They are not Islamic Holidays, but Innovations
By Imaam Mohamed Baianonie
Every nation in the world has it's own holidays and celebrations that are characteristics or landmark of that nation. This has been the case throughout the history of humanity, and it continues to be so in today's societies.
Of course, there are reasons behind every one of these celebrations. And these reasons may differ from one to another. However, they all originated from either one of the following sources: The Divine source or the human source.
The first refers to the Revelation from Allaah Subhaanahu wa Ta`aala in its two known parts, the Qur'aan, the Book of Allaah and the Sunnah, the traditions and sayings of Prophet Muhammad sall Allaahu 'alayhi wa sallam, and the second refers to the human-made traditions and customs.
It is a sad thing, when we look at the situation of the Muslim ummah (nation) to see that there is a great mix-up between religious holidays and celebrations that have no Islamic foundation. These unauthentic celebrations were passed through generations of Muslims from the time of deviation from true Islamic beliefs. What makes things worse, is that some of these non-religious holidays take on a religious appearance, and sometimes use religious rituals, which made it very hard for the common Muslim to distinguish between what is authentic and what is not. And sometimes, Muslims think that these inauthentic holidays are an essential part of Islam.
Therefore, it is necessary that we provide a clear distinction between the two kinds of holidays using guidance and support from the Qur'aan and the Sunnah. It is also necessary to understand and learn the reasons behind such a mix-up in this part of the Islamic belief and to know why this controversy has been going on for such a long time.
One can attribute this phenomena to two main reasons: The first is the ignorance of Muslims of the essence and purpose of holidays and celebrations in Islam, and the second is the blind imitation of others without examination and supporting evidence.
The first reason is that many Muslims have forgotten that holidays in Islam are a form of ibaadah (worship), and they are not like regular days we choose as we wish or spend them as we like. It is well known that the acts of ibaadah in Islam are fully described in the Revelation, and we are not supposed to invent new forms of ibaadah. However, due to lack of knowledge and understanding of the clear concept of ibaadah in the minds of many Muslims, innovated celebrations have been introduced into our lives.
We can tell that a celebration or a holiday is an act of ibaadah (worship) in Islam by following and understanding the sayings of the Prophet Muhammad sall Allaahu 'alayhi wa sallam. Imaams An Nesa'i and Ibn Hebban reported a saheeh hadeeth narrated by Anas radhiallaahu 'anhu, that at the time when the Prophet sall Allaahu 'alayhi wa sallam came to Madeena and saw that the people celebrated two days. The Prophet sall Allaahu 'alayhi wa sallam said: "Allaah Subhaanahu wa Ta`aala did replace these two holidays with better ones. The day of Al-Fitr (after the month of Ramadhaan) and the day of Al-Adha (sacrifice in the pilgrimage season)."
Thus, the acts of replacement meant a total cancellation of pre-Islamic holidays and the introduction of celebrations that are acts of ibaadah.
These acts of ibaadah can be observed in many Islamic holidays and celebrations. Some examples are the gathering of Muslims for Eid prayer and the sermon, forbidding fasting in these days, raising the voice with "Allaah Akbar" and giving animal sacrifices on the day of sacrifice and above all, the determination of the day of Eid by sighting the crescent of the new month. All these, and many other things tells us that the acts of celebration are acts of ibaadah and that the holidays are days of ibaadah. That is why Muslim scholars say that Muslims participation in the non-Muslims celebrations are prohibited because they are an act of worship according to the methods of disbelievers.
The second reason behind the mix-up in Muslim holidays, is the blind imitation of others without knowledge and evidence, considered to be a disease that effects nations and individuals when ignorance and innovations spread widely and knowledge and Sunnah demolished. This, in fact, is a serious problem because it introduced into the deen of Islam many things that are not a part of it. And in some cases, they are not allowed by the deen, because many Muslims practice them without close examination of their religious validity. These acts later on, became a habit unknowingly mixed with other deen rituals, or Muslims sometimes carry on the habits and traditions they learned from their parents and other Muslim figures in their countries. These habits are mostly treated by Muslims as if they were from the Revelation of Allaah Subhaanahu wa Ta`aala. The Prophet sall Allaahu 'alayhi wa sallam warned us in a saheeh hadeeth, reported by Imaams Bukhaari and Muslim radhiallaahu 'anhum: "He who innovates something in our deen that is not part of it, will have it rejected." And in other narration by Imaam Muslim "He who does an act which is not in agreement with our deen, will have it rejected."
