The ruling on celebratingMother’s Day and Family Day

An article was published by An-Nadwah newspaper on 30/11/1384 A.H.
entitled Takreem Al-Umm wa Takreem Al-Usrah ) Honoring The Mother and
The Family ). The writer appreciated some aspects of the Western
innovation of allocating one day during the year to mothers. He
mentioned something that was overlooked by the people who introduced
this day, namely, the children who have lost their mothers become sad
when they see their friends celebrating theirmothers. Hence, he
suggested that the celebration should be done for the entire family
and provided the justification that Islam did not ordain that day on
the grounds that the Islamic Sharee'ah (Islamic legislation) orders
Muslims to honor their mothers and be good to them at all times. As
such, there is no need to allocate one day during the year to mothers.
The writer was correct in providing that justification and mentioning
the bad aspect that was overlooked by the people who introduced
Mother's Day. However, he did not mention that religious innovations
counter the explicit texts that were narrated on the authority ofthe
Messenger of Islam, , nor did he mention the danger involved in
imitating the polytheists and disbelievers. Therefore, I wrote this to
draw the attention of the writer and other people to what is involved
in the religious innovation of Mother's Day, as well as the
otherreligious innovations that have been brought up by the enemies of
Islam and the people who are ignorant of Islam, thus, tarnishing Islam
and causing people to stay away from it. Finally, this has brought
confusion and disunity and only Allaah The Almighty knows how damaging
and harmful they are.
It is proven from authentic Hadeeths (narrations) that the Messenger
of Allaah, , warnedagainst religious innovations and imitating the
enemies of Allaah, namely the Jews, Christians and other polytheists.
He said: "Whoever introduces something new in this matter of ours
(Islam)that is not part of it will have it rejected." [Al-Bukhaari and
Muslim] Another Hadeeth states: " Whoever does anything that is not in
accordance with this matter of ours (Islam) will have itrejected."
[Muslim] It means that the innovated matter will not be accepted from
the innovator. TheMessenger of Allaah, , used tosay in the Friday
Khutbah (sermon): "The best of speech is the Book of Allaah and the
best of guidance is the guidance of Muhammad. The worst of matters are
those which are newly-invented and every innovation (in religion) is
an error." [Muslim]
There is no doubt that allocating one day during the year to mothers
and families is something new to Islam, as it was not done by the
Messenger of Allaah, , and his Companions. As such, Mother's Day must
not be celebrated and Muslims should be warned against celebrating it,
for it is sufficient for them to adhere onlyto what is legislated by
Allaah The Almighty and His Messenger, .
The writer mentioned that the Islamic Sharee'ah urges people tohonor
and be dutiful to their mothers at all times. He is right. Muslims,
thus, must be satisfied with what Allaah The Almighty legislated for
them. They are required to be always good to their mothers, revere
them, be kind to them and listen to them within the limits of
Sharee'ah . In addition, Muslims must be aware of the innovated
matters that Allaah The Almighty warned them against and which lead
them to resembling the enemies of Allaah The Almighty, following them
and deeming as good whatever religious innovations they come up with.
Muslims are required to be dutiful to, honor and maintain good
relations withnot only their mothers but also their fathers and kin.
Allaah The Almighty forbids undutifulness and severance of kinship
ties. He allocated special care and dutifulness to mothers because
they provide their children with the utmost care and suffer more in
pregnancy, breastfeeding and raising them.
Allaah The Almighty Says (what means):
· } And your Lord has decreed thatyou not worship except Him, and to
parents, good treatment. { [Quran 17:23]
· } And We have enjoined upon man [care] for his parents. His mother
carried him, [increasing her] in weakness upon weakness,and his
weaning is in two years. Be grateful to Me and to your parents; to Me
is the [final] destination. { [Quran 31:14]
· } So would you perhaps, if you turned away, cause corruption onearth
and sever your [ties of] relationship? { [Quran 47:22]
In an authentic Hadeeth (narration), the Messenger of Allaah, , said:
"'Shall I not tell you of the greatest of the grave major sins?' They
said, 'Yes, O Messenger of Allaah.' He said: 'Associating partners
with Allaah and being undutiful to one's parents.' He was reclining,
but he sat up and said : 'And false speech and false witness.'"
