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10-16-2011, 03:48 AM
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#1 |
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 Is wishing someone happy birthday haram?
Asalaamulaycum, I see alot of muslims wishing each other happy birthdays and I've allows thought this is wrong in Islam, ofcourse I know that celebrating birthdays is haram, but i haven't got clear answer about wishing someone it, I would assume its wrong but I then see practicing muslims on facebook wishing people happy birthdays which confuses me again. Can someone give me a clear answer on this topic. jazakallah khair
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10-16-2011, 03:53 AM
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#2 |
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Peace,
I do not see anything mentioned in the Quran states that wishing someone a happy Birthday is harm. thanks |
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10-16-2011, 04:56 AM
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#3 |
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10-16-2011, 05:13 AM
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#4 |
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Peace all,
No one has the authority to declare anything haram except ALLAH. If someone claims this authority, then he or she makes himself equal to Allah...Moreover, if we follow this person, then we commit the greatest sin, which is Shirk! Please be aware of what you post. Thank you |
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10-16-2011, 05:21 AM
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#5 |
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Peace all,  told us to be different from the non-believers, specifically in features that are specific to them.
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10-16-2011, 05:26 AM
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#6 |
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Peace,
Agree that we should seek help if we do not understand a verse in the Quran. However, do you agree that no one has the authority to declare Harm or any law in the religion except Allah? |
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10-16-2011, 05:58 AM
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#7 |
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Peace, I am not going to comment on whether it is permissible or not, and this is something that the ´ulama of our time disagree about. You are right that only Allah and His Rasul (salla'Llahu ´alayhi wa alihi wa sallam) have the right to stipulate shari´ rulings. However, we have also been left with principles and general rules. One such rule is tashabbu (imitation) being impermissible, and ´ulama differ as to whether celebrating birthdays is tashabbu/imitation of the Kuffars customs or not. My humble advice would be for you not to be so quick to judge or make such bold statements, as it is highly likely that you are unaware of certain factors which contributed to the ´ulama reaching their verdicts. If you show respect for the ´ulama and the Islamic sciences, you will find your stay on this forum and circles of students of knowledge to be much more pleasant insha'Allah. wa'Llahu a'lam wassalam |
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10-16-2011, 06:13 AM
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#8 |
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Peace Rifia,
Thank you for agreeing that God is the only authority to declare harm. And as we all agree, God delegated this Authority to his Messengers by revealing His Books (e.g., Quran, Torah, Injeel) to them so they can deliver his words to us; the Books that contain His Laws that humans have to follow in order to be on the Straight Path; otherwise, if we follow Man made Books that adds and deletes from God's laws, then we will be astray. Because adding is Shirk and Deleting is Kofer. Peace |
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10-16-2011, 06:45 AM
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#9 |
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Peace all, |
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10-16-2011, 06:59 AM
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#10 |
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Peace,
Please stop labeling people without constructive discussion. Did I say anything that is not correct? |
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10-16-2011, 07:03 AM
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#11 |
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Peace, And that's a consequence of you following misguided ideas - those of ahadith rejectors. |
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10-16-2011, 07:40 AM
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#12 |
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Peace Rifia, wassalam |
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10-16-2011, 02:45 PM
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#13 |
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Peace all
Eventhough belh seems to be a hadith rejector, I must agree with him in a way Celebrating a birthday is not a religious celebration. Just because we do not understand why we should celebrate one year closer to death doesnt mean that a westerner is foolish. We are the foolish ones for not understanding/taking the time to understand. The fatwa posted here on this thread says that this is the reason why we should not celebrate. The fatwa says no to a non-religious custom with the authority of Allah, the one, the all knowing. Islam is not about condemning other customs, it is about finding peace and tranquility within yourself and your community. By following this fatwa you will alienate the westerners towards us. I am not saying we are to transgress in order to find peace in the community. But saying no to a non-religious celebration? Come on......Next thing is what, not saying congrats to our neighbour's new-born baby because we know the baby will follow the western style? Or not celebrating a promotion at work because it is done in a western manner? Let the western muslims enjoy being good neighbours to non-muslims. Do not put up barriers that will alienate us. Saying happy birthday will bring joy to a westerner, muslim or not. There is absolutely no harm in bringing joy to another human being as long we are not transgressing the holy book of islam, Allah's creed, and blowing out a candle is not transgressing anything. |
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10-16-2011, 04:22 PM
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#14 |
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Peace all tell us to fast two fasts of Ashura? Why did Rasoolullah tell us to be different from the kuffar many, many times on many aspects? An example is growing the beard. Another is the adhan. Why are so many laws in Islam contrary to practices that were established and so prevalent within different cultures of the disbelievers? What was the point in even overriding the Jewish laws regarding kashrut?It is curious that both you and belh have so far refused to use the Arabic phrase for "peace", in contradiction to the sunnah of Rasoolullah .
