Islamic ruling as regard birthday, anniversary celebrations (Volume 1)..

1: One of the most common mistakes of this present ummah is ruling Islamic laws with practices of people, giving a meaning to an act wrongly done by some people, this is not how Islamic laws are established, Islamic rulings are established by laid down principles derived from known Islamic sources. Many of us will consider something haram or bid’ah or makrooh because of the way some folks practice it, this is a misconception, an example is the ruling of anniversaries, birthday celebrations.

2: I must say there are four types of celebrations in fiqh Islam, in which the first of it is: ANY PERSONAL OR PRIVATE CELEBRATION THAT HAS NOTHING TO DO WITH THE RELIGION.

3: Such celebration is neutral, and there can be no bid’ah(innovation) in this kind of celebration that is not stated in the shari’ah. It’s ruling is not stated, either halaal or haram or waajib or makruuh, Because when you celebrate the birthday of your 5years old child, do you expect rewards from Allah for doing so? Definitely No.

4: And the default rule is that what aren’t ibaadah cannot be considered bid’ah, the one who says the issue is ibaadah should provide his evidences because the default principle says:
الأصل يبقى على أصله ما لم يرد الدليل دلالة أو نصا.
‘The fundamental remains as it is so far no established evidence denotes otherwise.’

5: Also, the shari’ah did not stipulate when you need to be happy and invite friends over for a celebration, if you graduate and wants to throw a celebration party, no problem, you get a new car, a new house, you wants to throw a party, no problem, your birthday, anniversaries, you are free to, even, if you are bored and wish to take a celebration, you are free to do so. Nothing and nothing in the shari’ah stipulate when you need to be happy.

6: They say it is tashabuh bil kuffar(imitation of the non believers), We say NO!, tashabuh cannot be there, because there cannot be “imitation” in what large group of people do and there cannot be imitation of the kuffar in non religious matters, even if it is said that the origin is paganism, is it specified for the pagans only?!There is no imitation in eating hamburgers, no imitation in eating cheese cake, no imitation in wearing of suits, no imitation in speaking English, so there is no imitation in celebrating birthdays. All these are from the West and Pagans, Islamic rulings are not derived in this way.

7: When the Prophet got to madina and met the jews fasting the 10th of Muharram, he copied them and ordered his companions to fast, he got the origin of the fasting from the Jews but fasting is not meant for ONLY the Jews, so there is no imitation in such fasting.

8: Also, the issue is generic, you travel, live in Britain, America, Rome, you cannot call that imitation of the kuffar, The origin is Pagan doesn’t stipulate an Islamic ruling, Tuesday was also originated by the Pagans, so will you tell us regarding Tuesday as a day means bid’ah?!

9: They say: birthdays is Haram because alcohol drinks and forms of haram is shared therein, What do we say to this?
Drink water! yes, drink water and juice. Do not make something haram because of something that is obviously haram in something else. Don’t mix it together, make it halal and keep it halal, because your family members take alcohol in eid fitri doesn’t make “eidul fitri” celebration haram.

10: They say: there is israaf(wastage) in it, we say: why are you against what you also fall into? What of the israaf in your wardrobe? the israaf in your going out to restaurant? Be fair! Birthdays are halal because there is nothing to make it haram. Also, you need to understand the concept of “israaf”, Israaf can only be determined on individual income and worth, I use a $100 wristwatch while I worth $2000 monthly, what is the wastage in this? A person can buy a car of $140,000 and still not fall into israaf, while a person can buy a car of $2000 while he has fell into israaf. You rather ask: what are their worth.

11: If I worth $300 monthly now, and I throw a celebration of $60, what is the israaf here?! The default of all issues is halaal until proven otherwise, you have to bring other claims except these ones to justify its prohibition.

12: On top of this, certain celebration like this can bring a positive goal that the shari’ah wants, which is love between families, anniversaries are one of the most easiest ways to win your wife’s heart back. It is of the goals of shari’ah to celebrate your anniversaries, quote me on that, no problem. Do not forget your anniversaries.

