Hope you have heard of Onam festival in my state which is Kerala.
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:
Dear Brother Burhaan,
Assalamualaikum va Rahmatullahi va Barkatahu,
May Allah give the best reward to you for your kind work
and I pray Allah to give his hidaya to all Muslim ummah and to me to walk on
the way of our beloved Prophet Muhammad SAWS... in the best possible way, dear
brother the reason to write the mail is I have a question in my mind and want
it to be clear, My name is Afroz Khan and I am from India, as I am working in a
company there is one of my friend from Kerala and he is too a Muslim, but
yesterday on the day of Onam which is celebrated in Kerala by all state people
to eat a particular type of food, in order to maintain the old style form by
the king there once upon a time in which all community come together and eat
the food all together when the first cultivation is being processed, can you please
clear my doubts that being a muslim to take part in festival called onam, and
eat the food that is the symbol of that festival, and pls do give all answers
in the light of Hadees and Qur'an,
Hope
you have heard of Onam festival in my state which is Kerala. In Saudi and other
Gulf countries, Muslims during this time, indeed though not in the form of
worship and other rituals (which of course we do not know also), they gather
together by wearing the particular dhoti, shirt and make the food of Onam which
is called Onasadya (meal of Onam).
Is this an imitation and is it prohibited? If we are invited, should we attend
? What if our Hindu friends invited us to their home for this feast?
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Answer:
Onam festival
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 none worthy of worship but Allah Alone, and we bear
witness that Muhammad (saws) is His slave-servant and the seal of His Messengers.
The festival of ‘Onam’ is celebrated by the pagans in the
state of
In Hindu mythology, it is
believed that there once lived a wise and generous Asura (Demon) King called
Mahabali. He was highly regarded by his subjects and everybody was happy in his
kingdom.
The ‘gods’ felt challenged with the growing popularity of Mahabali. They sought
help from their chief god ‘Vishnu’ who was worshiped by King Mahabali. Vishnu
took the avatar (incarnation) of a poor and dwarf Brahmin, called ‘Vamana’ and
came to the kingdom of Mahabali just after his morning prayers, when the King
gave boons to the Brahmins.
The disguised god ‘Vishnu’ asked for as much land as could be covered by his
three steps. The King made a promise to do so. Suddenly, ‘Vamana’ increased to
a massive size. With his one step he covered the whole of the sky and with the
other he covered the whole of earth. He then asked for a place to put his third
step. King Mahabali realized that the boy was no ordinary Brahmin and asked ‘Vamana’
to put his third step on his head.
’Vamana’ did so, pushing Mahabali in the nether world, the ‘Patala’. The god ‘Vishnu’
was pleased with King Mahabali’s generosity and granted him a boon. Deeply
attached with his people, the King said he would like to visit Kerala and his
people every year. The god ‘Vishnu’ was pleased to grant the request.
It is this homecoming of King
Mahabali that is celebrated as Onam every year.
Your
Question: Is this an imitation and is it prohibited? If we are invited, should
we attend ? What if our Hindu friends invited us to their home for this feast?
Every people have their own civilization, their culture
and days of celebration. Allah and His
Messenger (saws) have appointed the two Eids for celebration in Islam, and have
made every Friday a day of Eid and celebration for the believers. For a true believer, every day that dawns is a Sign from our
Merciful Lord, and every day that Allah
gives us life, can be a day of
celebration for us.
There is absolutely no harm if one celebrates or
congratulates one’s non-muslim friends on their personal accomplishments and
happy occasions like their marriage, the birth of their baby, or their children’s
graduation, or a promotion in their job, etc.
But it would neither behove nor befit a believer who believes in Allah
and the Last Day to greet or celebrate any of their religious occasions with
them like Christmas, Easter, Diwali, Holi, Oanam, etc……for that then would be
to intentionally witness a falsehood.
Allah Says in the Holy Quran Chapter 25 Surah
Furqaan verse 72:
72 (The true slave-servants
of Allah are) Those who witness no falsehood
(intentionally), and if they pass by futility they pass by it with honorable
(avoidance)
In light of the guidance of the Quran and the Sunnah, the
jurors in Islam have listed four categories which would make any celebration or
gathering forbidden:
- The
celebration should not be a pagan religious festival.
- The
celebration should not involve any ‘shirk’.
- The
celebration should not involve or encourage ‘fahisha’ or indecency or any
of the things absolute forbidden in Islam (alcohol, gambling, etc.)
- The
celebration should not indulge in excess spending.
The pagan beliefs and religions and thus their religious
festivals are based on absolute falsehoods, and it does not behove one who
sincerely believes in Allah and the Last Day as Truth to indulge in
celebrations of falsehood. To greet or
celebrate pagans on their pagan and religious days of festivals would be to
justify their false beliefs.
Sunan of Abu-Dawood Hadith 4020 Narrated by Abdullah ibn Umar
The Prophet (saws) said: ‘He who copies any
people is one of them.’
Al-Tirmidhi Hadith 4649 Narrated by Abdullah ibn Amr ibn al-'As
Allah's Messenger (saws) said, "He does
not belong to us who imitates other people.’
It would be absolutely forbidden for the believers who
sincerely believe in Allah and the Last Day to greet or participate in any way
whatsoever in the religious festivals of the pagans.
If one trusts, obeys, and follows the guidance and
commands of Allah and His Messenger (saws),
one can be assured of never ever being misled; but if one believes, obeys and follows any
other guidance, other than that of Allah and His Messenger (saws), one can be
assured of being led astray.
Whatever written of Truth and benefit is only
due to Allah’s Assistance and Guidance, and whatever of error is of me
alone. Allah Alone Knows Best and He is
the Only Source of Strength.
Your brother and
well wisher in Islam,
Burhan
Wister