The Albaani Site

Questioner: … how can we celebrate eed, for example? I remind you, inshaa Allaah, of the hadith of the Abysinnians and the hadith of Aaishah when the Prophet ﷺ entered the room where she was and there were two girls there who were singing …

Al-Albaani: Yes, the first thing is that this expression, ‘Celebrating Eed,’ is not an Islamic one, there is no celebration/festival, and [secondly] this is something which has been added to Islaam—there is only ‘Eed’ as he ﷺ said to Abu Bakr in the story which you alluded to [in your question], “Leave them, O Abu Bakr! For every nation has an Eed and this is our Eed.”

So before anything the Muslims concern themselves with performing the Eed prayer in the musalla if they are able to, and if not then in the mosque …

As for those things which are permissible, then they are [the same things which are] permissible in all times and places, only that out of His Extensive Wisdom our Lord عز وجل allowed the beating of the daff alone, nothing else, during weddings and on the day of eed.

But this doesn’t mean that we hold celebrations/festivals as the Europeans do and as we have seen in public squares and general gatherings, where they bring music and horns and the likes, dancing and singing and … and … etc., none of that is from Islaam.

This allowance which the Prophet ﷺ made is an individual allowance, as you saw or read in the hadith of the two girls the Prophet didn’t celebrate, Abu Bakr didn’t celebrate, Umar didn’t celebrate, if it is that you want to use this word ‘celebrate.’

It was only that when a young girl wanted to beat the daff, and the daff alone, nothing else, it was then not allowed for the elders to refuse that. That is what happened, and this is what is endorsed and it is not allowed to refuse that—as for us building lofty mansions and palaces based on that, and celebrations and music and so on, then this is taking it to a level which is not legislated, as agreed upon by the scholars.

Al-Hudaa wan-Noor, 322.