Q84 :Some people celebrate certain anniversaries,
such as the birthday of a child or death of a relative. What I would
like to know is whether such celebrations are acceptable or not from
Islamic point of view. I may add that when death anniversaries are
marked they often include certain activities such as a gathering to
read the Qur’an and providing food to those who are present. Some
religious people suggest that such food may only be given to poor or
needy people or to orphan children. Please netment.
A84 : It is important to know a basic rule in
Islam that everything begins as permissible unless something is
introduced so as to make it forbidden. This may be a clear verdict of
prohibition stated in the Qur’an or in a Hadith or it may be a
particular aspect of that thing which takes it out of the realm of what
is permissible in order to make it forbidden. Moreover, the authority
to prohibit anything belongs to God alone. No one may slam a verdict of
prohibition on any matter without supporting his view with clear
evidence from the Qur’an or the Prophet’s statements or practices. If
we take the two practices that you have mentioned and say that either
or both of them are forbidden we need to support our verdict. If we
cannot produce such evidence whatever we say is without foundation.
Let us begin with birthdays. We have nothing in the Qur’an or the
Sunnah to say that the marking of the birthday of children is
forbidden. Therefore, we have to look at the action itself in order to
find out whether it includes anything contrary to Islamic teaching or
principles. If it does, then it will be forbidden on the basis of what
it includes, not on the basis of what it is. Bearing this in mind, we
can say that if parents celebrate the birthday of their children to
imitate non-Muslims, feeling that the practices of such non-Muslims are
better than those Islam encourages, then such a celebration is
forbidden. Similarly, if adults mark their own birthday by organizing a
function in which un-Islamic practices are condoned, then that is also
forbidden. However, if parents organize a birthday party for their
young child in which children gather to have some games, sing and have
some food and enjoy themselves generally, then there is nothing wrong
with that. Commemorating the death anniversary of any person is not
acceptable because it is borrowed from the practices of other
religions. While it is permissible, and indeed encouraged to pray God
to have mercy on those of our relatives who are dead and that He may
forgive them all their sins, and also to read the Qur’an and pray God
to credit the reward of our recitation to the deceased, what is done in
some netmunities where death anniversaries are netmon practice does not
win Islamic approval. To start with, the practices themselves are
worship practices, but they were not practiced or approved by the
Prophet. Hence, they are innovations. That is sufficient to make them
unacceptable. The Prophet says: “Whosoever introduces into this matter
of ours (meaning Islam) something that does not belong to it shall have
it rejected.” Secondly, the provision of food into these functions is
done in a way that Islam rejects. While giving food to poor people or
orphans is highly netmendable, the way it is done in these functions
makes it totally different. To start with, the food is placed at a
certain place and the rituals are then made in a way so as to suggest
that this food is special. Besides, the notion that this food may only
be eaten by the poor is alien to Islamic thinking. We may recall here
that when a pilgrim slaughters a sheep in pilgrimage or when the Eid
sacrifice is slaughtered, we are expressly advised to “eat of it and
feed the needy poor.” It is only when the sacrifice is offered in
netpensation for a missed duty that we are not allowed to eat of it.
In this case it is a penalty for an omission. If the person offering it
were to eat of it, the purpose of the sacrifice will be missed and the
offender will be rewarded rather than penalized. All innovations in
matters of religion are unacceptable, which means they are forbidden.
Our Dialogue ( Source : Arab News – Jeddah )