It needs to be clear in our minds that such practices are only a sign of deviation from the path of Islam, because it violates the principle of judging all kinds of acts according to the Sharee`ah. The sources of legislation and the tools of weighing issues in Islam are well defined and must be fully implemented whenever we come across a new practice or a foreign act, otherwise, we would become like previous nations which took their rabbis and monks a source of legislation with Allaah the Exalted or without Him.
Allaah Subhaanahu wa Ta`aala warned us not to be like the people who claim to be believers but they refuse to accept judgment from Allaah Almighty and His Messenger sall Allaahu 'alayhi wa sallam in their life matters. In soorat An-Noor, (24:47-48), what can be translated as, "They say we believe in Allaah and in the Messenger and we obey, but even after that, some of them turn away, they are not really believers. When they are summoned to Allaah and His Messenger in order that he may judge between them, behold, some of them decline (to come)."
And in the same soorah Allaah Subhaanahu wa Ta`aala describes the true believers, "The answer of the believers, when summoned to. Allaah and his messenger in order that he may judge between them, are no other than this: they say, we hear and we obey. It is such as these that will attain felicity."
Some of the holidays that have been introduced into our lives as religious holidays with religious acts of ibaadah, when indeed they were invented by some people long after the death of the Prophet Muhammad sall Allaahu 'alayhi wa sallam. We know that they were invented because none of the companions of the Prophet sall Allaahu 'alayhi wa sallam celebrated them. The Sahaabahs, as we know, were the most pious and sincere when it comes to following the examples of the Prophet sall Allaahu 'alayhi wa sallam. They were with the Prophet sall Allaahu 'alayhi wa sallam, and they witnessed the Revelation, and still, they didn't do what some of us do nowadays.
Three of these innovated holidays are:
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Celebrating the birth of the Prophet sall Allaahu 'alayhi wa sallam.
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Celebrating the journey of the Prophet, at night, from Makkah to the "Al-Aqsa Masajid" in Jerusalem , and his sall Allaahu 'alayhi wa sallam ascendance to the seventh heaven.
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Celebrating the night of the middle of "Sha`baan", (which is the month that proceeds month of "Ramadhaan") .
It is Allaah Subhaanahu wa Ta`aala and His Messenger Muhammad sall Allaahu 'alayhi wa sallam who have the right to specify for us what holidays we need to observe. Several aayaat in the Holy Qur'aan and the Sunnah of the Prophet sall Allaahu 'alayhi wa sallam tell us that singling out certain days or nights for religious observance, in addition to the worshipping acts associated with them is actually a part of the divine legislation. No one individual, nor a group, regardless of their prominence in the society, have the right to legislate for us in our religious matters. If we accept innovation in our religious matters related to our deen, we would be violating our own firm belief that Allaah Subhaanahu wa Ta`aala has completed His Deen for us. Let us remember the aayah from soorat Al-Maaidah (5:3) which could be translated as, "This day have I perfected your Deen for you."
Let us also remember that the Prophet sall Allaahu 'alayhi wa sallam did not die until he conveyed to us the whole Message from Allaah Subhaanahu wa Ta`aala through his sayings and actions (Sunnah). We firmly believe that he sall Allaahu 'alayhi wa sallam did not leave out (purposely, or unpurposely) one Word of Allaah Subhaanahu wa Ta`aala's Message to mankind. The Prophet sall Allaahu 'alayhi wa sallam himself assured us about this fact when he said: "Everyone of the prophets who were sent by Allaah was obligated to guide his nation to the good, to the best of his ability, and to warn them of the evil, to the best of his ability." (Reported by Imaam Muslim)
Form all of this we see that inventing in the religious matters is not permitted in Islam. And Islam rejects such innovations.
The Prophet sall Allaahu 'alayhi wa sallam warned us in a saheeh hadeeth reported by Imaams Bukhaari and Muslim radhiallaahu 'anhum, "He who innovates something in our deen that is not part of it, will have it rejected." And in another narration by Imaam Muslim radhiallaahu 'anhu, "He who does an act which is not in agreement with our deen, will have it rejected."
Also Imaam Muslim reported that the Prophet sall Allaahu 'alayhi wa sallam used to say in his speeches, "The best of the speech is embodied in the Book of Allaah, and the best of the guidance is the guidance given by Muhammad. And the most evil affairs are their innovations; and every innovation is straying away from the guidance." Imaam An-Nisa'i added in another narration, "And every (Dalalah) astray is in the Hell-Fire."
