The faces of the old and young
– and indeed even the trees and birds around us – rejoice when they come to know
about the happiness of the beloved Prophet . His happiness is their happiness
for those who love him and it is guidance for his followers.
The Prophetic guidance teaches us the manners of how to be happy in the times of
success and joy.
Allah SWT did not create us to be robots….He created us with feelings, will,
intellect and has granted us the permission to choose and to act according to
the situations. Now it is obligatory on a believer to adopt the Sunnah of
Prophet in every sphere of his life, as acting upon Sunnah is also a worship of
our Lord.
Let's learn the etiquettes of celebrating Joy and Success as per the Sunnah of
the Prophet in different occasions of our lives.
Out of all the occasions of celebration of joy and success the marriage comes
first on the list, as this is the occasion of our life in which we are breaking
the rules and commandments of Allah SWT the most.
Marriage (nikah) is a solemn and sacred social contract between bride and groom.
It is a major step in one’s life. Marriage is a matter of great responsibility
which should not be taken lightly by any mean.
In Islam, a marriage ceremony is comprised on a nikah (marriage contract)
followed by a walimah (marriage feast) once the marriage has been accomplished.
The Prophet is reported to have said:
“The marriage, which is most greatly blessed, is the one which is the lightest
in burden [expense]. However, if people are well catered for, without
extravagance and show, there is no problem with that either.” (Reported by
Bayhaqi)
Nowadays, our marriages contain such rituals and customs on which we tend to
waste enormous amounts of money and time that simply aren’t required. Nikah and
walimah are both the Sunnahs of the Prophet Muhammad , so we should try to
commemorate these joyous occasions in the same way as he did to make them more
valuable.
According to Sunnah of Prophet Muhammed the nikah can be held at the local
masjid or at home, while the walimah can be held anywhere.
Prophet Muhammad (peace be Upon Him) said:
‘The worst of the feasts are those marriage feasts to which the rich are invited
and the poor are left out”. (Mishkat)
Anas (RA) describes one of the walimahs hosted by the Prophet :
The Prophet stayed for three days at a place between Khaibar and Medina, and
there he consummated his marriage with Safiyya bint Huyay (RA). I invited the
Muslims to a banquet, which included neither meat nor bread. The Prophet (SAW)
ordered for the leather dining sheets to be spread, and then dates, dried yogurt
and butter were provided over it, and that was the Walima (banquet) of the
Prophet (SAW).” (Reported by Bukhari)
There is nothing wrong with having an elaborate ceremony in an elegant banquet
hall and full-course meal, if you can afford, but its neither a criteria nor a
requirement of a successful marriage. Instead, by doing so many people become
the victim of debt due to spending extravagantly on this occasion, which is of
no use.
Although it’s not that easy to row your boat in the opposite direction in which
the society is moving, but it's worth going against the tides that are against
the command of Allah SWT and the teachings of the Prophet . We should try our
utmost to follow the footsteps of Porphet rather than blindly following the
pathetic, shameless acts of jahliya in our wedding ceremonies which lead to
fitnah and can never make our marriages successful.
Islam is a very practical yet reasonable religion. After spending the whole
month of Ramadan in worshipping Allah SWT, Muslims are blessed with the occasion
of Eid-ul-Fitr to celebrate this success with happiness and excitement.
Similarly Allah SWT has blessed us with Eid- ul- Adha in the memory of the great
Sacrifice of Prophet Ibrahim (AS). Therefore; on these two occasions the
observance of the Sunnah of our Prophet Muhammed doubles our celebration and
joy.
The Sunnahs of Eids include, to wake up early in the morning than usual,
brushing of teeth with Miswak, taking a bath, dress up in neat and clean
clothes, using perfume and the performance of Eid Salah at the Eidgah. However,
it is Sunnah to avoid eating before Eid Salah and to eat dates or something
sweet before Eid Salah of Eid-ul-Fitr, reading aloud “Takbeerat” on the way to
the place of prayer for Eid-ul-Adha and silently for Eid-ul-Fitr:
“Allaahu Akbar Allaahu Akbar Laa ilaaha illallaahu Wallaahu Akbar walillaahil
hamd”.
Using of different routes to and from the place of Eid Salaah and the offering
of two rak’ahs
of Salaatul Eidain which is wajib, are the Sunnahs of celebrating these joyous
occasions.
Then there comes a celebration of success and joy during sports activities where
we are especially required to follow the Sunnah of our Prophet . Playing sports
is permissible in Islam, especially as we know that there are some sports which
are considered to be Sunnah sports such as Archery, wrestling, swimming,
running, horse racing, camel racing and competition. Prophet Muhammed used to
watch these sports and also award those who won.
Regardless of age, everybody is engaged or interested in some kind of sport, as
sport is defined as ‘physical activities in the form of games, races and
competitions that aim to improve fitness’.
While playing sports and celebrating the success one must keep the following
things in mind; the foremost is that do not indulge yourself in sports to such
an extent that you miss your fard prayers, or to take part in sports where you
have to play sports with the opposite gender. According to Sunnah the sportsman
is not even allowed to wear such clothes which do not cover the body parts that
are obligatory to cover. During the celebration of victory and joy it is not
permissible to use foul language, slandering and bad behavior against the
opponents, furthermore, it is against the Sunnah of Prophet to play sports in
areas where you become the cause of suffering for others such as roads and
crowded streets.
In short, it is the Sunnah of the Prophet Muhammed to be humble and thankful to
Allah SWT when one gets His Blessings in the form of success or joy rather being
rude, boastful and arrogant. Whenever the Prophet Muhammed was happy for
example, after coming back from a battle or on the occasions of Eids, marriage
or any other occasion of happiness he always used to offer nafil to thank
Almighty Allah and also include the poor and needy in his happiness by giving
charity or sadaqa.