A man asked the Messenger of Allaah, , saying, "'O Messengerof Allaah,
who among people is the most entitled to my good companionship?' He
said : 'Your mother.' The man asked, 'Then who?' He said : 'Your
mother.' He asked,'Then who?' He said : 'Your mother.' He asked, 'Then
who?' He said: 'Your father then the closet of your kin.' "
The Messenger of Allaah, , also said that a person who severs kinship
relations will not be admitted into Paradise.
In another authentic Hadeeth , the Prophet, , said: "Whoever would
like to have his provision increased for him and his life span
extended for him, let him maintain kinship ties."
These Hadeeths are enough to support our argument. When contemplated,
they clearly indicate the obligation of honoring, respecting, and
treating one's parents and kinfolk with kindness. They also indicate
the ugliness of being undutiful to one's parents and severing kinship
ties, for by doingso a person commits a grave major sin that will
definitely bring the wrath of Allaah The Almighty upon himself and he
will end up in Hell – may Allaah save us. This is graver than the
tradition that was introduced by the West to honor mothers one day
during the year and neglect them all other days, along with
overlooking the rights of fathers and the rest of kin.
Sensible people realize the great corruption that arises from this
custom, which also opposes the Sharee'ah of Allaah The Almighty and
violates the prohibitions of the Messenger of Allaah, .
The same applies to birthday celebrations, national and independence
day celebrations, anniversaries commemorating ascension to the throne,
and the like. In this regard, Muslims followed the enemies of Allaah
The Almighty and overlooked the religious forbiddance of
imitatingthem. There is a sound Hadeeth on the authority of the
Messenger of Allaah, , who said: " 'You will follow the ways of those
who came before you step by step, to such an extent that if they were
to enter a lizard's hole, you would enter it too.' They said, 'O
Messenger of Allaah, (do you mean) the Jews and Christians?' He said:
'Who else?' "
Another version of this Hadeeth states: " 'My Ummah (nation) will
follow the previous nations, handspan by hand span and cubit by
cubit.' They said, 'O Messenger of Allaah, do you mean the Persians
and the Romans?' He said: 'Who else?' "
The reality proves what was said by the most truthful one; the
Messenger, . The Muslim community -- except those whom Allaah The
Almighty -- has willed, imitate the Jews, Christians, Magains and
other disbelievers in their morals and deeds. This accentuated the
alienation of Islam. Moreover, thepractices, morals and lifestyle of
the disbelievers became better in the eyes of many Muslims than what
is enjoined by Islam.
Many Muslims have regrettably taken what is good as evil, acts ofthe
Sunnah (tradition) as religiousinnovations, and vice versa, out of
ignorance and because they reject the noble morals and upright deeds
urged by Islam. Wesupplicate Allaah The Almighty tohelp Muslims to
understand their religion well, to reform their conditions, to guide
their leaders and to help their scholars and writers to circulate the
good aspects of Islam and warn against religious innovations
thattarnish the image of Islam and cause people to avert from it.
Allaah The Almighty is surely capable of doing so. - - ▓███▓
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Mother's Day-An Islam Perspective

The Prophet, , said that his Ummah (nation) would imitate the previous
nations from amongthe Jews, Christians and Persians. He did not say
this, of course, by way of praising their deeds in so much as by way
of dispraising and chastising those who do so.
