Fatwas of the scholars

1. The scholars of the Standing Committee said:

Praise be to Allaah Alone and blessings and peace be upon His Messenger and his family and companions.

Firstly: Eid is a name given to a recurring occasion on which people come together, whether it is annual or monthly or weekly and so on. Eid combines a number of things: a day which recurs, such as Eid al-Fitr and Friday (Jumu’ah); gathering on that day; acts or worship and customs which are done on that day.
Secondly: whatever is done on that day as a ritual, act of worship or act of veneration that is done in order to seek reward, or that involves imitating the people of the Jaahiliyyah or similar kaafir groups is a forbidden act of innovation (bid’ah) and is included in the general meaning of the hadeeth in which the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “Whoever innovates something in this matter of ours (Islam) that is not part of it will have it rejected.” (Narrated by al-Bukhaari and Muslim). Examples of that include celebrating the Mawlid (Prophet’s birthday), Mother’s Day, and national days, because in the first case (Prophet’s birthday) that means worshipping in a manner that Allaah has not prescribed, and because it involves imitating the Christians and other kaafirs, and in the second and third cases (Mother’s Day and national holidays) it means imitating the kaafirs. As for occasions which are intended to organize work, for example, in the best interests of the ummah, such as

traffic week or training sessions for employees and so on, which are not intended as acts of worship or veneration at all, these are customary innovations which are not included in the words of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him), “Whoever innovates something in this matter of ours (Islam) that is not part of it will have it rejected,” so there is nothing wrong with such things, rather they are prescribed in Islam.

And Allaah is the Source of strength. May Allaah send blessings and peace upon our Prophet Muhammad and his family and companions.

Standing Committee for Academic Research and Issuing Fatwas, Fatawa al-Lajnah al-Daa’imah, 3/59, 61

2. They also said:

It is not permissible to celebrate the so-called Mother’s Day and similar innovated festivals because the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “Whoever innovates something in this matter of ours (Islam) that is not part of it will have it rejected.” He (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) did not celebrate Mother’s Day and neither did any of his companions (may Allaah be pleased with them) or the salaf (earliest generations) of this ummah. Rather it is an innovation (bid’ah) and imitation of the kuffaar.

Fataawa al-Lajnah al-Daa’imah, 3/86

3. Shaykh ‘Abd al-‘Azeez ibn Baaz said:

I read the article published in the al-Nadwah newspaper on 30/11/1384 AH, entitled Takreem al-Umm… wa Takreem al-Usrah (Honoring mothers… and honoring families), and I found that the writer approved of some of the what the west has done by singling out one day in the year to celebrate mothers. He pointed out something that is ignored by those who want to introduce this holiday, which is the pain and grief which those children who have lost their mothers suffer when they see their peers celebrating and honoring their mothers. He suggested that this celebration should honor the entire family and explained that Islam did not prescribe this festival, because the Islamic sharee’ah enjoins honoring one’s mother.

The writer did well by explaining why it is not prescribed in Islam and in pointing out the downside of this festival, of which many were unaware, but he did not point out the innovations involved which go against the clear texts that were narrated from the Messenger of Islam (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) or the harm that this causes, or the fact that it involves imitating the mushrikeen and kuffaar. So in these few words I wanted to point out to the writer and others the innovation in religion that is involved in this bid’ah and others that have been introduced by the enemies of Islam and those who are ignorant of it in order to damage its reputation and put people off Islam, and the confusion and division that have resulted from that, the extent of whose damage and corruption no one knows except Allaah.

It is proven in the saheeh ahaadeeth that the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) warned against innovations in religion and against imitating the enemies of Allaah, the Jews, Christians and other mushrikeen. For example, he (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “Whoever innovates something in this matter of ours (Islam) that is not part of it will have it rejected.” According to a version narrated by Muslim “Whoever does something that is not in accordance with this matter of ours (Islam) will have it rejected.”

What this means is that it will be rejected and thrown back on the one who innovated it. The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) used to say in his Jumu’ah (Friday) khutbah: “The best of speech is the Book of Allaah and the best of guidance is the guidance of Muhammad (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him). The worst of matters are those which are newly-innovated and every innovation is a going astray.” This was narrated by Muslim in his Saheeh. Undoubtedly singling out one day in the year to celebrate and honor mothers or families is one of the newly-innovated matters that were not done by the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) or by his blessed companions, so we must not do that and we must warn the people against it, and be content with that which Allaah and His Messenger have prescribed.

