RE: Birthday wishes in Islam
May 20, 2011 at 4:43 am
(This post was last modified: May 20, 2011 at 4:53 am by Rayaan.)
I have seen articles and fatwas on the internet which cite verses from the Quran to prove that birthday celebrations are forbidden in Islam. But they're all flawed, IMO.
However, some Muslims believe that celebrating birthdays is an imitation of pagan cultures because the history of birthday goes back to the Greeks and Romans who used to light their candles and put them on a decorated cake to honor their gods and goddesses. In Europe, it was feared that evil spirits were particularly attracted to people on their birthdays. To protect them from harm, friends and family would come to be with the birthday person and bring good thoughts and wishes to ward off the evil spirits. This is how birthday parties began. That's why, some Muslims think that celebrating birthday is not allowed in Islam since it used to be a pagan ritual.
I, for one, do not agree with the above contention. Why? Because birthdays would be impermissible only if taken as a religious symbol - but that is not the case - as they are merely cultural expressions and thus do not have any connection to religion in today's society. What is most important are our intentions for celebrating them. A celebration does not necessarily have to be tied to religion even if that expression comes from a culture that has pagan roots.
To determine whether or not something is taken into the context of religion, the only source for a Muslim is the Quran and Sunnah, which brings me to the topic of Christmas. To try and make an analogy between Christmas and normal everyday people celebrating an event is incorrect, because the concept of birthday extends to each and everybody, which puts it outside the context of religion, and therefore, birthday celebrations are cultural. There is no distinction between you and I or some Russian or a Chinese person celebrating their birthdays.
Celebrating the birthday of Jesus or Muhammad, on the other hand, steps into the field of religion, because their personalities cannot in any way be separated from religion. Nobody attends your birthday or my birthday thinking that there is a religious sentiment toward our personalities. Only when people start celebrating any event around religious figures, like the birth of Saints or Prophets, then we are entering the territory of religion.
However, some Muslims believe that celebrating birthdays is an imitation of pagan cultures because the history of birthday goes back to the Greeks and Romans who used to light their candles and put them on a decorated cake to honor their gods and goddesses. In Europe, it was feared that evil spirits were particularly attracted to people on their birthdays. To protect them from harm, friends and family would come to be with the birthday person and bring good thoughts and wishes to ward off the evil spirits. This is how birthday parties began. That's why, some Muslims think that celebrating birthday is not allowed in Islam since it used to be a pagan ritual.
I, for one, do not agree with the above contention. Why? Because birthdays would be impermissible only if taken as a religious symbol - but that is not the case - as they are merely cultural expressions and thus do not have any connection to religion in today's society. What is most important are our intentions for celebrating them. A celebration does not necessarily have to be tied to religion even if that expression comes from a culture that has pagan roots.
To determine whether or not something is taken into the context of religion, the only source for a Muslim is the Quran and Sunnah, which brings me to the topic of Christmas. To try and make an analogy between Christmas and normal everyday people celebrating an event is incorrect, because the concept of birthday extends to each and everybody, which puts it outside the context of religion, and therefore, birthday celebrations are cultural. There is no distinction between you and I or some Russian or a Chinese person celebrating their birthdays.
Celebrating the birthday of Jesus or Muhammad, on the other hand, steps into the field of religion, because their personalities cannot in any way be separated from religion. Nobody attends your birthday or my birthday thinking that there is a religious sentiment toward our personalities. Only when people start celebrating any event around religious figures, like the birth of Saints or Prophets, then we are entering the territory of religion.