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10-16-2011, 04:50 PM
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#15 |
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Islam is about differentiating yourself from the kuffar. Islam is about removing yourself from customs that are found in non-Muslim cultures. Why did Rasoolullah Salaam brother Kuffar is a non-believer in GOD, a denier of the truth once showed. Celebrating a birthday has absolutely nothing to do with any sort of religious faith. Celebrating a birthday does not make you deny Allah. A kuffar is not celebrating a birthday because he is a kuffar, he is celebrating because it is the custom/tradition, a non-religious celebration. If you can show me what religion this celebration belongs to, I stand corrected. Islam is not about removing yourself from customs found in non-Muslim cultures, it is about removing yourself from customs associated with other Gods than Allah. I say it again, birthday celebrations are not religious celebrations. Do you shake hands with people you meet? According to your logic you cannot. Does a muslim soldier salute his superior officer? According to your logic he cannot. If we are not to follow the customs because the origin is not islamic, then why are you putting the names of pagan Gods in your mouth every day? You didn't know that, did you? If celebrating a birthday is haram, then definately saying "Thursday" or any other day of the week absolutely haram. |
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10-16-2011, 06:19 PM
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#16 |
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You mean as a opening? Sorry, didnt mean to be rude. And it doesn't matter if we're saying the name of pagan deities everyday, albeit unknowingly. This is because we do not venerate a day because it is Thursday or Wednesday. We don't say, "Happy Thursday!" and mean it to refer to Thor or "Happy Wednesday!" and mean for it to refer to Odin. But, when we say, "Happy birthday!" we are legitimizing the practice of birthdays, which are not a part of Islam. Allah  and Rasoolullah have already told us our Eids. Why add a third "Eid"?Even the Qur'an mentions the names that people called their idols - Laat, Manaat, Uzza, Ba'al - or those people that were referred to as god - Fir'awn, 'Isa  . I have no idea why you're linking calling something by its given name with celebrating something. I can say that my birthday is such and such day and there is nothing wrong with that, but if I celebrate it or legitimize its celebration by encouraging others, then it becomes problematic.And yes, I have known that these days have Pagan - specifically Norse - origin for many years. |
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10-16-2011, 07:37 PM
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#17 |
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Can you tell me...does Zoroastrianism mandate or even recommend shaving the head and beard while keeping the mustache? What does Zoroastrianism have to do with this? Please elaborate your question. You are missing the link (or rather non-link) between religion and festivities. By your answer regarding the weekdays you have shown that the haram stamp on birthday celebrations does not have to do with it being a non-islamic culture at all. As long as we are not celebrating we are allowed to put the names of pagan gods in our mouth. As long as we are not celebrating a birthday it is therefore allowed. You understand this will complicate things for you? You are contradicting yourself to the extent it becomes absurd. I will grant you celebrating birthdays is not part of islam, but what you seem to not comprehend that a birthday celebration is not part of anything! It has absolutely no connection to any God or any religious institution. You are blinded by the fact that you are scared of non-islamic influence. I got to tell you brother, that is a sign of weakness in faith. Malaysia (muslim country) celebrates independence day, oops, not allowed because we are celebrating the birth of the nation Saudi Arabia (muslim country) celebrates national day, oops, not allowed because we are celebrating the birth of the country Just face it, the base of this fatwa is emotion and dislike of the western culture. We are not to copy or resemble the non-muslim. Well I hate to tell you, but it will just not work if the world is to embrace islam. We are made into different nations and tribes so we can recognise eachother. |
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10-16-2011, 10:21 PM
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#18 |
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Salaam brother  When you congratulate someone, you are taking part in their celebration. Similarly, we are prohibited from telling Christians "Merry Christmas" or whatever. And your special ability can detect if a person has "weakness in faith". I guess the ulama of the past and present, as well as a lot of the other Muslims who agree with me when it comes to birthdays must be "weak" in faith, compared to you. This is the epitome of arrogance. You also do not know what entails "weakness in faith". To WILLFULLY TEST your faith is weakness in faith. If one constantly puts himself in front of temptation, THAT is weakness of faith. If a person goes to dance clubs and discos but does not get involved in zina, does this person have strong faith? According to your criteria, he does, whereas a person who guards his eemaan and does not want to be involved in anything that may affect his eemaan negatively is obviously weak in faith. I guess we should all surround ourselves with all sorts of temptations and things that may lead people to violate the shari'ah - and if we survive in not being involved in all these things, we must be strong in faith...sigh. Independence days are not "birthdays" nor are they salient features of non-Muslim culture. They have been ubiquitous throughout the ages. Birthdays were not celebrated by Muslims during the time of the prophet and even for centuries after him. Many cultures did not celebrate birthdays and many cultures that have not been as affected by globalization still do not.
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10-16-2011, 11:26 PM
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#19 |
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I wish people h.Brithday and don't think anyting of it. It is simply life-1year. It has become a cultural phenomena and simply an excuse to eat cake. Finally a word of reason. |
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10-17-2011, 12:17 AM
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#20 |
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I once stumbled across this excellent article which explains the history of birthdays celebrations.
