And never will the Jews or the Christians approve of you until you follow their religion. Say, "Indeed, the guidance of Allah is the [only] guidance." If you were to follow their desires after what has come to you of knowledge, you would have against Allah no protector or helper.
What
is the ruling on Valentine’s Day?
Praise
be to Allaah.
Firstly:
Valentine’s Day is a jaahili Roman festival, which
continued to be celebrated until after the Romans became Christian. This
festival became connected with the saint known as Valentine who was sentenced
to death on 14 February 270 CE. The kuffaar still celebrate this festival,
during which immorality and evil are practised widely.
Secondly:
It is not permissible
for a Muslim to celebrate any of the festivals of the kuffaar, because
festivals come under the heading of shar’i issues which are to be based on the
sound texts.
Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyah
(may Allaah have mercy on him) said: Festivals are part of sharee’ah, clear way
and rituals of which Allaah says (interpretation of the meaning):
“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]
To
conclude:
The Mulsims should not do any of their rituals at
the time of their festivals; rather the day of their festival should be like
any other day for the Muslims. The Muslims should not do anything specific in
imitation of them. End quote from Majmoo al-Fataawa (25/329).
Al-Haafiz al-Dhahabi (may
Allaah have mercy on him) said: If the Christians have a festival, and the Jews
have a festival, it is only for them, so no Muslim should join them in that,
just as no Muslim should join them in their religion or their direction of
prayer. End quote from Tashabbuh al-Khasees bi Ahl al-Khamees, published in
Majallat al-Hikmah (4/193)
The hadeeth to which Shaykh
al-Islam Ibn Taymiyah referred was narrated by al-Bukhaari (952) and Muslim
(892) from ‘Aa’ishah (may Allaah be pleased with her) who said: Abu Bakr came
in and there were two young girls of the Ansaar with me who were singing about
what had happened to the Ansaar on the day of Bu’aath. She said: And they were
not (professional) singing girls. Abu Bakr said: “Musical instruments of the
shaytaan in the house of the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah
be upon him)?!” and that was on the day of Eid. The Messenger of Allaah (peace
and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “O Abu Bakr, every people has a festival
and this is our festival.”
Abu Dawood (1134) narrated
that Anas (may Allaah be pleased with him) said: When the Messenger of Allaah
(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) came to Madeenah, they had two days
when they would play. He said: “What are these two days?” They said: “We used
to play on these days during the Jaahiliyyah.” The Messenger of Allaah (peace
and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “Allaah has given you instead of
them two days that are better than them: the day of al-Adha and the day of
al-Fitr.” This hadeeth was classed as saheeh by al-Albaani in Saheeh Abi
Dawood.
This indicates that festivals
are among the characteristics by which nations are distinguished, and it is not
permissible to celebrate the festivals of the ignorant and the mushrikeen
(polytheists).
The scholars have issued fatwas stating that it is
haraam to celebrate Valentine’s Day.
Shaykh
Ibn ‘Uthaymeen (may Allaah have mercy on him) was asked:
In recent times the celebration of Valentine’s Day
has become widespread, especially among female students. It is a Christian
festival where people dress completely in red, including clothes and shoes, and
they exchange red flowers. We hope that you can explain the ruling on
celebrating this festival, and what your advice is to Muslims with regard to
such matters; may Allaah bless you and take care of you.
He replied:
Celebrating
Valentine’s Day is not permissible for a number of reasons.
·
It is an innovated festival for which
there is no basis in Islam.
·
It promotes love and infatuation.
·
It calls for hearts to be preoccupied
with foolish matters that are contrary to the way of the righteous salaf (may
Allaah be pleased with them).
It is not permissible on this day to do any of the
things that are characteristic of this festival, whether that has to do with
food, drinks, clothing, exchanging gifts or anything else.
The Muslim should be proud of his religion and
should not be a weak character who follows every Tom, Dick and Harry. I ask
Allaah to protect the Muslims from all temptations, visible and invisible, and
to protect us and guide us.
End quote from Majmoo’ Fataawa al-Shaykh Ibn
‘Uthaymeen (16/199)
Courtesy:
Islam Q&A
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