Sallams. Is it halal to or ok to celebrate sons birthday?

[Stoic]

He's going to b 1. My family never celebrated birthdays but wife family does. There would b a cake but no candles cuz I know the candle thing is not of our religion. But just gifts food and present. Also gonna have a banner saying my sons name 1st birthday. Perfectly fine?

 

[AbdurRahman.]

some say it's ok as it's not based on non-Muslim religion:

http://binbayyah.net/english/holidays-free-of-religious-overtones/

 

[Stoic]

some say it's ok as it's not based on non-Muslim religion:

http://binbayyah.net/english/holidays-free-of-religious-overtones/

So if it's non Muslim thing its...okayyy..wutttt??

 

[AbdurRahman.]

So if it's non Muslim thing its...okayyy..wutttt??

Have a read in that link. The Shaykh explains it quite good with evidences

 

[BeTheChange]

Walaikumasalaam

It is very upsetting that we fail to educate ourselves about Islam. What will become of our children if we give them a watered down deen or as sheikh calls it a modified deen...they have no chance because we have failed as parents and we will be the ones responsible on the day of qiymaat. Stop following your wife, trends, society, culture. Lets all follow Islam the way Allah swt has taught us.

 

[AbdurRahman.]

Walaikumasalaam

It is very upsetting that we fail to educate ourselves about Islam. What will become of our children if we give them a watered down deen or as sheikh calls it a modified deen...they have no chance because we have failed as parents and we will be the ones responsible on the day of qiymaat. Stop following your wife, trends, society, culture. Lets all follow Islam the way Allah swt has taught us.

JazakAllah bro, so what's all this about a 'difference of opinion' on this site?:

https://islamqa.org/hanafi/qibla-hanafi/34349

 

[Stoic]

Walaikumasalaam

It is very upsetting that we fail to educate ourselves about Islam. What will become of our children if we give them a watered down deen or as sheikh calls it a modified deen...they have no chance because we have failed as parents and we will be the ones responsible on the day of qiymaat. Stop following your wife, trends, society, culture. Lets all follow Islam the way Allah swt has taught us.

its just a harmless non religious celebration tho? Just getting together having food and presents

 

[CuriousonTruth]

A bit related question: is there any record or proof of 'birthday' being celebrated in muslim states before 20th century.

 

[Zafran]

He's going to b 1. My family never celebrated birthdays but wife family does. There would b a cake but no candles cuz I know the candle thing is not of our religion. But just gifts food and present. Also gonna have a banner saying my sons name 1st birthday. Perfectly fine?

There are people who celebrate birthdays all over the planet - heck there are modern muslim states who celebrate the birth of nations including salafi Saudi Arabia - the mawlid (the birth of the prophet Muhammad pbuh) is celebrated all around the planet.

It boils down to definition of the Bida - one group (majoirty salafi and other minorities) have a very strict and puritanical definition of it where any birthdays, collective duas, praying for the dead every year is seen as wrong.

The other majority opinion (hanafi, shafi, malikis ashari, maturdi) allow birthdays and the above as long as Nothing intrinsically against the principles of Islam is happening.

Yasir qadhi explains the history about the differences below.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QAeoqH8kzXY

 

[*charisma*]

He's going to b 1. My family never celebrated birthdays but wife family does. There would b a cake but no candles cuz I know the candle thing is not of our religion. But just gifts food and present. Also gonna have a banner saying my sons name 1st birthday. Perfectly fine?

This isn't something he will remember, therefore it's not even necessary. If you lived all your life not celebrating birthdays why start now? It's obvious from your previous posts that your wife is not the person to follow in this. Save the gifts and celebrations for eid, it will be better for you and for your son to experience eid with gifts and halal celebrations than to put your efforts into birthdays and haram holidays.

 

[Zafran]

This isn't something he will remember, therefore it's not even necessary. If you lived all your life not celebrating birthdays why start now? It's obvious from your previous posts that your wife is not the person to follow in this. Save the gifts and celebrations for eid, it will be better for you and for your son to experience eid with gifts and halal celebrations than to put your efforts into birthdays and haram holidays.

it depends on his culture - celebrating the birthday of your child is a good thing and shouldn't be frowned upon.

 

[*charisma*]

it depends on his culture - celebrating the birthday of your child is a good thing and shouldn't be frowned upon.

Islam is not based in culture. He should put the love of the sunnah and deen in the hearts of his children instead of silly birthdays. Secondly what is the good thing about it? His son will not remember it, and him and his wife are both adults who can find better ways to make memories with their children than to mimic Pagan traditions. You just need to look at the history of something to know whether it is incorrect or not. Just because it has become widespread doesn't mean it is right all of the sudden. If it was haram at one point, it is probably haram today.

