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Islamic Rulings -
Living Shariah Verdicts
Islamic Questions & Answers Praise
be to Allaah, the Lord of the Worlds, and blessings
and peace be upon our Prophet Muhammad and upon all
his family and companions. Allaah
has chosen for us Islam as our religion and He will
not accept any other religion from anyone, as He says: "And whoever seeks a religion
other than Islam, it will never be accepted of him,
and in the Hereafter he will be one of the losers."
[Aali ‘Imraan 3:85] And
the Prophet () told us that groups of his ummah would
follow the enemies of Allaah in some of their rituals
and customs, as it says in the hadeeth of Abu Sa‘eed
al-Khudri (), who nar-rated that the Prophet ()
said: "You will certainly follow the
ways of those who came before you, span by span, cubit
by cubit, until even if they were to enter a lizard's
hole, you would follow them."
We said, "O
Messenger of Allaah, (do you mean) the Jews and
Christians?" He said,
"Who else!?"(Narrated
by al-Bukhaari in al-I'tisaam bi'l-Kitaab wa'l-Sunnah,
Baab Qawl al-Nabi () La tattabi‘unna Sanan man kaana
qablakum, 8/151; and by Muslim in Kitaab al-‘Ilm, Baab
Ittibaa' Sanan al-Yahood wa'l-Nasaara, 4/2054) What
the Prophet () spoke of has indeed come to pass and
has become widespread in recent times, in many of the
Muslim coun-tries. Many of the Muslims follow the
enemies of Allaah in many of their customs and ways of
behaving, and imitate them in some of their rituals
and in celebrating their holidays. The
matter has been made even worse by the opening up of
mass communications between peoples, whereby the
rituals and cus-toms of the kuffaar are now
transmitted with the glamorous adornment of sound and
image from their countries into the Muslim countries,
via satellite TV and the World Wide Web (Internet).
Many Muslims have been deceived by their glamour. In
recent years, a new phenomenon has spread among the
Mus-lim youth – males and females alike – which does
not bode well. This is manifested in their imitation
of the Christians in their celebration of the
Valentine's Day, which has led the scholars and
daa‘iyahs to explain the rulings of sharee‘ah
concerning that, out of sincerity towards Allaah, His
Messenger, the leaders of the Muslims and their common
folk, so that Muslims may have a clear understanding
of this issue and so that they will not fall into that
which will undermine the belief (‘aqeedah) with which
Allaah has blessed them. This
is a brief discussion of the origins, development and
purpose of this holiday, and what the Muslim should do
with regard to it. The Story of
the Festival of Love (Valentine's Day) The
Festival of Love was one of the festivals of the pagan
Ro-mans, when paganism was the prevalent religion of
the Romans more than seventeen centuries ago. In the
pagan Roman concept, it was an expression of
"spiritual love". There
were myths associated with this pagan festival of the
Ro-mans, which persisted with their Christian heirs.
Among the most famous of these myths was the Roman
belief that Romulus, the founder of Rome, was suckled
one day by a she-wolf, which gave him strength and
wisdom. The
Romans used to celebrate this event in mid-February
each year with a big festival. One of the rituals of
this festival was the sacrifice of a dog and a goat.
Two strong and muscular youths would daub the blood of
the dog and goat onto their bodies, then they would
wash the blood away with milk. After that there would
be a great parade, with these two youths at its head,
which would go about the streets. The two youths would
have pieces of leather with which they would hit
everyone who crossed their path. The Roman women would
welcome these blows, because they believed that they
could prevent or cure infertility. The Connection
between Saint Valentine and this Festival Saint
Valentine is a name which is given to two of the
ancient "martyrs" of the Christian Church. It was said
that there were two of them, or that there was only
one, who died in Rome as the result of the persecution
of the Gothic leader Claudius, c. 296 CE. In 350 CE, a
church was built in Rome on the site of the place
where he died, to perpetuate his memory. When
the Romans embraced Christianity, they continued to
cele-brate the Feast of Love mentioned above, but they
changed it from the pagan concept of "spiritual love"
to another concept known as the "martyrs of love",
represented by Saint Valentine who had advocated love
and peace, for which cause he was mar-tyred, according
to their claims. It was also called the Feast of
Lovers, and Saint Valentine was considered to be the
patron saint of lovers. One of
their false beliefs connected with this festival was
that the names of girls who had reached marriageable
age would be writ-ten on small rolls of paper and
placed in a dish on a table. Then the young men who
wanted to get married would be called, and each of
them would pick a piece of paper. He would put himself
at the service of the girl whose name he had drawn for
one year, so that they could find out about one
another. Then they would get married, or they would
repeat the same process again on the day of the
festival in the following year. The
