Are Muslims allowed to celebrate Father’s Day or Mother’s
Day?
ASSEMBLED
BY MALLAM ABBA ABANA, KUBWA, ABUJA, NIGERIA
http://variousislamicdawadocuments.blogspot.com
https://web.facebook.com/abba.abana
emails:gonidamgamiri@yahoo.com;
abba.abana@gmail.com
Sunday, 20th JUNE 2021 CE
AND 10th Dhul Qa’ada 1442 AH
Bismillah Walhamdulillah Was Salaatu
Was Salaam 'ala Rasulillah. As-Salaam Alaikum WA-Rahmatullahi Wa-Barakatuhu.
Praise be to Allaah; we seek His
help and His forgiveness. We seek refuge with Allaah from the evil of our own
souls and from our bad deeds. Whomsoever Allaah guides will never be led
astray, and whomsoever Allaah leaves astray, no one can guide. I bear witness
that there is no god but Allaah, and I bear witness that Muhammad (ﷺ) is His slave and Messenger.
Help us Answer the Ummah! Every
second, everywhere someone needs an answer. The Prophet (ﷺ) said: “A
person who leads others to doing what is good will earn the same reward as
those who do it.” (Muslim, 1893).
وَلَا
تَهِنُواْ وَلَا تَحۡزَنُواْ وَأَنتُمُ
ٱلۡأَعۡلَوۡنَ إِن كُنتُم مُّؤۡمِنِينَ (١٣٩)
“Do not lose hope, nor be sad. You
will surely be victorious if you are true in Faith.” And do not mix the truth
with falsehood or conceal the truth while you know [it].” [Holy Quran Chapter
Al Imran Ayah 139]
إِن
يَنصُرۡكُمُ ٱللَّهُ فَلَا غَالِبَ لَكُمۡۖ وَإِن يَخۡذُلۡكُمۡ فَمَن ذَا ٱلَّذِى
يَنصُرُكُم مِّنۢ بَعۡدِهِۦۗ وَعَلَى ٱللَّهِ فَلۡيَتَوَكَّلِ ٱلۡمُؤۡمِنُونَ (١٦٠)
“If Allah should aid you, no one can
overcome you; but if He should forsake you, who is there that can aid you after
Him? And upon Allah let the believers rely.”
[Holy Quran Chapter Imran Ayah 160]
Preamble
When and why is Father's Day
celebrated? Father's Day, the celebration of the paternal bond,
is observed on the third Sunday of June. This year the date is 20 June, 2021. The aim of the day to
express appreciation and acknowledge the role of the father figure in
children's lives, and society as a whole.
First proposed in 1909, this day is
an opportunity to show your dad how much he means to you and the role he has
played in shaping your life.
What does Mother's Day celebration means?
Mother's
Day is a celebration honoring the mother of the family or individual, as well
as motherhood, maternal bonds, and the influence of mothers in society. It is
celebrated on different days in many parts of the world, most commonly in the
months of March or May. It complements similar
celebrations, largely pushed by commercial interests, honoring family members,
such as Father's Day, Siblings Day, and Grandparents Day.
Islamic concepts of father's or Mother’s Day
Islam does not recognize the concept
of Father’s Day and Mother’s Day.
In fact, to single out just one day
of the year to honour our fathers and mothers is an embarrassment and
humiliation to our parents. Every single moment of our lives is for our fathers
and our mothers. Shariah has placed much emphasis on the rights of parents.
In Islam, Muslims celebrate parent's
day (mother's day and father's DAY) daily [single moment of our lives] and not
annually.... Whether parents are dead or alive, children responsibilities will CONTINUE....
An
Innovated Matter Which The Prophet (ﷺ) And His Companions (May Allaah Be
Pleased With Them) Did Not Do.
Celebrating father’s Day or Mother’s
Day is an innovated matter which the Prophet (ﷺ) and his companions (may Allaah be pleased with them) did
not do.
It is also an imitation of the
kuffaar from whom we have been commanded to differ. Hence it is not permissible
to celebrate it or to obey one's mother in that, because the Prophet (ﷺ) said: “There is no obedience if it
involves sin; obedience is only in that which is right and proper.” Narrated by
al-Bukhaari, 7257; Muslim, 1840.
