Question : What is the shari ruling on celebrating festivals such as the birthday of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him), childrens birthdays, Mothers Day,TreeWeek and national holidays?
Answer : Firstly: Eid (festival) is the name given to something which returns [ya'ood], and is used to describe gatherings which happen repeatedly, on a yearly, monthly ,or weekly basis, etc. So an `eid includes a number of things , such as a day which comes regularly ,e.g `Eid al-Fitr and Friday; gatherings on that day; and actions such as acts of worship and customs which are done on that day. Secondly: any of these things which are intended as rituals or acts of worship aimed at drawing closer to Allaah or glorifying Him in order to earn rewards, or which involves the imitation of the people of Jaahiliyyah or any other groups of kaafir , is a prohibited bid'ah, an innovation which comes under the general meaning of the hadeeth: "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 ).
Example of that include Mawlid an-Nabi (the prophet's birthday), Mothers Day and national holidays, because in the first case these are innovated acts of worship which Allaah has not prescribed, and because it involves imitating of Christians and other kaafirs. And in the second and third cases there is limitation of the kuffaar . But in cases where the intension is to organize work to serve the interests of the Umaah and to put its affairs straight , or to organize programs of study , or to bring employees together for work purposes etc., which in and of themselves do not involve acts of worship and glorification, then these are a kind of beginning innovation which do not come under the meaning of hadeeth, "Whoever innovates something in this matter of ours (Islam) that is not a part of it will have it rejected. So there is nothing wrong with such things, indeed they are allowed by Sharee'ah. And Allaah is the source of strength. May Allaah bless our prophet Muhammad and his family and companions ,and grant them peace.
This article was culled from the publications of Deen Communication Limited