Christian clergy reacted against this tradition, which
they considered to have a corrupting influence on the
morals of young men and women. It was abolished in
Italy, where it had been well-known, then it was
revived in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries,
when in some western countries there appeared shops
which sold small books called "Valentine's books",
which con-tained love poems, from which the one who
wanted to send a greeting to his sweetheart could
choose. They also contained sug-gestions for writing
love letters. It was
also said concerning the origins of this holiday that
when the Romans became Christian, after Christianity
had become widespread, the Roman emperor Claudius II
decreed in the third century CE that soldiers should
not get married, because marriage would distract them
from the wars they used to fight. This decree was
opposed by Saint Valentine, who started to perform
mar-riages for the soldiers in secret. When the
emperor found out about that, he threw him in jail and
sentenced him to execution. In prison, he (Saint
Valentine) fell in love with the jailer's daugh-ter,
but this was a secret because according to Christian
laws, priests and monks were forbidden to marry or
fall in love. But he is still regarded highly by the
Christians because of his steadfast-ness in adhering
to Christianity when the emperor offered to par-don
him if he forsook Christianity and worshipped the
Roman gods; then he would be one of his closest
confidantes and he would make him his son-in-law. But
Valentine refused this offer and preferred
Christianity, so he was executed on 14 February 270
CE, on the eve of February 15, the festival of
Lupercalis. So this day was named for this saint. In
"The Story of Civilization", it says that the Church
devised a calendar in which every day was designated
as the feast day of one of the saints. In England,
Saint Valentine's Day was to come at the end of
winter. When that day came, according to them, the
birds mated enthusiastically in the forests, and the
young men would put flowers on the windowsills of the
homes of the girls whom they loved. ("The Story of
Civilization" by Will Durant, 15/23) The
Pope designated the day of the death of Saint
Valentine, February 14, 270 CE, as a festival of love.
Who is the Pope? He is the "the archbishop, the
supreme pontiff of the universal church, the successor
of Saint Peter." Look at this "archbishop" and how he
prescribed for them the observance of this festival
which was an innovation in their religion. This
reminds us of what Allaah says: "They (Jews and Christians)
took their rabbis and their monks to be their lords
besides Allaah (by obeying them in things which they
made lawful or unlawful according to their own desires
without being ordered by Allaah)…"
[al-Tawbah 9:31] It was
narrated that ‘Adiy ibn Haatim said: "I
came to the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be
upon him) wearing a gold cross around my neck. He
said, ‘O ‘Adiy, cast aside this idol.'
And I heard him re-citing
from Soorat Baraa`ah [al-Tawbah]: ‘They (Jews and Christians)
took their rabbis and their monks to be their lords
besides Allaah.' He
said: ‘They do not worship them, but when they
per-mit them something they accept it as permitted,
and when they forbid them something they accept it as
for-bidden.' "
(Narrated by al-Tirmidhi and it is a hasan hadeeth.) Among
the most important symbols of this holiday 1 -
Expressing joy and happiness on this occasion, as on
their other major festivals. 2 -
Exchanging red roses, which are an expression of love,
the "spiritual love" of the pagans or the "love" of
the Christians. Hence it is known to them as the Feast
of Lovers. 3 -
The sending of greetings cards. On some of these cards
are pictures of "Cupid", who appears as a child with
two wings, car-rying a bow and arrows. This was the
god of love of the pagan Romans – exalted be Allaah
far above their fabrications and their association of
others with Him. 4 -
Exchange of words of love and desire in the greetings
cards which they send to one another, in verse, prose
and short phrases. Some of the cards contain comical
pictures and funny words, and they often contain the
phrase "be my Valentine". This represents the
Christian concept of this festival after it was taken
from the pagan concept. 5 - In
many western countries, parties are held during the
day and in the evening, where there is mixing of men
and women, and dancing. Many of them send gifts such
as roses and boxes of chocolates to their wives,
friends and those whom they love. Anyone
who looks at what is said above about the myths sur-rounding
this pagan festival will clearly understand the
following: Firstly:
That its origins lie in the
pagan beliefs of the Romans, where it was an
expression of the spiritual love of the idols which
they used to worship instead of Allaah. Whoever
celebrates it is celebrating an occasion of shirk on
which the idols are venerated. Allaah says: "Verily, whosoever sets up
partners (in worship) with Al-laah, then Allaah has
forbidden Paradise to him, and the Fire will be his
abode. And for the Zaalimoon (polythe-ists and
wrongdoers) there are no helpers."