Why Muslims should not celebrate birthdays? ANSWER: Let us look at how birthdays started and where did this practice orginate? I took the following quotes from one website, but there are still many more which explain more or less the same theme. Please read and note the words we've highlighted in bold: The German periodical "Schwäbische Zeitung" (magazine supplement Zeit und Welt) of April 3/4, 1981 on page 4 stated: "The various customs with which people today celebrate their birthdays have a long history. Their origins lie in the realm of magic and religion. The customs of offering congratulations, presenting gifts and celebrating - complete with lighted candles - in ancient times were meant to protect the birthday celebrant from the demons and to ensure his security for the coming year. . . . Down to the fourth century Christianity rejected the birthday celebration as a pagan custom." The book The Lore of Birthdays (New York, 1952) by Ralph and Adelin Linton, on pages 8, 18-20 had this to say: "The Greeks believed that everyone had a protective spirit or demon who attended his birth and watched over him in life. This spirit had a mystic relation with the god on whose birthday the individual was born. The Romans also subscribed to this idea. . . . This notion was carried down in human belief and is reflected in the guardian angel, the fairy godmother and the patron saint. . . . The custom of lighted candles on the cakes started with the Greeks. . . . Honey cakes round as the moon and lit with tapers were placed on the temple altars of [Artemis]. . . . Birthday candles, in folk belief, are endowed with special magic for granting wishes. . . . Lighted tapers and sacrificial fires have had a special mystic significance ever since man first set up altars to his gods. The birthday candles are thus an honor and tribute to the birthday child and bring good fortune" This same book, on page 20, also had this to say about the traditional greeting of 'Happy Birthday': "Birthday greetings and wishes for happiness are an intrinsic part of this holiday. . . . originally the idea was rooted in magic. The working of spells for good and evil is the chief usage of witchcraft. One is especially susceptible to such spells on his birthday, as one's personal spirits are about at the time. . . . Birthday greetings have power for good or ill because one is closer to the spirit world on this day." And Horst Fuhrmann, professor of medieval history at the University of Regensburg, made this comment about birthdays: "The birthday celebration was in honor of one's guardian angel or god, whose altar was decorated with flowers and wreaths; sacrifices were offered to the god of festival, friends offered congratulations and brought gifts." Furthermore, he stated in the German newspaper "Süddeutschen Zeitung": "Great prominence was given to birthday parties held for the emperor, replete with parades, public banquets, circus plays, and the hunting of animals: spectacles disgusting to the [early] Christians." Then where did birthday celebrations come from? The astonishing answer is from the pagan practice of astrology! Thousands of years ago, when men looked up into the night sky and charted the stars, they invented calendars and calculated the birth dates, to the very hour, of kings, rulers and their successors. These ancient pagan astrologers meticulously examined horoscopes and birthday omens because they believed that the fate of the rich and powerful might affect an entire society. Even to this day, men have been putting their trust in horoscopes instead of God. In ancient Egypt, the pharaohs ordered businesses to close on their birthdays and gave enormous feasts for hundreds of servants. In ancient Greece, wealthy males joined birthday clubs composed exclusively of men who shared their birth date. Once a month, the club celebrated with a feast. When a member died, he left money to help pay for future parties. In Persia, noblemen observed their birthdays by barbecuing an ox, a camel and a donkey and serving hundreds of small cakes to the celebrants. In ancient Rome, the emperor gave huge parties in honor of his own birthday, which included parades, circuses, and gladiatorial combat. The celebration of days was so important to the average Roman citizen that the Roman calendar designated a majority of days for some form of celebration—including many birthdays of gods and famous men. The Roman calendar, with its emphasis on continual celebration, has had great influence on modern society. Consider the following quote about the origin of the Roman calendar: “Our [Roman] calendar is not Christian in origin. It descends directly from the Egyptians, who originated the 12 month year, 365 day system. A pagan Egyptian scientist, Sosigenes, suggested this plan to the pagan Emperor Julius Caesar, who directed that it go into effect throughout the Roman Empire in 45 B.C. As adopted it indicated its pagan origin by the names of the months—called after Janus, Maia, Juno, etc. The days were not named but numbered on a complicated system involving Ides, Nones, and Calends. It was not until 321 A.D. that the seven-day week feature was added, when the Emperor Constantine (supposedly) adopted Christianity. Oddly enough for his weekdays he chose pagan names which are still used.” (Journal of Calendar Reform, Sept. 1953, p. 128.) Modern birthday parties and celebrations by children take their form mainly from Germany, where the birthday child received gifts, chose a menu and received a candle-ringed butter or jam cake. The lighted candles for the cake may have originated from the birthday of the Greek moon goddess Artemis. Pagan worshippers honored her every month with moon-shaped honey cakes. Because the moon glows with light, the cakes were decorated with lighted candles. Saying “happy birthday” to friends and loved ones was society’s superstitious way of protecting them from evil spirits. Birthday thumps, bumps, pinches, etc., were said to bring luck and send away evil spirits. Party snappers, horns and other noisemakers were also intended to scare off bad-luck spirits. It should now be clear that birthdays are not only unbiblical, they are pagan! The above proves that birthday parties represent a custom that came from the pagans of former times. It involves belief in demons, evil spirits, magical spells and so forth Therefore, it is not permissible for a Muslim to indulge in such celebrations. The Holy Quran states: "What, do you seek the practice of the Days of Ignorance? Who can be better as regards religious law than Allah, for people who have faith?" (Surah Maa-idah) source |
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