It’s that time of the year again where an annual ritual takes the world by frenzy,
and sweeps along the Muslims with it. Now it’s the turn of Valentine’s Day.
In Islam, the festivals are clearly defined and well established, and no additions or subtractions may be accepted. They are an essential part of our worship and there is no room for personal opinion. They have been prescribed for us by Allah and His Messenger (صلى الله عليه وسلم).
Festivals are part of religious ceremonies of which Allaah Says: ‘To each among you, We have prescribed a law and a clear way’ [Quran 5:48]
‘For every nation We have ordained religious ceremonies which they must follow.'” [Quran 22:67]
Festivals are the most distinctive things by which religions are told apart, so whoever celebrates their festivals is agreeing with the most distinctive rituals of disbelief. Undoubtedly, going along with them in their festivals may, in some cases, lead to disbelief. Dabbling in these things, at the very least, is a sin. The Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم)referred to the fact that every nation has its own festivals when he(صلى الله عليه وسلم) said: “Every nation has its own ‘Eed and this is our ‘Eed.” [Al-Bukhaari]
It shouldn’t take too much to work out that Valentine’s Day has nothing to do with Islam, thereby it should also have nothing to do with Muslims. However, many a Muslim will be taking part in this festivity, which is steeped in illicit relationships, promotes such things and devalues the honour of men, women and families. You may think, that’s a very strong thing to say about something as harmless as remembering to be loving to your wife and making the day special for her. But if Muslims engage in festivities that are not Islamic in nature or origin, then this is a grave thing, as revealed in the Qur’an:
“And 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” [Surah Aal ‘Imraan, 3:85]
The Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم) warned us of our following the ways of the Jews and Christians and those who came before us:
Abu Sa’eed al-Khudri (may Allah be pleased with him), narrated that the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم) 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 Allaah, (do you mean) the Jews and Christians?” He said, “Who else?!” [Sahih Bukhari]
HISTORY OF THE FESTIVAL OF LOVE (Valentine’s Day)
The Festival of Love was one of the festivals of the pagan Romans, when paganism was the prevalent religion of the Romans more than seventeen centuries ago. In the pagan Roman concept, it was an expression of “spiritual love”. There were myths associated with this pagan festival of the Romans, which persisted with their Christian heirs. Among the most famous of these myths was the Roman belief that Romulus, the founder of Rome, was suckled one day by a she-wolf, which gave him strength and wisdom.
The Romans used to celebrate this event in mid-February each year with a big festival. One of the rituals of this festival was the sacrifice of a dog and a goat. Two strong and muscular youths would daub the blood of the dog and goat onto their bodies, then they would wash the blood away with milk. After that there would be a great parade, with these two youths at its head, which would go about the streets. The two youths would have pieces of leather with which they would hit everyone who crossed their path. The Roman women would welcome these blows, because they believed that they could prevent or cure infertility.
THE CONNECTION BETWEEN SAINT VALENTINE AND THIS FESTIVAL
Saint Valentine is a name which is given to two of the ancient “martyrs” of the Christian Church. It was said that there were two of them, or that there was only one, who died in Rome as the result of the persecution of the Gothic leader Claudius, c. 296 CE. In 350 CE, a church was built in Rome on the site of the place where he died, to perpetuate his memory. When the Romans embraced Christianity, they continued to celebrate the Feast of Love mentioned above, but they changed it from the pagan concept of “spiritual love” to another concept known as the “martyrs of love”, represented by Saint Valentine who had advocated love and peace, for which cause he was martyred, according to their claims. It was also called the Feast of Lovers, and Saint Valentine was considered to be the patron saint of LOVERS.
One of their false beliefs connected with this festival was that the names of girls who had reached marriageable age would be written on small rolls of paper and placed in a dish on a table. Then the young men who wanted to get married would be called, and each of them would pick a piece of paper. He would put himself at the service of the girl whose name he had drawn for one year, so that they could find out about one another. Then they would get married, or they would repeat the same process again on the day of the festival in the following year.