13: It is of the goals of shari’ah to keep love between the couples, on your anniversaries, go out, make a party, make yourselves happy and make it halaal. How can the shari’ah forbids a celebration between husband and wife that will increase their love? That is not possible.

14: The claim that it should be a death remembrance, yes, every day, rather, every single second should be a death remembrance for Muslims, and that doesn’t nullify the fundamental of these celebrations, everyday being a death remembrance made the Prophet chose Mondays and Thursdays for fasting and Prophet Daud every two days as fasting. If you buy a new car, build a new house, don’t you think you can die the next day? Don’t you remember the death? So, this is not a point to declare these celebrations forbidden.

15: Let the person who declare it haram tell us how he is more knowledgeable than the likes of ibn Taymiyyah, Imam Ibn Hajar Asqalani, Imam Sakhaawi, Ibn Iraqi and very many scholars of Hadith and fiqh who see nothing wrong with even Mawlud Nabiyy and explained in details fiqh of celebration. This same erroneous theory is what some people apply in condemning ‘Aqsa Day’ as if it is ibaadah mahdah. It is ismu, how will you base hukmu(ruling) on ismu?Ahkaam(rulings) are based on af’aal mahdah.

16: There is no clear cut evidence to prove the prohibition of such celebrations. And if there is, the person should give us evidence and state where it falls under the four kinds of agreed upon evidences.

17:The sahaabah did not do it is not an evidence, for the abstinence of the sahabah doesn’t indicate Haram, it only indicates the permissibility to abstinence. Imam Malik would abstain from riding in Medina in respect and love for the Prophet and yet non of the Sahabah does that(evidence attached).

The expression of love is multidimensional. The most important is to abstain from haram(unlawful acts)
while celebrating.

18: The scholars that made it haram, on what basis??? Let them give us their basis aside the one they have given. We should be careful of making unlawful what Islam makes lawful and vice versa.

19: Seriously, personally, I do not take those who discuss Islamic matters with emotions serious, I do ignore them. We are all students, academicians, if you know you have a contrary opinion with evidences, please display your scholarship, as we also dislike copy and paste of certain fataawa while discussing intellectual matters, for fataawa is not a replacement for Islamic scholarship.

20: If you say celebration is an act of ibaadah, we will ask you how celebration can be an act of ibaadaah? When the way we even celebrate differs to customs and traditions.

What evidence will you have to establish that?

Amongst which of the four kinds of evidence pronouncement established celebration as ibaadah or creedal issue? Is it qat’iyy thubuut or zhaniyy or qat’iyy dilaalah or Zhaniyy?

21: If you say celebrations in Islam are acts of worship while you cite aqeeqah, walimatu nikaah etc as examples.

We will be bold to say this is ignorance, a knowledgeable person needs to ask your definition of ibaadah(act of worship).

Ibn Taymiyyah has the famous definition of ibaadah, he says:
الْعِبَادَةُ هِيَ اسْمٌ جَامِعٌ لِكُلِّ مَا يُحِبُّهُ اللَّهُ وَيَرْضَاهُ مِنَ الْأَقْوَالِ وَالْأَعْمَالِ الْبَاطِنَةِ وَالظَّاهِرَةِ .
“Ibaadah is a comprehensive nomenclature that comprises all what Allah loves and pleases with – either sayings or apparent and innermost deeds.”

How did aqeeqah celebration fall under ibaadah? This shows we haven’t understood the meaning of aqeeqah, aqeeqah is the ram/goat/cow killed for the baby and the party does not constitute an aqeeqah, you may choose to organize a party and you may choose not to, the obligation and sunnah is to slaughter a ram for your child(if you have the means) – moving closer to Allah with it, being a protection and prayer for the new born.