Also reported by (As-Hab Ussu Nan) collectors that one time, the Prophet sall Allaahu 'alayhi wa sallam was sitting among his companions preaching, and apparently, the speech was emotional. The companions stared to cry and said to the Prophet sall Allaahu 'alayhi wa sallam: "It sounds like a farewell speech, please give us advice." He sall Allaahu 'alayhi wa sallam told them: "He who will stay alive among you after me will see a lot of misinterpretation, so stick to my tradition and the tradition of the guided Caliphs after me, hold them tight, and beware of the inventions in the religion, because every such invention is a misguidance. "
From this we know that the three holidays mentioned above were not specified for our Ummah by Allaah Subhaanahu wa Ta`aala, nor by His Messenger sall Allaahu 'alayhi wa sallam. Therefore, they are but innovations. And such innovations, are considered misguidance.
But let us ask ourselves a simple question: Is celebrating the Messenger sall Allaahu 'alayhi wa sallam's birthday a proof of our love for him? If the answer is "yes" then how come that none of the companions of the Prophet or even the guided Caliphs after him celebrated his birthday? They were the most loving and respectful to the Prophet sall Allaahu 'alayhi wa sallam. They loved him more than themselves, their wealth, and their families. They showed their love and respect, however, in a different way. They followed his example in every aspect of their lives. They were sincere through the Revelation. This is the true celebration. We can show our love and respect the same way those good companions did.
The same thing can be said about celebrating the journey of the Prophet sall Allaahu 'alayhi wa sallam, during the night at the Al-Aqsa Masajid.
Yes, it is a great miracle that has been authentically transmitted to us as a miracle that indeed took place. But it is only one of many miracles that happened at the time of the Prophet sall Allaahu 'alayhi wa sallam. Why should we single it out of all the others? Is it because we want to show our great respect for our Prophet sall Allaahu 'alayhi wa sallam? We can do that by carefully following his tradition (Sunnah). Or it is because it reminds us about "Al-Aqsa Masajid"? We can do that by returning to the forgotten "obligation" which is "Jihaad" in the cause of Allaah Subhaanahu wa Ta`aala to liberate the Masajid from the hand of the enemies. "Al-Aqsa Masajid" is a very revered place for all Muslims. It was the first Qiblah for the prayer. It was conquered by Umar radhiallaahu 'anhu, then later when it was occupied, Salahu-deen liberated it. Now, once again, it is under occupation, awaiting rescue from the Muslims who, for a long time, have given up Jihaad in the midst of the absence of true Islamic ruling from the face of this Earth.
And what about the night of the middle of Sha'baan?
Some Muslims observe that night and perform special prayers to celebrate it. We should know the following:
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Importance of that night is based on weak, unauthenticated narration attributed to the Prophet sall Allaahu 'alayhi wa sallam. There is no saheeh marfoo' report that speaks of the virtue of the middle of Sha`baan that may be followed, not even in the chapters on al-Fadaa'il (chapters on virtues in books of hadeeth etc.). Some maqtoo' reports (reports whose isnaads do not go back further than the Taabi'een) have been narrated from some of the Taabi'een, and there are some ahadeeth which are mawdoo' (fabricated) or da'eef jiddan (very weak).
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These reports became very well known in some countries which were overwhelmed by ignorance;these reports suggest that people's lifespans are written on that day or that it is decided on that day who is to die in the coming year. On this basis, it is not prescribed to spend this night in prayer or to fast on this day, or to single it out for certain acts of worship. One should not be deceived by the large numbers of ignorant people who do these things.
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If a person desires to pray qiyaam on the night of Sha`baan without attributing anything special or singling this night out for any reason, then that is alright. The same applies if he fasts the day of the 15th of Sha`baan because it happens to be one of the ayyaam al-beed, along with the 13th and 14th of Sha`baan, or because it happens to be a Monday or Thursday. If the 15th (of Sha'baan) coincides with a Monday or Thursday, there is nothing wrong with that (i.e. fasting on that day), so long as he is not seeking extra rewards that has not been proven in the saheeh texts.
In closing, I ask Allaah Subhaanahu wa Ta`aala to make us of those who adhere to His Guidance to follow it and to reject misguidance and avoid it. Aameen.