The Christian clergy reacted against this tradition, which they considered to have a corrupting influence on the morals of young men and women. It was abolished in Italy, where it had been well-known, then it was revived in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, when in some western countries there appeared shops which sold small books called “Valentine’s books”, which contained love poems, from which the one who wanted to send a greeting to his sweetheart could choose. They also contained suggestions for writing love letters.
It was also said concerning the origins of this holiday that when the Romans became Christian, after Christianity had become widespread, the Roman emperor Claudius II decreed in the third century CE that soldiers should not get married, because marriage would distract them from the wars they used to fight. This decree was opposed by Saint Valentine, who started to perform marriages for the soldiers in secret. When the emperor found out about that, he threw him in jail and sentenced him to execution. In prison, he (Saint Valentine) fell in love with the jailer’s daughter, but this was a secret because according to Christian laws, priests and monks were forbidden to marry or fall in love. But he is still regarded highly by the Christians because of his steadfastness in adhering to Christianity when the emperor offered to pardon him if he forsook Christianity and worshiped the Roman gods; then he would be one of his closest confidantes and he would make him his son-in-law. But Valentine refused this offer and preferred Christianity, so he was executed on 14 February 270 CE, on the eve of February 15, the festival of Lupercalia. So this day was named for this saint.
In The Story of Civilization, it says that the Church devised a calendar in which every day was designated as the feast day of one of the saints. In England, Saint Valentine’s Day was to come at the end of winter. When that day came, according to them, the birds mated enthusiastically in the forests, and the young men would put flowers on the windowsills of the homes of the girls whom they loved. (The Story of Civilization by Will Durant, 15/23). The Pope designated the day of the death of Saint Valentine, February 14, 270 CE, as a festival of love.
Cupid
Cupid is the most famous of Valentine symbols. He is known as mischievous Jinn disguised as a winged child armed with bow and arrows. In western culture he shot darts of desire into the bosoms of both pretend gods and humans causing them to all deeply in love. Cupid has always played a role in the celebrations of love and lovers. In ancient Greece he was known as Eros the young son of Aphrodite, the goddess of love and beauty. To the Roman’s he was Cupid, and his mother was Venus.
Heart
A long time ago, people in Europe believed that all the emotions were found in the heart. In later years, they thought only the emotion of love was connected with the heart. The heart is still a symbol of love for Valentine’s Day.
Red Rose
The rose was the favorite flower of Venus, the Roman goddess of love. Red is a color that stands for strong feelings. This is why the red rose is a flower for Valentine’s.
Lace
Hundreds of years ago, women in Europe carried lace handkerchiefs. If a woman dropped her handkerchief, a man nearby might pick it up and return it to her. Sometimes a woman might see a man she wanted to flirt and meet. She might drop her lace handkerchief on purpose to encourage romance. Soon people thought of romance when they thought of lace. They began using paper lace to decorate chocolate boxes and Valentine cards.
Lovebirds & Doves
Lovebirds are colorful parrots found in most stores imported from Africa. Most have red bills. They are called lovebirds because they sit closely together in pairs. Doves were thought to be favorite birds of Venus. They remain with the same mates all their lives. The males and females both care for their babies. Because these birds are symbols of loyalty and love, they were adopted as symbols for Valentine’s Day.
We should not fall into the same mistakes that the Jews and the Christians fell into:
“They (Jews and Christians) took their rabbis and their monks to be their lords besides Allah (by obeying them in things which they made lawful or unlawful according to their own desires without being ordered by Allaah)…” [Surah Al-Tawbah 9:31]
From the history of Valentine’s Day, we acknowledge that Valentine is not just a name of a holiday. In fact, Valentine was a man whom the Christians believe to be a saint. Moreover, the history of Valentine is based on Shirk. We can see many religious reasons why taking part in Valentine’s Day is at odds with Islam. The Day itself has roots in paganism and we have been instructed to not follow the rituals and ways of the Jews and the Christians.
