"Celebrating Mother's Day is haram," said chairman of the Salafi Dawa, Yasser Borhamy, on the group's official Facebook page Tuesday. This group is Egypt's largest, most organized group of politicized Salafis.
"You can buy gifts for your mother without occasion or on other occasions like Eid al-Fitr and Eid al-Adha. But you cannot celebrate [Mother's Day] even if this would make your mother upset with you," Borhamy, said responding to a question on whether the celebration of Mother's Day is considered haram in Islam.
Dar al-Iftaa meanwhile said in a statement on Tuesday that Mother's Day is an occasion to express noble feelings and honor people who "have done us favors". The Quran ordered people to be kind to their parents and honor them, the statement added.
The statement cited a Quranic verse that reads: "And We have enjoined upon man [care] for his parents. His mother carried him, [increasing her] in weakness upon weakness, and his weaning is in two years. Be grateful to Me and to your parents; to Me is the [final] destination."
The statement added that the celebration of Mother's Day is permissible under Islamic Sharia law as it reflects feelings of gratitude towards one's parents, in line with the Quran's instructions.
