SINNING
ON EID
There
are many sins and acts of disobedience practiced by some Muslims
more frequently during the Eid days than at other times of
the year. To
them, the Eid is an occasion to give up
some of the Islaamic principles. They are usually
encouraged to do so by the state of joy that they
experience
during the Eids. A few of these acts of disobedience are
highlighted below.
MINGLING
OF SEXES
One of the frequently practiced acts of
disobedience is for men and women who are not mahrams (1)
to mingle and do things prohibited in Islaam,
such as:
*
Touching and shaking hands.
* Men and woman chatting, laughing,
and sometimes flirting with each other.
* Men and women looking
intently at each other.
PLAYING
MUSIC AND DRINKING ALCOHOL
It is very common for people
to play music and listen to it during the Eid. They often
associate this with drinking, or with national or belly dancing, all
in the name of Islaam (Astagh Ferrullah)! All of this is prohibited
by consensus among the early scholars including the Four
Imaams. The Prophet (SAW) said:
There
will be among my Ummah those who would indulge in hir (adultery and
fornications), wearing silk (wearing natural silk is prohibited for
men),
Khamr (any alcoholic beverage), and musical instruments.
Some of those people would camp beside a mountain. A poor shepherd
tending their animals
would come to them in the evening asking for
a need of his. They would say, "Come back tomorrow."
So Allaah would destroy (most of) them during
the night, bringing
the mountain down over them, and would transform others to apes
and pigs until the day of Resurrection. [Al-Bukhaaree
recorded
it without isnaad (no. 5590). But it was connected in four
different ways recorded in Abu Daawood and others. It is
authenticated by
Ibn Hajar, al-Albaanee, and
others]
IMPROPER APPEARANCE
Muslims
are supposed to dress up for the Eid. In doing so, however, both men
and women commit many violations of Islaam, among which are
the
following:
* Women exposing their heads and other parts
of their bodies.
* Women wearing perfumes, makeup, decorated and
alluring clothing, and some national costumes (Sari for example) that
contradict Islaamic teachings.
* Men wearing natural silk or
gold.
* Men wearing tight pants and Western attire.
* Men
shaving their beards.
EXTRAVAGANCE
People
often spend extravagantly during the Eid. They waste money on
things that are useless and of no benefit for the Muslims.
Allaah (SWT) says:
Do not waste your wealth senselessly. Those
who spend wastefully are the brothers of the devils; and the Devil is
ever ungrateful to his Lord. {Al-Israa 17:26-27)
And Allaah's
Messenger (SAW) said:
A
son of Aadam will not depart from his position (of reckoning) before
his Lord on the day of Resurrection until he is questioned about four
things:
* His lifetime - how did he pass it,
* his body - how
did he utilize it,
* his wealth - where did he earn it, and how
did he spend it,
* and his knowledge - what did he do with it.
[
At-Tirmithee and others; authenticated by al-Albaanee (Irwaa
ul-Ghaleel no. 7300).]
NEGLECTING
THE POOR AND NEEDY
In addition to the extravagance
discussed above, many well-to-do people neglect the poor during the
Eid. Sometimes, they would treat them in an
arrogant and despising
manner. Even when they give them zakaat ul-fitr or a portion of the
sacrifice, they do that in a haughty way, impressing on
them the
great favor they are rendering to them. This defeats the purpose of
these Eid offerings, and contradicts the Islaamic teachings
concerning
brotherhood among the Muslims.
NEGLECTING
THE JAMAA'AH PRAYERS WITHOUT A VALID EXCUSE
After
praying the Eid prayer in the masjid or musallaa, some people avoid
the masjid for the rest of the day! Unless they have an acceptable
excuse,
they would be committing a sin by that. As emphasized
earlier the Eid is an occasion to increase in obedience and good
deeds - not a chance to run
away from Islaamic obligations.
--------------------------
(1)
Mahram derives from haruma, which means
"became prohibited". It refers to specific relatives who,
by virtue of blood, suckling, or marriage,
become permanently
prohibited to marry each other.
Thus, in addition to a woman's
current husband, her mahrams are: her father, grandfather, son,
grandson, brother, immediate uncle (from the
mother's or father's
side), father in law, son in law, foster son, foster brother,
etc.
Examples of non-mahrams: cousins (on both sides), step
brothers, brothers in law, etc.
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