﴿ وَذَرِ ٱلَّذِينَ ٱتَّخَذُوا۟ دِينَهُمْ لَعِبًۭا وَلَهْوًۭا وَغَرَّتْهُمُ ٱلْحَيَوٰةُ ٱلدُّنْيَا ۚ وَذَكِّرْ بِهِۦٓ أَن تُبْسَلَ نَفْسٌۢ بِمَا كَسَبَتْ لَيْسَ لَهَا مِن دُونِ ٱللَّهِ وَلِىٌّۭ وَلَا شَفِيعٌۭ وَإِن تَعْدِلْ كُلَّ عَدْلٍۢ لَّا يُؤْخَذْ مِنْهَآ ۗ أُو۟لَٰٓئِكَ ٱلَّذِينَ أُبْسِلُوا۟ بِمَا كَسَبُوا۟ ۖ لَهُمْ شَرَابٌۭ مِّنْ حَمِيمٍۢ وَعَذَابٌ أَلِيمٌۢ بِمَا كَانُوا۟ يَكْفُرُونَ ﴾

“And leave to themselves all those who, beguiled by the life of this world, have made play and passing delights their religion; but remind [them] herewith that [in the life to come] every human being shall be held in pledge for whatever wrong he has done, and shall have none to protect him from God, and none to intercede for him; and though he offer any conceivable ransom, it shall not be accepted from him. It is [people such as] these that shall be held in pledge for the wrong they have done; for them there is [in the life to come] a draught of burning despair and grievous suffering awaits them because of their persistent refusal to acknowledge the truth.”

‘Abdullah ibn ‘Abbas says that God fixed a religious festival day (‘Id) for every community, the purpose being that on that day they should glorify God, offer prayers to Him and fill the whole day with His remembrance. Those who came later made their religious festival (‘Id) a day of fun and frolic. (Tafsir Kabir). There is a purpose behind every religious activity and then there is its outward aspect too. The purpose of ‘Id’ is the collective demonstration of the glorification of God and His remembrance. But too much attention is paid to the externals of ‘Id—for example, the wearing of good clothes, arrangements for group activities, etc. Now, making ‘Id a mere event of fun and frolic amounts to neglecting its real purpose, which becomes forgotten in the fuss which is made about its outward and material aspects, such as a show of good clothes and possessions, the hustle and bustle of shopping, arrangements for entertainment, and the pomp which goes with a show of one’s position, etc.