As for the very inception of such participation, the least that can be said of it is that it constitutes a sin. The Prophet—may Allah bless him and grant him peace—pointed to this exclusivity when he said, “Every people has its festival, and this is our festival.”

Joining them in their festival is even more reprehensible than wearing the zunnār—the distinctive belt worn by Christians—and other such emblems, for those are merely conventional markers, not part of their creed, whose sole purpose is to differentiate between Muslim and unbeliever. The festival itself, however, together with everything that accompanies it, is part of a religion that is accursed along with its adherents; thus, agreeing with them in it is to agree with them in the very causes that provoke Allah’s wrath and punishment.

If you wish to cast this as an analogical argument, you could say: it is one of the rites of unbelief, and so it is prohibited to imitate them in it just as it is prohibited to imitate them in any of their other rites—though in truth this case is even clearer than a partial analogy.

Moreover, every act of worship or customary practice peculiar to that day derives its distinctiveness solely from the fact that it is a designated day; were it like any other day, it would enjoy no such status. Hence, singling it out has no place whatsoever in the religion of Islam; indeed, it amounts to disbelief in it.

Second, what they do on their festivals is an act of disobedience to Allah, for it is either an innovation