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

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*charisma* said:
Incorrect. Has nothing to do with my culture. There are many american muslims who don't celebrate their birthdays, and I don't really practice my beliefs based on someone else's "feelings."

Americanized,
westernized
colonized
white washed...
whatever.
All the same.

As I said, we do not see eye to eye. Stay confused :)
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al-Hasan said:

I met a group of people who were more stingy in regards to their life (i.e. as to how they invested it) than one of you is about his money.
​


al-Hasan said:

On the day of Judgement the son of Adam will be shown all the moments of his life. Every moment he did not spend doing good will be a cause of remorse for him.
​


How far we have strayed from the way of the Salaf. May Allaah guide this Ummah.
 
Insaanah said:
:sl:
I came across this quote from al Hasan al Basri:
"Son of Adam! You are nothing but a number of days, whenever each day passes then part of you has gone.”
https://www.islam21c.com/spirituality/doing-business-with-allah/
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I agree there is a valid difference of opinion on birthdays so both opinions are ok, those who celebrate it without sin and extravagance are fine and so are those who want to refrain

However the time wasting or money wasting (as long as there is no extravagant spending) argument doesnt fit here as all people need a bit of enjoyment in their lives too and especially children need to be happy and not disappointed

Too much seriousness all the time makes a person ill so there is the odd times when we need to chill with a halal party and fun :)

Birthdays also serve as an excuse for a family get together and that's surely a good thing!
 
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AbdurRahman. said:
I agree there is a valid difference of opinion on birthdays so both opinions are ok, those who celebrate it without sin and extravagance are fine and so are those who want to refrain

However the time wasting or money wasting (as long as there is no extravagant spending) argument doesnt fit here as all people need a bit of enjoyment in their lives too and especially children need to be happy and not disappointed

Too much seriousness all the time makes a person ill so there is the odd times when we need to chill with a halal party and fun :)

Birthdays also serve as an excuse for a family get together and that's surely a good thing!
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:sl:

Nobody is saying you shouldn’t enjoy yourself. But sometimes the argument that everyone needs to have fun once in a while, gets used to support various things, including celebrations not sanctioned in Islam.

I grew up not celebrating birthdays, and alhamdulillah I’m not unhappy, deprived, disappointed or mentally traumatised by the experience. I feel privileged alhamdulillah that my parents weren’t those who just went along with society, but put thought into what they taught us and the way they brought us up.

Chilling and having fun and giving gifts can be done any time when it’s appropriate, and keeping ties of kinship should be done whenever one can, as part of Allah wahdahu’s command.
 
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Insaanah said:
:sl:

Nobody is saying you shouldn’t enjoy yourself. But sometimes the argument that everyone needs to have fun once in a while, gets used to support various things, including celebrations not sanctioned in Islam.

I grew up not celebrating birthdays, and alhamdulillah I’m not unhappy, deprived, disappointed or mentally traumatised by the experience. I feel privileged alhamdulillah that my parents weren’t those who just went along with society, but put thought into what they taught us and the way they brought us up.

Chilling and having fun and giving gifts can be done any time when it’s appropriate, and keeping ties of kinship should be done whenever one can, as part of Allah wahdahu’s command.
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walaikum assalam rahmatullahi barakatuh

Yes ofcourse we can have fun and enjoyment and keep good kinship in other ways

However I wouldn't say the people are 'going with the flow' but they are going with their Scholars' who say birthday celebration is ok if it does not involve sin like freemixng, music etc; see these fatwas for example:

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

http://daruliftabirmingham.co.uk/birthdays/
 
Jazaakallah for the links. Interesting that none of them mentions the origins of birthdays. I do wander if the scholars know the origins, and if they don't, whether their viewpoint would change once they did realise.
 
Insaanah said:
Jazaakallah for the links. Interesting that none of them mentions the origins of birthdays. I do wander if the scholars know the origins, and if they don't, whether their viewpoint would change once they did realise.
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We have the most sophisticated and fool proof method of preserving history in the form of science of hadith but yet many hadiths are weak and some even downright fabricated

So how are we to trust the kuffar history going back thousands of years brother when we know how awful their authenticity criteria can be? That's 1 point of how the origins of birthday can be anyone's guess

We have a principle of 'istihala' don't we in Islam? Where something which changes it's origin changes it's ruling on it too, such as when wine is turned into vinegar, it becomes halal. Couldn't the same be done to 'historical origins'? So for example, many Muslims enjoy bonfire night but to them it's just a bit of fun and nothing to do with celebrating a man (guy fawkes) being burnt at the stakes many hundreds of years ago (not saying it's halal but pointing out what it means to some who participate)

So let's say for example birthday does have some pagan or Christian religious origin, but wouldn't that be irrelevant now due to the many layers of istihala it's been through and nothing to do with those origins to the masses for many centuries now?

