issues that are mubaah (permitted) and in many ways of worship, lest that
lead them to be like them in other matters too. This being different was to be
a barrier in all aspects, because the more different you are from the people of
Hell, the less likely you are to do the acts of the people of Hell.
The
first of them is: The hadeeth "Every people has its festival, and this
is our festival" implies exclusivity, that every people has its own
festival, as Allaah says (interpretation of the meaning): "For every
nation there is a direction to which they face (in their prayers)…" [al-Baqarah
2:148] and "… To each among you, We have prescribed a law and a
clear way…" [al-Maa'idah 5:48] This implies that each nation
has its own ways. The laam in li-kulli ("for every", "to
each") implies exclusivity. So if the Jews have a festival and the
Christians have a festival, it is just for them, and we should not have any
part in it, just as we do not share their qiblah (direction of prayer) or their
laws.
The
second of them is: one of the conditions set out by 'Umar ibn al-Khattaab (may
Allaah be pleased with him) and agreed upon by the Sahaabah and by all the
Fuqaha' after them is: that those of the People of the Book who have agreed to
live under Islamic rule (ahl al-dhimmah) should not celebrate their festivals
openly in Daar al-Islam (lands under Islamic rule). If the Muslims have agreed
to prevent them from celebrating openly, how could it be right for the Muslims
to celebrate them? If a Muslim celebrates them, is that not worse than if a
kaafir does so openly?
The
only reason that we forbade them to celebrate their festivals openly is because
of the corruption involved in them, because of the sin or symbols of sin. In
either case, the Muslim is forbidden from sin or the symbols of sin. Even if
there was no evil involved apart from the kaafir feeling encouraged to
celebrate openly because of the Muslim's actions, how can a Muslim do that? The
evil involved (in their festivals) will be explained below, in sha Allaah.
Al-Bayhaqi
reported with a saheeh isnaad in Baab karaahiyat al-dukhool 'ala ahl al-dhimmah
fi kanaa'isihim wa'l-tashabbuh bihim yawmi nawroozihim wa maharjaanihim
(Chapter on the abhorrence of entering the churches of ahl al-dhimmah on the
occasion of their New Year and other celebrations): From Sufyaan al-Thawri from
Thawr ibn Yazeed from 'Ata' ibn Deenaar who said: 'Umar said: "Do not
learn the language of the non-Arabs, do not enter upon the mushrikeen in their
churches on their feast-days, for the wrath (of Allaah) is descending upon
them."
'Umar
ibn al-Khattaab said: "Avoid the enemies of Allaah on their
festivals."
It
was reported with a saheeh isnaad from Abu Usaamah: 'Awn told us from
Abu'l-Mugheerah from 'Abd-Allaah ibn 'Amr: "Whoever lives in the land
of the non-Arabs and celebrates their New Year and their festivals, and
imitates them until he dies in that state, will be gathered with them on the
Day of Resurrection."
'Umar
forbade learning their languages, and even entering their churches on the day
of their festival, so how about doing some of the things they do on those days,
or doing things that are a part of their religion? Is not going along with
their actions worse than learning their language? Is not doing some of the
things they do on their festival worse than just entering upon them? If divine
wrath is descending upon them on the day of their festival because of what they
do, then is not the one who does what they do, or a part of it, also exposed to
the same punishment? Do not the words "Avoid the enemies of Allaah on
their festivals" mean that we should not meet them or join them on
those days? So how about the one who actually celebrates their festivals?
'Abd-Allaah
ibn 'Amr clearly stated: "Whoever lives in the land of the non-Arabs
and celebrates their New Year and their festivals, and imitates them until he
dies in that state, will be gathered with them on the Day of
Resurrection."
This
implies that the one who joins in with them in all of these matters is a
kaafir, or that doing this is one of the major sins (kabaa'ir) that will doom
one to Hell; the former meaning is what is apparent from the wording.
He
mentioned – and Allaah knows best – the one who lives in their land, because at
the time of 'Abd-Allaah ibn 'Amr and the other Sahaabah, they used to forbid
open celebration of kaafir festivals in the Muslim lands, and none of the
Muslims imitated them in their festivals; that was possible only when living in
the lands of the kaafirs.
'Ali
(may Allaah be pleased with him) refused to even acknowledge the name of their
festivals which were exclusively theirs, so how about actually celebrating
them?
Ahmad
mentioned the meaning of the reports narrated from 'Umar and 'Ali (may Allaah
be pleased with them) on this topic, and his companions discussed the matter of
festivals.
Imaam
Abu'l-Hasan al-Aamidi said: the one who is known as Ibn al-Baghdaadi said in
his book 'Umdat al-Haadir wa Kifaayat al-Musaafir: "It is not permitted
to attend the festivals of the Christians and Jews". Ahmad stated this
in the report of Muhannaa, and his evidence for that is the aayah
(interpretation of the meaning): 'And those who do not witness falsehood
(al-zoor)…' [al-Furqaan 25:72] He said: "(This is) al-Sha'aaneen
and their festivals. He said: The Muslims are to be prevented from entering
upon them in their synagogues and churches."
[From
Iqtida' al-Siraat al-Mustaqeem Mukhaalifat Ashaab al-Jaheem by Shaykh al-Islam
Ibn Taymiyah, p. 183.]
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