[al-Maa'idah 5:72] Secondly:
That the development of
this festival among the Ro-mans was connected to myths
and legends which no sound mind can accept, let alone
the mind of the Muslim who believes in Al-laah and His
Messengers (). Can anyone of sound mind believe that
a she-wolf suckled the founder of the city of Rome and
gave him strength and wisdom. Moreover, these myths go
against the belief (‘aqeedah) of the Muslim, because
the One Who bestows strength and wisdom is the
Creator, may He be glorified and ex-alted, not the
milk of a she-wolf! The same applies to the myth that
their idols could protect them from evil or keep
wolves away from their flocks. Thirdly:
Among the ugly rituals of
the Romans on this day was the sacrifice of a dog and
a goat, the daubing of their blood onto two youths
then washing the blood off with milk, etc… This is
something that would cause revulsion in anyone of a
sound na-ture, and it is unacceptable to the sound
mind. Fourthly:
The connection between
Saint Valentine and this festi-val has been questioned
by many sources, and it considered to be far from
definite. It would have been better for the Christians
to reject this pagan festival in which they imitated
the pagans. So how about us Muslims, who are commanded
to be different from the Christians and the pagans
before them? Fifthly:
This festival was denounced
by the Christian clergy in Italy, the bastion of
Catholicism, because it was spreading bad attitudes
and having an adverse effect on the minds of young men
and women. So it is better for the Muslims to reject
it, warn others against it and to fulfill their duty
towards it of enjoining what is good and forbidding
what is evil. Someone may
ask: why do we Muslims not celebrate this festival? This
question may be answered in several ways: 1. In
Islam, the festivals are clearly defined and well
established, and no additions or subtractions may be
accepted. They are an essential part of our worship
and there is no room for ijtihaad or personal opinion.
They have been prescribed for us by Allaah and His
Messenger (). Ibn Taymiyah (may Allaah have mercy on
him) said:
"Festivals are part of the laws, clear way and
religious ceremo-nies of which Allaah says: "To each among you, We have
prescribed a law and a clear way."
[al-Maa'idah 5:48] ‘For every nation We have
ordained religious ceremonies which they must follow.'
[al-Hajj 22:67] …like
the qiblah (direction faced in prayer), prayer and
fasting. So there is no difference between joining
them in their festival and joining them in their other
rituals. Agreeing with the whole festival is agreeing
with kufr. Agreeing with some of their minor issues is
the same as agreeing with them in some of the branches
of kufr. Festivals are the most distinctive things by
which relig-ions are told apart, so whoever celebrates
their festivals is agree-ing with the most distinctive
rituals of kufr. Undoubtedly going along with them in
their festivals may in some cases lead to kufr.
Dabbling in these things, at the very least, is a sin.
The Prophet () referred to the fact that every nation
has its own festivals when he said: ‘Every nation has its own Eid,
and this is our Eid.'
(al-Bukhaari , 952, Muslim, 1892)." (al-Iqtidaa´,
1/471-472)
Because Valentine's Day goes back to Roman times, not
Islamic times, this means that it is something which
belongs exclusively to the Christians, not to Islam,
and the Muslims have no share and no part in it. If
every nation has its own festivals, as the Prophet ()
said: "Every nation has its Eid."
(al-Bukhaari and Muslim) …then
this means that every nation should be distinguished
by its festivals. If the Christians have a festival
and the Jews have a festival, which belongs
exclusively to them, then no Muslim should join in
with them, just as he does not share their religion or
their direction of prayer. 2.
Celebrating Valentine's Day means resembling or
imitating the pagan Romans, then the Christian People
of the Book in their imitation of the Romans in
something that was not a part of their religion. If it
is not allowed to imitate the Christians in things
that really are part of their religion – but not part
of our religion – then how about things which they
have innovated in their religion in imitation of
idol-worshippers?!
Imitating the kuffaar in general – whether they are
idol-worshippers or People of the Book – is haraam,
whether that imi-tation is of their worship – which is
the most serious form – or of their customs and
behavior. This is indicated by the Qur`aan, Sunnah and
ijmaa' (scholarly consensus): i)
From the Qur`aan: Allaah says: "And be not as those who
divided and differed among themselves after the clear
proofs had come to them. It is they for whom there is
an awful torment." [Aal
‘Imraan 3:105] ii)
From the Sunnah: the Prophet () said: "Whoever imitates a people is
one of them." (Ahmad,
2/50; Abu Dawood, 4021) Shaykh
al-Islam (Ibn Taymiyah) said: "This
hadeeth at the very least indicates that it is haraam
to imi-tate them, although the apparent meaning
implies that the one who imitates them is a kaafir, as
Allaah says: ‘And if any amongst you takes
them (as Awliyaa´ [friends, helpers, or allies]), then
surely, he is one of them.'
