The ruling on welcoming returning pilgrims with gunfire

Question:
This questioner is from the Yemen Arab Republic, Sa'dah Governorate. He says: Honorable Shaykh Salih (may Allah preserve him), my first question is that it has become customary among us, when the pilgrims return from performing the obligatory Hajj, to welcome them by firing guns into the air and to require the pilgrim to host feasts. What is the ruling in the Shari'ah, in your view, regarding these customs? We ask for guidance and hope to be rewarded.

Answer:
In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful. Praise be to Allah, and may peace and blessings be upon the Messenger of Allah, and upon his family and companions, and whoever follows them. As for what follows, there is no doubt that Hajj is a great act of worship, and that the one whom Allah grants the opportunity to perform Hajj has been singled out by Allah for a great act of worship and a great reward, if Allah accepts it from him.
However, none of these things occur upon the arrival of the pilgrims, such as firing rifles or the like, or forcing them to hold parties and spend money on them. They may not be able to afford it, yet they are burdened with what they cannot do. This is not obligatory, nor is it required. Rather, it is permissible for the pilgrim's people, the people of the one returning from travel, or his friends or neighbors, to host a dinner for him or to do something to honor him, not out of compulsion, but as a voluntary choice. If they wish, there is no harm in holding an occasion for the arrival of the traveler from Hajj or otherwise, but without extravagance, without compulsion, and without burdensome expenses.