Section: The Meaning of “ʿĪd” and the Need to Avoid Imitating the Disbelievers in Their Festivals

“ʿĪd” is a generic term that covers every day or place in which they gather, and every practice they introduce at those times and in those venues. The prohibition, then, is not confined to their formally designated feast days; it extends to any moment or location they venerate that has no basis in the religion of Islam, together with the acts they carry out there.

The same applies to the precinct (ḥarīm) of the feast: the feast itself, the days before and after it when they introduce things on its account, the surrounding places where those things are performed, and anything done as a consequence of its activities—all of this shares the same ruling, and none of it is to be practiced.

Some people avoid initiating certain practices on the actual days of their festival—such as on their “Thursday feast” or on Christmas—yet say to their families, “I will do this for you next week or in another month.” His only incentive for doing so, however, was the very existence of their festival; were it not for