It was related by Aḥmad, al-Nasa’ī, and Ibn Abī ʿĀṣim. The report is soundly preserved through the chain of ʿAbd Allāh ibn al-Mubārak, from ʿAbd Allāh ibn Muḥammad ibn ʿUmar ibn ʿAlī, from his father, from Kurayb, and a number of ḥadīth masters have declared it authentic.

This ḥadīth is an explicit proof that the Sharīʿah prescribes differing from them on their festival day, even though the ruling here is one of recommendation. We shall soon cite the prophetic report forbidding the fast of Saturday, together with its rationale—namely, to oppose them—and we shall set out the scholars’ verdict on fasting that day in isolation. They are unanimous that the Law ordains that we differ from them in their festivals; their only disagreement concerns the manner of that opposition: Should one fast on their festival day so as to act contrary to what they do? Should one simply disregard the day, intending neither fasting nor eating in particular? Or should one distinguish between an Arab festival and a non-Arab one? All of this will be explained, God willing.

A Collective and Textual Prohibition Against Imitating Them in Their Festivals

Consensus and transmitted reports support this from several angles. First: as I have already pointed out, Jews, Christians, and Magians have continued to reside in Muslim lands under the jizyah treaty, openly celebrating their own festivals. Many hearts feel an inclination to partake in some of what they do; yet, during the era of the earliest Muslims, no one was known to join them in any of these practices. Were it not for the deterrent firmly rooted in their souls