Holiday Prayer, Dought & clear, - * It is Sunnah to adorn oneself for Eid by wearing one’s best clothes; that does not come under the heading of imitating the non-Muslims

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Is it Sunnah or is it permissible to buy new clothes for Eid, or does this spending on clothes for Eid come under the heading of imitating the disbelievers, as they buy new clothes for their celebrations?
Praise be to Allah.
The Muslim should dress for Eid in his best clothes, and go out to see his friends and visit his relatives looking and smelling good. This is something that is customary and well-known among people at all times, and this is their tradition; it is part of expressing joy and happiness on that day.
This is also indicated by the Sunnah.
Al-Bukhaari (948) and Muslim (2068) narrated that ‘Abdullah ibn ‘Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) said: ‘Umar found a suit of istabraq (a type of silk) being offered for sale in the market, so he took it and brought it to the Messenger of Allah (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) and said: O Messenger of Allah, buy this and adorn yourself with it for ‘Eid and for the delegations. The Messenger of Allah (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) said: “This is only a garment for the one who has no share in the Hereafter.” The Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him did not object to adorning oneself for Eid; rather he told him that wearing this suit was haraam, because it was made of silk.
As-Sindi said in his commentary on an-Nasaa’i (3/181):
From this it is known that adorning oneself on the day of Eid was a tradition that was approved of among them, and the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) did not object to it, thus it is known that this tradition is valid and continued. End quote.
Shaykh Ibn Jibreen (may Allah have mercy on him) said:
There are many Sunnahs and mustahabb actions in Eid prayer, one of which is adorn oneself for it and wear one’s best clothes. ‘Umar suggested to the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) that he should buy the suit being offered for sale by ‘Utaarid and adorn himself with it for Eid and for the delegations, but he rejected it because it was made of silk, and he had a suit that he would wear on Eid and on Fridays. End quote.
Fataawa ash-Shaykh Ibn Jibreen(59/44)
Al-Haafiz Ibn Jareer (may Allah have mercy on him) said: Ibn Abi’d-Dunya and al-Bayhaqi narrated with a saheeh isnaad going back to Ibn ‘Umar that he used to wear his best clothes on the two Eids. End quote.
Shaykh Ibn ‘Uthaymeen (may Allah have mercy on him) said:
It is Sunnah for men on Eid to adorn themselves and wear their best clothes. End quote.
Majmoo‘ Fataawa wa Rasaa’il Ibn ‘Uthaymeen(13/2461)
So there is nothing wrong with a Muslim buying new clothes for the day of Eid, and that does not come under the heading of imitating the non-Muslims, even if they do that on their festivals and celebrations. With regard to everything that shar‘i evidence indicates is prescribed and recommended, doing it cannot come under the heading of imitation of the disbelievers that is prohibited.
With regard to good attitudes, for example, treating people kindly, being cheerful when meeting people, cleanliness, wearing perfume and other things that are prescribed, and there is shar‘i evidence to indicate that they are prescribed and recommended, the fact that some non-Muslims also do some of these things does not matter.
The imitation of disbelievers that is prohibited is doing things that are unique to them. As for things that are common to all people, and are not unique to the disbelievers, there is nothing wrong with the Muslims doing them.
Shaykh Ibn ‘Uthaymeen (may Allah have mercy on him) was asked about the guidelines on imitating or resembling the disbelievers.
He replied:
The guidelines on imitation refer to when the imitator does something that is unique to the one who is imitated. So imitating the disbelievers means that the Muslim does something that is unique to them. As for things that have become widespread among the Muslims, and are no longer unique to the disbelievers, that does not come under the heading of imitating or resembling others, so it is not haraam on the grounds that it is an imitation of the non-Muslims, unless it is haraam for some other reason. What we have said here is what is indicated by this word, and something similar was stated by the author ofal-Fathwhen he said: Some of the early generations regarded it as makrooh to wear the burnoose, because it was the clothing of (Christian) monks. Maalik was asked about it and said: There is nothing wrong with it. It was said: But it is the clothing of the Christians. He said: It is worn here.
Majmoo‘ Fataawa wa Rasaa’il Ibn ‘Uthaymeen(3/47-48)
And Allah knows best.

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Holiday Prayer, Dought & clear, - * Is delivering the Eid khutbah from the minbar an innovation?