 

[Zafran]

Islam is not based in culture. He should put the love of the sunnah and deen in the hearts of his children instead of silly birthdays. Secondly what is the good thing about it? His son will not remember it, and him and his wife are both adults who can find better ways to make memories with their children than to mimic Pagan traditions. You just need to look at the history of something to know whether it is incorrect or not. Just because it has become widespread doesn't mean it is right all of the sudden. If it was haram at one point, it is probably haram today.

Islam doesn't come to destroy culture - the Africans stay African - they keep there cultural celebrations and practice Islam - the same with Arabs who were pagans, the Persians, the Turks, people from India and now western people. Alienate people from one culture for another isnt Islamic and shouldn't be sold as such.

Birthdays are not silly - keeps family ties together, gift giving and being thankful for life - its a cultural practice that shouldn't be negated.

Humans are not all the same - there cultural, historical and aesthetic identity shouldn't be destroyed. Rather it should be celebrated.

 

[*charisma*]

Islam doesn't come to destroy culture - the Africans stay African - they keep there cultural celebrations and practice Islam - the same with Arabs who were pagans, the Persians, the Turks, people from India and now western people. Alienate people from one culture for another isnt Islamic and shouldn't be sold as such.

Birthdays are not silly - keeps family ties together, gift giving and being thankful for life - its a cultural practice that shouldn't be negated.

Humans are not all the same - there cultural, historical and aesthetic identity shouldn't be destroyed. Rather it should be celebrated.

You're not destroying culture if you're not celebrating a birthday. To make such a statement is going a bit overboard. As you already know, birthdays are not specific to any culture because they are done in practically every country. Islam takes into consideration 'urf, but it still has to be compatible with shariah. My issue with what you're saying is that you're actually promoting birthdays as if one's life, iman, identity will be destroyed without them. Birthdays are not a part of identity at all. The components that make a birthday "special" can be done at anytime. Muslims need to put more emphasis on our respective eids and make them more enjoyable to children than birthdays and other holidays. Instilling noble acts such as gift giving, connecting with family, and being humble and thankful should not be done via a holiday which began by polytheists. To me it portrays a level of arrogance for someone to feel they need to be celebrated on their birthday. We should celebrate the personal accomplishments of an individual rather than inflating their ego with a birthday simply because they were born. If you're happy you have a child, your gratitude should be to Allah and it should not be announced just once every year. IF something in a culture is haram, against Islam, historically dubious, harmful, it should not continued to be practiced even if it were practiced for thousands of years prior. If someone has the taqwa to leave such practices and replace them with something better then we should encourage that.

 

[ZeeshanParvez]

Islam doesn't come to destroy culture - the Africans stay African - they keep there cultural celebrations and practice Islam - the same with Arabs who were pagans, the Persians, the Turks, people from India and now western people. Alienate people from one culture for another isnt Islamic and shouldn't be sold as such.

Birthdays are not silly - keeps family ties together, gift giving and being thankful for life - its a cultural practice that shouldn't be negated.

Humans are not all the same - there cultural, historical and aesthetic identity shouldn't be destroyed. Rather it should be celebrated.

That is such an incorrect usage of the Usuul al-fiqh principle of 'Urf.

 

[Studentofdeed]

Birthdays I would say are makrooh and not permissible as the Prophet SAW and his companions did not practice it. He said to avoid practicing the customs of nonmuslims as we do not want to be like them. The best thing you can do is celebrate muslim events like Ramadan, and the eids. But you can always buy gifts and food for your family and son provided it is not for birthday because we should not celebrate non Muslim customs

 

[Zafran]

You're not destroying culture if you're not celebrating a birthday. To make such a statement is going a bit overboard. As you already know, birthdays are not specific to any culture because they are done in practically every country. Islam takes into consideration 'urf, but it still has to be compatible with shariah. My issue with what you're saying is that you're actually promoting birthdays as if one's life, iman, identity will be destroyed without them. Birthdays are not a part of identity at all. The components that make a birthday "special" can be done at anytime. Muslims need to put more emphasis on our respective eids and make them more enjoyable to children than birthdays and other holidays. Instilling noble acts such as gift giving, connecting with family, and being humble and thankful should not be done via a holiday which began by polytheists. To me it portrays a level of arrogance for someone to feel they need to be celebrated on their birthday. We should celebrate the personal accomplishments of an individual rather than inflating their ego with a birthday simply because they were born. If you're happy you have a child, your gratitude should be to Allah and it should not be announced just once every year. IF something in a culture is haram, against Islam, historically dubious, harmful, it should not continued to be practiced even if it were practiced for thousands of years prior. If someone has the taqwa to leave such practices and replace them with something better then we should encourage that.

