in fact derives its alleged distinctiveness from a false creed. The very origin of singling out those days lies in the religion of the unbelievers, and observing them in that manner is nothing but imitation of them. No uninformed person should imagine that this constitutes “opposing them,” as is the case with fasting the Day of ʿĀshūrāʾ. There, the practice was originally legislated for us too, but because they also practised it, we were instructed to differ from them in its manner. By contrast, anything that has no foundation whatsoever in our religion—being entirely of their religion, whether an innovation they invented or a practice that has since been abrogated—must not be emulated by us, neither in its essence nor in its form, as we have already set forth.

Accordingly, introducing observances on these days—days whose very designation pertains to them and not to us—constitutes imitation of them at the root, for it amounts to venerating those days. This is manifest in the position of scholars who dislike fasting on Nowrūz or Mehrgān, especially when the people revere the very day on which the practice was inaugurated.

The matter is made still clearer by the fact that many people now treat this Thursday—which is the festival of the unbelievers, the Feast of the Table, the last Thursday of the Christians’ fast that they call “Great Thursday,” though in reality it is a paltry Thursday—as an occasion for massive gatherings. They dye eggs and cook them in milk, mark their animals with red colouring, and prepare dishes rarely made even for the festivals ordained by Allah and His Messenger. They exchange gifts on a scale akin to the pilgrimage seasons, while the majority have forgotten the practice’s origin and cause. What remains is a continually observed custom, ingrained even more firmly than their celebration of the Festivals of Fast-Breaking and Sacrifice.