the like of it from the Sunnah.” Reported by Ahmad.

Anyone who reflects on his own state—be he a scholar, devout worshipper, ruler, commoner, or otherwise—finds this to be true. For that reason the Sacred Law has strongly denounced those who introduce innovations and has declared them detestable; for if a man could emerge from an innovation with neither loss nor gain, the matter would be light. In reality, it inevitably harms him, chief among its harms being the diminishment of the benefit he draws from the Shari‘ah, for the heart cannot hold both the substitute and what it has displaced.

It was on this account that the Prophet—may Allah bless him and grant him peace—said concerning the two pre-Islamic feast-days: “Allah has replaced them for you with two days better than them.” When the heart feeds on such innovated practices, that very nourishment blocks—or at least diminishes—its nourishment from the righteous, beneficial acts prescribed by the Law, and the person’s spiritual state deteriorates without his realizing it, just as the body of one who subsists on harmful foods deteriorates unnoticed. From this you can appreciate something of the damage caused by innovations.

Once this is understood, it becomes clear how Allah has placed in hearts a yearning for the festival, joy at its arrival, and keen concern for its affairs—gatherings, meetings, rest, pleasure, and delight. All of this leads to its veneration because so many aims are tied to it. For that reason the Shari‘ah, with respect to ‘Eid, has enjoined open proclamation