New year cards
Mu' meneen Brothers
and Sisters,
As Salaam Aleikum wa Rahmatullahi wa Barakatuh. (May Allah's peace,
Mercy and Blessings be upon all of you)
One of our brothers/sisters has asked this question:
brother assalamu alaikum,
i have few non-muslim friends for whom i send new year cards .recently i heard
from someone saying that it is not acceptable by allah to send cards for
them.is it so?is it considered as a sin?i would be grateful if you would answer
me as soon as possible.
(There may be some grammatical and spelling errors in the above
statement. The forum does not change anything from questions, comments and
statements received from our readers for circulation in confidentiality)
Answer:
New year cards
In the name of Allah, We praise Him, seek His help and ask
for His forgiveness. Whoever Allah guides none can misguide, and whoever
He allows to fall astray, none can guide them aright. We bear witness that
there is no one (no idol, no person, no
grave, no prophet, no imam, no dai,
nobody!) worthy of worship but Allah Alone, and we bear witness that
Muhammad(saws) is His slave-servant and the seal of His Messengers.
If the festival of the non-muslim is pagan or polytheist
(shirk) in its nature, then it would
not be permissible for one who sincerely believes in Allah and the Last Day to
celebrate these non-muslim festivals with them and/or wish them or give them
gifts. For example, a believer should not celebrate Christmas
(because the Christians have made Jesus (a.s.) the son of Allah and worship
him), or Diwali (because the Hindus
celebrate the victory of Ram over Ravana), etc. These are pagan and polytheist festivals and it does not behove
a believer in Allah and the Last Day to celebrate them.
But if the occasion is of a personal nature like some
non-muslim got married, or had a
child, or passed an exam, etc.,
then there is no harm in wishing and congratulating them, and giving them gifts, etc.
Besides, the
Islamic New Year is the first of Moharram;
and that too, is not dedicated
as a day of celebration! Thus, it does not behove a believer, who sincerely believes in Allah and the Last
Day, to celebrate a holiday of the
pagan or western culture; especially
when we have our own rich and proud culture of Islam. To celebrate a day of another culture, is in fact to accept their culture… and although it may not sound
like a big deal, it may just be a start
for the person to start accepting foreign cultures and in time it might have an
effect on his own culture.
It is indeed true that the Gregorian New Year has no
religious significance; and seems
harmless … but for a believer, it should not constitute a day of
celebration ….as it has nothing to do with Islam and its teachings and
guidance.
The believers should fear Allah, and stay away from copying or imitating a pagan culture, rites or rituals and should take no part in
it whatsoever.
Sunan of Abu-Dawood Hadith 4020 Narrated by Abdullah ibn Umar
The Prophet (peace be upon him) said: He who
copies any people, is one of them.
Whatever written of Truth and benefit is only due to
Allah’s Assistance and Guidance, and whatever of error is of me. Allah Alone Knows Best and He is the Only
Source of Strength.
Your Brother in Islam,
Burhan
Wister