[al-Maa'idah 5:51]." (al-Iqtidaa',
2/722-725) iii)
With regard to ijmaa', Ibn Taymiyah narrated that
there was agreement that it is haraam to imitate the
kuffaar in their festivals at the time of the Sahaabah
(may Allaah be pleased with them), and Ibn al-Qayyim
narrated that there was scholarly consensus on this
point. (See al-Iqtidaa', 1/454; Ahkaam Ahl al-Dhimmah,
2/722-725) Allaah
has forbidden imitation of the kuffaar; He has
described it as hateful and has warned against the
consequences of that, in many aayahs, on many
occasions, and in various ways, especially imitation
of the kuffaar. Sometimes He does that by forbidding
following them or obeying them; sometimes by warning
against them or being deceived by their plots,
following their opinions, or being influenced by their
actions, conduct or attitude. Sometimes He does that
by mentioning some of their characteristics that will
put the believers off from them and from imitating
them. Most of the warnings in the Qur`aan refer to the
Jews and hypocrites (munaafiqeen), then the People of
the Book in general and the mushrikeen. Allaah tells
us in the Qur`aan that imitating and obeying the
kuffaar may constitute riddah (apostasy). Allaah also
forbids following them, obeying them, or following
their whims and desires and bad characteristics.
Prohibition of imitating the kuffaar is one of the
basic principles of sharee‘ah. Allaah sent His
Messenger with guidance and the true religion so that
it might prevail over all other religions, and Allaah
has perfected His religion for mankind: "This day, I have perfected
your religion for you, com-pleted My Favour upon you,
and have chosen for you Is-lam as your religion."
[al-Maa'idah 5:3] Allaah
has made Islam cover all (human) interests at all
times and in all places and for all people. So there
is no need to adopt the ways of the kuffaar or imitate
them.
Imitation causes defects in the Muslim personality,
such as feel-ings of inadequacy, inferiority, weakness
and defeatism, then it leads to shunning and keeping
away from the path and laws of Allaah. Experience has
shown that admiration for the kuffaar and imitation of
them causes people to love them, have complete faith
in them and take them as friends and helpers, and to
reject Islam and its people, its heroes, its legacy
and values, and become ignorant of all of that. 3. The
purpose of Valentine's Day in these times is to spread
love between all people, believers and disbelievers
alike. Undoubtedly it is haraam to love the kaafirs.
Allaah says: "You (O Muhammad) will not
find any people who be-lieve in Allaah and the Last
Day, making friendship with those who oppose Allaah
and His Messenger (Muham-mad), even though they were
their fathers or their sons or their brothers or their
kindred (people)…" [al-Mujaadilah
58:22] Shaykh
al-Islam Ibn Taymiyah (may Allaah have mercy on him)
said: "Allaah tells us that there is no believer
who takes a kaafir as a close friend. Whoever takes a
kaafir as a close friend is not a believer. Outward
imitation may be taken as a sign of love, so it is
haraam." (al-Iqtidaa', 1/490) 4. The
love referred to in this festival ever since the
Christians revived it is romantic love outside the
framework of marriage. The result of that is the
spread of zinaa (fornication and adultery) and
immorality. Hence the Christian clergy opposed it at
some stage and abolished it, then it came back again. Most
of the young people celebrate it because it lets them
fulfill their desires, without thinking of the issues
of imitation and re-sembling that are involved. Look
at this tragedy, where they go so far as to commit
major sins such as zinaa (fornication) and the like,
by imitating the Christians in something which is part
of their worship and which may even be kufr. Some
people may wonder, and say, you mean to deprive us of
love, but in this day and age we express our feelings
and emo-tions – what is so wrong with that. We
say: Firstly:
It is a mistake to confuse
what they call the day with what the real intentions
are behind it. The love referred to on this day is
romantic love, taking mistresses and lovers,
boyfriends and girlfriends. It is known to be a day of
promiscuity and sex for them, with no restraints or
restrictions… They are not talking of pure love
between a man and his wife or a woman and her hus-band,
or at least they do not distinguish between the
legitimate love in the relationship between husband
and wife, and the for-bidden love of mistresses and
lovers. This festival for them is a means for everyone
to express love. Secondly:
Expression of feelings and
emotions is not a justifica-tion for the Muslim to
allocate a day for celebration based on his own
thoughts and ideas, and to call it a festival, or make
it like a festival or Eid. So how about when it is one
of the festivals of the kuffaar? In
Islam, a husband loves his wife throughout the year,
and he expresses that love towards her with gifts, in
verse and in prose, in letters and in other ways,
throughout the years – not just on one day of the
year. Thirdly:
There is no religion which
encourages its followers to love and care for one
another more than Islam does. This applies at all
times and in all circumstances, not just on one
particular day. Indeed, Islam encourages us to express
our emotions and love at all times, as the Prophet ()
said: "If a man loves his brother,
let him tell him that he loves him."
(narrated by Abu Dawood,
5124; al-Tirmidhi, 2329; it is saheeh) And he
said: "By the One in Whose hand is
my soul, you will not en-ter Paradise until you truly
believe, and you will not truly believe until you love
one another. Shall I not tell you of something that,
if you do it, you will love one another? Spread (the
greeting of) salaam amongst yourselves."
