April 1st - April Fools Day
/ˈeɪpr(ɪ)l fuːlzdeɪ/
an annual custom consisting of practical jokes and hoaxes.
On this day jokesters often expose their actions by shouting "April Fools!" at the recipient after playing a practical joke or hoax. Mass media can be involved in these pranks, which may be revealed as such the following day. The day is not a public holiday in any country except Odessa in Ukraine, where the first of April is an official city holiday. The custom of setting aside a day for playing harmless pranks upon one's neighbour has been relatively common in the world historically.
The history of April Fool’s 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.
1. The French changed their calendar
Some historians believe that April Fools’ Day dates back to 1582, when France switched from the Julian calendar to the Gregorian calendar. In the Julian Calendar the new year began with the spring equinox around April 1. People who were slow to get the news or failed to recognize that the start of the new year had moved to January 1 and continued to celebrate it during the last week of March through April 1 became the butt of jokes and hoaxes and were called “April fools.”
2. Hilaria
Historians have also linked April Fools’ Day to festivals such as Hilaria (Latin for joyful), which was celebrated in ancient Rome at the end of March by followers of the cult of Cybele . It involved people dressing up in disguises and mocking fellow citizens and even magistrates and was said to be inspired by the Egyptian legend of Isis, Osiris and Seth.
3. Vernal Equinox
There’s also speculation that April Fools’ Day was tied to the vernal equinox, or first day of spring in the Northern Hemisphere, when Mother Nature fooled people with changing, unpredictable weather.
4. The Day the Spanish defeated the Muslims
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 learnt that the Muslims were obedient to Allah. The tradition goes on to say 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 Fool’s Day ever since.
There are many historical inaccuracies with this narration.
Muslim rule in Spain ended on the 12th of January 1492 A.D. April Fool’s Day was not heard of until over sixty years later.
Tobacco products were not even invented until after the time of the fall of Muslims in Spain. Tobacco use did not become widespread until the 19th century.
So, regarding the rumor claiming that April Fool’s 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 others to mislead Muslims and in realty create a “Muslims Fool Day”!
Either way, April Fools Day has no place in Islam. Nowadays, people lie and cover it up by calling it a prank. This is completely against Islam and the teachings of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ.
Abdullah reported Allah’s Messenger (may peace be upon him) as saying: "Truth leads one to Paradise and virtue leads one to Paradise and the person tells the truth until he is recorded as truthful, and lie leads to obscenity and obscenity leads to Hell, and the person tells a lie until he is recorded as a liar." - [Sahih Muslim – Book 32 Hadith 6307]
We often see people lying to fool other people on the April 1st, which is completely against Islam. Islam does not teach us to use deception to make other people fall for anything. Even the Muslims, use lies to celebrate this day. This celebration is simply a way of neglecting the teachings of Allah and his last Prophet ﷺ.
Here is a extraxt from The Islamic Information's post regarding April Fools Day.
Dont be a fool by participating in April Fool's Day. It is based on deception and lies, both of which are completely forbidden in Islam. The Prophet ﷺ informed us that whoever cheats us is not a true Muslim, and, whoever lies to make people laugh is cursed. It was narrated that Mu'aawiyah ibn Haydah (RA) said: "I heard the Messenger of Allah ﷺ say: 'Woe to the one who talks to make the people laigh and tells lies, woe to him, woe to him.'" - [Tirmidhi, 235] Some people say, 'but it is only a simple joke ... something small' etc. However, we all know that similar arguements regarding other forbidden practices in Islam are unacceptable. For example, considering the gact that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ prohibited touching a woman you could marry (a woman who you aren't a mahram to), to argue that the Western practice of kissing females on the cheeck when meeting is only a simple peck or a small act is clearly wrong.
إِنَّ ٱللَّهَ لَا يَهْدِى مَنْ هُوَ كَـٰذِبٌ كَفَّارٌ
Allah also says in the Quran "surely Allah does not guide him aright who is a liar, ungrateful." [39:3]
Although lying within jokes are haram, joking around with inoncence and telling jokes that are true are allowed. Prophet Muhammad ﷺ was warmhearted and friendly and occasionally, he joked with the people around him. Due to his fitrah (nature) he always acted in moderation.
His gentleness is also referred to in the Holy Quran: "It was by a mercy from God that, you (O Messenger ﷺ) were lenient with them. Had you been harsh and hard-hearted, they would surely have scattered away from about you." [ 3:159]. However, when he did make jokes and pleasantries, he always behaved moderately like he did in every aspect of his life. For example, as related by Abu Hurairah, when some of his companions said to Prophet Muhammad ﷺ : “O Messenger of Allah, you joke with us?” He replied: “Yes, I do. But I only tell the truth.” This case reveals that the most important thing about a joke is that it should tell the truth and not be offensive.
May Allah guide us all on the right path and save us from everything He hates. Ameen!
Wassalam,
P.S. Recommended Video - April Fool & Islam | Shaykh Hasan Ali | Al-Falaah Reminders