Being alive and thankful to God and making people feel part of a community through gift giving can happen at any time including religious festivals (eid) or non religious festivals like birth of nation, special days in some countries and birthdays. Something is only "polytheistic" if it goes against creed or aqeada not fiqh issues.

- - - Updated - - -

That is such an incorrect usage of the Usuul al-fiqh principle of 'Urf.

what basis.

 

[*charisma*]

Being alive and thankful to God and making people feel part of a community through gift giving can happen at any time including religious festivals (eid) or non religious festivals like birth of nation, special days in some countries and birthdays.

Yea, we've already established that. Which is why I'm saying as Muslims, it is not required nor necessary to celebrate birthdays. We are not kuffar. If they place importance on birthdays, that's their business.

Something is only "polytheistic" if it goes against creed or aqeada not fiqh issues.

That makes no sense. Birthday celebrations come from polytheistic traditions. To continue a tradition based from polytheism is imitating kuffar. You are literally preserving the traditions of another religion instead of focusing on your own. Is it ok to imitate the kufaar in that respect? It isn't. If this was practiced by Pagans and Islam came about at that time, do you think it is a practice that would have been allowed to continue?? Absolutely not. So if it would not have been allowed then, why would it be ok now?

 

[ZeeshanParvez]

Yea, we've already established that. Which is why I'm saying as Muslims, it is not required nor necessary to celebrate birthdays. We are not kuffar. If they place importance on birthdays, that's their business.

That makes no sense. Birthday celebrations come from polytheistic traditions. To continue a tradition based from polytheism is imitating kuffar. You are literally preserving the traditions of another religion instead of focusing on your own. Is it ok to imitate the kufaar in that respect? It isn't. If this was practiced by Pagans and Islam came about at that time, do you think it is a practice that would have been allowed to continue?? Absolutely not. So if it would not have been allowed then, why would it be ok now?

Very true.


The Messenger of Allaah (sallallaahu alayhi wa sallam) has been reported as saying:

He who copies any people is one of them

[Sunan Abi Daawud]


This is a general statement and is not limited to just aqiidah. Rather, we have another hadiith which deals with Fiqh where this has been applied



Narrated Aws ibn Thabit al-Ansari:



The Messenger of Allah (sallallaahu alayhi wa sallam) said: Act differently from the Jews, for they do not pray in their sandals or their shoes.


Ibn Hajar comments on the hadiith saying:

فيكون استحباب ذلك من جهة قصد المخالفة المذكورة

Doing so (i.e. praying in sandals) is mustaHabb from the perspective of having the intention to oppose (the Jews) mentioned (in the Hadiith)





May Allaah guide ppl to speak based on knowledge or remain silent.


Abu Hurairah (May Allah be pleased with him) reported:


The Prophet (sallallaahu alayhi wa sallam) said, "He who believes in Allah and the Last Day must either speak good or remain silent."

[Sahiih Muslim]

 

[Insaanah]

Assalamu alaikum wa rahmatullahi wa barakaatuh,

Although not a daleel for us, it is worth noting that even not all Christians celebrate birthdays. Jehovah's Witnesses and some others believe it wrong to celebrate birthdays, either of religious figures, their own, or their childrens'.

Firstly they say Jesus (as) didn't command them to celebrate birthdays, the bible doesn't command them to, and the early Christians never celebrated birthdays. As Muslims, the same goes for us, no example from our scriptures, our prophet (saws) or the sahabah (raa). This includes the prophets (saws) birthday, there is no example.

Secondly, birthdays are pagan in origin, according to all historical research. Some say Egyptian origins, some say Roman, some say earlier, but all agree the origin is from pagan beliefs. The birth date of pharoahs became a celebration for when they were considered to have transformed into gods. Horoscopes were cast on this day. In other societies there were also beliefs that evil spirits visited a person each year on the date he was born, thus the need for candles, and gathering to scare them away etc. Gifts would appease the evil spirits.
Jehovahs witnesses believe following practices rooted in pagan customs, rites, and origins, is forbidden to them (although they still have beliefs re: Jesus (as) that Islam would regard as shirk). As Muslims, this avoidance of pagan origin customs applies to Muslims more. How is it that non-Muslims are trying to avoid pagan practices more than Muslims? It should be the other way around!

Thirdly, is a year closer to death, less time to do good deeds something to celebrate as Muslims? Food for thought.

We so blindly get caught up in just following what most others around us do in society, viewing it as harmless and without giving it much thought...

Let us make the two eids our celebrations, and let us give gifts, express love, gather, try to make others happy, at Eid and also any and all times throughout the year, without singling out birthdays..