And doesn't Islam say 'it's the intention that counts' thus any birthday celebration will be judged on the intention with which it is celebrated and not a possible haram origin of it centuries ago?

So these are some of the reasons brother why I think that this 'origins' argument really doesn't hold much water :)
 
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Insaanah said:
Jazaakallah for the links. Interesting that none of them mentions the origins of birthdays. I do wander if the scholars know the origins, and if they don't, whether their viewpoint would change once they did realise.
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Please do not pay any attention to the links he has given you.

He has attempted to quote the deviant Bin Bayyah to support birthdays. He is the same deviant who said Islamic laws were outdated and needed to be changed.

Please beware of the misguidance AbdurRahmaan spreads.

https://www.thenational.ae/uae/outdated-religious-laws-must-be-changed-forum-hears-1.12969
 
...now I'm super confused as to whether it's fine or not. Just want excuse for son to have fun with cousins and family get together take pictures :( no music or candleblowing involved
 
azc said:
@Abdurrahman :
Will you plz clarify it...?
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There is nothing to explain. Bin Bayyah is a deviant. He is a puppet of the West who wants to change all of the rules of Islaam. He caused an uproar in 2015 by claiming the laws of Islaam were outdated.

Now, instead of looking for excuses (if that is what you are doing), it is time for you to act on your own advice


azc said:
There is no concept of birthday in Islam but some sects and people have double standard regarding this matter. Scholars who declare even eid mildun nabi as bidah go on mute mode when their own government or people celebrate birthday of their country and royal family. This double standard is unislamic.

I'm against blind following of scholars as it makes you fanatic worshipper of theirs.

All scholars are fallible. If they are wrong, say they are wrong.
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Stoic said:
...now I'm super confused as to whether it's fine or not. Just want excuse for son to have fun with cousins and family get together take pictures :( no music or candleblowing involved
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If you are looking for an excuse to do something then you will lean towards the opinion which is in accordance with what you want. This is cognitive bias.

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AbdurRahman. said:
We have a principle of 'istihala' don't we in Islam? Where something which changes it's origin changes it's ruling on it too, such as when wine is turned into vinegar, it becomes halal. Couldn't the same be done to 'historical origins'? So for example, many Muslims enjoy bonfire night but to them it's just a bit of fun and nothing to do with celebrating a man (guy fawkes) being burnt at the stakes many hundreds of years ago (not saying it's halal but pointing out what it means to some who participate)
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You have completely slaughtered the fiqh principle of (الاستحالة) al-'istiHaalah. You clearly have no understanding of the DawaabiT (ضوابط) of this principle because if you did you would have never attempted to apply it like you just did.
 
Stoic said:
...now I'm super confused as to whether it's fine or not. Just want excuse for son to have fun with cousins and family get together take pictures :( no music or candleblowing involved
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Lol I feel bad for you man. But on the other hand, you need to take your decisions by your own self instead of relying on anonymous people on the internet.
 
ZeeshanParvez said:
There is nothing to explain. Bin Bayyah is a deviant. He is a puppet of the West who wants to change all of the rules of Islaam. He caused an uproar in 2015 by claiming the laws of Islaam were outdated. Now, instead of looking for excuses (if that is what you are doing), it is time for you to act on your own advice- - - Updated - - -If you are looking for an excuse to do something then you will lean towards the opinion which is in accordance with what you want. This is cognitive bias.- - - Updated - - -You have completely slaughtered the fiqh principle of (الاستحالة) al-'istiHaalah. You clearly have no understanding of the DawaabiT (ضوابط) of this principle because if you did you would have never attempted to apply it like you just did.
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I want to know why he said, 'Islamic laws are outdated''.... I'm not interested in who Bin Bayyah is.
 
Celebrating birthdays is haram because it is not something Allah has chosen. Quran says that every nation has its own festivsl and we have ours which is Eid Al Adha and Fitr. There is nothing says in Quran that you can celebrate your birthday, if you like to celebrate, you can do by fasting for example, or reading Quran, or do some Islamic lectures. Thats how you can celebrate your birthday, not by having party.
 
Birthdays can be positive milestones and good opportunities to reflect as well as a good means of bringing the family and friends (dhi al qurbaa) together on a happy note, and as long as it's not turned into a perceived obligation and thereby bida'ah, it is almost as beneficial as the birth feast and ceremony (akikah).

It is wise to get the kids to lead an audible prayer (dua) in which family and guests participate before cutting the cake.
It is a bit lame to do the haram police line on such a potentially clean celebration.
Maybe the adapt and progress with humilty before Allah :swt: mode works better than the ban and alienate everything suspicious mode in this instance when weighing pros and cons.

Please don't make your kid dislike God for something so small - especially given the possible benefits - they'll likely end up generalizing and packing it with all the other no nos - and then you risk throwing the baby out with the bathwater if they crack under the regime and rebel.
 

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