Question: Muslim Celebrating New Years

[NatalieSiddiqui_334]

Why is celebrating New Years not permissible when it is in no way a religious holiday, all people in America celebrate the new year regardless of race, age, religion, or social status. Why is celebrating new years such a bad thing? It doesn't involve anything haram such as dancing or alcohol. My family and I would always just get together and share some snacks, talk about our past year and enjoy time together.

 

[Mabsoot]

Some Muslims go all out ridiculing, mocking and "hating" on non-Muslim people for doing Christmas and New Years or other days that have no basis in Islam. This does leave non-Muslims and Muslims feeling alienated or confused. Some might even think Muslims are being disrespectful and uncooperative, which is further from the truth. This answer will hopefully clarify a few things.

Secular or Religious?
New years day can be seen both in a secular non-religious way and from a religious perspective. The Gregorian Calendar is also known as the Christian calendar, and is based on what is supposedly the date of Jesus Christ's death. Although this is in no way verifiable and is in fact historically untrue. So when someone says today is 2014, it means 2014 years since the death of Christ. This is the religious connotation to the date.

Muslims on the other hand have the hijri calendar. The year is 1435, that is the amount of years since the Prophet Muhammad S emigrated to the city of Madinah.

Why is celebrating new years such a bad thing?

For religious Muslims, the celebrations and how they interact, the reasons behind it will vary.

"Copying disbelievers"? Or not?
Having lived in Madinah, I remember Easter, Christmas and the New year simply gliding by without any hint, mention or realisation from anyone that those days even existed. It will be odd for a Muslim who lives say in Madinah, Saudi Arabia where they use the Islamic Hijri dates to celebrate Christmas or the Christian new year. Either they do so because they actually believe in this celebration or they do it because they think it is "cool" to do so, they just want to copy. People often copy those they hold to be of greater esteem, honour or even superiority than themselves.

Say: "Behold, my prayer, and (all] my acts of worship, and my living and my dying are for God [alone], the Sustainer of all the worlds.
No partner has He. And this I have been commanded, and I am the first [among you] of the Muslims." Quran 6:162-163 Surah al-an'am

A general rule is that a Muslim safeguards his or her religious identity by not taking part in any other religion's celebratory day. This is because all actions are meaningful in Islam, and to truly believe and submit to Allah means that a person wants to abide by the Quranic teachings. Underneath all the celebratory practises of other religions, the beliefs of worshipping other than Allah (Shirk), still exist. The next point will address that:

Why is celebrating Christmas or New Years Shirk? (Associating partners with Allah)
In another aspect, people forsake the superiority and honour that Allah deserves by "celebrating" days that promote things that in Islam would be blasphemous:

• Allah has a son
• Salvation can only be obtained through Jesus dying on the cross and believing in that,
• The belief in the trinity,
• The divinity of Jesus
• The whole pagan roots to the practises in Christmas and even New Years Day.

If we do not believe in those things, then why should we join in with others and have "fun" celebrating those beliefs? Not only does it make no sense, it also diminishes the respect we give to ourselves and more importantly our connection to Allah. Our connection with Allah should be one of love, and part of love is being proud of and honouring the loved one. What is more honourable than worshipping Allah alone and disliking that any partners be made unto Him?

It doesn't involve anything haram such as dancing or alcohol.

What if my family is not Muslim? Should I forsake them?

All people have different set of circumstances. Some of us come from Muslim families, Christmas, New Year and other events pass us by without much problem. Others are still with there non-Muslim families. A reverted Muslim has to put their Islam first, but also be wise with how they interact and behave with their family. Some reverts can persuade their families that they don't want to be there on those days or to take part in the celebrations and they explain the reasons why. This is fine, if they can do so that is great.

"My family and I would always just get together and share some snacks, talk about our past year and enjoy time together."

Ma sha Allah, that is really nice. Visiting family and maintaining good relations is part of Islam, so as long as they are not asking you to do something detrimental to your faith (eating pork, drinking alcohol, praying together) you should keep visiting and remember that there is nothing wrong with having "halal fun". It is typical for family get togethers to happen around Christmas / New Years time, uncles, aunts, nephews and nieces visit. Sometimes you may not see them for many months, so as long as you assert yourself as a Muslim, and not allow any pressure for you to do any haram, then it will be a good influence on them in sha Allah. Depending on the closeness you have to your family, it will also be easier on you.

