What is the ruling on what is called the Parents' Dinner on occasions such as Ramadan or Thursday or Monday?
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The questioner : What is the ruling on what is called the Parents' Dinner in Ramadan, on Thursdays, and on Mondays?
The Shaykh : I do not know of any basis for this in the Book of Allah, nor in the Sunnah of His Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him and his family), nor in the practice of the righteous predecessors. There is no doubt that charity in Ramadan is among the best of charities due to the honor of the time, and because the month of Ramadan is the month of generosity and kindnessRiyad as-Salihin 1222.
However, people have been accustomed for a long time to prepare food on the night of Friday, and some of them on the night of Monday, and to invite the poor to it.
And the people in our land, in the past, were in great need, and the poor would rejoice when invited to such food, and people would feed them from it. Most of this food used to be the result of a bequest made by fathers and mothers, and so they called it the Parents' Dinner, meaning the dinner that the parents had bequeathed. Then people gradually progressed to slaughtering animals on the night of Monday or the night of Friday, and gathering around them the neighbors, whether they were rich or poor, and making it a celebration. If these people are seeking to draw near to Allah specifically through the slaughter, they are undoubtedly innovators, because slaughter is not a means of drawing near to Allah except in its designated places, such as the slaughter on the days of sacrifice in the Festival of Sacrifice, the slaughter for the newborn, and the sacrificial animal dedicated to the Sacred Precinct in Makkah. Anything other than that is not a means of drawing near to Allah through the slaughter itself.
Therefore, I fear that if time passes for people, the ignorant will come to believe that Ramadan is like the Festival of Sacrifice, a place for drawing near to Allah the Exalted through slaughter in it. This is a serious matter because it is based on a defective belief.
In conclusion: the dinner called the Parents' Dinner in Ramadan has no basis, neither in the Book of Allah, nor in the Sunnah of His Messenger, nor in the practice of the righteous predecessors.
The questioner : May Allah reward you for this blessed guidance, O Shaykh Muhammad.
The Shaykh : I do not know of any basis for this in the Book of Allah, nor in the Sunnah of His Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him and his family), nor in the practice of the righteous predecessors. There is no doubt that charity in Ramadan is among the best of charities due to the honor of the time, and because the month of Ramadan is the month of generosity and kindness
The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) was the most generous of the men; and he was the most generous during the month of Ramadan when Jibril visited him every night and recited the Qur'an to him.
وكان النبي صلى الله عليه وسلم أجود الناس، وكان أجود ما يكون في رمضان حين يلقاه جبريل فيدارسه القرآنHowever, people have been accustomed for a long time to prepare food on the night of Friday, and some of them on the night of Monday, and to invite the poor to it.
And the people in our land, in the past, were in great need, and the poor would rejoice when invited to such food, and people would feed them from it. Most of this food used to be the result of a bequest made by fathers and mothers, and so they called it the Parents' Dinner, meaning the dinner that the parents had bequeathed. Then people gradually progressed to slaughtering animals on the night of Monday or the night of Friday, and gathering around them the neighbors, whether they were rich or poor, and making it a celebration. If these people are seeking to draw near to Allah specifically through the slaughter, they are undoubtedly innovators, because slaughter is not a means of drawing near to Allah except in its designated places, such as the slaughter on the days of sacrifice in the Festival of Sacrifice, the slaughter for the newborn, and the sacrificial animal dedicated to the Sacred Precinct in Makkah. Anything other than that is not a means of drawing near to Allah through the slaughter itself.
Therefore, I fear that if time passes for people, the ignorant will come to believe that Ramadan is like the Festival of Sacrifice, a place for drawing near to Allah the Exalted through slaughter in it. This is a serious matter because it is based on a defective belief.
In conclusion: the dinner called the Parents' Dinner in Ramadan has no basis, neither in the Book of Allah, nor in the Sunnah of His Messenger, nor in the practice of the righteous predecessors.
The questioner : May Allah reward you for this blessed guidance, O Shaykh Muhammad.