(Narrated by Muslim, 54) Fourthly:
Love in Islam is more
general and more comprehen-sive; it is not restricted
only to one kind of love, that between a man and a
woman. There are many more kinds of love. There is the
love of Allaah, love of His Messenger () and his
compan-ions (may Allaah be pleased with them), love
for good and right-eous people, love and support for
the religion, love of martyrdom for the sake of Allaah.
There are many kinds of love. It is a dan-gerous
mistake to restrict this broad meaning to this one
kind of love. Fifthly:
What these people think,
that love before marriage is a good thing, is wrong,
as has been proven in studies and by real-life
experience. In a study conducted by the University of
Cairo, on what they called "love marriage" and
"traditional marriage", the following was stated: In
marriages which came after a love story, 88% of cases
ended in failure, i.e., the success rate was not more
than 12%. But in cases of what the study calls
traditional marriage, 70% were successful. In other
words, the success rate in marriages described as
tradi-tional was six times more than those described
as "love mar-riages." (Risaalah ila Mu´minah, p. 255) Now
let us look at the state of affairs in western
societies where Valentine's Day is celebrated, and
ask, what is the state of mar-riage relationships in
those societies, and do these celebrations have any
positive effect on interactions between husbands and
wives? Their
own studies and statistics show the following: 1 - In
an American study done in 1407 AH/1987 CE, it states
that 79% of men beat their womenfolk, especially if
they are mar-ried…! (al-Qabas newspaper, 15/2/1988) 2 - A
study carried out by the National American Office for
Men-tal Health states the following: 17% of
women who go to emergency rooms are victims of
beatings by their husbands or boyfriends . 83% of
those who have previously been admitted to hospital at
least once for treatment of injuries, were admitted as
a re-sult of beating. The
study added that there are more women who do not go to
hospital for treatment, but deal with their injuries
at home. 3 - In
a report of the Central American Agency for
Examination [FPT] it states that every 18 seconds
there is a woman who is beaten by her husband
somewhere in America. 4 -
American Time magazine stated that around 4,000 wives
out of approximately 6 million who are beaten die as a
result of that beating. 5 - In
a German study it said that no less that 100,000 women
annually are exposed to acts of physical or
psychological abuse on the part of their husbands or
the men they live with. The real fig-ure may exceed
one million 6 - In
France, approximately 2 million women face beatings. 7 - In
Britain, in an opinion poll in which 7,000 women took
part, 28% of them said that they had been subjected to
attacks by their husbands and boyfriend. So how
can we believe that Valentine's Day is of any benefit
to married couples? The truth is that it is a call for
more permissive-ness and immorality, and the forming
of forbidden relationships. The
husband who sincerely loves his wife does not need
this holiday to remind him of his love. He expresses
his love for his wife at all times and on all
occasions. The Muslim's
Attitude towards Valentine's Day From
the above discussion, the Muslim's attitude towards
this holiday should be clear: (1) He
should not celebrate it, or join others in their
celebrations of it, or attend their celebrations,
because of the evidence quoted above which shows that
it is forbidden to celebrate the festivals of the
kuffaar. Al-Haafiz
al-Dhahabi (may Allaah have mercy on him) said: "If
the Christians have a festival and the Jews have a
festival, which belongs only to them, then the Muslim
should not join them in that, just as he does not join
them in their religion or their direc-tion of prayer."
(Tashabbuh al-Khasees bi Ahl al-Khamees, al-Hikmah
magazine, 4/193)
Because one of the basic principles of the pious
predecessors was al-walaa´ wa'l-baraa´ (loyalty and
friendship vs. disavowal and enmity), it is obligatory
for everyone who says Laa ilaaha ill-Allaah Muhammad
Rasool Allaah to follow this principle. So he should
love the believers and he should hate the
disbelievers, op-pose them, and be different from
them. He should know that that will bring immeasurable
benefits, just as imitating them causes far greater
harm. In addition to that, when the Muslims imitate
them it makes the kuffaar happy and fills their hearts
with joy, and it leads the Muslims to love the kuffaar
in their hearts. If any Muslim girl who celebrates
this holiday because she sees Margaret or Hilary or
whoever doing so, this undoubtedly reflects the fact
that she is following them and approves of their
behav-iour. But Allaah says: "O you who believe! Take not
the Jews and the Chris-tians as Awliyaa´ (friends,
protectors, helpers), they are but Awliyaa´ of each
other. And if any amongst you takes them (as Awliyaa´),
then surely, he is one of them. Ver-ily, Allaah guides
not those people who are the Dhaali-moon (polytheists
and wrongdoers and unjust)"
[al-Maa'idah 5:51] One of
the bad effects of imitating them is that this makes
it look as if there are more of them, as if they have
more supporters and followers. How can it be
appropriate for a Muslim who recites in every rak‘ah, "Guide us to the Straight Way,
The way of those on whom You have bestowed Your Grace,
not (the way) of those who earned Your Anger, nor of
those who went astray."