22: So, celebration of aqeeqah can not in anyway mean ibaadah, that is why you see the way of celebrating the aqeeqah differs and it is subjected to customs and culture, the Arabs and the Hausas will not celebrate a party of aqeeqah as we Yorubas do, they just slaughter the aqeeqah and distribute among themselves.

23: Also, on waleematu nikaah, how is waleemah also ibaadah? We all understand that ibaadah is an act we do to seek Allah’s pleasure and reward, what is the reward we are seeking for in waleematu nikaah? A marriage is not invalid because they failed to celebrate it.

And we also understand that anyone who abandoned ibaadah undone will have the right to Allah’s punishment because Allah created mankind for his ibaadah (و ما خلقت الجن و الانس الا ليعبدون I did not create mankind and jinns except for the purpose of ibaadah).

24:Ibaadaat are حقوق الله rights of Allah. So, what evidence do we have to establish that anyone who doesn’t organize a waleematu nikaah is a sinner? Even when aqdu nikaah is not a basis matter of ibaadah, rather معاملة(dealing), you will never read a book of fiqh and find nikaah, tolaaq, khul’u, khitbah and so on classified under the chapters of ibaadah rather fiqh mu’aamalat.

25: The logic that one is celebrated yearly and other is celebrated once a while is not an evidence to determine what is halaal and haram in Islam. What kind of logic is this? I do not have problem with the one who say birthday, anniversaries celebration is haram or bid’ah, we will only ask them for their genuine evidences, no doubt many of us need to learn the terminologies used in determine rulings in Islam, especially the words Bid’ah, sunnah, haram, halaal, waajib and so on.

26: Bid’ah and sunnah are only applicable to matters of ibaadah while halaal and haram are applicable to matters of customs and dealings. Let us learn fiqh. The problem of this ummah is extremism in which many have taken too far, they have tied some scholars verdicts as divine words without further investigation and research vis a vis Islamic jurisprudence principles.

27: And for those who agree that the ruling is not bid’ah nor haram but think we should place it under what is disliked(makrooh) because of the ways some people celebrate it, should we place acts of sunnah disliked because the ways those who ascribed to it practice it? Should we place aqdu nikaah disliked because some muslims engage in ‘robbery aqdu’? Should we place Islam disliked because ISIS, Boko Haram, terrorists ascribed to it?!

28: The definition of makrooh(what is disliked) is:
مقابل الاستحباب، فهي طلب الترك لا على سبيل الحتم و الإلزام
The opposite of Al Istihbaab(sunnah), it is the request of abstinence, not in form of imposition nor compulsion.

This is what Allah requests from us(Mukallafeen), but not compulsory we abstain from it but abstinence is better.

Rather, there are Signs and evidences to determine what constitute Al karaa-ah.

29: firstly,
أن يضع الشرع ثوابا للترك، و لا يضع عقاباً على الفعل.
Shari’ah should attach reward for abstinence, and should not attach punishment for doing.

An example is the hadeeth where the Prophet said:
أنا زعيم ببيت في ربض الجنة لمن ترك المراء و إن كان محقا
“I am a chieftain of a house in the outskirts of jannah for the one who leaves argument even if he is right”

This makes unnecessary argument fall under karaa’ah(disliked act), There is evidence of attachment for the one who abstain from it, and there is no evidence of punishment for the one who engage in it. Assuming there is evidence of punishment on the doer, then such act will be regarded as haraam. And if there have been evidence of reward for the doer while no evidence of punishment on the one who leave undone, such act will then be regarded as sunnah(Istihbaab).

Do we see this regarding anniversaries, birthdays celebrations? What then makes it makrooh?

30: The fundamental is halaal and there is no evidence to say otherwise, we see no Islamic evidence to say it is waajib or haram or makrooh or sunnah or bid’ah, so we leave it as it is and advise people to stay away from what is clearly haram – as we will advice them when they engage in other permissible acts.

Wa salla Allahu ala sayyidanaa Muhammad wa ala aalihi wa sahbihi wa sallim.