Celebrating Quran Completion: Innovation or Heartfelt Joy?

Understanding the Celebration of Quran Completion and Its Religious Significance

Question: Should we celebrate the completion of the Quran and hold a feast, as some people organize an “Ameen” ceremony in a hall and invite many people to celebrate? Is this correct, and what is the meaning of the Quranic verse that they quote, saying it means to celebrate the Quran: “Say, ‘In the bounty of Allah and in His mercy – in that let them rejoice; it is better than what they accumulate.'” (Yunus 10:58)?

Answer: Celebrating the completion of the Quran and holding an “Ameen” ceremony is an innovation in religion because neither Allah nor His Messenger has commanded us to do so. Any act not found in the religion is invalid and rejected by Allah. The Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) said: “Whoever does an act that is not in accordance with our matter (religion), it will be rejected.” (Sahih Muslim: 1718)

Regarding the verse you mentioned, let’s look at the complete verse with translation to understand it better. Allah says:

"Say, 'In the bounty of Allah and in His mercy - in that let them rejoice; it is better than what they accumulate.'" (Yunus 10:58)

Here, Allah is referring to the Quran as His bounty and mercy and is instructing us to rejoice in it. This rejoicing is meant to be a heartfelt joy, indicating that acquiring the knowledge of the Quran is better than accumulating worldly possessions. The verse does not mention holding ceremonies or gatherings to celebrate the completion of the Quran. Allah has instructed us to be happy, but not to organize gatherings for celebration.

To illustrate, if I tell you that I got a government job or got married, wouldn’t you be happy upon hearing this? Certainly, you would be happy. This happiness is a feeling of the heart. The same kind of happiness is mentioned in the above Quranic verse.

In summary, those who organize ceremonies upon the completion of the Quran are engaging in an act of innovation, which is not accepted by Allah. Only those acts done with sincerity and in accordance with the Sunnah are accepted by Allah.

 Sheikh Maqbool Ahmed Salafi (may Allah preserve him)

❪Jeddah Dawah Center, Hayy Al-Salamah – Saudi Arabia❫