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What is the ruling on delivering the khutbah from the minbar on Eid? I have heard some of my friends saying that this is clearly an innovation; is that true?
Praise be to Allah.
Firstly:
The Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) did not deliver the Eid khutbah to the people standing on the minbar, according to the more correct opinion.
Al-Bukhaari (may Allah have mercy on him) said in hisSaheeh(2/17):
Chapter on going out to the prayer place without a minbar.
Then he narrated (956) that Abu Sa‘eed al-Khudri said: The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) used to come out on the day of al-Fitr and al-Adha to the prayer place, and the first thing he would do was to offer the prayer. Then when he finished the prayer, he would stand facing the people, whilst the people were still sitting in their rows, and he would exhort them, and advise them and instruct them. If he wanted to send out a military detachment, he would do so, or if he wanted to issue some instructions, he would do so, then he would leave. Abu Sa‘eed said: The people continued to do that until I went out with Marwan – when he was the governor of Madinah – for Eid prayer on either Eid al-Fitr or Eid al-Adha, and when we came to the prayer place, I saw a minbar that had been built by Katheer ibn as-Salt, and Marwaan wanted to ascend it before he prayed. I grabbed hold of his garment, and he pulled away from me and ascended it, and he delivered the khutbah before the prayer. I said to him: You have changed (the practice), by Allah. He said: What you know has gone. I said: By Allah, what I know is better than that which I do not know. He said: The people were not remaining seated for us after the prayer, so I put the khutbah before the prayer.
Ibn al-Qayyim (may Allah have mercy on him) said:
There was no minbar to be ascended by the imam, and the minbar of Madinah was not taken out; rather (the imam) used to address them standing on the ground. Jaabir said: I attended prayer on the day of Eid with the Messenger of Allah (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him), and he started with the prayer before the khutbah, with no adhaan and no iqaamah. Then he stood up, leaning on Bilal, and enjoined us to fear Allah and encouraged us to obey Him. He exhorted the people and reminded them. Then he went to the women and exhorted them and reminded them. Agreed upon.
End quote fromZaad al-Ma‘aad(1/429)
Ibn Rajab (may Allah have mercy on him) said:
Most of his khutbahs were delivered on the minbar in the mosque, except his khutbah on the two Eids, on the occasion of Hajj, and so on.
End quote fromFath al-Baari(3/403)
See also the answer to question no. 49020.
Secondly:
Such matters should not provoke dissent, dispute or division among the Muslims, and we should not hasten unduly to say that it is an innovation. If that had merely been an innovation, Abu Sa‘eed (may Allah be pleased with him) would have denounced it as he denounced Marwaan ibn al-Hakam for putting the khutbah before the prayer.
Although the established teaching from the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) is not to take out the minbar, hopefully the matter is broad in scope, especially if there is a need to have a minbar in the prayer place for the khateeb.
Ibn Battaal (may Allah have mercy on him) said inSharh al-Bukhaari(2/554):
Ashhab said inal-Majmoo‘ah: Taking out the minbar for the Eid prayers is a matter that is broad in scope; it may or may not be taken out according to the imam’s wishes. End quote.
Shaykh Ibn ‘Uthaymeen (may Allah have mercy on him) was asked:
Is it Sunnah for the imam to deliver the khutbah from the minbar at the Eid prayer?
He replied:
Some scholars think that it is Sunnah, because in the hadeeth of Jaabir (may Allah be pleased with him) it says that the Messenger (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) addressed the people, then it says that he “came down and went to the women.” They said: “coming down” can only be from a higher place. And this is what people do.
Some of the scholars were of the view that delivering the khutbah without using the minbar is preferable.
The matter is broad in scope, in sha Allah.
End quote fromMajmoo‘ Fataawa wa Rasaa’il Ibn ‘Uthaymeen(16/350)
And Allah knows best.

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Prayers on various occasions, - Dought & clear, - * One goes out for salaat il-istisqa’ and itrains (45)

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What should one do if people go out to congregate for salaat il-istisqa’ (prayer asking for rain) and it rains?
If the people went out for the prayer for rain (istisqa’) or intended to do so and it rained, then there can be two cases:If they were prepared to go out and it rained before they left, then they should thank Allah (subhanahu wa ta‘ala) for His blessings and not leave. If they had already come out, they should pray in thankfulness to Allah(subhanahu wa ta‘ala).(Al-Mughni, 2/296)

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