We have noted above that the writer stated that the Islamic sharee’ah enjoins respecting one’s mother and commands Muslims to honor their mothers all the time. He is correct on this point. The Muslims have to be content with that which Allaah has enjoined upon them of honoring and venerating their mothers, and treating them kindly, and obeying them when they tell them to do good all the time, and of avoiding innovated matters of which Allaah has warned them and which lead to imitation of the enemies of Allaah and following their paths and approving of the innovations of which they approve. That does not apply only to mothers, rather Allaah has commanded the Muslims to honor and respect both parents and to treat them kindly, to uphold ties of kinship with all relatives. And Allaah has warned them against disobeying parents and severing the ties of kinship, but He has singled out the mother for more care and honor, because she takes more care of the child and because the hardships she faces in bearing, nursing and raising the child are greater. Allaah says (interpretation of the meaning):

“And your Lord has decreed that you worship none but Him. And that you be dutiful to your parents”

[al-Isra’ 17:23]

“And We have enjoined on man (to be dutiful and good) to his parents. His mother bore him in weakness and hardship upon weakness and hardship, and his weaning is in two years give thanks to Me and to your parents. Unto Me is the final destination”

[Luqmaan 31:14]

“Would you then, if you were given the authority, do mischief in the land, and sever your ties of kinship?

Such are they whom Allaah has cursed, so that He has made them deaf and blinded their sight”

[Muhammad 47:22-23]

It was narrated in a saheeh hadeeth that the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “Shall I not tell you of the greatest of major sins?” They said, “Yes, O Messenger of Allaah.” He said, “Associating others in worship with Allaah, and disobeying one’s parents.” He was reclining, but he sat up and said, “And false speech and false witness.” A man asked him (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) saying, “O Messenger of Allaah, who among the people is most deserving of my good company?” He said, “Your mother.” He asked, “Then who?” He said, “Then your mother.” He asked, “Then who?” He said, “Then your mother.” He asked, “Then who?” He said, “Then your father, then the next closest and the next closest.”

The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “No one who severs the ties of kinship will enter Paradise.” And it was reported in a saheeh hadeeth that he (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “Whoever would like his provision to be increased and his life to be made long, let him uphold the ties of kinship.” There are many well-known aayahs and ahaadeeth which speak of honoring one’s parents and upholding the ties of kinship, and which affirm the rights of mothers. Those which we have quoted above are sufficient. They will prove to the one who ponders their meanings that it is obligatory to honor and respect both parents, and to treat them and all other relatives kindly at all times. They teach us that disobeying parents and severing the ties of kinship are among the worst characteristics and major sins which deserve the punishment of Hell and the wrath of Allaah. We ask Allaah to keep us safe from that.

This is better and more eloquent than the western innovation of singling out just one day in the year for honoring one's mother, then neglecting her for the rest of the year, whilst also ignoring the rights of fathers and other relatives. The great mischief that results from this will be obvious to anyone who has insight, along with the fact that it is contrary to the laws of the Wisest of rulers and is bound to cause that which His trustworthy Messenger warned us against.

Similar to this are the innovations which many people follow, such as celebrating the Prophet’s birthday, or the anniversary of the country’s independence, or the accession of the king, and so on. All of these are innovations in which the Muslims are imitating others, namely the enemies of Allaah. They ignore the warning which Islam brought against that and the prohibition of such things. This confirms the saheeh hadeeth in which the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “You will certainly follow the ways of those who came before you, step by step, until even if they entered the hole of a lizard, you will do so too.” We asked, “O Messenger of Allaah, (do you mean) the Jews and the Christians?” He said, “Who else?” According to another version, “My ummah will follow in the footsteps of those who came before it, handspan by handspan, cubit by cubit.” It was asked, “O Messenger of Allaah, the Persians and Romans?” He said, “Who else?”

What the most truthful one (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said has indeed come to pass, as this ummah – except for those whom Allaah wills – have followed those who came before them, the Jews, Christians, Magians and other kaafirs, in many of their characteristics and actions, until Islam has become like a stranger and the teachings, morals and actions of the kuffaar have become better in the minds of many people than the ways of Islam, and good has become evil and evil has become good, Sunnah has become an innovation and bid’ah has become the way of many people, because of ignorance and turning away from the noble morals and righteous deeds taught by Islam. “Truly, to Allaah we belong and truly, to Him we shall return” [al-Baqarah 2:156 – interpretation of the meaning; words uttered at times of calamity]

We ask Allaah to enable the Muslims to understand their religion, and to improve their situation, and to guide their leaders, and to help our scholars and writers to spread word of the beauties of our faith and to warn against the bid’ahs and innovations which tarnish its reputation and put people off, for He is able to do all things. May Allaah send blessings and peace upon His slave and Messenger Muhammad and upon his family and companions, and those who follow his path and adhere to his Sunnah until the Day of Judgement.

(Majmoo’ Fataawa al-Shaykh Ibn Baaz, 5/189)

4. Shaykh Saalih al-Fawzaan said:

Matters which involve imitation of the kuffaar include imitating them in matters of worship, such as matters of shirk like erecting structures and shrines over graves and exaggerating concerning them. The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “May the curse of Allaah be upon the Jews and the Christians, for they have taken the graves of their Prophets as places of worship.” And he said that if a righteous man among them died, they would build a place of worship over his grave and put images in it, and they are the most evil of mankind. There occur many actions which are tantamount to major shirk because of exaggeration concerning graves, because of that imitation of the Jews and Christians.

