Ruling on celebrating Valentine’s of Day
By sheikh Mostapha Iteem
First khutba
O believers! Allaah blessed us with this great religion and guided us to the straight path; and it is more than sufficient for our requirements. Through this great religion, we receive contentment and guidance; from it we attain peace and security; and because of it love and harmony are spread. Allaah will grant might and honour to people in proportion to how much they adhere to this religion - and will humiliate people relative to how much of it they abandon and neglect.
The religion of Islaam is complete, so there is absolutely no need for invented opinions, innovated desires or man-made legislation. The blessings and favours that have been given to us by Islaam are all-inclusive and so we do not have any need for seasons and occasions to be invented so that we may celebrate them. Allaah says that which translates as: “This day I have perfected for you your religion and completed My favour upon you and have approved for you Islaam as a religion" (Al-Maa’idah: 3).
O believers! Our religion is supreme; it is the most perfect one. It combines the good of this life and the Hereafter; it addressed the soul and was not heedless of the body; it gave preference to the Hereafter but did not neglect our needs in this life. Allaah says that which translates as: “But seek, through that which Allaah has given you, the home of the Hereafter" (Al-Qasas: 77).
O believers! Our religion is a moderate religion that is neither negligent of any matter, nor does it exaggerate any issue beyond its rightful status. There is no monasticism in Islaam, nor blind-materialism, Allaah says that which translates as: “Thus We have made you a median (i.e. just) community that you will be witnesses over the people and the Messenger will be a witness over you" (Al-Baqarah: 143).
I ask you all, for Allaah’s sake; how is it that the believers can squander this position, which Allaah granted them and become humiliated while they still have the Qur’aan and the Sunnah to refer to? Why would we be pleased with becoming mere followers after enjoying the position of leadership? How can we go astray and become blind-imitators after being guides? What possesses a person to become a slave who carries out orders, after being a master? The answer to these questions lies in the saying of the Prophet sallallaahu ‘alaihi wa sallam as narrated by Abu Sa’eed Al-Khudri, may Allaah be pleased with him: “You will follow in the footsteps of those who came before you hand-span by hand-span and (the length of an) arm by arm, such that even if they enter into the dwelling place of a lizard you would still follow them" his companions asked: “O Messenger of Allaah, do you mean (by ‘those who came before you’) the Jews and the Christians?" he replied: “Who else?" (Bukhaari & Muslim).
O Muslims! It is no secret that the Jews and Christians conspire against the Muslim ummah in order to destroy their morals and principles. They spend their valuable time, sacrifice their wealth, lay out elaborate plans and fully utilise all their resources in order to accomplish this. I swear by Allaah they have hit their target and wounded us deeply. It is from the unwavering characteristics of Allaah that he who works hard gets results and he who sows, shall reap a harvest. We are observing a new phenomenon recently that we never saw previously; we are seeing the different ways in which women are leaving their homes, uncovered and indecently dressed; we are witnessing people commit sins openly and unashamedly and even boast about them – and this is to say nothing of the trend of people casting doubts about the very fundamentals of Islaam.
If we go back in time to just thirteen years ago or so, we will remember that high values and good morals were prevalent in our communities. Shyness and chastity were the common held values and it was easier for a young man to carry a mountain on his back than to be seen walk along side a girl - and the consequences of being seen were even worse for the girl. If such people were to enter any neighbourhood, the people would remove them by force and if they were to be seen by others, they would be looked at as being beneath contempt. Now, look at the situation through which we presently live and the diabolical low that we have sunk to and learn a lesson from that.
So, once again, we have the army of disbelief attacking us, propagating the celebration of a holiday - and what a deceitful and treacherous holiday it is! A holiday which they have given a name other than its actual one in order to mislead people, they gave it a noble name to deceive the pure and the chaste. They called it the ‘day of love’, while it is actually the day of immorality, prostitution and drinking. They spread immorality dressed in the garment of virtue and this is the age-old method that Satan uses. Allaah exposed this tactic in His Book when He says regarding the deception of Satan of our father Aadam and our mother Hawwaa’ that which translates to: “And he swore (by Allaah) to them both: ‘Indeed, I am to you from among the sincere advisors’" (Al-A’raaf: 21).
