Be aware Its April Fools Day!

[commander]

Its April Fools Day!

Just like other festivals that we have adopted from the West like Valentines Day and New Years Night, the tradition of April Fool is also popular among youth.

While writing these lines, youngsters were on their way to engineer methods to fool their friends, family members and relatives in a bid to celebrate the tradition of April 1. Usually, it is the family members and friends, who are at the receiving end and need to remain conscious on this particular day.

According to the available definition and history of April Fools Day, renowned English classical poet Geoffrey Chaucer first mentioned it in his epic Nuns Priest Tale. As per some further explanations regarding the traditional event, it was in the Middle Ages when New Years Day was celebrated on March 25 in most European towns, while in some areas of France, New Year was a weeklong holiday, ending on April 1. So, it is possible that April Fool originated, as those who celebrated New Year on January 1 made fun of those who celebrated it on other dates.

The use of January 1 as New Years Day was common in France by the mid-16th century, and this date was adopted officially in the year 1564 through the Edict of Roussillon by Charles IX, the French King.

Youngsters, who didnt know much about the history and background of April Fool, while talking to The News said they just take it for fun sake.

Farrukh, 22, a university student, said: It is just fun stuff and we fool our friends such as sending them for a useless errand or revealing to them that someone is in love with them. Farrukh agreed that any such prank that might end up hurting the feelings of others must be avoided.

Tayyab Ansari, 26, said: If you are fun loving and like to remain happy, then any such events should not go wasted. One must enjoy it to the full spirit. To a question about his previous experiences on April Fools Day, Tayyab said he was fooled many a time and he fooled others as well. Once I told one of my friends that he has been called for a job by some company that wants to employ him, and my friend went to the companys office with complete preparation.

Rubina was of the view that only those people could be fooled, who remain oblivious of the month dates and when you remind them of the date, they become a little furious.

 

[Pakistan_1st]

April Fools Day

Originally Composed by Adnan Khalid (Darul Uloom London Student)

As April draws near, non believers around the globe celebrate a holiday on the first of the month known as April Fools Day. The traditional practice of this day is to play some sort of practical joke on someone and make him the April Fool.

Pranks performed on this day range form the simple, (such as saying, your shoes are untied!) to the elaborate. Whatever the prank, the trickster usually ends it by yelling to his victim, April fool!

The history of April Fools Day is not totally clear. No exact date can be found pinpointing the first official celebration of the holiday. There are, however, many narrations regarding the reason the tradition is practiced. One narration states that it is a day the Spanish celebrate in remembrance of the day that they defeated the Muslims and swept them from power in lower Spain. According to this narration, the Christian army could not conquer the Muslims there and sent spies to discover why. They discovered that the Muslims were strong on faith and obedient to Allah. The tradition goes on saying that the Christians sent in alcohol and tobacco, which the Muslims used and became the means in which they lost their obedience to Allah. Then the Christian army invaded lower Spain and conquered the Muslims on the first of April and began celebrating April Fools Day ever since. As this story has been circulating between our Muslim brothers strengthening their beliefs about the history of this day I deemed it appropriate to clarify a few points about the history of April Fools Day. The truth of the matter is that this story is not true in many aspects.

First, let us confirm the historic fact that Muslim rule in Spain ended on the 12th of January in the Christian year of 1492 A.D. April Fools Day was not heard of until over sixty years later. The most authentic reports according to Christian historical books such as Encyclopedia Britannica as well as many others trace the roots of the holiday back to 16th century France. Prior to the year 1582, the new year was celebrated for eight days, starting with the 25th of March. The celebration culminated on April 1st. With the reform of the Christian calendar under King Charles IX, through the influence of Pope Gregory, the Gregorian calendar was introduced, and New Years Day was moved to the first of January. However, due to lack of communications in those days, many people did not receive the news for several years. Others, the most obstinate crowd, refused to accept the new calendar and continued to celebrate the New Year on April 1. These backward people were classified as fool by the general public and were often subject to some ridicule. Hence, the tradition of April Fools Day began.

Second, we should acknowledge the fact that tobacco products were not even invented until after the time of the fall of Muslims in Spain. According to the State College in Framingham, they quote that smoking of any kind did not exist in Spain until after it was brought back from the New World in the times after King Ferdinand of Spain had come to power. Tobacco use did not become widespread until the 19th century.(Introduction to human biology, Framingham State College, Roger N. Morrissette, Ph.D.)

So regarding the rumor claiming that April Fools Day is a celebration of the take over of Muslim Spain, it is clear the whole thing is a fabricated story. It is in fact a lie made by the nonbelievers to mislead Muslims and in realty create a Muslims Fool Day! True Muslims would never propagate lies especially when it comes to the history of Islam. It is our duty to educate our brothers on these kinds of topics.

Regardless of the history of April Fools Day or not, there still isnt any sort of a reason for a Muslim to practice such a foolish tradition. It is a in reality a holiday created by the enemies of Allah to prove how really foolish they are by denying the truth revealed to the world through the Holy Prophet (peace be upon him). As Muslims it is our job to avoid imitating the nonbelievers in all aspects of life and this includes celebration of their holidays. No matter how hard you try to please them you will always fail unless you become one of them. And to become one of them is to earn Allahs wrath. And to earn Allahs wrath is to condemn oneself. Allah says in the Quran, And never will the Jews nor the Christians be pleased with you until you follow their millat (traditions, ways, religion, etc.).(Chapter 2, verse 122)

Dear readers! Know that Islam is the only religion, which is free from faults and innovations. Such an easy religion to follow is Islam. The Prophet said, Indeed religion is easy(Bukhari). Allah just asks that we obey Him and His messenger sallalahu alaihi wasallam. Yet we try to go out of our ways to be obedient to those cursed people who have shown disobedience to Allah. What a pity for him who chooses to enjoy the pleasures of the world over the pleasures of the hereafter. By imitating the nonbelievers, all we do is show people that we are one of them and that they are beloved to us as we to them. The Holy Prophet said, A person will be raised on the Day of Judgment with whom he loves. So whom do we prefer to be raised with, the Noble Prophet sallalahu alaihi wasallam and his companions or the celebrators of April Fools Day? The answer is obvious to all. In this age of innumerous trails and tribulations, we must try our hardest to stay steadfast on the straight path shown to us by our Beloved Prophet sallalahu alaihi wasallam, which is the only path with guaranteed success from Allah. In the long run, he will be successful who avoids such useless practices that are nothing more then a waste of time. May Allah keep us pure from such deceptions and avoid making us the April Fool. Ameen.