That also includes imitating them in mushrik and innovated festivals, such as the Mawlid celebrations on the birthday of the Messenger (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) or the birthdays of presidents and kings. Some of these innovated or mushrik festivals may be known as “days” or “weeks”, such as the National Day or Mother’s Day or Cleanliness Week and so on. All of these occasions have been imported to the Muslims from the kuffaar, because in Islam there are only two festivals: Eid al-Fitr and Eid al-Adha. Everything else is an innovation (bid’ah) and imitation of the kuffaar. The Muslims must beware of that and not be influenced by the large numbers of so-called Muslims who do that and are ignorant of the true teachings of Islam, and who do such things because of ignorance, or who are not ignorant of the true teachings of Islam but do these things deliberately, in which case the matter is more serious.

“Indeed in the Messenger of Allaah (Muhammad) you have a good example to follow for him who hopes for (the Meeting with) Allaah and the Last Day, and remembers Allaah much”

[al-Ahzaab 33:21 – interpretation of the meaning]

From a khutbah entitled al-Hathth ‘ala Mukhaalifat al-Kuffaar (Urging the Muslims to be different to the kaafirs)

5. Shaykh Muhammad ibn Saalih al-‘Uthaymeen was asked about the ruling on celebrating so-called Mother’s Day. He replied:

All festivals that go against the festivals that are prescribed in Islam are bid’ahs and innovations that were not known at the time of the righteous salaf, and they may have come from the non-Muslims, in which case as well as being innovations they also entail imitating the enemies of Allaah. The Islamic festivals are well known to the Muslims, namely Eid al-Fitr and Eid al-Adha, and the weekly festival (Jumu’ah or Friday). There are no other festivals in Islam apart from these three. All festivals which have been introduced apart from these are to be rejected and are false according to the law of Allaah, because the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “Whoever innovates something in this matter of ours (Islam) that is not part of it will have it rejected,” i.e., it will be thrown back at him and will not be accepted by Allaah. According to another version, “Whoever does something that is not in accordance with this matter of ours (Islam) will have it rejected.” Once this is clear, it is not permissible to celebrate the holiday mentioned in the question, which is known as Mother’s Day, and it is not permissible to introduce any of the symbols of that holiday such as expressing joy and happiness, giving gifts and so on. The Muslim must be proud of his religion and adhere to the limits set by Allaah for His slaves, without adding anything or taking anything away. Moreover, the Muslim should not be weak and spineless, following anyone who makes noise, rather he should mould his character according to the sharee’ah of Allaah so that he will be followed, not following, and so that he will be an example, not one who follows the example of others, because the sharee’ah of Allaah – praise be to Allaah – is perfect in all ways, as Allaah says (interpretation of the meaning):

“This day, I have perfected your religion for you, completed My Favor upon you, and have chosen for you Islam as your religion”

[al-Maa'idah 5:2]

Mothers deserve more than to be honored on just one day of the year, rather mothers have rights over their children, who should look after them, take care of them and obey them, so long as that does not involve disobeying Allaah, at all times and in all places.

Fataawa Islamiyyah, 1/124; Majmoo’ Fataawa al-Shaykh Ibn ‘Uthaymeen, 2/301, 302

6. Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyah said, commenting on a similar topic:

From this the perfection of Islamic sharee’ah should be clear to you, and you should be able to understand some of the wisdom behind the commands of Allaah to His Messenger to be distinct from the kuffaar and to differ from them in all ways, so that being different will become a protection against falling into evil and into the same things as other people did. If a Muslim’s wife or children ask him to do any of these things, he should remind them of the festivals that are prescribed in Islam and be generous to them on those occasions so that they will no longer look for other occasions. If they do not accept that, then there is no power and no strength except with Allaah. Whoever upsets his family for the sake of Allaah, Allaah will make him pleased and will make them pleased. Let the wise man beware of obeying women in such matters. In al-Saheehayn it was narrated that Usaamah ibn Zayd said: The Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “I am not leaving behind any temptation that is more harmful to men than women.” Most of the mischief caused to kings and states is because of obeying women. In Saheeh al-Bukhaari it is narrated that Abu Bakrah said: The Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “No people will ever prosper who appoint a woman as their leader.” And the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said to the Mothers of the Believers, when they double checked with him concerning the issue of instructing Abu Bakr to lead the people in prayer, “You are (like) the companions of Yoosuf,” meaning that women’s nature is to keep bothering the wise man with their questions. As he said in another hadeeth: “I have never seen anyone lacking in reasoning and religious commitment and more overwhelming to a wise man than any one of you.”

Therefore Allaah reminded us of His blessing to Zaraiyya when He said (interpretation of the meaning):

One of the scholars said: A man should pray to Allaah and try his best to reform his wife. And the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “Whoever imitates a people is one of them.”

Majmoo’ al-Fataawa, 25/324-326

And Allaah knows best.