He intended to slaughter a calf and gather with the attendees for the remembrance of Allah

Question:
This is the first message in our session today from the listener (Mahmoud M. J), an Egyptian working in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. He sent several questions. In his first question, he says: I vowed to Allah the Exalted to slaughter a calf in gratitude for His favoring me with a visit to the two sacred sanctuaries. It is my intention, as is customary in our country, and since the standard of living is close, with no destitute poor and no extravagant rich, that I slaughter it and hold a feast. Then I will invite all the Muslims in our country, and then invite a renowned, distinguished shaykh and scholar known to us to preach to the Muslims, establish circles of dhikr, seeking forgiveness, glorification, and praise of Allah, and sending blessings upon His Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him), on a specific night. They will eat dinner, and then we will spend that night in the remembrance of Allah, prayer, glorification, and praise. Is there anything in this that contradicts the Shari'ah of Allah, or have I not fulfilled my vow by doing this?

Answer:
In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful.
Praise be to Allah, and may Allah send prayers and peace upon the Messenger of Allah, and upon his family and his Companions, and upon those who follow his guidance. As for what follows:
Vowing is prohibited. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) prohibited it and said: But if one vows obedience to Allah the Exalted, such as prayer, fasting, or slaughtering for Allah the Exalted, then he must fulfill it. This is based on the saying of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him): which al-Bukhari recorded in his Sahih.
So you, O brother questioner, must fulfill your vow by slaughtering the calf and distributing it, and preparing the feast as you intended. There is no harm in doing so for the poor and others among your relatives and neighbors, according to what you intended. This is based on the saying of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him): Bringing a scholar to remind and preach on the occasion of this gathering of Muslims is a good thing.
Likewise, if they glorify Allah and remember Allah (Exalted and Majestic is He), and each person remembers Allah in his heart and glorifies Allah in his heart, all of this is a righteous deed.
As for gathering to recite specific dhikr and specific tasbih in a specific collective voice, there is no evidence for this, and it has no basis in the Shari'ah as far as we know. However, if each person recites tasbih, each seeks forgiveness for himself, and they remember Allah in their places, glorify Allah in their places, seek His forgiveness and thank Him, then all of this is good. And if their gathering includes reading authentic hadiths from the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him), or reading the Qur'an while they listen and the scholar explains to them the meaning of the verses and the meaning of the hadiths, then all of this is good.
As for the circles practiced by the Sufis with specific dhikr, specific voices, and specific melodies, these have no basis; rather, they are religious innovations. But the gathering of people for knowledge, reading the Qur'an and listening to it, hearing the words of the scholars, their reminders and preaching, and the explanation of the verses to the attendees, all of this is good. We ask Allah for success and guidance for everyone. This can be done on a specific day or at a specific time of the night, and there is no harm in it, except if the intention is to exalt a specific night, such as the night of the Mawlid. This is not permissible, because the Mawlid is an innovation, and celebrating it is among the innovations introduced into the religion, according to the correct opinion of the scholars. The later scholars disagreed on this, and some claimed that it is a recommended practice and that establishing festivals is permissible, but this is a weak and rejected opinion.
The correct view is that celebrating the Mawlid is a bid'ah (religious innovation) for which Allah has not sent down any authority. This falls under His saying (peace and blessings be upon him): and under His saying (peace and blessings be upon him): The evidence for this, in addition to the two hadiths mentioned, is that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) did not do this in his lifetime, nor did his Companions do it after his death, not Abu Bakr (may Allah be pleased with him) nor 'Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) nor 'Uthman nor 'Ali (may Allah be pleased with them), nor the rest of the Companions. Likewise, the Tabi'un and the generation after them did not do it for the Mawlid of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) nor for the Mawlid of anyone else. This indicates that it is a bid'ah.
All good lies in following the righteous Salaf, in proceeding according to the methodology of our Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) and his Companions. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) is mentioned, and praise be to Allah, at all times, in the adhan and iqamah five times a day and night, in the first tashahhud and the second tashahhud. In all other times, blessings are sent upon him and peace is invoked (peace and blessings be upon him), so there is no need for this innovation.
And likewise, his biography (peace and blessings be upon him) must be studied in schools, institutes, mosques, and universities so that his biography (peace and blessings be upon him) is known, and so that people emulate his words and actions (peace and blessings be upon him). Thus, Muslims do not need the innovation of the Mawlid.
Therefore, the people of knowledge should pay attention to this matter and clarify to the general public the path of the people of the Sunnah and the community in this chapter and others. We ask Allah for guidance, success, and rectification of intention and deed for everyone.

The presenter: O Allah, amen. May Allah bless you.

The presenter: He says: Is it permissible for him and his children, his family, and his relatives to eat from this feast?

The Shaykh: There is no harm in that, as long as he intended this intention, that he slaughters it, gathers people to it, and he and his family eat from it. There is no harm.

The presenter: Meaning: as long as he did not specify?

The Shaykh: If he did not intend anything, then he gives it specifically to the poor. But as long as he intended to slaughter it in the house, gather the scholars to it, and gather the poor and non-poor from his family and neighbors to it, deeds are by intentions.