By the way, it can also involve a lot of dancing and alcohol. I understand that it varies from family to family and also where people choose to party. A lot of young people go to the town centres, pubs and clubs to do the countdown and party with booze right through the night. Suffice to say Muslims are taught to keep away from such places where they are surrounded by such haram acts.

 

[Abu Juwairiya]

Brother, the Prophet (SAW) and the first three generations did not celebrate Non Muslim celebrations, holidays and festivals and no classical scholar has spoken of its permissibility. The Qur'an adds that whoever imitates a people, they will be raised as one of them.

I recognise there is a difference between the odd remark that shows empathy to a Non Muslim celebration, the rare greeting, the occasional correspondence exchanging letters marking the occasion and the like. I am not referring to that type, although it is preferable to abstain from that as well if possible. What I am talking about is to say there is nothing wrong with it, to join in either as regulars or occasionally, not because of Deen, but because you might be busy with other things.

To celebrate a Non Muslim holiday, especially the likes of Christmas, Easter, Halloween is to give them legitimacy and a green light that there is nothing wrong with both the celebrations themselves, their origins and meanings and even more so, the religions from which they stem from have some credibility and Islam recognises a divine element within them, despite the fact that the Prophet's Apostleship and mission abrogated all previous Shariahs, Religions, Scriptures, Sunnahs and Prophethoods. We have a complete, comprehensive and perfect religion. If there had been a need to address this issue as acceptable, it would have been included as something permissible.

Outside of a Muslim festival, the following issues come into play-

Haraam food and drink

Do you know everything you will be eating and drinking and will you check before consuming them. If you will as an adult, can you be sure your children will as well and as thoroughly as necessary.

Haraam Exposure to the opposite or 'same' gender

There will be no segregation, no strict rules on formal dress for either sex, no shame in kissing in public, perhaps even adult gay and lesbian couples may be seen together holding hands or even worse.

Alcoholic beverages

By now, you will have guessed its near to impossible at best to avoid exposure to it. I will leave other possible and likely consequences to your imagination.

General Atmosphere, Feeling and 'Highness of Eeman'

As the Non Muslim hosts decide who will attend, what will occur, which things are permitted and what is to be excluded.

Who can attend; these can include agnostics, atheists, homosexuals and bisexuals and many types of Anti Muslim attendees.

What can occur is communal events that some Muslims may find nothing wrong with, especially young children who may not know better. Are Muslim families going to explain to their families everything about the Non Muslim festival before attending and why it is wrong or are they likely to go out and enjoy themselves.

What things permitted can be the full exposure to and sight of alcohol, soft drugs, free mixing, loose clothing from the Non Muslim women and what we can not avoid or expect is bad language, swearing, bad manners and foolish behaviour from those who don't have Islam as their benchmark of morality.

What can be excluded are things we need in Islam, but Non Muslims may be uncomfortable with; Niqab, Muslim clothing, congregational Salah (discomfort, more than exclusion) and da'wah to Islam. Is that what practising brothers and sisters really want.

Do you want your families and your children to be among these people, intermingle with them, especially the sisters who may be wearing Hijab, what are the chances they will not be approached or even harassed and physically assaulted.

I will conclude by saying as Muslims we have a responsibility first to ourselves as 'believers' in Allah's Message as brought to us and delivered by the greatest human being of all time, the Prophet Muhammad (SAW) and then second to the rest of mankind.

We are, in theory at least, the best of the human race, the role models of humanity, those with the least time to waste, the ones with the most to show the rest of the human race, those most eager to follow the divine message through the Sunnah of our beloved Prophet (SAW) and who theoretically again want the best of Jannahs by being the best Muslims we can be and only do that which will benefit us and to do everything we do not for ourselves or our pleasures, but for the sake and pleasure of the Creator, whom we promised to worship and love and hate everything He despised.

I ask you then, what are we doing celebrating those things Allah did not legislate and ask us to spend time on,. Theoretically, Muslims only should do things that uplift our Eeman, if you are truthful to yourself will your Eeman increase when you attend or is likely to remain the same or even worse decrease. What is the likelihood of indulging in Haraam (either you or your family, especially the children) and what is the likelihood you will not engage in da'wah and tell people with pride you are a Muslim and your religion disapproves of the things you see all around you.