He
should continue to honour her and treat her with kindness, and keep trying to
convince her that this celebration is a newly invented innovation. The Prophet (ﷺ) said:
“The worst of matters are those which are newly-invented, and every innovation
is a going-astray.” Narrated by Muslim, 867; al-Nasaa’i, 1578. Al-Nasaa’i’s
report adds the words: “And every going astray will be in the Fire.”
The mother is entitled to respect
and honour, and upholding of the ties of kinship throughout her life, so what
is the point of singling out a particular day to honour her?
Moreover, this innovation has come
to us from societies in which disobedience towards parents is widespread, in
which mothers and fathers can find no refuge except old people’s homes, where
they are left alone and no one visit them, and they spend their time in pain
and sorrow. So they think that honouring their mothers for one day will erase
the sin of their disobedience towards her during the rest of the year.
Shaykh Muhamamd ibn Saalih ibn
‘Uthaymeen (may Allaah have mercy on him) was asked about celebrating Mother’s
Day and he replied:
All celebrations which differ from
the Eids prescribed in Islam are innovated festivals which were not known at
the time of the righteous salaf, and may also have come from the non-Muslims,
in which case as well as being an innovation (bid’ah) they are also an
imitation of the enemies of Allaah. The festivals which are prescribed in Islam
are well known to the Muslims: they are Eid al-Fitr and Eid al-Adha, and the
weekly “Eid” of Jumu’ah. There is no other festival in Islam apart from these
three. All the festivals that have been invented apart from these are to be
rejected because they are innovations and are false according to the laws of
Allaah, because the Prophet (ﷺ) said: “Whoever introduces anything into this matter of
ours 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 any deed that is not part of this matter of ours will have it
rejected.”
Once this is clear, then it is not
permissible to show any of the signs of festivity on the celebration mentioned
in the question, namely Mother’s Day. It is not permissible to show joy and
happiness, or to offer gifts, and so on.
The Muslim should feel proud of his
religion and adhere to the limits set by Allaah and His Messenger (ﷺ) in this religion, which Allaah has
chosen for His slaves, and he should not add anything or take anything away.
What the Muslim should also do is to not to follow every new idea that comes
along, rather his character should be in accordance with the sharee’ah of
Allaah so that he will be a leader and example, not a follower, because the
sharee’ah of Allaah – praise be to Allaah – is complete 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” [Quran Chapter al-Maa'idah 5:3]
A
mother’s right is greater than having just one day in the year to be honoured,
rather the mother’s right over her children is that they should take care of
her and obey her, so long as it does not involve disobedience towards Allaah,
at all times and in all places. Majmoo’
Fataawa al-Shaykh Ibn ‘Uthaymeen, 2/301
‘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.
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 reward, or which
involve imitating the people of Jaahiliyyah or any other groups of kaafirs, 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).
The following verses of
the Noble Qur’an and the saying of the Prophet Muhammad
(ﷺ) highlight the high status given to
parents in Islam.
وَقَضَىٰ رَبُّكَ أَلَّا تَعۡبُدُوٓاْ إِلَّآ إِيَّاهُ
وَبِٱلۡوَٲلِدَيۡنِ إِحۡسَـٰنًاۚ إِمَّا يَبۡلُغَنَّ عِندَكَ ٱلۡڪِبَرَ أَحَدُهُمَآ أَوۡ كِلَاهُمَا فَلَا
تَقُل لَّهُمَآ أُفٍّ۬ وَلَا تَنۡہَرۡهُمَا وَقُل لَّهُمَا قَوۡلاً۬ ڪَرِيمً۬ا (٢٣)
“And
your Lord has decreed that you worship none but Him. And that you be dutiful to
your parents. If one of them or both of them attain old age in your life, say
not to them a word of disrespect, nor shout at them but address them in terms
of honour. And out of kindness lower to them the wing of humility and say: ‘My
Lord! Bestow on them Thy Mercy even as they cherished me in childhood.” (Qur’an Chapter
17:23).
Abdullah ibn ‘Umar narrates that the
Prophet said:
“The Pleasure of the Lord lies in
the pleasure of the parent. The Anger of the Lord lies in the anger of the
parent.
.”Bahys ibn Hakim said that he heard
from his grandfather, that he had asked the Prophet, ‘Who should I do a good
to? The Prophet replied, Your mother. His grandfather once more asked the Prophet
(ﷺ), ‘Who should I do a good to? The
Prophet said, ‘Your mother’ His grandfather repeated the question a third time.