O Muslims! Beware of the deceiver who approaches you with an advising tongue, for he knows that if he were to openly state his intention, he would never attain his objectives. Allaah says that which translates to: “But they plan, and Allaah plans. And Allaah is the best of planners" (Al-Anfaal: 30).
The history behind this innovated, immoral and infidel holiday is not known by many, here is a brief overview:
It is claimed that pagan Greece used to celebrate on the fifteenth day of February every year which coincided with a spring holiday. At that time Christianity was new to the area. The emperor Claudius II forbade marriage for his soldiers. Valentine, a Christian priest challenged this command and used to conduct secret marriage sermons. He was soon discovered and was sentenced to death. While in prison he fell in love with the daughter of a prison guard, but this was a secret since Christianity forbade priests to marry or have romantic relations with women, but since he remained steadfast on Christianity, the people overlooked his crime of falling in love. The emperor offered to forgive him and make him one of his close companions and marry one of his daughters to him, on the condition that he gave up Christianity, but Valentine favoured Christianity and was executed on the fourteenth of February, 270 CE - the night before the celebration of the Greek spring holiday of the fifteenth of February. Ever since then, it was called ‘Priest Valentine’s holiday’. After the spread of Christianity throughout Europe, February the fourteenth was re-named ‘Valentine’s Day’ in his memory because (they claim) he sacrificed himself for Christianity and fostered those in love.
That was the story behind this holiday. Unfortunately many young men and women were deceived by this, due to the weakness of their faith, ignorance of Islaam, heedlessness and the lack of guidance by the Muslim scholars and leaders. The ignorant youth were hoodwinked into celebrating this holiday.
Among the manifestations of this holiday are the giving of red roses, the wearing of red dresses, and exchanging special greetings, cards and gifts. This is a day where one is ‘supposed’ to remember their wives or lovers. This holiday is so ingrained in western culture that remembering this day and celebrating it has become a sign of ‘true and sincere love’ and it is not uncommon for one who forgets about this day to be thought of as ‘insincere’ and ‘untrue’ in his or her love!
Every Muslim must know that this holiday was invented by the disbelievers and it is therefore unlawful to celebrate it according to the religion of Islaam. There is no difference of opinion among the Muslim scholars regarding this. In fact, even if this holiday was invented by the Muslims it would still be unlawful to celebrate it. ‘Aa’ishah, may Allaah be pleased with her, narrated that the Prophet sallallaahu ‘alaihi wa sallam said: “He who innovates something in our matter (i.e. the religion of Islaam), will have it rejected" (Bukhaari & Muslim) Anas bin Maalik, may Allaah be pleased with him, narrated that when the Prophet sallallaahu ‘alaihi wa sallam came to Madeenah, he found people celebrating a two-day memorial which dated back to the time of Jaahiliyyah (the pre-Islamic era) he sallallaahu ‘alaihi wa sallam said: “Allaah Has replaced these for you with two better days; the day of ‘Eedul-Adh-haa (sacrifice) and the day of ‘Eedul-Fitr (following Ramadaan) (Ahmad, Nasaa’i & Abu Daawood). Imaam Ibn Hajar said: “It was extracted from this Hadeeth that it is not permissible to even be happy on any day which is celebrated by the disbelievers, and it is not permissible to resemble them. Shaykh Abu Hafs An-Nisfi Sr. went as far as to say: ‘He who offers an egg as a gift to a disbeliever in glorification of their day of celebration becomes a disbeliever’".
Slaves of Allaah! I say again that if this holiday was invented by the Muslims it would still be unlawful to celebrate it. How terrible and how much worse is it then, when the innovators of such celebrations are the misguided disbelievers? It is enough of a burden on our Muslim scholars that they have to exert their maximum efforts in fighting the innovations that the Muslims have perpetrated, without having to come up against those which the disbelievers are concocting. Fear Allaah, seek His pleasure and stay away from that which earns His wrath.
Second Khutbah
Allaah warned us from following the disbelievers or supporting them and commanded us to differ from them. He said that which translates to: “O you who have believed! Take not those who have taken your religion in ridicule and amusement among the ones who were given the Scripture before you nor the disbelievers as allies. And fear Allaah if you should (truly) be believers" (Al-Maa’idah: 57). The Prophet sallallaahu ‘alaihi wa sallam said: “He who resembles a group of people will be with them (in the Hereafter)" (Ahmad and others).
