“Eid” in Islam are days that must be glorified with joy and a special act of worship, and they are Fitr and Adha; as it has been narrated from the Messenger of God, peace and blessings of God be upon him and his family, that he said: «إِنَّ لِكُلِّ قَوْمٍ عِيدًا، وَهَذَا عِيدُنَا»[1]; “Indeed, every people has an Eid, and this is our Eid,” not “Nowruz” or “Mehregan”, which the people of the time of ignorance used to glorify without knowledge, guidance, or an enlightening book, is not one of them; as it has been narrated from Anas ibn Malik that he said: «كَانَ لِأَهْلِ الْمَدِينَةِ فِي الْجَاهِلِيَّةِ يَوْمَانِ مِنْ كُلِّ سَنَةٍ يَلْعَبُونَ فِيهِمَا، فَلَمَّا قَدِمَ النَّبِيُّ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَآلِهِ وَسَلَّمَ قَالَ: قَدْ كَانَ لَكُمْ يَوْمَانِ تَلْعَبُونَ فِيهِمَا، وَقَدْ أَبْدَلَكُمُ اللَّهُ بِهِمَا خَيْرًا مِنْهُمَا: يَوْمَ الْفِطْرِ، وَيَوْمَ النَّحْرِ»[2]; “The people of the time of ignorance had two days each year when they would play. When the Messenger of God, peace and blessings of God be upon him and his family, came, he said: ‘You had two days when you would play, but God gave you something instead that is better than them: the day of Fitr and the day of Sacrifice,’” and they indeed deserve to be glorified to the exclusion of other days, for on these two days, people are finished with what God has obligated on them, and draw closer to Him in acts of worship and obedience; because what an intellectual rejoices at is this, not one season of the year going away and another season coming, which is neither beneficial nor harmful in and of itself or is beneficial only in the world; as one of our companions informed us, he said:

«سَأَلْتُ الْمَنْصُورَ عَنْ قَوْلِ اللَّهِ تَعَالَى: ﴿قُلْ بِفَضْلِ اللَّهِ وَبِرَحْمَتِهِ فَبِذَلِكَ فَلْيَفْرَحُوا هُوَ خَيْرٌ مِمَّا يَجْمَعُونَ﴾[3]، فَقَالَ: هُمَا الْفِطْرُ وَالنَّحْرُ، فَقُلْتُ: فَسِّرْ لِي جُعِلْتُ فِدَاكَ، فَقَالَ: كَانَ لِلنَّاسِ يَوْمَانِ مِنْ كُلِّ سَنَةٍ يَفْرَحُونَ بِهِمَا لِمَا يَجْمَعُونَ فِيهِمَا مِنْ مَتَاعِ الدُّنْيَا وَزِينَتِهَا، وَهُمَا النَّيْرُوزُ وَالْمِهْرَجَانُ، فَأَبْدَلَهُمُ اللَّهُ بِهِمَا يَوْمَيْنِ مِنْ كُلِّ سَنَةٍ، وَهُمَا الْفِطْرُ وَالنَّحْرُ، فَبِهِمَا فَلْيَفْرَحُوا، فَقَدْ يَجْمَعُونَ فِيهِمَا ثَوَابَ الْآخِرَةِ، وَهُوَ خَيْرٌ مِنْ ثَوَابِ الدُّنْيَا، فَقَالَ: ﴿قُلْ بِفَضْلِ اللَّهِ وَبِرَحْمَتِهِ فَبِذَلِكَ فَلْيَفْرَحُوا هُوَ خَيْرٌ مِمَّا يَجْمَعُونَ﴾»; “I asked Mansoor about the words of God Almighty that has said: ‘Say: In the grace and mercy of God, let them rejoice. That is better than what you amass.’ So he said: ‘They are the (days of) Fitr and Sacrifice.’ Then I said: ‘Explain to me, may I be sacrificed for you.’ So he said: ‘People had two days each year when they would rejoice at what they would amass of the goods and adornments of the world, and they were Nowruz and Mehregan, then God gave them two days each year instead, and they are the (days of) Fitr and Sacrifice, so they shall rejoice on them, for they amass the reward of the Hereafter on them, and that is better than the reward of the World.’ Then he said: ‘Say: In the grace and mercy of God, let them rejoice. That is better than what you amass.’”