The Prophet said, ‘Your mother’ After repeating the question for the fourth
time, the Prophet replied, Then your father and then in order, your
relatives.Abu Ja’far heard Abu Huraira say that the Prophet said, ‘There is no
doubt that three kinds of prayers will be answered, the prayer of the
oppressed, the prayer of the traveller, and the prayers of the parents for
their children’.
In addition to the foregoing, the
Prophet (ﷺ)
not only prohibited insulting or cursing one’s parents but declared it to be a
major sin.
He said, ‘Among the major sins is a
man’s cursing his parents.’ The people who were present wondered how a sane and
believing individual could curse his own parents, and enquired, ‘How is it
possible for a man to curse his own parents?’ The Prophet (ﷺ) replied, ‘He insults another man’s
father, and then the other insults his father, and he insults the other’s
mother, and the other returns the insult to his mother.’ (Reported by
al-Bukhari and Muslim.)
It is one of the beauties of Islam
that, with respect to the treatment of parents, it forbids the Muslim to be
disrespectful to them even if they should be non-Muslims who are fanatical to
the point of arguing with him and putting pressure on him to renounce Islam.
Allah Ta’ala says:
وَوَصَّيۡنَا ٱلۡإِنسَـٰنَ بِوَٲلِدَيۡهِ حَمَلَتۡهُ أُمُّهُ ۥ وَهۡنًا عَلَىٰ وَهۡنٍ۬ وَفِصَـٰلُهُ ۥ فِى
عَامَيۡنِ أَنِ ٱشۡڪُرۡ لِى وَلِوَٲلِدَيۡكَ إِلَىَّ ٱلۡمَصِيرُ (١٤) وَإِن جَـٰهَدَاكَ عَلَىٰٓ أَن تُشۡرِكَ بِى مَا لَيۡسَ لَكَ
بِهِۦ عِلۡمٌ۬ فَلَا تُطِعۡهُمَاۖ وَصَاحِبۡهُمَا فِى ٱلدُّنۡيَا مَعۡرُوفً۬اۖ وَٱتَّبِعۡ سَبِيلَ مَنۡ أَنَابَ إِلَىَّۚ ثُمَّ إِلَىَّ مَرۡجِعُكُمۡ
فَأُنَبِّئُڪُم بِمَا كُنتُمۡ تَعۡمَلُونَ (١٥)
“Be
grateful to Me and to thy parents; to Me is (the final) goal. But if they
strive to compel thee to associate with Me that of which thou hast no
knowledge, do not obey them; but keep company with them in this life in a kind
manner and follow the way of those who turn to Me. Then to Me will be your
return and I will inform you (of the meaning of) all that you did.” (Qur’an Chapter
31:14-15)
In short, the importance showing
kindness to parents are:
1. Obedience to Allah and His
Messenger, (peace and blessings be upon him),
2. Obeying and honouring one’s
parents is a means of entering Paradise,
3. Respecting and obeying them is a
way of showing gratitude to them because they are the ones who brought you into
this world, and
4. If a person is good with his
parents this may be the cause of his own children respecting him and showing
kindness and compassion towards him.
Parents have a right to receive
love, discipline and care from their children but they must give their children
the same rights as well. If both parents and children submit to the will of
God, there will be love and peace in the family.
The priorities of many parents for
their children include wealth, material comforts, a good education, a good job,
a happy marriage and living happily ever thereafter.
In the materialistic world, when
everyone is competing to get a higher, more comfortable and luxurious position
in the world, this list of priorities is only natural. Accumulation of wealth and
leading a comfortable lifestyle is not against the spirit of Islam. However,
Islam requires Muslims to use these blessings from Allah with a sense of
accountability. One must bear in mind that as with wealth, children are a
treasure from Allah and the way we raise them and invest in them could mean the
difference between them bringing the fruits of success or abysmal failure in
this world and in the hereafter.
Parenting is an enormously
important, time consuming task for which there is, justifiably, the promise of
great reward.
And Allah Ta’āla Knows Best
Sources
Answered
according to Hanafi Fiqh by Askimam.org
https://islamqa.org/?p=75768
Source:
Islam Q&A 59905
Islam
Q&A 10070
Sources
https://themuslimvibe.com/muslim-lifestyle-matters/parents/6-muslim-ways-to-celebrate-fathers-day
https://islamqa.info/en/answers/59905/his-mother-will-be-angry-if-he-does-not-celebrate-mothers-day
