People naturally like occasions of happiness and pleasure, whether private or public, including eids (feasts or days of celebration). For the sake of this inclination, the Shari'a came with the legitimacy of the Fitr and Adha Eids: Two valid eids in the year, and Allah has legislated in them (reasonable) spending and the showing of happiness which people need, in addition to a weekly eid which is Friday. And this is part of the mercy of Allah upon this nation of Mohammad (peace be upon him).
If we look at the celebrations that other nations have, we will find that they have quite a number of them: one for each national occasion and season, Mother's Day, Labor Day, a day for agriculture and so on, to the extent that there is barely a month without a specific eid. All this is from their innovation.
Allah the Exalted has said (interpretation of the meaning)
{But the monasticism which they invented for themselves We did not prescribe for them} (Al-Hadid 57:27) and for this reason the dates of the occasions have changed through the years according to political and social desires, and they are accompanied with more rituals, habits and types of amusement than can be listed, according to the details in specialized books.
Among the strange eids in the world today are those of the pagans and the People of the Book (Jews and Christians), connected to their gods, rabbis and monks, such as the days of St. Michael, St. Andrew, St. Valentine, etc. These eids are accompanied with several acts including decorating homes, lighting candles, going to the church, buying certain types of candy, specific songs and so on.
After that it has become the habit of non-Muslim nations to celebrate birthdays in which people invite their friends, prepare special food, light candles according to the age of the person etc.. and some Muslims have imitated them in this innovation!
After this introduction to the eids of the nations, it is worth mentioning that a Muslim should be confident that the most complete guidance and the best legislation is that which the Seal of the Prophets and Messengers (peace be upon him) came with.
Allah the Exalted has said (interpretation of the meaning)
{This day have I perfected your religion for you, completed my favor upon you and have chosen for you Islam as your religion} (Al-Maida 5:3).
All the eids that the other nations have are innovation and misguidance, in addition to their disbelief in Allah. Allah the Exalted has said (interpretation of the meaning)
{If anyone desires a religion other than Islam never will it be accepted of him; and in the Hereafter he will be in the ranks of those who have lost (all spiritual good) } (Al-Imran 3:85)
Due to the importance of this subject and the attention it should be given - I mean what has come to Muslims from the eids of disbelievers and the occasions they relate to their religion - Islam has given the matter eloquent and specific care. Allah has described His believing servants as avoiding disbelievers in their eids: {Those who witness no falsehood} (Al-Furqan 25:72). Falsehood in this verse refers to the eids of the disbelievers. Allah has legislated for His believing servants eids that suffice them from copying those of others:
Abu Dawood, Nasa'i and others have authentically reported that Anas (may Allah be pleased with him) said: the Prophet (peace be upon him) came to Madinah at a time in which people had two days in which they played. He told them: "Allah has replaced these two with what is better: the days of Fitr and Adha."
Hafiz Ibn Hajjar (may Allah have mercy on him) said: "From this it is deduced that it is disliked to be happy during the pagans' eids and to imitate them."
In what follows we will consider an eid that some Muslims have imitated and taken from the disbelievers, namely Valentine's Day, which Christians have specified as the 14th of February, according to a certain creed that they have and which we will not go into the details of.
Normally we would not have considered this eid nor given it any attention, as it is one of the tens of eids that they have, but because some Muslims and Muslimahs have become affected by this, it has become necessary to inform our brothers and sisters who attempt to participate in this occasion with its specific 'rituals' and do not know that Valentine's Day is deeply rooted in the Christian creed. The latter - i.e., the Christians - differ on whether this is something they inherited or something inherited from the Romans, who had gods according to their desires: they appointed gods for love as they do with other gods for light, darkness, crops, rain, seas, rivers, and so on.
Some of the things observed by disbelievers during Valentine's Day include their clothes, gifts, greeting cards, red roses (they use red as a symbol for a certain obscene behavior). They also celebrate by writing phrases of love and passion on the cards that are exchanged between young men and women, purchasing red teddy bears with hearts and words of love on them which are sold at high prices as presents that symbolize love!
One of the things that has increased the spreading of these issues in some Muslim countries is what many forms of media (whether read or viewed) - and particularly satellite channels - do by advertising this behavior using various methods, to the extent that the matter is no longer evident to simple people who do not have sufficient educational sense to protect them from these twisted behaviors, and particularly male and female students in public and higher education.
According to what has been presented, we would like to confront our brothers and sisters - fellow Muslims - who participate in any of the types of celebrations mentioned, and we say:
Today those of you who celebrate Valentine's Day and similar do this for something within yourselves. But I think that with your instinct of the oneness of Allah, that if you knew the religious background of this celebration and what it bears of symbols of innovation, paganism, and demonstrating that there are other gods than Allah - may Allah be exalted from that - you would realize how grave your mistake is and the awfulness of the direction you have taken and how you have been effected.
Scholars have said that a Muslim should not accept any gift or food prepared for the sake of the disbelievers' eids. For this reason, it is incumbent upon fathers and mothers to pay attention of this in their children, and particularly if they see their daughters wearing red blouses, jackets or the like specifically on that day. Likewise, if children ask them to buy roses or greeting cards that are specific for that day, they should tell them the truth about this issue in a religious, educational and convincing manner.
We also greatly admonish those Muslims who sell symbols of disbelievers' celebrations, whether by importing or producing them. For example, those who sell and provide flowers specifically on that day, and owners of stores that sell toys and wrap gifts. These people are helping in the celebration of disbelievers' eids, and undoubtedly they are cooperating in vice and aggression and participating in the spreading of the beliefs of the disbelievers. However, may Allah be praised, they have a lot of other things to sell that are not used in the celebration of the disbelievers' eids.
Another thing we should mention here is that Muslims who carry the knowledge or work for the media should play their role in protecting Islamic thoughts from their media counterparts who contempt Islam and Muslims.
We would like to conclude our topic with the fatwa of the great scholar Sh. Mohammad ibn Saleh Al-Othaymeen (may Allah have mercy upon him). He was asked about celebrating and participating in Valentine's Day. His answer was:
"Celebrating Valentine's Day is not permitted because:
1. it is an innovated eid that has no basis in shari'a
2. it invites people to love and passion
3. it invites people's hearts to be busy with these insignificant issues that are against the path of the previous righteous people, may Allah be pleased with them.
So it is forbidden to perform any 'eid rituals' on this day - whether food, drinks, clothes, gifts, etc.
A Muslim should be proud of his/her religion, and should not by an imitator who follows every caller.
I ask Allah to protect Muslims from all temptations, both visible or hidden." [End of the shaikh's fatwa]
Thus it is evident "who Valentine's Day is for", as this day is not of the practices of Islam nor its guidance, but rather the result of the social and educational pitfalls of the disbelievers. Any Muslim who participates in celebrating this day does so because of whims within him/herself and because of personal defeat, inadequate educational sense, and weakness of Islamic protection in those whose own selves deceived them into imitating disbelievers and mimicking them in their unworthiness and misguidance.
May peace be upon our prophet Mohammad and his family and companions.
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