[al-Faatihah 1:6-7] …to
ask Allaah for guidance to the Straight Path of the
believ-ers and to keep him away from the path of those
who have earned His anger and of those who went
astray, then go and follow their path by choice and
willingly?
Statistics indicate that Valentine's Day is second
only to Christ-mas in popularity. So it is clear that
the Feast of Love is one of the festivals of the
Christians and that it is second only to the fes-tival
of Christmas, the celebration of the birth of the
Messiah. So it is not permissible for Muslims to join
in the celebrations of this date, because we are
commanded to differ from them in their re-ligion,
customs and other things that belong exclusively to
them, as is stated in the Qur`aan and Sunnah and
scholarly consensus. (2) He
should not help the kuffaar in their celebrations,
because it is one of the rituals of kufr, so helping
them and approving of what they do is helping them to
manifest kufr and make it prevail, and approving of
it. The Muslim's religion does not allow him to
approve of kufr or help others to manifest it and make
it prevail. Hence Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyah (may
Allaah have mercy on him) said: "It
is not permissible for the Muslims to imitate them in
anything that is specifically part of their festivals,
whether it is food, clothing, bathing, lighting fires,
or changing a custom of daily life or worship… To sum
up, they should not do any of the specific rituals of
their (the kuffaar's) fes-tival on that day; rather
the day of their festival should be just another
ordinary day for the Muslim."
(Majmoo' al-Fataawa,
25/329) (3) He
should not help any Muslims who celebrate it. Rather
it is obligatory to denounce them, because for the
Muslims to cele-brate the festivals of the kuffaar is
an evil action which must be denounced. Shaykh
al-Islam (Ibn Taymiyah) said: "Just as we should
not imitate them in their festivals, so too we should
not help a Muslim to do that; rather he should be told
not to do that." (al-Iqtidaa', 2/519-520) Based
on what Ibn Taymiyah said, it is not permissible for
Mus-lim businessmen to deal in gifts for Valentine's
Day, whether they are particular kinds of clothes, red
roses, or whatever. Similarly, it is not permissible
for the one who is given a gift on this occasion to
accept it, because by accepting it, he is showing
approval of this holiday. One of
the daa‘iyahs said: "We
went to a flower shop in one of the Muslim countries
and we were shocked to find it completely prepared for
this occa-sion, with red carpets at the entrance, red
placards and red deco-rations. We were met by one of
the people who worked there, and we asked him why they
had done so much to decorate the place for this
occasion. He said that these preparations had be-gun
early, and that there had been very many orders… Then
he told us that he had been amazed by that, because he
was a new Muslim who had left Christianity. He had
known about that be-fore he became Muslim, so how come
his customers were Mus-lims and not Christians "Other
shops ran out of red roses, which were being sold at
high prices. When one of the female daa‘iyahs entered
upon the female students who were gathered in the
lecture hall, she was dismayed to find them all
carrying something red. One had a red rose, another
had a red scarf, or a red handkerchief, or a red bag,
or red socks… Alas
for the Muslim girls!" Among
the things that have been seen among the Muslims on
this holiday: 1 -
All the female students agreeing with their friends to
tie a red ribbon on the right wrist. 2 -
Wearing something red (a blouse, hair clip, shoes…).
This reached such an extent last year that when we
entered the class-room we found most of the students
wearing it, as if it was a uni-form 3 -
Red balloons on which are written the words "I love
you". They usually bring these out at the end of the
school day, in an area far from where the teachers can
see them. 4 -
Writing names and hearts on their hands, or just
initials. 5 -
Red roses are widespread on this day. Groups
of girls entered their lecture rooms on February 14th,
each of them wearing something red, with red
heart-shaped stick-ers on their faces, wearing red
make-up. They started to exchange red-coloured gifts
and kiss one another warmly. This happened in more
than one university in the Muslim world, even in an
Islamic university. In other words they were
celebrating Saint Valentine's Day. On
that day, secondary schools (high schools) were
astonished by the large numbers of female students who
brought red roses of the finest quality, coloured
their faces with red cosmetics, wore red earrings, and
started to exchange gifts and warm greetings, in
celebration of this day. Al-Mawsoo‘ah
al-‘Arabiyyah (the Arabic Encyclopaedia) says that
there are special customs for Valentine's Day, such as
printing love poems on cards to be given to relatives
and those whom one loves. Some of them draw funny
pictures on these cards, and the most common phrase
written on them is "Be my Valentine". Par-ties are
often held during the day, where they dance in their
fash-ion. The Europeans still celebrate this holiday.
