The Prophet, , said that his Ummah (nation) would imitate the previous nations from among the Jews, Christians and Persians. He did not say this, of course, by way of praising their deeds in so much as by way of dispraising and chastising those who do so.
It was narrated on the authority of Abu Sa‘eed, may Allah be pleased with him, that the Prophet, , said: “You will follow the ways of those who were before you, span by span, and cubit by cubit [i.e. so completely and literally] that if they should go into the hole of a lizard, you too would go there.” The Companions, may Allah be pleased with them, asked, “O Messenger of Allah! Do you mean the Jews and the Christians?” He , replied:“Who else?”[Al-Bukhari and Muslim]
It was narrated on the authority of Abu Hurayrah, may Allah be pleased with him, that he said that the Prophet, , said:“The Hour will not be established until my Ummah imitates the deeds of the previous nations, span by span and cubit by cubit.” It was said, “O Messenger of Allah! Do you mean by those [nations] the Persians and the Romans?” The Prophet, said: “Who could it be other than them?” [Al-Bukhari]
Indeed, the ignorant, heretical innovators and deviants of this Ummah have followed the previous nations of the Jews, Christians and Persians in their beliefs, methods, morals and even appearance. It is of great importance to note how they follow and imitate them in the innovation of "Mother's Day" or "Family Day", which is a day invented by the Christians to allegedly honor the mother. It has become an exalted day, on which all usual affairs cease to function, and people maintain relations with their mothers, sending them gifts and loving messages. However, once it is over, everything returns to its old state of severing relations and undutifulness.
Why would Muslims need such an imitation, given that Allah The Almighty has enjoined upon them to be dutiful to the mother, forbidden them from being undutiful to her and made the highest degree of Paradise a reward for that dutifulness to her.
Definition of “‘Eed” (A Special Day of Celebration)
In the Arabic language, the word 'Eed comes from the root 'Awd, which means to recur. Ibn Taymiyyah said, “The word ‘Eed is a term given to the occasion of assembly which customarily recurs annually, monthly, weekly and so on.” [Iqtidhaa’ As-Siraat Al-Mustaqeem]
Ibn ‘Aabideen said, “‘Eed was given this name because on it, Allah The Almighty gives various kinds of favors that recur [in terms of goodness] upon His slaves every day, like breaking the fast after prevention from food, Sadaqat Al-Fitr (obligatory charity given after Ramadan), completing Hajj by performing the Ifaadhah Tawaaf (circumambulation) and the meat of the slaughtered sacrifices, and so on. Moreover, delight, pleasure, activity and refreshment are features of such days.” [Haashiyat Ibn ‘Aabideen]
How many `Eeds are there in Islam?
It is noteworthy that there are many festivals that the Muslims celebrate nowadays, like the Day of the Tree, Labor Day, the Day of Accession, birthdays, and so on, in addition to many other days, all of which spring from Jewish, Christian and polytheistic cultures. It should be noted here that these days have no basis in religion, since in Islam, there are only two occasions of annual celebration: ‘Eed Al-Adh’ha and ‘Eed Al-Fitr.
It has been narrated on the authority of Anas ibn Maalik, may Allah be pleased with him, that he said that during the days of Jaahiliyyah (pre-Islamic ignorance), people had two days as festivals every year on which they used to entertain themselves. When the Messenger of Allah, , came to Madeenah, he said: “You had two days [as yearly festivals] on which you used to play, and Allah has given you instead another two [occasions] which are much better: ‘Eed Al-Fitr [breaking fast after the month of Ramadan] and ‘Eed Al-Adh’ha [the tenth of Thul-Hijjah, on which you slaughter a sacrifice].” [Abu Daawood and An-Nasaa’i, Al-Albaani - Saheeh]
The Sharee‘ah stance on Mother's Day
Islam is not in need of what is innovated by others, whether it is Mother's Day or anything else; it has its own laws which enjoin dutifulness to mothers. Muslims are in no need for the innovated celebration of Mother's Day. Ibn Taymiyyah commented on a similar case saying: "Thus, it is clear to you how perfect this Sharee‘ah, with its true natural-disposition, is. The wisdom behind Allah The Almighty ordaining for His Messenger to do the opposite of whatever the disbelievers do in all affairs is that opposition is more likely to remove evil, and is farther from falling into the same mistakes which a lot of those people have fallen into."