O Muslims! Know that holidays are from the rituals of religions and that he who believes in a religion will celebrate its holidays and not the holidays of other religions. Moreover, misguidance has many ways that lead to it, but the shortest of all of them is loyalty and love for the disbelievers. If there was anything that indicated loyalty and love for someone, it would be imitating them; and the surest sign of imitation of a people is to celebrate their holidays.
How can it be that a Muslim accepts for himself and his family the celebration of an immoral holiday innovated by disbelievers; Valentine’s Day, the claimed celebration of love? How can he allow his family to celebrate the holiday of a Christian priest, Valentine, who was cursing Allaah day and night by saying: “He is one of three, He had a wife, He had begotten a son etc."? Allaah is exalted far above what they attribute to Him.
Allaah says that which translates to: “And they say: ‘The Most Merciful (Allaah) has taken (for Himself) a son. You have done an atrocious thing. The heavens almost rupture therefrom and the earth splits open and the mountains collapse in devastation. That they attribute to the Most Merciful a son. And it is not appropriate for the Most Merciful that He should take a son. There is no one in the heavens and earth but that he comes to the Most Merciful as a servant. He has enumerated them and counted them a (full) counting. And all of them are coming to Him on the Day of resurrection alone." (Mariam: 88-95).
Slaves of Allaah! Beware of being less concerned about Allaah than the heavens, the earth and the mountains are. Beware that inanimate objects become better than you are, which will be the case if you are not concerned about this atrocious fabrication that has been made by the liars and continue to celebrate this and others of their holidays.
Also, I ask you: what kind love is celebrated by these people who are the enemies of humanity and even the enemies of themselves? How many villages have they demolished? How many nations have they oppressed? How much wealth of innocent people did they seize and looted? How much destruction did have they caused? They oppress people in the name of ‘human rights’ and kill people under the banner of ‘protection’. How can one who manufactures weapons of mass destruction, then tries them out on the weakest people in the poorest countries, lecture anybody on love? How is it that one who sheds innocent people’s blood and increased the numbers of orphans and widows be an authority on love? As for the one who punishes the innocent simply because of others around them, due to a mere suspicion of their guilt, which is not even founded on any credible evidence, this person does not even know justice, let alone love! How can anyone believe that those who disregard covenants, breach agreements, break promises and transgress all boundaries know anything about love?
Slaves of Allaah! When did you know a wild beast to be tame? Do snakes deliver anything but snakes?
O Muslims! No mater how much the misguided talk about love, their crimes expose the reality of their intentions. No mater how much they glorify love, we as Muslims have a worthier to claim it. In fact our religion is based on it; it is a pillar of belief, whereby no one is a believer unless he loves Allaah, the Prophet sallallaahu ‘alaihi wa sallam, Islaam and all its rulings. No one is a true believer unless he loves his family, wife, and friends. Nobody can claim to be a believer until he loves for his brother that which he loves for himself.
A Muslim loves all that is good and the people of good, he wishes good for everybody.
A Muslim loves his parents and does not disobey them, he shelters them and never shuns or abandons them, he cares for them and never deserts them or puts them in nursing homes as people do in the west, the home of immorality and disbelief.
A Muslim loves his children and provides for them; he treats them fairly and equally and is a source of guidance for them.
A Muslim loves his wife and respects her; he does not humiliate or embarrass her, he fulfils all her rights that she has upon him and he will never abuse her.
A Muslim loves his brothers and sincerely advises them; he does not expose and advertise their mistakes, he keeps ties with them, protects their honour and dignity and never backbites or slanders them.
A Muslim loves his sisters in faith and protects them; he respects them by lowering his gaze in front of them and would never be alone with one of them in a room.
If you were to ask western women about their lifestyles, you would hear stories of misery and humiliation, abuse and exploitation. No one has mercy on them, neither their husbands, nor their friends – not even their brothers or sons. If the western woman were not able to feed herself of secure her means of provisions, she would find herself to be viewed as completely useless and an unnecessary burden; her rights are rejected by oppressive and unjust rules. This is the situation of anyone who does not live by the Book of Allaah.