This is a wonderful deduction by this great scholar, and what also indicates the detestation of taking these two days as Eid is the words of God Almighty that has said: ﴿اللَّهُ يَبْسُطُ الرِّزْقَ لِمَنْ يَشَاءُ وَيَقْدِرُ ۚ وَفَرِحُوا بِالْحَيَاةِ الدُّنْيَا وَمَا الْحَيَاةُ الدُّنْيَا فِي الْآخِرَةِ إِلَّا مَتَاعٌ﴾[4]; “God expands and restricts sustenance for whomever He wills, and they rejoice at the life of the world, and the life of the world in (comparison to) the Hereafter is nothing but an enjoyment”; because what they rejoice at on these two days is nothing but the expansion of sustenance on them, and God Almighty has condemned those who rejoice at the life of the world; as He has said: ﴿اعْلَمُوا أَنَّمَا الْحَيَاةُ الدُّنْيَا لَعِبٌ وَلَهْوٌ وَزِينَةٌ وَتَفَاخُرٌ بَيْنَكُمْ وَتَكَاثُرٌ فِي الْأَمْوَالِ وَالْأَوْلَادِ ۖ كَمَثَلِ غَيْثٍ أَعْجَبَ الْكُفَّارَ نَبَاتُهُ ثُمَّ يَهِيجُ فَتَرَاهُ مُصْفَرًّا ثُمَّ يَكُونُ حُطَامًا ۖ وَفِي الْآخِرَةِ عَذَابٌ شَدِيدٌ وَمَغْفِرَةٌ مِنَ اللَّهِ وَرِضْوَانٌ ۚ وَمَا الْحَيَاةُ الدُّنْيَا إِلَّا مَتَاعُ الْغُرُورِ﴾[5]; “Know that the life of the world is but a play, amusement, adornment, boasting among you, and rivalry in wealth and children. It is like rain, the growth of vegetation through which pleases disbelievers, then it dries up, and you see it turn yellow, then it becomes stubble, and in the Hereafter, there is a severe punishment and forgiveness from God and pleasure, and the life of the world is nothing but means of deception”; because He has attributed being pleased with the growth of vegetation through rain -i.e., being distracted by it- to disbelievers and considered the play, amusement, adornment, boasting, and rivalry in wealth and children to be worthless, and all of them take place in these two days. Similarly, He has said in indication of that: ﴿وَإِذَا أَذَقْنَا النَّاسَ رَحْمَةً فَرِحُوا بِهَا ۖ وَإِنْ تُصِبْهُمْ سَيِّئَةٌ بِمَا قَدَّمَتْ أَيْدِيهِمْ إِذَا هُمْ يَقْنَطُونَ﴾[6]; “And when We give people a taste of mercy, they rejoice at it, but if an evil befalls them for what their hands have sent forth, they instantly fall into despair,” and said: ﴿وَإِنَّا إِذَا أَذَقْنَا الْإِنْسَانَ مِنَّا رَحْمَةً فَرِحَ بِهَا ۖ وَإِنْ تُصِبْهُمْ سَيِّئَةٌ بِمَا قَدَّمَتْ أَيْدِيهِمْ فَإِنَّ الْإِنْسَانَ كَفُورٌ﴾[7]; “And when We give the human being a taste of mercy from Us, he rejoices at it, but if an evil befalls them for what their hands have sent forth, then the human being is indeed ungrateful,” and said: ﴿وَلَئِنْ أَذَقْنَاهُ نَعْمَاءَ بَعْدَ ضَرَّاءَ مَسَّتْهُ لَيَقُولَنَّ ذَهَبَ السَّيِّئَاتُ عَنِّي ۚ إِنَّهُ لَفَرِحٌ فَخُورٌ﴾[8]; “And if We give him a taste of blessings after hardship that has touched him, he will surely say: ‘Evils have gone away from me.’ He is Indeed exultant (and) boastful,” and said: ﴿لِكَيْلَا تَأْسَوْا عَلَى مَا فَاتَكُمْ وَلَا تَفْرَحُوا بِمَا آتَاكُمْ ۗ وَاللَّهُ لَا يُحِبُّ كُلَّ مُخْتَالٍ فَخُورٍ﴾[9]; “So that you do not grieve over what escapes you or exult over what He gives you, and God does not love any arrogant boaster,” and said: ﴿ذَلِكُمْ بِمَا كُنْتُمْ تَفْرَحُونَ فِي الْأَرْضِ بِغَيْرِ الْحَقِّ وَبِمَا كُنْتُمْ تَمْرَحُونَ﴾[10]; “That was because you used to rejoice on the earth without right and because you used to be insolent”; so all of these verses indicate the detestation of rejoicing at the life of the world; and undoubtedly, one of its prominent examples is rejoicing at the spring and autumn moderate seasons of the earth’s fruits and the profits of gains that prompt them to be taken as Eid.