It was narrated on the authority of Abu Sa'eed that the Prophet, ,
said: "You will follow the ways of those who were before you, span by
span, and cubit by cubit [i.e. so completely and literally] that if
they should go into the hole of a lizard, you too would go there." The
Companions asked, "O Messenger of Allaah! Do you mean the Jews and the
Christians?" He , replied: "Whoelse?" [Al-Bukhaari and Muslim]
It was narrated on the authority of Abu Hurayrah that he said that the
Prophet, , said: "The Hour will not be established until my Ummah
imitates the deeds of the previous nations, span by span and cubit by
cubit." It was said, "O Messenger of Allaah! Do you mean by those
[nations] the Persians and the Romans?" The Prophet, said : "Who could
it be other than them?" [Al-Bukhaari]
Indeed, the ignorant, heretical innovators and deviants of this Ummah
have followed the previous nations of the Jews, Christians and
Persians in their beliefs, methods, morals and even appearance. It is
of great importance to note how they follow and imitate them in the
innovation of "Mother's Day" or"Family Day", which is a day invented
by the Christians to allegedly honor the mother. It has become an
exalted day, on which all usual affairs cease to function, and people
maintain relations with their mothers, sending them gifts and loving
messages. However, once it is over, everything returns to its oldstate
of severing relations and undutifulness.
Why would Muslims need such animitation, given that Allaah The
Almighty has enjoined upon them to be dutiful to the mother,forbidden
them from being undutiful to her and made the highest degree of
Paradise a reward for that dutifulness to her.
Definition of "' Eed " (A Special Dayof Celebration)
In the Arabic language, the word 'Eed comes from the root 'Awd, which
means to recur. Ibn Taymiyyah said, "The word 'Eed is a term given to
the occasion of assembly which customarily recurs annually, monthly,
weekly and so on." ] Iqtidhaa' As-Siraat Al-Mustaqeem [
Ibn 'Aabideen said, "'Eed wasgiven this name because on it, Allaah The
Almighty gives various kinds of favors that recur [in terms of
goodness] upon His slaves every day, like breaking thefast after
prevention from food, Sadaqat Al-Fitr (obligatory charitygiven after
Ramadhaan), completing Hajj by performing the Ifaadhah Tawaaf
(circumambulation) and the meatof the slaughtered sacrifices, and so
on. Moreover, delight, pleasure, activity and refreshment are features
of such days." ] Haashiyat Ibn 'Aabideen [
How many `Eeds are there in Islam?
It is noteworthy that there are many festivals that the Muslims
celebrate nowadays, like the Day of the Tree, Labor Day, the Day of
Accession, birthdays, and so on, in addition to many other days, all
of which spring from Jewish, Christian and polytheistic cultures. It
should be noted here that these days have no basis in religion, since
in Islam, there are only two occasions of annual celebration: 'Eed
Al-Adh'ha and 'Eed Al-Fitr .
It has been narrated on the authority of Anas ibn Maalik that he said
that during the days of Jaahiliyyah (pre-Islamic ignorance), people
had two days as festivals every year on which they used to entertain
themselves. When the Messenger of Allaah, , came to Madeenah, he said:
"You had two days [as yearly festivals] on whichyou used to play, and
Allaah has given you instead another two [occasions] which are much
better: 'Eed Al-Fitr [breaking fast after the month of Ramadhaan] and
'Eed Al-Adh'ha [the tenth of Thul-Hijjah, on which you slaughter a
sacrifice]." [Abu Daawood and An-Nasaa'i, Al-Albaani - Saheeh [
The Sharee'ah stance on Mother's Day
Islam is not in need of what is innovated by others, whether it
isMother's Day or anything else; it has its own laws which enjoin
dutifulness to mothers. Muslims are in no need for the innovated
celebration of Mother's Day. Ibn Taymiyyah commented on a similar case
saying: "Thus, it is clear to you how perfect this Sharee'ah, with its
true natural-disposition, is. The wisdom behind Allaah The Almighty
ordaining for His Messenger to do the opposite of whatever the
disbelievers do in all affairs is that opposition is more likely to
remove evil, and is farther from falling into the same mistakes which
a lot of those people have fallen into." - - ▓███▓ Translator:->
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Optimal Ways of Attaining Inner Tranquility and Serenity

This life is not our eternal dwelling but a short-lived and ephemeral
abode. A person is destined to face sundry pains, suffering, hardships
and sorrows in this transient life, as there are many reasons that
lead to boredom, dullness, irritation and anxiety. Allaah The Almighty
Says (what means): {We have certainly created man into hardship.}
[Quran 90:4]
Indeed, everyone faces suffering and hardships in their lives. Misery
and adversities are inherently characteristic of this ephemeral life.