In Britain, sales of flowers reached 22 million
pounds. More chocolate is consumed on this day, and
companies offer free messages on their Web sites to
advertise those sites.
Valentine's Day has come to a number of Arab and
Muslim countries, and has even reached the heartland
of Islam (the Ara-bian Peninsula). It has reached
societies which we had thought far removed from this
insanity. In Riyadh the price of roses has risen in a
crazy manner, so that a single rose costs 36 riyals
(10 dollars), whereas before this day it cost 5
riyals. Gift shops and card shops compete in designing
cards and gifts for this occasion, and some families
hang up red roses in the windows of their homes on
this day. In
some of the Gulf countries, shopping centers and
hotels have organized special celebrations of
Valentine's Day. Most of the stores and business
places are covered with red. One of the finest Gulf
hotels was full of balloons and dolls. Following the
customs of the Feast of Love and the pagan myths, the
restaurant put on a dramatic production with "Cupid",
the idol of love in the Roman myths, nearly naked and
carrying a bow and arrow. He and his cohorts were
looking to select "Mr. & Mrs. Valentine" from among
the people present. Less
expensive restaurants also celebrated this day in
their own way. Some stores replaced their regular
plates with heart-shaped plates, used red tablecloths
and linens, and put a red rose on each table for the
man to present to his beloved. The
latest Valentine's Day craze was started by the owner
of a gift-shop in Kuwait. He imports (live) French
rabbits which are small and have red eyes. He puts a
necktie around the neck of each rabbit, and puts it in
a small box to be given as a gift. We
must oppose these things by all possible means. The
respon-sibility rests with us all. (4) We
should not accept congratulations on Valentine's Day,
be-cause it is not a holiday or an Eid for the
Muslims. If the Muslim is congratulated on this
occasion, he should not return the con-gratulations.
Ibn al-Qayyim (may Allaah have mercy on him) said:
"With regard to congratulating others with the
congratula-tions used by the kuffaar on such
occasions, it is haraam by scholarly consensus, such
as congratulating them on the occasion of their
festivals or fasts, wishing them a blessed festival,
etc. Even if the one who says this is free of kufr, it
is still haraam. It is like congratulating someone for
prostrating to the cross. It is even worse with Allaah
and more hated by Him than congratulating someone for
drinking alcohol, or committing murder or adultery,
etc. Many of those who have no respect for religion do
that, and they do not realize the abhorrence of their
actions. Whoever congratulates a person for sin,
innovation (bid‘ah) or kufr exposes himself to the
hatred and wrath of Allaah."
(Ahkaam Ahl al-Dhimmah,
1/441-442) (6) We
must explain the true nature of this holiday and other
festivals of the kuffaar to those Muslims who have
been de-ceived by them, and explain to them that it is
essential for the Muslim to be distinguished by his
religion and to protect his be-lief (‘aqeedah) from
anything that may damage it. This should be done out
of sincerity towards the ummah and in fulfilment of
the command to enjoin what is good and forbid what is
evil. Fatwas of
Muslim Scholars concerning Valentine's Day The
Fatwa of Shaykh Muhammad ibn Saalih al-‘Uthaymeen (may
Allaah have mercy on him:
Question: In
recent times the celebration of Valentine's Day has
become widespread, especially among female students.
This is one of the Christian holidays. They wear all
red clothes, including their shoes, and they exchange
red flowers… We hope that you can tell us the ruling
on celebrating such holidays. What do you ad-vise the
Muslims to do with regard to such things? May Allaah
keep you and take care of you. He
replied:
Celebrating Valentine's Day is not permitted for
several reasons: 1- It
is an innovated celebration which has no basis in
sharee‘ah. 2 - It
calls for people to keep their hearts and minds busy
with these foolish things that go against the guidance
of the pious predecessors (may Allaah be pleased with
them), so it is not per-mitted on this day to do any
of the customs associated with that holiday, whether
that be connected to food, drink, clothing,
ex-changing gifts or anything else. The Muslim should
be proud of his religion and not be so weak of
character that he follows eve-ryone who makes a noise.
I ask Allaah to protect the Muslims from all
temptations, visible and invisible, and to take care
of us and give us strength. And Allaah knows best. The
Fatwa of Shaykh ‘Abd-Allaah ibn ‘Abd al-Rahmaan ibn
Ji-breen concerning celebrating this day: He was
asked: the celebration of the so-called Feast of Love
(Val-entine's Day) has become widespread among our
boys and girls. This (Valentine) is the name of a
saint who is venerated by the Christians, and this day
is celebrated every year on February 14. They exchange
gifts and red roses, and they wear red clothes. What
is the ruling on celebrating this day, or exchanging
gifts on this day? May Allaah reward you with good. He
answered:
Firstly, it is not permissible to celebrate such
innovated festivals, because this is a newly-invented
innovation (bid‘ah) which has no basis in sharee‘ah.
