Lantern of the Sunnah in the ‘Eeds of the Ummah - I

Under category: The Prophet's Worship

‘eed (festival) is a happy occasion, during which one is transported to gardens of joy and delight. it is a festival of joy and happiness, as it is an opportunity for people to entertain themselves and take rest.

every nation has its own festivals, and, in islam, we have no festivals other than the weekly festival of friday and the annual festivals of al-adh-ha and al-fitr. as for friday, the prophet said: “this is a day that allaah the almighty made a festival for the muslims, so whoever comes for the friday prayer should take a bath and apply perfume if it is available (before coming). you also should use siwaak (tooth stick).” [ibn maajah (al-albaani: hasan)]

with regard to the evidence of the annual festivals, anas

reported, “when the messenger of allaah came to madeenah, they had two days when they would play. he said: “what are these two days?” they said, “we used to play on these days during the jaahiliyyah.” the messenger said: “allaah has given you instead of them two days that are better than them: the day of al-adh-ha and the day of al-fitr.” [abu daawood (al-albaani: saheeh)]

hence, it is absolutely prohibited for muslims to celebrate or participate in the festivals of the non-muslims or congratulate them during these festivals such as new year, christmas, nowrouz (persian new year), valentine’s day, mother’s day, birthdays, wedding anniversaries, and so on. moreover, the prophet

said: “whoever imitates a people is one of them.” ‎[abu daawood (al-albaani: saheeh)]‎

given the fact that the lives of the muslims, with its joys and sorrows, should be in accordance with the divine methodology and in such a way that embodies sincere worship of allaah the almighty in all cases and at all times and places, they must light up their life with the lantern of the sunnah (prophetic tradition) to please allaah the almighty.

dear muslim brothers and sisters, here is a concise reminder about the guidance of the prophet

and his honorable companions regarding celebrating the ummah’s festivals.

acts of sunnah on ‘eed:

1- adornment and beauty:

the prophet

and his honorable companions used to adorn themselves on the occasion of ‘eed.

al-firyaabi

narrated with authentic isnaad (chain of transmission) on the authority of ibn ‘umar

that he used to bathe and apply perfume on the occasion of ‘eed al-fitr.

it was also narrated on the authority of ibn ‘umar

that he said,

‘umar took a brocade cloak that was for sale in the market and brought it to the messenger of allaah and said, “o messenger of allaah, buy this and adorn yourself with it for ‘eed and for receiving delegations.” the messenger said to him: “rather, this is the dress of one who has no share of piety (or of reward in the hereafter).” some time passed after this incident, and then the prophet sent a (similar) cloak to him. 'umar brought that cloak back to the prophet and said, 'you have sent this to me, and you said about a similar one what you said?' the prophet said: 'i have sent it to you so that you may obtain money by selling it.” [al-bukhaari]

thus, the prophet

agreed with ‘umar

on the idea of adorning oneself for ‘eed, but he denounced him for choosing this cloak because it was made of silk. [ibn hajar in fat-h al-baari]

this proves that adornment here is restricted to what is lawful, because it is impermissible for one to wear any prohibited clothing or adornment on ‘eed or at any other time.

in this respect, some people commit a series of violations including the following:

dying the hair black: the prophet forbade this act saying: “change the greyness or whiteness of the hair, but avoid black.” [abu daawood (al-albaani: saheeh)]

one should use henna or any other lawful material to dye the hair as long as it is not black.

shaving or trimming the beard (for men): this is a violation of the commandments of the prophet who said: “let the beard grow, trim the moustache, dye your grey hair and avoid imitating the jews and the christians.” [ahmad (al-albaani: saheeh)] indeed, the beard of the prophet as his companions described it, was thick and full. [muslim]

in conclusion, there is no doubt that the best guidance is the guidance of our beloved prophet

letting garments hang below the ankle (for men): this is a flagrant violation of the guidance of the prophet who said: “the lower garment of a believer should be half way below the knees. he is guilty of no sin if it reaches the ankles. that which is below the ankles is in the fire (of hell). allaah will not look at one who allows his lower garment to trail out of vanity.” [ahmad and others (al-albaani: saheeh)]
trimming or removing eyebrow hair for both women (and men): this is a serious sin that may cause one to be expelled from the mercy of allaah the almighty, allaah forbid. the prophet said: “allaah has cursed those women who practice tattooing and those women who have themselves tattooed, and those women who remove hair from eyebrows and those who get their hair removed from their eyebrows, and those who make artificial spaces between their teeth for beauty, whereby they change the creation of allaah.” [al-bukhaari and muslim]

this ruling applies to removing the eyebrow hair, even if this was made with the aim of adorning oneself for one’s husband, because this implies alteration of the creation of allaah the almighty.

women wearing inappropriate clothes: it is prohibited for a woman to wear light, short, tight or revealing clothes, or trousers that show her charms. this is considered a religious violation, even if this is in the presence of women or mahram (non- marriageable) men, as the prophet said: “there are two types of the people of hell whom i have not yet seen: men with whips like the tails of cows with which they strike the people – (meaning wrongfully and aggressively) – and women who are clothed yet naked, and walk with an enticing gait. their heads will appear like the humps of the bactrian camel inclined to one side. they will not enter paradise and they will not smell its fragrance which is perceptible from such and such a distance.” [muslim]

the phrase “clothed yet naked” was interpreted as meaning that they wear short clothes, which do not cover that which should be covered of the ‘awrah (parts of the body which must be covered). it was also interpreted as meaning that they wear light clothes that do not prevent others from seeing the woman’s skin underneath. in addition, it was interpreted as meaning that they wear tight clothing, so that they are covered and cannot be seen, but their bodily charms can be seen.

on this basis, it is not permitted for a woman to wear such tight clothes, except in front of the only one before whom she is permitted to show her ‘awrah – her husband – for there is no ‘awrah between husband and wife. on the other hand, a woman is obliged to cover her ‘awrah before her other mahrams. it is also not permissible to wear tight clothing, either in front of one's mahrams or in front of other women, especially if it is excessively tight and exposes the woman’s charms.

(to be continued)