However, what distinguishes people in this regard is the way they
handle their suffering and hardship and the methods and strategies
they employ to deal with the reasons for their dullness, irritation,
and anxiety.
Despite all the available conveniences, luxuries, and amenities that
we enjoy today, and although we possess all that we need in order to
relish a comfortable life and worldly bliss, boredom and anxiety is
stillgrowing among people! This should drive all those who seek
happiness to start looking for thereal reasons that help one attain
happiness, inner tranquility and serenity, peace of mind, stability,
and to find ways to eradicate all traces of boredom and anxiety.
Undoubtedly, among the best methods of gaining inner tranquility and
serenity and helping one to endure hardships and calamities are:
1- Sincere faith and righteous deeds: Allaah The Almighty Says (what
means): {Whoever does righteousness, whether male or female, while he
is a believer – We will surely cause him to live a good life, and We
will surely give them their reward [in the Hereafter] according to the
best of what they used to do.} [Quran 16:97]
2- Adapting one's heart and preparing oneself mentally to endure
unfavorable situations, adversities and calamities makes it easy for
one to face them. It also lessens and diminishes their intensity and
severity, and helps one to move on and endure whatever happens to him.
On theother hand, if one expects only good and favorable results in
all his worldly affairs, this feeling can actually incur many crises
and hardships.
3- One should give up all illusions and phobias, as giving in to
themis one of the greatest reasons for feelings of embitterment in
this life. Indeed, one of the well-known phobias that many people
experience is the fear of the future and of the unknown. People tend
to occupy themselves with anticipating their future and are neck-deep
in their plans and concerns, instead of living in the present.
Accordingly, this results in missing the opportunity to rectifyone's
present because of the concerns and fears for a tomorrow that he may
not even live through. Allaah The Almighty Says (what means): {... And
more appropriate for them [would have been]* Obedience and good words.
And when the matter [of fighting] was determined, if they had been
true to Allaah, it would have been better for them.} [Quran 47:20-21]
One should not give in to such illusions and phobias; instead, one
should put his trust in Allaah,the Exalted, turning only to Him.
Allaah The Almighty Says (what means): {And upon Allaah rely, if you
should be believers.} [Quran 5:23]
4- One should not give too much weight to troubles, exaggerate one's
problems and make a mountain out of a molehill, since this creates
unnecessary anxiety and confusion. This is also the reason behind
absentmindednessand distraction, causing one to be lost and engrossed
in endless problems that crop up one after the other, creating a
vicious cycle.
5- One should bear in mind that hardships and calamities, no matter
how long they last, will soon come to an end – they are ephemeral,
like life itself. No one maintains the same living conditions all
through; change is a norm in this life. Indeed, such conviction makes
one full of hopeand helps one to endure adversities and tribulations.
Patience helps one to overcome any difficulty and is the best of
allblessings.
6- One should remember Allaah The Almighty all the time. - - ▓███▓
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Dought & Clear, - Person for whom the prayer is obligatory praying behind one whois offering a naafil prayer.

