San Valentin and Other Matters

Since it's the day of that cynical marketing plot aimed at making an idol of romatic love (no prizes for guessing which) I think the following quote, from the Andalusian scholar, Ibn Hazm (7 November 994–15 August 1064)(456 AH)is particularly apt:

"Love- May Allah exalt you!-Is in truth a baffling ailment, and its remedy is in strict accord with the degree to which it is treated; it is a delightful malady, a most desirable sickness. Whoever is free of it likes not to be immune, and ...whoever is struck down by it yearns not to recover."

Ibn Hazm (rahim Allah) appears to be categorising romantic love (between human beings, not between the servant and Creator) as a spiritual sickness. I believe this is an appropriate categorisation as such "love" can become so all consuming that it takes one away from the remembrance of Allah and can make people act unwisely.

Hassan al-Basri (may Allah have maercy on him) mentioned that love of the dunya (this wordly life) and love for Allah can not co-exist in the same heart. That is not to say that Islam opposes love of that which exists in this temporal world; quite the contary, in fact. What Hassan al-Basri is speaking of is love which exceeds the limits set by Allah.

An affinity for the natural world, if it's a means by which we contemplate and praise the Creator, sanctifies what might otherwise be a mere hobby. Another person might,for example, take pleasure in their work, knowing that Allah has provided them with such work as a means of fulfilling their financial obligations and spending in charity. Alternatively, they could turn their work into an all consuming pursuit of money for its own sake.

Gai Eaton spoke of how the signs of Allah,especially those occuring in the natural world, if not recognised as such and instead loved for their own sake, can in fact take us away from Allah, The Exalted. In his book, "King of the Castle" he said:

"Paganism in the proper sense of the term is an idolatry applied to the natural world, but it is also, in most cases, the debris of a religion in the final stages of decay, when its adherents, like dogs sniff at the pointed finger rather than going where the finger points; idolatry, animism, fetishism and other such aberrations bear all bear witness to the fact that phenomena which were once adored as symbols of transcendent realities have come to be worshipped for their own sakes."

On the subject of Valentines Day, secular festivals have a lot in common with the religious practises of the pre-Islamic Arabs in Mecca. For example,as custodians of the idols,they charged people to access the kabbah (where the idols were held). Valentine's day, for its part, has its own idols (ie., cards, roses,heart shaped rubbish that cost about 10p to make in China). Custodians are in the form of gift shop owners, chocolatiers and restauranters in the current era.


Ibn Hazm was an Andalusian philosopher, litterateur, psychologist, historian, jurist and theologian born in Córdoba, present-day Spain.

Hassan al-Basri (Abu Sa'id al-Hasan ibn Abi-l-Hasan Yasar al-Basri), (642 -728 or 737), also known as Imam Hasan al Basri, was a well-known Sunni Muslim theologian and scholar of Islam who was born in Medina from Persian parents.

Charles Le Gai Eaton (Hasan le Gai Eaton or Hassan Abdul Hakeem) (1921 – 26 February 2010) was born in Switzerland and raised as an agnostic by his parents.He received his education at Charterhouse and at King's College, Cambridge. He worked for many years as a teacher and journalist in Jamaica and Egypt. He then joined the British Diplomatic Service. Eaton converted to Islam in 1951.

-biographical information from Wikipedia

Perspective on Christmas

I received a response to my previous post in which I posted an excerpt cautioning against Muslims both participating in non-Muslim festivals (as they might do with Eid)and of accepting newly innovated matters (as occured in Christianity).

The commenter,a Muslim herself, responded that she saw nothing wrong in Muslims gathering together on Christmas day to eat festive foods and to share stories of Jesus' life because Jesus (peace be upon him) has a special staus for Muslims.

Below is the response which I sent to her:

Dear (name removed),

Whist I agree with you on very many issues, this is one matter in which I will have to respectfully differ.

