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in love with the night sky

My passion for astronomy never faltered over the years. Subhanallah.

The prophet Ibrahim for so long looked up into the sky in search for the True Creator. Not surprisingly when you watch documentaries showing the wonders of the night sky, you can understand why people look up and start worshipping the Sun and the Moon because they are wonderful creations. However wonderful those creations are, the Creator, Allah is more Magnificent.

I have been guilty for leaving this blog for quite a while. I blame it on myself for not managing my time properly astaghfirullah. Clinical years have been great to me alhamdulillah but I need to learn to better manage my time.

When should you be jealous of others ?

When should you be jealous of others ?

“No one should be jealous of anything except two people – a man whom Allah has blessed with wisdom/ilm/Qur’an and he teaches it; and a man who has money and he spends it in the sake of Allah.” (Bukhari)

This hadith alludes to the etiquettes of seeking knowledge (a topic we will discuss in later articles in much greater detail in sha Allah). Prophet (saws) said in this hadith that you should not get envious of others for anything other than two things – one of them is knowledge. Observing other people with the knowledge of Quran and sunnah should make you feel envious and the idea is to use this feeling of jealousy to create avenues to gain knowledge. This hadith does not imply that we question Allah why He made the other person knowledgeable and why we weren’t given similar knowledge. Instead, we should ask Allah to make us learned in our deen.

“My Lord! Increase me in knowledge.” [Taha, 20:114]

turn toward and not away from Allah

Do not be confused by ignorance; turn toward and not away from Allah. Have faith in Him and refrain from transgression. He bestows prosperity, and decrees poverty. Fear Him alone and none other, adhere to Him that you may prevail. [Shaykh Abdul Qadir Jilani]

Be My Valentine..NOT

In a hadeeth narrated by Abu Sa’eed al-Khudri, the Prophet Muhammad S.A.W said: “You will certainly follow the ways of those who came before you, span by span, cubit by cubit, until even if they were to enter a lizard’s hole, you would follow them.” We said, “O Messenger of Allah, (do you mean) the Jews and Christians?” He said, “Who else?” (Narrated by Bukhari and Muslim)

Yes, it is that time of the year again. With the scent of alluring red roses, shops filled with mouth-watering heart-shaped chocolates and public display of affection. Love is in the air. Every 14th of February, throughout the world, candy, flowers, and gifts are exchanged between loved ones, all in the name of Saint Valentine. These days, Valentine’s Day, which originates from the West, is even celebrated by the Muslims. But do we know who this ‘patron saint of love’ is? What about the history behind Valentine’s Day celebration?

Valentine’s Day as we know it today, actually contains vestiges of both Christian and ancient Roman tradition. In ancient Rome, it was first celebrated as the fertility festival, seventeen centuries ago. In the legend, the festival involves a sacrificial ceremony of a goat-to represent fertility and a dog-for purification. The goat’s hide is then used on the womenfolk and crop fields to bring them fertility for the coming year. Later in the day, all the young women in the city would place their names in a big urn and the city’s bachelors would then each choose a name out of the urn. They would then be bound in pre-marital pairing for the year.

When the Roman embraced Christianity, it was said that the Christian church decided to ‘christianize’ the festival and this was represented by Saint Valentine who had advocated love and peace, for which cause he was said to be martyred. One legend contends that Valentine was a priest who served during the third century in Rome. When Emperor Claudius II decided that single men made better soldiers than those with wives and families, he outlawed marriage for young men. Valentine, realizing the injustice of the decree, defied Claudius and continued to perform marriages for young lovers in secret. When Valentine’s actions were discovered, Claudius ordered that he be put to death. According to another legend, Valentine actually sent the first ‘valentine’ greeting himself. While in prison, it is believed that Valentine fell in love with his jailor’s daughter. Before his death, it is alleged that he wrote her a letter, which he signed ‘From your Valentine,’ an expression that is still in use today. Although the truth behind the Valentine legends is not clear, the stories certainly emphasize his appeal as a sympathetic, heroic, and, most importantly, romantic figure.1

Thus, in this 21st century, where expressing one’s emotions, thoughts and religious beliefs are considered to be basic human right, why is it wrong for Muslims to celebrate Valentine’s Day?

Firstly, in Islam, we have clearly defined and well established festivals. They are an essential part of our worship and have been prescribed to us by Allah and His Messenger S.A.W. There is no room for ijtihad or personal opinion.

“For every nation, We have ordained religious ceremonies which they must follow” [al-Hajj (22):67].

In a hadeeth narrated by Bukhari and Muslim, Prophet S.A.W said: “Every nation has its Eid”

This means that every nation should be distinguished by its festivals. If people of any other religions have a festival which belongs exclusively to them, then Muslim should not celebrate it with them.

Moreover, in Islam, is not permissible to celebrate innovated festivals, because this is a bid’ah (a newly invented innovation) which has no basis in sharee’ah. So, Valentine’s Day is included in the hadeeth of A’ishah r.a, who said that the Prophet S.A.W said: “Whoever innovates something in this matter of ours (i.e., Islam) which is not part of it, will have it rejected”

In Surah Al-Ma’idah (5):3]: “Today have I perfected your religion for you, and have bestowed upon you the full measure of My blessings, and willed that Islam shall be your Religion”

Since it is complete, there is no need for additions or deletions to the religion. Therefore to introduce some new matter into Islam or to delete/omit something from it is an affront to Allah and the Prophet S.A.W.

Secondly, celebrating Valentine’s Day means resembling or imitating the pagan Romans as well as the Christian People of the Book in their imitation of the Romans. For Muslims, imitating the kuffaar is considered haram, whether that imitation is of their worship or of their customs and behaviour.

The Prophet S.A.W said: “Whoever imitates a people is one of them.” (Narrated by Ahmad, 2/50; Abu Dawood, 4021)

Thirdly, the celebration of Valentine’s Day often results in the spread of zinaa (fornication and adultery) and calls for people to keep their hearts and minds busy with foolish things that go against the guidance of the pious predecessors. Partying, idle play, singing, music, insolence, impertinence, unveiling, wanton display, mixing of men and women, and the appearance of women before non-mahrams, etc., are all things which are haram, or are means which lead to immorality. The one who cares about himself should not only avoid, but also all that leads to it.

In essence, there is no religion which encourages its followers to love and care for one another more than Islam does. This applies at all times and in all circumstances, not just on one particular day. Thus, expression of feelings and emotions is not a justification for the Muslim to allocate a day for celebration.

References

  1. http://www.history.com/content/valentine/history-of-valentine-s-day
  2. Original Source MSM EMSY


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