Is celebrating birthdays Haram in Islam? People celebrate different festivals in different parts of life. Such as wedding celebrations. Birthday celebrations. Eid festival. Christmas festivities etc.
Some festivals, such as Eid and Christmas, are celebrated with religious guidance and inspiration.
Again, none is celebrated just for fun and entertainment. It does not have the motivation or instruction of religion, such as weddings and birth anniversaries.
The provisions are apparent in the case of religious festivals. People of other faiths do not observe festivals of one religion. Or it is not legal to do so.
So Hindus and Christians do not celebrate Eid, just as Muslims do not celebrate Durga Puja and Christmas.
But the provision is subject to discussion in social or recreational rituals and ceremonies.
Just because a follower of one religion is entertained, someone does not mean he cannot follow another.
Again, what non-Muslims do is not something that Muslims can imitate.
And since the subject we will discuss today is an entertainment program, this poison also demands more discussion.
We will try to discuss this topic with a slight difference in whether it is Haram to celebrate birthdays in Islam.
History of birthday celebrations
It is tough to tell the exact history of birthday celebrations because not all history has been written since ancient times.
Again, the integrity of the history that is written is not unquestionable. All in all, the history that exists is not perfect.
It is commonly said that birthday celebrations with the Pharaohs. The Bible says in the Book of Genesis.
‘The third day was Pharaoh’s birthday. Pharaoh arranged a feast for all his servants. At that time, Pharaoh released the bread maker and food distributor from prison. ‘(Genesis 402)
From this, it is understood that the celebration of birthdays started with Pharaoh. However, there is disagreement about this festival.
Many historians have attributed this source to the Pharaohs celebrating the day of their accession to the throne.
Why are birthdays celebrated?
Birthdays are usually celebrations for fun and entertainment. By this, there is no desire to follow the infidels.
Again, it not perform as an act of worship or reward. The primary purpose is just a little entertainment.
The purpose of celebrating a birthday may be different in a particular area or caste. But I am presenting the purpose of the majority of people.
Is celebrating birthdays Haram in Islam?
No, celebrating birthdays is not haram in Islam. Because if an action is called Haram, there must be substantial evidence against it.
In other words, The Qur’an or Hadith clearly states that it is Haram. Or similar to what Haram is in the Qur’an and Hadith.
But the Qur’an and Hadith do not explicitly forbid the celebration of birthdays. On the other hand, all the reasons said to be Haram do not exist in birthday celebrations.
For example, if it said that infidels celebrate birthdays. And the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) forbade resemblance to the disbelievers. So it is Haram to observe.
Then this claim will not be correct. Because the prohibition in the hadith to be similar to the infidels does not apply in all cases. Is it Haram for Muslims to wear shirt pants as infidels wear shirt pants?
Similarly, many UN-sanctioned days are observed by all Kafir Muslims, such as Language Day, Children’s Day, Health Day, Tree Planting Day, etc.
This is not to say that Muslims cannot observe these days because the infidels observe them.
Answers to hadiths contrary to celebrating birthdays
Instead, it is forbidden in the hadith to bear a resemblance to the infidels in all cases where the deeds carry the ‘sheer’ or religious symbol of the infidels.
Or that action exclusively attributes to the infidels, such as worship, Christmas, Nowruz, Meherjan, etc.
But actions not specific to the infidel community are not generally Haram for Muslims. Some work may be Haram, and others may be legal.
The conclusion drawn from this discussion is that celebrating birthdays, not Haram, is by Shariah’s irrefutable reference.
On the other hand, it is not the sheer of the infidel community. So celebrating birthdays cannot be Haram.
Is it Bidat to celebrate a birthday?
Bid’ah is all the deeds that the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) came into existence in later times.
At the same time, this act considers an act of worship and performance for reward.
We have discussed above that birthdays are celebrated mainly for entertainment.
So it is impossible to call a birthday celebration a bit because it is not observed as an act of worship.
But Miladunnabi is the birthday of the Prophet (peace be upon him) in Bangladesh, India, and Pakistan.
Which is a bit. Because the purpose of worship is Miladunnabi, celebrating ordinary people’s birthdays and Miladunnabi is not one thing.
How to celebrate a birthday?
However, the question remains, how do we celebrate birthdays? Is it possible to celebrate a birthday by dancing and lighting various lamps?
There is an opportunity to say that the method of celebrating birthdays is Haram. Dance Music, Musical Instruments Free Mixing Fireworks, etc., is Haram.
If a person celebrates his birthday and engages in main haram activities, it is Haram for him to observe this day.
This Haram is not because he is celebrating his birthday. Instead, it is Haram because he has adopted a way of celebrating his birthday, Haram.
Opinions of Islamic scholars on birthday celebrations
Many Muslim scholars have denied celebrating birthdays. They call the culture of the infidels the reason.
At the same time, he strongly objects to the way it observes. We have already discussed that the traditional way of celebrating birthdays is Haram.
However, Shaykh Yusuf al-Qardawi (may Allah have mercy on him) gave the most balanced opinion.
He opined that birthday celebrations are legal. Because it is not part of worship, this does not prove that Sharfi is forbidden.
So this matter will belong to the habit or disposition of man. And if there is no clear evidence of Haram on the subject matter, it is halal.
But he did not call it outright Haram. He has given some legal rules for celebrating birthdays. And I will discuss them in detail later.
However, these rules and procedures must be implemented on the same birthday. Nor did he say that doing so was a commendable act.
Islamic rules for celebrating birthdays
All those who have said that celebrating birthdays is Haram or illegal have called it a culture of infidels.
But we are now talking about how birthdays can be celebrated legally, avoiding the culture of infidels.
One: Aqika will be done seven days after birth. Akika can be fed by inviting one’s relatives as much as possible.
Akika is not a birthday celebration, though. But it also focuses on childbirth. So this, along with performing circumcision, will also fulfil the desire to celebrate a birthday.
Two: When the child is one year old, a meal will arrange by inviting people when he starts taking food.
It can be described as a pig giving Tawfiq to its child to take food from Allah Ta’ala.
Three: A good teacher can officially give all of the Holy Quran when the child reaches four or five.
On that occasion, we can arrange food by inviting the poor Miskin and relatives of the neighborhood.
By giving all of the Holy Quran in such a formal way, the glory and majesty of the Holy Quran will become ingrained in the child’s heart.
A ceremony can be held at the age of four or seven. I will inform the child that his prayers have been settled on that occasion.
Because the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) says the child to pray at seven.
When he reaches five or ten, I can inform him again that it is time to beat him for prayers.
This will create the importance and respect of prayers in the child’s mind. He will realize that from now on, it is not valid for him except for prayers.
Celebrating adult birthdays
And if the birthday of a big man is celebrated, then it is useless.
Because the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said to take account of one’s deeds every day, month, or year.
Thanksgiving is upon us, so the holiday season is complete.
In the same way, repent for what you have done wrong and resolve not to do it in the future.
But without that, if birthday entertainment organizes at the end of the year, it will bring nothing but regret.
Birthday celebrations and last words
In today’s post, we have tried our best to present the issue of birthday celebrations clearly in the eyes of Islam.
In conclusion, if the birthday celebration is free of mixing and dancing to songs with strangers, it is haram.
But if you do not engage in any prohibited activity from singing, dancing, or Islam, then it is not Haram but useless.
And if the birthday celebrates according to our discussed Islamic rules, then the set is a good way and commendable work.