You are right, there are certainly Christians (as well as agnostics and atheists) who reject the consumerism of Christmas. We have, for example, in recent years seen the rise of Oxfam's Gift Aid certificates, whereby money, which might normally be spent on a cringe worthy jumper instead goes to folk in the third world.

But really, whether Christmas is commercialised or not is neither here nor there because our rejection of a matter is not based on the extent to which it has been commercialised. It could equally be applied to Eid which, as Kamilah points out, brings in an income for many businesses, especially garment and fabric retailers.

So, objectionable as the commercial side might be, it only adds weight to the main basis on which we, as Muslims, should be against the adopting, or partial adoption, of Christmas..

So, on what basis should Muslims avoid Christmas?

Well, firstly, it is, at base, a holy day. Prophet Muhammed may the peace and blessings of Allah be upon him said

,"our holidays are two"

Since this is clearly a reference to the two Eids which we celebrate as part of our Islamic faith, it obviously therefore excludes those eids or recurring holidays associated with other religious traditions. Allah has defined which days are to be singled out for celebration and it is not for us to do that. The following hadith and short commenatary can quite clearly be applied to the issue of Christmas:

"The Prophet (may the peace and blessings of Allah be upon him ) reached Madinah, he noticed that the people of Madeenah used to celebrate two specific days. The Prophet(may the peace and blessings of be upon him) asked them, “Why are you celebrating these two days?” They answered, “We used to play and have fun on these days during the pre-Islamic period.” The Prophet ( may the peace and blessings of Allah be upon him ) said: “Allah has replaced these two days with something better, ‘Eed Al-Fitr and ‘Eed Al-Adh-Haa.” [Ahmad and Abu Daawood] The interpreters of the Hadeeth stated that they celebrated these two days only because the weather was moderate at the times they celebrated them and not for any religious purpose. Yet, Islam abrogated them".

If that is not enough to convince, the second point to mention is that Christmas has developed as a time to commemorate the birth of Jesus (peace be upon him) who, in the Biblical account, is described as God's son(!) Allah, in the Quran, denounces this claim as ascribing partners to Him. This is the most heinous of crimes in the sight of Allah:

"Verily, Allah forgives not that partners be set up with Him [in worship] but He forgives other than that to whom He pleases; and whoever sets up partners with Allah [in worship], he has indeed invented an enormous wrong" (Qur'an 4:48)

As a festivity, it is, at base, intrinsically linked to the entirely fictitious claim that God had a son. Even amongst secular folk, it is common to have a star or an angel atop a Christmas tree, which obviously tie in with the Biblical account. This differs markedly from the Quranic account of Jesus' birth. We should not lend our support to blasphemy or even appear to endorse it. There are a number of Christian denominations who choose not to to engage in Christmas on this very basis.

I don't dispute that revelations preceded the quran or that other scriptures also contain revelation from God. I do however disagree about there are many paths to God:

"Whoever seeks a religion other than Islam, it will never be accepted of him, and in the Hereafter he will be one of the losers." [3:85]

Whilst there is certainly some concordance between Islam and the teachings of Orthodox Judaism and Christianity, the Quran also condemns some of the tenets which have over the ages, by human agency, crept into the Gospel and the Torah.

Both the Gospel and the Torah were revealed books, proceeding from the same God who revealed the Quran, but because of the extent to which they have been altered, it would be impossible to tread the path of Allah with reference to these books and the teachings derived from them. The Quran is God's last testament to humanity, sent by The Most Merciful, confirming some of that which is contained in the previous revelations.But, more than that, also correcting and clarifying other matters (which the hands of men altered or removed entirely).Furthermore,the Quran and hadith literature also provide fresh guidance and instruction not covered or lost in the previous revelations (such as detailed information on prayer and ablution).We know that prayer is an essential pillar of faith. To follow a path other than Islam will lead to perdition.


The final point I wish to make is that we, as Muslims, should be reflecting on Jesus frequently as there are many references to him and his mother in the quran as well as in the hadith literature. We also know that Jesus, since he didn't die on the cross but was only made to appear to have died, will return. As well as to kill the anti-christ, we learn from the hadith literature that he will break the cross.

