It is unfortunate that we find many Muslims openly following many customs of the Kufaar –following the celebration of Thanksgiving, Christmas, Birthdays and now even Valentine’s Day. In western countries, there is a growing social and religious integration between the Muslims and the non-Muslims. Muslims, today, are fusing their Islamic culture with that of the Kuffar. This absorbance of cultures has been achieved to such an extent that some Muslims have even abandoned their very own Islamic identity and Islamic culture. They are unable to differentiate between what is right and wrong. Christmas, birthdays, Mother's Day, Father's Day and Valentine's Day - festivals that are most widely celebrated by non-Muslims - are now being widely accepted and celebrated by Muslims. Many unwary or perhaps ignorant Muslims support these festivals in some form or other - either actively or passively unaware that it is haram and forbidden to do so. We ,the Islamic Thinkers would like to shed light on the origin of this festival, known as "Valentines Day" or "Festival of Love":
If we look into history we see that the Festival of Love was one of the festivals of the pagan Romans, when paganism was the prevalent religion of the Romans more than seventeen centuries ago. In the pagan Roman concept, it was an expression of "spiritual love".
There were myths associated with this pagan festival of the Romans, which persisted with their Christian heirs. Among the most famous of these myths was the Roman belief that Romulus, the founder of Rome, was suckled one day by a she-wolf, which gave him strength and wisdom.
The Romans used to celebrate this event in mid-February each year with a big festival. One of the rituals of this festival was the sacrifice of a dog and a goat. Two strong and muscular youths would daub the blood of the dog and goat onto their bodies, then they would wash the blood away with milk. After that there would be a great parade, with these two youths at its head, which would go about the streets. The two youths would have pieces of leather with which they would hit everyone who crossed their path. The Roman women would welcome these blows, because they believed that they could prevent or cure infertility.
The connection between Saint Valentine and this festival:
Saint Valentine is a name which is given to two of the ancient "martyrs" of the Christian Church. It was said that there were two of them, or that there was only one, who died in Rome as the result of the persecution of the Gothic leader Claudius, c. 296 CE. In 350 CE, a church was built in Rome on the site of the place where he died, to perpetuate his memory.
When the Romans embraced Christianity, they continued to celebrate the Feast of Love mentioned above, but they changed it from the pagan concept of "spiritual love" to another concept known as the "martyrs of love", represented by Saint Valentine who had advocated love and peace, for which cause he was martyred, according to their claims. It was also called the Feast of Lovers, and Saint Valentine was considered to be the patron saint of lovers.
One of their false beliefs connected with this festival was that the names of girls who had reached marriageable age would be written on small rolls of paper and placed in a dish on a table. Then the young men who wanted to get married would be called, and each of them would pick a piece of paper. He would put himself at the service of the girl whose name he had drawn for one year, so that they could find out about one another. Then they would get married, or they would repeat the same process again on the day of the festival in the following year.
The Christian clergy reacted against this tradition, which they considered to have a corrupting influence on the morals of young men and women. It was abolished in Italy, where it had been well-known, then it was revived in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, when in some western countries there appeared shops which sold small books called “Valentine’s books”, which contained love poems, from which the one who wanted to send a greeting to his sweetheart could choose. They also contained suggestions for writing love letters.
Supporting the cause of Kufr in any way is a heinous crime and a direct onslaught against Islam and everything that it stands for. Islamic scholars have repeatedly written that any form of activity that is closely related to the manners of the Kuffar is a stepping stone to Kufr, and thus, prohibited in Islam. Valentine's Day" encourages pre-marital relationships which is freely and widely practised by the West .On these days, cards are exchanged, dinners are eaten, alcohol is consumed excessively, money is spent wildly, dancing and singing takes place and all sorts of lustful and sexual relationships are carried out. These days have also become synonymous to great economic activity as huge amounts of money are spent on advertisements and gifts. This is evident from the sudden economic boom that is experienced before these days are actually celebrated. Many Muslim businessmen tend to decorate their shops in the same way as their non-Muslim counterparts do. Whether this is done to increase the sales or merely as a formality is strictly not permissible.
Anyway, it is a sheer waste of hard-earned money. This is condemned in the Holy Quran as Muslims are reminded time and again not to waste their wealth in unlawful activities. The Holy Quran says: "And act not wastefully (i.e. unproductively). Lo! He approves not the wasters." (6:141)
Islam is a code of life-socio-economic-politico Ideology with spirituality and has undoubtedly shown us the correct etiquettes and manners for every occasion. It teaches us every facet of moral behavior in regard to Muslims and non-Muslims. Thus, to borrow these anti-Islamic trait from the Kuffar is not sanctioned by Islam.
In Islam, Muslims do not need specific days to remind them of the obligations they have towards loved ones, that is, loved ones who fall within the confines of what the Shariah prescribes. Muslims are warned not to indulge in illicit sexual activities, drink alcohol, behave indecently in public, sing and dance, waste money, etc. So, it is clear that the celebrations of these days are not sanctioned by Islam and that these are purely Kuffar festivals not approved of by Islam. Many are under the false notion that while retaining the basic tenets and teachings of Islam, adoption of a few non-Muslim modes of life would not do any harm. Almighty Allah says in the Holy Quran: " ...and follow not the lusts (of thy heart) that it deceives you from the Way of Allah. Lo! those who wander from the Wayof Allah have an awful doom, for as much as they forget the Day of Reckoning." (38:26) There are forms of expressing love that are acceptable in Islam, while there are others that are not. Among the forms of love that are religiously acceptable are those that include the love for Prophets and Messengers. It stands to reason that the love for Allah, and His Messenger Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) should have the top priority over all other forms of love.
Islam does recognize happy occasions that bring people closer to one another, however, Islam goes against blindly imitating the West regarding a special occasion such as Valentine’s Day. Hence, commemorating that special day known as the Valentine’s Day is an innovation or bid`ah that has no religious backing. Every innovation of that kind is rejected, as far as Islam is concerned. Islam requires all Muslims to love one another for the sake of Allah azza wajl all over the whole year, and reducing the whole year to a single day is totally rejected.
We are supposed to the best nation among the nations to command good, forbid evil, so other nations can imitate us. We supposed to be the best model for the kufaar to be followed not the other way around. We must be working to change these evils customs, traditions, social infrastructure of the society where we live in as the Prophet (saw) did it in Makkah according to Islam as a way of life.
Remember there is no life or Dignity without Islam!
A time for Change.
A time for Action.
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