So it is included in the hadeeth of ‘Aa`ishah (may
Allaah be pleased with her), who said that the Prophet
() said: "Whoever innovates something
in this matter of ours (i.e., Islam) which is not part
of it, will have it rejected." …
i.e., it will be thrown back upon the one who
innovated it.
Secondly, this involves imitating and resembling the
kuffaar in venerating that which they venerate and
respecting their festivals and holidays, and imitating
them in some of their religious prac-tices. In the
hadeeth it says, "Whoever imitates a people is
one of them."
Thirdly, the things that result from that, such as
partying, idle play, singing, music, insolence,
impertinence, unveiling, wanton display, mixing of men
and women, and the appearance of women before non-mahrams,
etc., are all things which are haraam, or are means
which lead to immorality. So it should not be
justified as an excuse for relaxation and
entertainment, or claims that they will not overstep
the mark, because that is not right. The one who cares
about himself should keep away from sin and all that
leads to it. On
this basis, it is not permissible to sell these gifts
and roses, if one knows that the purchaser will
celebrate these holidays, give them as gifts or
otherwise use them to honour these days, so that the
vendor will not be sharing in the guilt of the one who
does this innovated action. And Allaah knows best. The
Fatwa of the Standing Committee: The
Standing Committee was also asked a question about
this holiday: Some people celebrate the fourteenth day
of February of each Christian year as the Day of Love
(Valentine's Day), where they exchange gifts of red
roses and wear red clothes, and con-gratulate one
another. Some the bakeries make sweets that are red in
colour, with hearts drawn on them, and some stores
have ad-vertisements for their products that are
especially for this day. What is your opinion? The
Committee replied. It is
haraam for the Muslim to help with this festival or
any other haraam celebration in any way, be it food,
drink, buying, selling, manufacturing, corresponding,
advertising or in any other way, because all of that
constitutes helping one another in sin, trans-gression
and disobedience towards Allaah and His Messenger, and
Allaah says: "Help you one another in
Al-Birr and At-Taqwa (virtue, righteousness and
piety); but do not help one another in sin and
transgression. And fear Allaah. Verily, Allaah is
Severe in punishment."
[al-Maa'idah 5:2] So the
Muslim must adhere to the Qur`aan and Sunnah in all
his affairs, especially at times of fitan (temptation
and tribulation) and when corruption is widespread. He
should be smart and be careful to avoid falling into
the misguidance of those who have earned the anger of
Allaah and of those who went astray, and of the
evildoers who hope not for reward from Allaah and do
not show any respect towards Islam. The Muslim should
seek refuge with Allaah and ask for His guidance and
for help to adhere steadfastly to it, because none can
guide except Allaah and none can make us remain
steadfast except Him. And Allaah is the Source of
strength. May Allaah bless our Prophet Muhammad and
his family and companions, and grant them peace. Al-Lajnah
al-Daa'imah li'l-Buhooth al-‘Ilmiyah wa'l-Iftaa '
Finally, we offer our brothers the following advice: 1-
They should urge the khateebs (those who give the
Friday ser-mon) of the mosques to tell the people and
warn them. They should explain this matter to the
imaam of the mosque and tell him when this day is
approaching. They should give him a copy of the fatwas
of the Standing Committee and of Shaykh Mu-hamamd ibn
Saalih ibn ‘Uthaymeen (may Allaah forgive him). Every
person should make the effort to contact the imaam of
his mosque and tell him about this. Certainly there
are imaams of mosques among the brothers so perhaps
the responsibility of tell-ing them about this will be
discharged when they read this article. 2 -
Every teacher should explain the reality of this
holiday and warn his or her students about it. They
will be answerable before Allaah tomorrow. They should
explain that it is haraam by quot-ing the Fatwaa of
the Standing Committee. All that should begin a week
beforehand in order to be of any benefit. 3 -
Those who go around and check on people and the
headquar-ters of organizations should be notified of
any shops which are selling gifts for this day or
which put up pictures showing what the gift is or how
it is wrapped. 4 -
Each person should make his family members aware of
this. Whoever has sisters in school or brothers should
tell them and warn them about this matter, because
many people are unaware of this holiday and what it
means . We ask
Allaah to protect the Muslims from the harm of
tempta-tions and from the evil of their own selves and
the plots of their enemies, for He is the All-hearing
Who answers prayers. May Al-laah send blessings upon
His slave and Messenger Muhammad, and upon all his
family and companions.
Adapted from www.islamqa.com. We would like to
express our sincere appreciation to those who
contributed to the publication of this book. May Allah
reward them for their efforts. If you have any
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