Whatever the case, it is clear that Nowruz or Mehregan is not one of the days that Islam has considered as Eid, and therefore, whoever wants to follow Islam should not consider it as Eid; because if he does so, he has violated Islam and done an action that it has not commanded, and it has been narrated from the Messenger of God, peace and blessings of God be upon him and his family, that he said: «مَنْ عَمِلَ عَمَلًا لَيْسَ عَلَيْهِ أَمْرُنَا فَهُوَ رَدٌّ»[11]; “Whoever does an action that we have not commanded, will have it rejected.” Therefore, none of the Sahabah considered it as Eid, except for Mu‘awiyah; so he was the first to do that[12], and he gave many gifts in it and received[13], and it has been said the first one to do that was Walid ibn Uqbah during the time of Uthman[14], and he is the one whom God has called a “sinner” in His Book[15], and Ali would not accept the gift of Nowruz[16] unless it was given to him by non-Muslims living under the protection of the Muslim state from among the Magians, since it was part of their religion; as it has been narrated that some people from among the leading personalities presented him with silver bowls containing bread, so he said: «مَا هَذَا؟»; “What is this?” They said: “Today is Nowruz.” So he said: «نَيْرُوزُنَا كُلُّ يَوْمٍ»; “Our Nowruz is every day,” by way of informing, then he ate the bread, fed his guests, and divided the bowls among Muslims, and count them as part of their tax[17], and in another narration, he said: «نَيْرِزُونَا كُلَّ يَوْمٍ»; “Make every day a Nowruz for us,” by way of commanding[18], and whatever it was, it indicates the detestation of dedicating this day for such actions; as al-Bayhaqi (d. 458 AH) has commented on this by saying: “In this, it is like the detestation of dedicating a day for it that Sharia has not dedicated”[19] and al-Hakim al-Tirmidhi (d. about 320 AH) has said: “It appears that he did not want to care about it.”[20]

Then, when Mu‘awiyah came to power, he took an interest in the matter of Nowruz and Mehregan, and his successors followed him in that until Umar ibn Abd al-Aziz came to power, then he forbade sending him anything on Nowruz and Mehregan[21], and it has been narrated that when he came to Sulayman ibn Abd al-Malik on the occasion of Nowruz and Mehregan, gifts of various kinds were poured into a golden vessel for him. As each type of gift passed by Umar, Sulayman said to him: “What do you think of this, O son of Abd al-Aziz?!” So he said: “O Amir al-Mu’minin! It is only the enjoyment of the life of the world,” then Sulayman said to him: “By God, if you were in charge of it, would you act differently?” He said: “O God, I would divide it until there is nothing left.” Then Sulayman said: “O God, bear witness.”[22] Then, when Umar took charge, he abolished the tradition of giving gifts on the occasion of Nowruz and Mehregan, to the extent that Yazid ibn Abd al-Malik returned to the way it was before.