Beloved brothers! To us Muslims, love has a great meaning as Ibn Al-Qayyim said: ‘For love and with love the heavens and the earth where created, galaxies formed and every aim reached its objective. Love is in the nature of people; it helped people overcome their shortcomings; it brought people close to Allaah; through it people lived a joyful life, tasted the sweetness of belief and accepted Allaah as their Lord, Muhammad as His Messenger and Islaam as the only religion.
Our Prophet sallallaahu ‘alaihi wa sallam set the very best example for love. ‘Aa’ishah, may Allaah be pleased with her, told of his lasting loyalty to Khadeejah, may Allaah be pleased with her, she said: “I was never jealous of any other wife of the Prophet as I was of Khadeejah, she died three years before the Prophet married me, but he would still mention her abundantly" and in another narration, “he used to slaughter animals and send the meat as gifts to some of her friends (after her death)" (Bukhaari & Muslim). This is well-founded love that is reflected by actions.
Out of concern for the ummah, the Prophet sallallaahu ‘alaihi wa sallam guided to that which establishes love between them and explained that it is the means by which they will attain Jannah, he sallallaahu ‘alaihi wa sallam said as narrated by Abu Hurayrah, may Allaah be pleased with him: “You will not enter Jannah until you believe, and you will not believe until you love one another. Shall I guide to that which would make you love one another? Spread greetings (salaam) abundantly amongst yourselves" (Muslim).
The Prophet sallallaahu ‘alaihi wa sallam guided us to another way to establish love amongst ourselves, as Abu Hurayrah, may Allaah be pleased with him, narrated: “Exchange gifts, you would thereby attain love for one another" (Al-Bayhaqi and others) and he sallallaahu ‘alaihi wa sallam also said, as narrated by Anas bin Maalik, may Allaah be pleased with him, and others that: “If a man feels love for his brother, then let him inform him of this" (Ahmad, At-Tirmidhi and others) there are many other Ahaadeeth which reflects his eagerness to spread love amongst the community as well as all the things that would lead to it. He would also warn against things that might weaken or obstruct it.
Some of the liars, the weak-hearted, the hypocrites and their arrogant and deceived followers evilly misuse this word (love) and attribute it to premarital love relationships, which are mostly experiences that are illusion-like and evaporate fast.
We are living in an era where values are upside down, facts are hidden and things are given other than their actual name. Immorality, sinning and adultery are called love; Decency, chastity and respect are called sicknesses; Living a respectable married life is thought of as burdens and restrictions; Killing innocent people and muggings are called Jihaad; Real Jihaad for the sake of Allaah to propagate Islaam and support the Muslims is labelled as terrorism; Enjoining good and forbidding evil has become known as aggression and intrusion into private affairs; Traditions and worn out customs have become ‘culture’ and added to the religion of Islaam; Those who adhere to Islaam and practice the Sunnah of the Prophet sallallaahu ‘alaihi wa sallam are labelled as backward and old-fashioned; Imitating disbelievers and resembling sinners is called known as progression and development; Dancing, singing and impudence has become known as ‘art’. All these are signs of the impending Hour.
Slaves of Allaah! Allaah says that which translates as: “Be not deceived by the (uninhibited) movement of the disbelievers throughout the land, (It is but) a small enjoyment; then their (final) refuge is Hell, and wretched is the resting place!" (Aal-‘Imraan: 196-197) Do not be deceived by them and what they doing because this life is a temporary one and it is vanishing fast. Allaah says that which translates to: “But the Hereafter is better and more lasting" (Al-A’laa: 17) and also: “It will be, on the Day they see it, as though they had not remained (in the world) except for an afternoon or a morning thereof" (An-Naazi’aat: 46).
Beware of these holidays which have been invented by the disbelievers and warn people against them; Be proud of your religion; Be distinct from the misguided; Do not follow in their footsteps or be affected by their ideas; Ask Allaah to guide you and keep you steadfast.
O sisters in Islaam! Do not allow the uncertain to fool you; don’t allow the disbelievers to misguide you; be proud of your religion and your celebrations; preserve your identity; and do not resemble or imitate the disbelievers because it leads to destruction and Hell.
Share on WhatsApp