The Shar’i Viewpoint concerning Mother’s Day (2)

The Shar’i Viewpoint concerning Mother’s

Day (2)

  Islam has no need of things that are innovated by others, be it Mother’s Day of anything else. Its teachings on the honouring of mothers mean that it has no need for an innovated Mother’s Day.

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 (may Allah exalt him and grant him peace) 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 (may Allah exalt him and grant him peace),

“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 (may Allah exalt him and grant him peace) said:

“Whoever  innovates  something  in  this  matter of  ours (Islam) that is not part of it will have it rejected.”

  He (may Allah exalt him and grant him peace) did not celebrate Mother’s Day and neither did any of his companions  (Allah bless 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 (Honouring mothers…and honouring 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 honouring their mothers. He suggested  that this celebration  should honour the entire family and explained that Islam did not prescribe this festival, because the  Islamic hare’ah enjoins  honouring  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 (may Allah exalt him and grant him peace)  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 saheeh  haadeeths that  the  Messenger  of Allaah (may Allah exalt him and grant him peace) warned  against  innovations  in  religion  and  against  imitating the enemies of Allaah,  the  Jews,  Christians and other  mushrikeen. For example, he (may Allah exalt him and grant him peace) 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 (may Allah exalt him and grant him peace)  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 (may Allah exalt him and grant him peace). 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 honour mothers or families is one  of  the  newly-innovated  matters  that  were  not  done  by  the Messenger of Allaah (may Allah exalt him and grant him peace) 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 hare‘ah enjoins respecting one’s mother and commands Muslims  to honour 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 honouring  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  honour  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 honour,  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-Israa´ 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 (may Allah exalt him and grant him peace) 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 (may Allah exalt him and grant him peace) 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 (may Allah exalt him and grant him peace) said:

“No  one  who  severs  the  ties  of  kinship  will  enter Paradise.”

  And it was reported in a saheeh hadeeth that he (may Allah exalt him and grant him peace) 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 honouring 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 honour 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 fromthat.

  This  is  better  and  more  eloquent  than  the  western  innovation  of singling out just one day in the year for honouring 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 (may Allah exalt him and grant him peace) 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 (may Allah exalt him and grant him peace) 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 ]

  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 (may Allah exalt him and grant him peace) 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 (may Allah exalt him and grant him peace) 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]

  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 (may Allah exalt him and grant him peace) 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 hare’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  hare’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 Favour upon you, and have chosen for you Islam as your religion” [al-Maa`idah 5:2]

  Mothers  deserve  more  than  to  be  honoured  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 hare’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  (al-Bukhaari  and Muslim) it was narrated that Usaamah ibn Zayd said: The Messenger of Allaah (may Allah exalt him and grant him peace) said:

“I  am  not  leaving  behind  any  temptation  that  is  more harmful to men than women.”

Shaykh al-Islam went on to say:

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.

[Note: all translations are interpretations of the meaning.] 

By: Sheikh Muhammed Salih Al-Munajjid