[23] Then the matter was done this way until the year 284 AH, then in this year, Mu‘tadid al-Abbasid prevented people from doing what they used to do on Nowruz, such as pouring water, lighting fire, and so on. So it was announced in the lands that people should not care about the matter of Nowruz, then he granted them permission to continue with that, and they began pouring water on passersby and went too far with it, to the extent that they started pouring water on soldiers, policemen, and others![24] So God knows what motivated this sinner to ban it once! Then his wife gave him a gift on Nowruz called “Qatar al-Nada,” which contained twenty Chinese gold ingots, ten of which were scented with amber and weighed eighty-four pounds, and twenty silver ingots, ten of which were scented with sandalwood and weighed ninety-three pounds. Additionally, there were five sets of clothes and expensive jewelry worth five thousand dinars, and they made candles for Nowruz that cost thirteen thousand dinars![25]

So Nowruz was a day of luxury, pleasure, and the pursuit of desires among the tyrants of the Umayyads and the Abbasids, as it was so among Persian kings before Islam, but rather it has been said that it was Eid for Pharaoh; as Muqatil ibn Sulayman (d. 150 AH) has said in his Tafsir: “Musa said to Pharaoh: ﴿مَوْعِدُكُمْ يَوْمُ الزِّينَةِ﴾[26]; ‘Your appointment is on the day of the festival,’ which means that their feast day was one day every year, and it was the day of Nowruz, ﴿وَأَنْ يُحْشَرَ النَّاسُ ضُحًى﴾[27]; ‘and let people assemble when the sun has risen.’”[28] As for the Imams and the righteous from the Ahl al-Bayt of the Prophet, peace and blessings of God be upon him and his family, they have always been against it; as it has been narrated that Mansoor al-Abbasid visited Musa ibn Ja‘far ibn Muhammad ibn Ali ibn al-Husain ibn Ali to congratulate him on Nowruz and to receive what was sent to him, so Musa said: «إِنِّي قَدْ فَتَّشْتُ الْأَخْبَارَ عَنْ جَدِّي رَسُولِ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَآلِهِ وَسَلَّمَ، فَلَمْ أَجِدْ لِهَذَا الْعِيدِ خَبَرًا، وَإِنَّهُ سُنَّةٌ لِلْفُرْسِ، وَمَحَاهَا الْإِسْلَامُ، وَمَعَاذَ اللَّهِ أَنْ نُحْيِيَ مَا مَحَاهُ الْإِسْلَامُ»; “I have made a thorough search through the reports from my ancestor, the Messenger of God, peace and blessings of God be upon him and his family, but I have not found any report about this Eid, and it is a tradition of the Persians, and Islam has erased it, and God forbid that we revive what Islam has erased,” so Mansoor al-Abbasid said: “We do this only as a policy for the soldiers”[29], and it has been narrated that Muhammad ibn al-Qasim ibn Ali ibn Umar ibn Ali ibn al-Husain ibn Ali came to Mu‘tasim on the day of Nowruz while the musicians were playing before him and the female dancers were dancing, and when Muhammad saw them, he cried and then said: “O God! You know that I am always keen to change and deny this.” Then the servants from Faraghinah began to maltreat the common people and throw filth and dead animals at them while Mu‘tasim was laughing and Muhammad was glorifying God, asking for forgiveness from Him and moving his lips to pray for them[30], and it is clearly not permissible for believers to follow the traditions of Pharaohs, Persian kings, and other tyrants, nor is it permissible for them to copy the Magians who used to glorify Nowruz and Mehregan without knowledge, guidance, or an enlightening book; as God Almighty has said: ﴿يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا لَا تَكُونُوا كَالَّذِينَ كَفَرُوا﴾[31]; “O you who believed! Do not be like those who disbelieved,” and said: ﴿وَلَا تَكُونُوا كَالَّذِينَ نَسُوا اللَّهَ فَأَنْسَاهُمْ أَنْفُسَهُمْ ۚ أُولَئِكَ هُمُ الْفَاسِقُونَ﴾[32]; “And do not be like those who forgot God, so He made them forget themselves. They are the