"By He in whose hands my soul rests, Jesus, the Son of Mary, is to descend amongst you as a just ruler. He will break the cross, kill the pig, abolish Jizya and wealth will increase to such an extent that one prostration will be more valuable than the whole world and all that it contains."

A similar Hadith on this issue is:

"By Him in Who’s hands my soul rests, surely Jesus, Son of Maryam (Mary) will soon descend amongst you and will judge mankind judiciously, by the law of the Quran, as an honest ruler. He will break the cross, kill the pig and abolish jizya. Money will abound in such excess that no one will wish to accept it. A single prostration to Allah, in prayer, will be better than the whole world and all it contains." Abu Hurayrah, the narrator, added, "If you wish, you can recite this verse from the holy Quran :" "And there is none of the people of the book, but must believe in him (i.e. Jesus as an apostle of Allah and a human being), before his death, and on the Day of Judgement, he will be a witness against them." Quran 4/159

Do we really wish to associate ourselves with a festival that Jesus himself, as a messanger of God, would surely disassociate himself from? We know that, as God's messenger Jesus, like all the prophets who preceded him and came after him, held God to be

"above His creation"

and

"unlike His creation."

Jesus, as a pure monotheist, would certainly uphold the belief that God neither

"begets not nor is He begotten".

I would like to leave you with the following quoute from Gai Eaton (may Allah have mercy on him) who,even if i disagree with him on a couple of points, incuded in his books statments of immense profoundity, especially on the nature of humanity in the present era.

I like this especially:

"The people, on the other hand, the real people who ask almost shamefacedly for faith, hope, and caritas, true love, get little comfort from men as uncertain and insecure as themselves. All they are offered is a bland religion which has fitted itself only too well into the framework of contemporary civilization, a civilization which derives its basic assumptions, its values and its logic, from profane sources; from the humanism and rationalism of the French ‘Enlightenment’, from the Titanic self-assertion of the Renaissance and, more remotely, from the worst features of two ancient cultures, those of Greece and of Rome, which were already decadent in terms of human norm when they bequeathed to us our classical heritage and over which Christianity triumphed all to briefly.

The further people have drifted from the truth, the greater is the temptation to water down the truth, glossing over its less palatable aspects and, in short, allowing a policy of compromise to become one of adulteration.

Standing, as it were, at the pavements edge with his tray of goods, the priest reduces the price until he is offering his wares for nothing: divine Judgment is a myth, hell is a wicked superstition"

wa alaikum salam

An Excerpt from a Glasgow Imam's Friday Sermon

"Christmas remains a stark warning and example to Muslims of what can happen to Islam if we were to accept innovations into our faith. To cling to the Qur'an and sunnah as understood by the salaf is the only way to remain within the sanctified parameters of our deen (religion).

Christmas is a phenomenon that should encite the awareness of the Muslim laity to be mindful about those from whom they take their religion and religious knowledge. We thank Allah for preserving our faith and pray that he bestow upon us the ability to stay on the Straight Path."

-Excerpt from Muhammad Mustaqem Shah's facebook status.mentions that he included this reminder,which is an excerpt taken from an online article by Muhammad Nizami, in his Friday khutbah, or sermon.

Even a basic google search reveals that Christmas is based on Pagan ideas which Church leaders, instead of renouncing, accepted into conventional Christian practice. Muslims should cleave to the Truth, rather than attempting to adopt their faith to prevailing trends, however innocent they might appear. In the current age,the Quran, having been preserved through the ages, remains the only call to God consciousness which hasn't adopted itself to personal whims or to prevailing trends, like consumerism. Muslims have a duty both to themselves and to humanity to uphold The Truth. Muslims should srive to ensure that they embody the principles and ideas contained in the Quran and in the accounts, in the hadith literature, of prophet Muhammed and all of the other prophets who came before him (May the peace and blessings of Allah be upon them all).