al-A'yad wa Atharuha ala al-Muslimin

al-A'yad wa Atharuha ala al-Muslimin (Festivals and Their Impact on Muslims) is a treatise by Sulayman bin Salim al-Suhaymi examining legitimate Islamic occasions, the festivals of non-Muslim communities, and the theological and legal rulings concerning innovated celebrations Nataij al-Buhuth wa Khawa…+1.

Background and Purpose

The work was originally submitted as a master's thesis and was published by the Islamic University of Madinah in 1422 AH (2001 CE) Nataij al-Buhuth wa Khawa…+1. Al-Suhaymi noted several motivations for writing the book, stating that festivals constitute distinctive religious characteristics rooted in creed, and pointing to the necessity of clarifying the origin of newly introduced festivals, scholarly stances toward them, and the harm they pose to the Muslim community, while countering assertions that festive occasions have no bearing on religious practice al-A'yad wa Atharuha ala ….

Structure and Contents

The treatise is organized into an introduction, a preliminary chapter, four primary parts (abwab), and a conclusion al-A'yad wa Atharuha ala …:

• Preliminary Chapter and Part One: The preliminary chapter defines the term ‘id (festival) linguistically and technically al-A'yad wa Atharuha ala …. The first part examines the festivals and customs of non-Muslims across four chapters: Jewish holidays, Christian holidays, Zoroastrian (Majus) holidays, and pre-Islamic Arab spatial and temporal observances al-A'yad wa Atharuha ala …+1.
• Part Two: Addresses the principle of differing from non-Muslims in two chapters, discussing the definition, proofs, and consequences of imitating non-Muslims, followed by the specific prohibition and documented instances of imitating their festivals al-A'yad wa Atharuha ala ….
• Part Three: Details legitimate Islamic festivals (al-a'yad al-shar'iyyah), covering temporal occasions—such as Eid al-Fitr, Eid al-Adha, the days of Tashriq, the Day of Arafah, and Friday—alongside legitimate spatial observances al-A'yad wa Atharuha ala …. It also explains how Islamic holidays provide spiritual and bodily nourishment and foster social solidarity al-A'yad wa Atharuha ala ….
• Part Four: Evaluates innovated festivals and seasons across four chapters, beginning with definitions, causes, and rulings related to religious innovation (bid'ah) al-A'yad wa Atharuha ala …. It reviews violations occurring during legitimate holidays before addressing specific innovated temporal occasions, including the commemoration of Ashura, the Prophet's birthday (al-Mawlid), Salat al-Ragha'ib, the Night of Isra and Mi'raj, the midpoint of Sha'ban, the Night of Qadr celebrations, Eid al-Abrar, the Hijrah commemoration, Eid al-Ghadir, and celebrations surrounding the death of Umar ibn al-Khattab al-A'yad wa Atharuha ala …+1. The final chapter analyzes innovated spatial observances, such as holding regular festival-like gatherings at graves, historical relics, trees, and stones al-A'yad wa Atharuha ala ….

Method

In preparing the research, al-Suhaymi established non-Muslim historical practices to illustrate their influence on later innovations and cited arguments directly from the books of proponents before demonstrating their innovated status al-A'yad wa Atharuha ala …. His method includes attributing Quranic passages, providing hadith source references and scholarly judgments for narrations outside the two Sahih collections, explaining rare terminology, and providing brief biographical notices for lesser-known figures cited throughout the work al-A'yad wa Atharuha ala …+1.