sinners,” and said: ﴿إِنَّكُمْ إِذًا مِثْلُهُمْ﴾[33]; “Surely then you will be like them,” and it has been narrated from the Messenger of God, peace and blessings of God be upon him and his family, that he forbade copying non-Muslims and said: «مَنْ تَشَبَّهَ بِقَوْمٍ فَهُوَ مِنْهُمْ»[34]; “One who copies a people is considered one of them,” and said: «لَيْسَ مِنَّا مَنْ تَشَبَّهَ بِغَيْرِنَا»[35]; “One who copies other than us is not one of us,” and said: «لَيْسَ مِنَّا مَنْ عَمِلَ بِسُنَّةِ غَيْرِنَا»[36]; “One who acts on the tradition of other than us is not one of us,” narrated by Hudhayfah, Jabir, ibn Abbas, Anas, ibn Umar, Abu Hurairah, Abdullah ibn Amr, and others, and he said in the Hadith about beards and moustaches: «لَا تَشَبَّهُوا بِالْمَجُوسِ»[37]; “Do not copy the Magians,” and it has been narrated from the Ahl al-Bayt that they said: «أَوْحَى اللَّهُ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ إِلَى نَبِيٍّ مِنْ أَنْبِيَائِهِ: قُلْ لِلْمُؤْمِنِينَ: لَا تَلْبَسُوا لِبَاسَ أَعْدَائِي، وَلَا تَطْعَمُوا طَعَامَ أَعْدَائِي، وَلَا تَسْلُكُوا مَسَالِكَ أَعْدَائِي، -وَفِي رِوَايَةٍ أُخْرَى: وَلَا تُشَاكِلُوا بِمَشَاكِلِ أَعْدَائِي- فَتَكُونُوا أَعْدَائِي، كَمَا هُمْ أَعْدَائِي»[38]; “God the Exalted, the Majestic revealed to one of His Prophets: Say to the believers: ‘Do not wear what My enemies wear, do not eat what My enemies eat, and do not follow the footsteps of My enemies,’ -and in another narration: ‘and do not engage in disputes similar to those of My enemies- or you will become My enemies, as they are My enemies,’” and said in a Hadith about chess: «دَعُوا الْمَجُوسِيَّةَ لِأَهْلِهَا، لَعَنَهَا اللَّهُ»[39]; “Leave Magian works for its people, may God curse it,” and it has been narrated from one of the Sahabah that he said: “Whoever settles in the land of non-Arabs, celebrates their Nowruz and Mehregan, and copies them until he dies in that state, will be gathered with them on the Day of Judgment,”[40] which been narrated in a marfoo‘ manner in al-Mashikhah al-Baghdadiyyah by Abu Tahir al-Salafi (d. 576 AH)[41], and it has been narrated from Hasan al-Basri that he said: “What do you have to do with Nowruz?! Pay no attention to it, for it is only for non-Arabs,”[42] and al-Hakim al-Tirmidhi has said: “The prohibition is applied to those who copy people of falsehood on that day and the kings of Pharaohs who indulged in it, for it is an act of idle entertainment, accompanied by singing, dancing girls, and listening by the riverside, amidst the greenery and brightness of spring. The earth adorned itself and put on its decorations during the days of Nowruz, with the fragrance of the air and the rustling of the breeze. They enjoyed themselves in the pleasures of the world, indulged in colors, and spent their time pursuing their desires and lusts. Musical instruments accompanied them, and they rode on swings, rushing to enjoy their pleasures in their worldly life; God Almighty has said: ﴿وَيَوْمَ يُعْرَضُ الَّذِينَ كَفَرُوا عَلَى النَّارِ أَذْهَبْتُمْ طَيِّبَاتِكُمْ فِي حَيَاتِكُمُ الدُّنْيَا وَاسْتَمْتَعْتُمْ بِهَا فَالْيَوْمَ تُجْزَوْنَ عَذَابَ الْهُونِ بِمَا كُنْتُمْ تَسْتَكْبِرُونَ فِي الْأَرْضِ بِغَيْرِ الْحَقِّ وَبِمَا كُنْتُمْ تَفْسُقُونَ﴾[43]; ‘On the Day when those who disbelieved are exposed to the fire, (it will be said to them,) You exhausted your pure things in your life of the world and enjoyed them. Now this Day you shall be rewarded with a punishment of humiliation because you were arrogant on the earth without right, and because you committed transgression.’”[44]

