Celebrating birthdays allowed in Islam?
Mu' meneen Brothers and Sisters,
As Salaam Aleikum wa Rahmatullahi wa Barakatuh. (May Allah's
Peace, Mercy and Blessings be upon all of you)
One of our brothers/sisters has asked
this question:
Is it OK to celebrate birthdays in Islam?
(There may be some
grammatical and spelling errors in the above statement. The forum does not
change anything from questions, comments and statements received from our
readers for circulation in confidentiality.)
Answer:
In the name of Allah, We praise Him, seek His help and ask for His
forgiveness. Whoever Allah guides none can misguide, and who-ever He allows to
fall astray, none can guide them aright. We bear witness that there is no one
(no idol, no person, no grave, no prophet, no imam, no dai, nobody!) worthy of
worship but Allah Alone, and we bear witness that Muhammad (saws) is His
slave-servant and the seal of His Messengers.
Allah says in the Holy Quran Chapter 33 Surah Al Ahzab Aayat # 31:
There is indeed the best example for you to follow in the Messenger of Allah
(Mohamed saws), for every such person who looks forward to Allah and the Last
Day, and remembers Allah much.
That
basically means that anybody who looks forward to Allah and the Last Day, should
try and follow the example of the Prophet Mohamed (saws). The command is good
for only people who fear Allah and the Last Day.... and not for someone who
does not fear Allah and the Last Day.
If
we claim to believe in Allah and the Last Day, then we must try and do
everything the Prophet (saws) did, and stay away from everything that the
Prophet (saws) stayed away from, as that could not be part of religion or a
wholesome Islamic life, as Allah clearly states in the above aayat of Al Ahzab
aayat 31.... The Prophet (saws) is the best example for you to follow .........
So
the first question we have to pose before we do anything is, Did the Prophet
(saws) approve of this act or not? If he (saws) did it or approved of it, do it
without hesitation, if he (saws) did not, then avoid it to the best of your
capability.
If
you follow Allah and His Messenger (saws), you will NEVER EVER go wrong....
Never!!!! Ever!!!!!!!! If you go against Allah and His Messenger (saws), it
might seem that you have a short term gain, but in the long run, it will always
turn into a disaster.
I
can give you several examples to this effect, but I would rather not go into
their details as they all need discussions and long explanations:
1.
Prophet (saws) recommended getting your daughters and sisters married as early
as possible.... check out the guys who don't follow this recommendation!
2.
Prophet (saws) recommended not to make tombs of graves... check out the guys
who made the graves of their elders and leaders into tombs!!
3.
Allah commands that we orders our wives and sisters and daughters to cover
themselves Islamically ... check out the societies who recommend otherwise!!!
4.
Allah commands that children should obey their parents ... check out the
societies who don't!!!!
and
many many more social issues.....
One
more thing before I go into the actual subject of celebrating birthdays....
Just ask yourself this question...Why is it that everytime Allah and His
Messenger (saws) commands us to do something, we ask ... "WHY?, FOR WHAT
REASON?, WHAT IS THE HIKMAH BEHIND IT?, WHAT IS THE HARM IN IT?, ETC...."
And
how come when our societies and rasams ask us to do something, we never ask the
same questions... we follow them blindly... they sing, we sing! they dance, we
dance! they celebrate New Year, we celebrate! they take off clothes, we take it
off! they wear caps, we wear caps! they wear ties, we wear ties! they wear
tight clothes, we wear tight clothes! they wear loose clothes, we wear loose
clothes! they put on goatie-beards, half our youngsters put on
goatie-beards!!!!!!! We never ask, we just follow the big personalities,
actors, stars and fashion.... and never ask why!!!! So you must pose the
question to yourself here.... who are we following? Them or the best example to
mankind... Mohamed (saws)!!!!!
Now
to the subject of birthdays....
The
very first question for someone who believes in Allah and the Last Day... Did
the Prophet (saws) celebrate the birthdays of the earlier Prophets, his
children, his friends, his wives, or anybody else? He obviously DID NOT. Thus
if you believe in Allah and the Last Day and claim to follow Mohamed (saws),
leave it alone!!!!
But
the general question will be... What is the harm? It is just simple fun and
celebration... We only invite family and friends and have a meal... Aren't we
even allowed to celebrate anything? We only exchange presents and gifts! Are
giving and receiving gifts haraam? Why this and why that????
Now
lets look at facts....
1.
Fine, Allah has blessed you and you can throw a fancy party for your child's
birthday.... but what happens here, is the one whose provisions are strained,
borrows money or goes beyond his capacity to throw a grander party than he can
afford, otherwise he will have an issue to deal with amongst his family and
friends.
2.
Again, giving of gifts on this particular day..... Everybody tries to out-do
the other in giving or preparing the best gift to his capacity ... but the
people who cannot afford either hide away from the invitation, do not attend,
or go beyond their means in getting this present.
3.
You might spend a couple of hundred dollars on this festivity, which will not
in any way bring you closer to Allah. This money could have been spent in a
better ways to win the pleasure of Allah.
4.
And why do we celebrate birthdays anyway!!! And therein lies the real issue...
BECAUSE it has now become a custom or rasam, and everybody is doing it, so we
feel obliged to do it. And what do we do, bake a cake, put on candles for every
year of the child's age, and blow the candle and make a wish!!!! Now ask
yourself, is any of these acts Islamic?? We are just following the culture of
the People of the Book!!!!!
5.
And by the way, why are we celebrating the birthdays anyway.... it only reminds
us that we now have lost one more year from our time to death!!! In my personal
opinion, we should actually be feeling sorry, as we now have one year less to
worship Allah and win His pleasure!!!!
And
look at the beauty of Islam!! Every day is a great day and a blessing from
Allah Subhanah!!
Have
a meal and invite your family and friends every day if you can afford it...
give as many presents as you like to your family and the people you love for
the pleasure of Allah!! Why do we have to make one child or person special on
one day and focus all the attention on him when we can do this everyday... and
win the pleasure of Allah... now you tell me which one is better ...
celebrating one day or celebrating every day!!!!!!
And
if you want an occasion, Allah has blessed and recommended us to celebrate the
two Eids!!! And the Prophet (saws) said that every Friday is an Eid day!!
Celebrate these... and win the pleasure of Allah.
Thus
in conclusion, if you want to follow Allah and His Messenger (pbuh), do not
celebrate what he (saws) did not celebrate!!! And if you want to follow the
ignorant people who do not care about Allah and Last Day, follow their
jaahiliya traditions and celebrate whatever they celebrate!!
We
must realize that celebrating birthdays is not a big sin in Islam. The big sins
are mentioned in the Quran and dictated without any ambiguity by the Prophet
(saws). The only question to be answered here is who are we following, Allah
and His Messenger (saws) or the traditions of the jaahiliya!!! If you can ask your heart this question
sincerely, you will get a decent reply....
I
know it looks difficult to break away from jaahiliya traditions and customs and
rasams ... but once you get used to it, you will thank Allah!!
And
the Prophet (saws) said in one his narrations, that ‘I (saws) have come to
break your chains and shackles of rasams and customs that you have put on
yourselves because of jaahiliya.’
May Allah guide you and us all to the
Straight Path of Islam.
Whatever written of Truth and benefit is only due to Allah’s
Assistance and Guidance, and whatever of error is of me. Allah Alone Knows Best and He is the Only
Source of Strength.
Your Brother in Islam,