A friend of mine was offering 2 rakahs sunnah after Maghrib in the
Mosque, when a newcomer joined him for Jamaah. My friend didn'tknow
what to do as he was offering the Sunnahand he knew that the new comer
was under the impression that he was offering fard. After the prayer
my friend was still in the Mosque when the new comer finished his
prayer and asked my friend why he had not been reading out loud as it
was MAghrib. My friend informed him that he had been reading the
Sunnah and therefore could not have read out loud. Could you please
clarify with daleel [prooffrom Hadith/Sunnah] as to what should be
done in such a situation where you are offering a Sunnah prayer and
someone joins you thinking its Fard?.
Praise be to Allaah.
Firstly:
There is nothing wrong with one who is offeringan obligatory prayer
praying behind one whois offering a naafil prayer. It is proven that
Mu'aadh ibn Jabal (may Allah be pleased with him) used to pray 'Isha'
with the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him), thenhe
would go back to his people and lead them in praying 'Isha', and the
prayer was naafil for him and obligatory for them.
It was narrated that Jaabir ibn 'Abd-Allah (may Allah be pleased with
him) said: Mu'aadh ibn Jabal (may Allah be pleased with him) used to
pray with the Prophet(blessings and peace of Allah be upon him),
thenhe would go to his people and lead them in prayer. And he would
recite al-Baqarah. … The Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon
him) said: "Recite 'By thesun and its brightness' [al-Shams 91:1], and
'Glorify the Name of yourLord, the Most High' [al-A'la 87:1] and the
like."
Narrated by al-Bukhaari (5755) and Muslim (465).
Al-Nawawi said:
In this hadeeth we see that it is permissible for one who is offering
an obligatory prayer to pray behind one who is offering a naafil
prayer, because Mu'aadh used to offer the obligatory prayer with the
Messenger of Allah (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him), so he
discharged his duty, then he would pray the second time with his
people, so it was voluntary for him and obligatory for them. Thisis
stated clearly elsewhere than in Muslim, and this is permissible
according toal-Shaafa'i (may Allah have mercy on him) and others. End
quote.
Sharh Muslim, 4/181
Secondly:
There is nothing wrong with a person starting his prayer alone and
then becoming an imam when someone else joins him.
It was narrated that Ibn 'Abbaas (may Allah be pleased with him) said:
I stayed overnight with my maternal aunt. The Prophet (blessings and
peace of Allah be upon him) got up to pray at night and I got up to
pray with him. I stood on his left and he took hold of my head and
made me stand on his right.
Narrated by al-Bukhaari (667) and Muslim (763).
Imam al-Bukhaari included this report in a chapter entitled: If the
imam did not intend to lead others in prayer, then people join him so
he leads them in prayer.
And it was narrated that Anas (may Allah be pleased with him) said:
The Messenger of Allah (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) was
praying in Ramadaan, and I came and stood beside him, and another man
came and stood too, until there was a group of us. When the Prophet
(blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) realized that I was behind
him, he made hisprayer brief.
Narrated by Muslim (1104).
Some of the scholars said that it is permissibleto do this in naafil
prayers, but not in obligatory prayers. But the correct view is that
itis valid in both cases.
Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyah (may Allah have mercy on him) said:
The correct view is that that is permissible in both obligatory and
naafil prayers. End quote.
Majmoo' al-Fataawa, 22/258
Shaykh Ibn 'Uthaymeen (may Allah have mercy on him) said:
But the correct view is that it is valid in both obligatory and naafil
prayers. With regard to naafil prayers, it is mentioned in the text;
with regard to obligatory prayers, whatis proven in the case of naafil
prayers is also proven with regard to obligatory prayers, unless there
is evidence to the contrary.
Al-Sharh al-Mumti', 2/304
Thirdly:
If a person starts to pray behind a man who has started to offer a
naafil prayer, as in the case asked about here, then the imam has the
choice as to whether he recites out loud or quietly. But if he
intended to lead the prayer from the outset, then he should recite out
loud, because of the hadeeth of Mu'aadh (may Allah be pleased with
him) quoted above.
And Allah knows best. - - ▓███▓ Translator:->
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