As a result, it is not permissible to take Nowruz as Eid by making it a day of amusement, play, buying new goods, and other similar works, or dedicating it for a good deed, such as cleaning the house, visiting relatives, visiting neighbors, giving food to people, fasting, performing ghusl, and other similar works. Yes, there is nothing wrong with doing these works in the first month of spring for those who do them in the other months as well; because what is forbidden is dedication; as one of our companions informed us, he said:

«كُنَّا مَعَ الْمَنْصُورِ، فَاسْتَأْذَنَهُ رِجَالٌ مِنَّا لِلْخُرُوجِ، فَقَالَ لَهُمْ: أَيْنَ تَذْهَبُونَ إِنْ شَاءَ اللَّهُ؟ فَقَالُوا: هَذَا يَوْمُ النَّيْرُوزِ، فَنُطْعِمُ أَهْلِينَا، وَنَصِلُ أَرْحَامَنَا، فَأَذِنَ لَهُمْ، فَلَمَّا خَرَجُوا، قُلْتُ لَهُ: أَأَذِنْتَ لَهُمْ أَنْ يُعَظِّمُوا النَّيْرُوزَ؟! فَقَالَ كَمُغْضَبٍ: مَاذَا تُرِيدُ؟! أَتُرِيدُ أَنْ أَقُولَ لَهُمْ: لَا تُطْعِمُوا أَهْلِيكُمْ، وَلَا تَصِلُوا أَرْحَامَكُمْ؟! لَا وَاللَّهِ، لَا أَنْهَاهُمْ عَنِ الْمَعْرُوفِ! فَلَمَّا رَجَعُوا إِلَيْهِ بَعْدَ أَيَّامٍ قَالَ لَهُمْ: أَأَطْعَمْتُمْ أَهْلِيكُمْ، وَوَصَلْتُمْ أَرْحَامَكُمْ؟ قَالُوا: نَعَمْ، قَالَ: أَحْسَنْتُمْ، فَافْعَلُوهُمَا فِي كُلِّ شَهْرٍ! فَلَمَّا خَرَجُوا قُلْتُ لَهُ: وَاللَّهِ لَا نُخَالِفُكَ فِي شَيْءٍ إِلَّا وَالْحَقُّ مَعَكَ وَالْخَطَأُ مِنَّا»; “We were with Mansoor, then some men from us asked him for permission to leave, so he said to them: ‘Where are you going, Insha’Allah?’ They said: ‘Today is Nowruz, so we feed our families and visit our relatives.’ So he gave them permission, and when they left, I said to him: ‘Did you give them permission to glorify Nowruz?!’ So he said while looking angry: ‘What do you want?! Do you want me to tell them: “Do not feed your families, and do not visit your relatives?!” No, I swear to God, I do not forbid them what is right!’ Then, when they came back to him some days later, he said to them: ‘Did you feed your families and visit your relatives?’ They said: ‘We did.’ He said: ‘Well done! So do them every month!’ Then, when they left, I said to him: ‘I swear to God, we do not disagree with you in anything unless you are right and we are wrong.’”

This was what Ali, peace be upon him, meant when he said to the one who gifted him something on Nowruz: «نَيْرِزُونَا كُلَّ يَوْمٍ»; “Make every day a Nowruz for us,” and in another narration: «فَنَيْرِزُوا كُلَّ يَوْمٍ»; “Consider every day as Nowruz,” and in another narration: «فَاصْنَعُوا كُلَّ يَوْمٍ نَيْرُوزًا»; “Set every day as Nowruz,” and in another narration: «فَنَيْرِزُوا إِنْ قَدَرْتُمْ كُلَّ يَوْمٍ»; “Set every day as Nowruz if you can,” which means that you shall give gifts to each other and communicate with each other in the way of God and not restrict them to this day. This is for the righteous and permissible deeds that they do on this day. As for false and superstitious deeds that fools do to copy the Magians, such as lighting fire, pouring water, setting the haft-sin table, going out on the thirteenth day, and other similar works, they are absolutely not allowed, ﴿وَمَنْ يَتَّقِ اللَّهَ يُكَفِّرْ عَنْهُ سَيِّئَاتِهِ وَيُعْظِمْ لَهُ أَجْرًا﴾[45]; “and whoever fears God, He will remove from him his evil deeds and increase for him his reward.”