Remember, we are Muslims and we distinguish ourselves as being Muslims and following Islam. There is no need to follow the tradition of another religion or pagan ritual, especially if we have been commanded by Allah and His Messenger (صلى الله عليه وسلم) not to.
Muslims are Muslims and follow Islam. By celebrating Valentine’s Day, we are actually following something else. And this undermines the strength of the Ummah. This is one of the reasons why the Ummah is weak – we do not adhere to Islam and only Islam. There is nothing wrong with saying that you are a Muslim and so do not celebrate Valentine’s Day. Non-Muslims respect this but it seems that Muslims do not want to feel like they are upsetting others.
Finally, we need to look at the context in which Valentine’s Day has taken hold in the modern world. Although it is focused around expressing love, Valentine’s Day sets no boundaries. There are many boys and girls, men and women, who start off illicit relationships, outside of marriage, through Valentine’s Day. People send Valentine’s cards to each other, hinting to them at ‘secret loves and crushes’, encouraging the other party to look into this further, teasing their curiosity, which ends up indirectly (or even directly) promoting fornication and adultery (zina).
Some people may wonder, and say: “You mean to deprive us of love, but in this day and age we express our feelings and emotions – what is so wrong with that?”
Firstly: It is a mistake to confuse what they call the day with what the real intentions are behind it. The love referred to on this day is romantic love, taking mistresses and lovers, boyfriends and girlfriends. It is known to be a day of promiscuity and sex for them, with no restraints or restrictions. They are not talking of pure love between a man and his wife or a woman and her husband, or at least they do not distinguish between the legitimate love in the relationship between husband and wife, and the forbidden love of mistresses and lovers. This festival for them is a means for everyone to express love illicit or otherwise..
Secondly: Expression of feelings and emotions is not a justification for the Muslim to allocate a day for celebration based on his own thoughts and ideas, and to call it a festival, or make it like a festival or Eid. So how about when it is one of the festivals of the non-Muslims?
In Islam, a husband loves his wife throughout the year, and he expresses that love towards her with gifts, in verse and in prose, in letters and in other ways, throughout the years – not just on one day of the year. The husband who sincerely loves his wife does not need this holiday to remind him of his love. He expresses his love for his wife at all times and on all occasions.
Thirdly: 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. Indeed, Islam encourages us to express our emotions and love at all times, as the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم) said: “If a man loves his brother, let him tell him that he loves him.” [Abu Dawud]
And he (صلى الله عليه وسلم) said: “By the One in whose Hand is my soul, you will not enter Paradise until you truly believe, and you will not truly believe until you love one another. Shall I not tell you of something that, if you do it, you will love one another? Spread Salam (Islamic greeting) amongst yourselves.” [Muslim]
Fourthly: Love in Islam is more general and more comprehensive; it is not restricted only to one kind of love, that between a man and a woman. There are many more kinds of love. There is the love of Allah, love of His Messenger (صلى الله عليه وسلم) and his companions may Allah be pleased with them love for good and righteous people, love and support for the religion, love of martyrdom for the sake of Allah, etc. Islam requires all Muslims to love one another all over the whole year, and reducing the whole year to a single day is totally rejected. There are many kinds of love. It is a dangerous mistake to restrict this broad meaning to this one kind of love or rather lust.
So, how can we believe that Valentine’s Day is of any benefit to Muslims? The truth is that it is a call for more permissiveness and immorality, and the forming of forbidden relationships.
So let’s be the followers of the best religion which the creator has perfected and chosen for us. We have an identity of our own! We have our beloved Prophets example to follow, the most loving and caring being who loved his parents, wives, children, companions, elders and young ones each and every day of his life and expressed it.
The Muslim Ummah is what kind of a nation? It is a nation that is moderate. Allah states in the Holy Quran: “You are the best nation produced [as an example] for mankind. You enjoin what is right and forbid what is wrong and believe in Allah. If only the People of the Scripture had believed, it would have been better for them. Among them are believers, but most of them are defiantly disobedient. (3:110)
Allah Taa’laa has proclaimed in this verse that, we are the best nation, so that the people of the world can follow us and imitate our way of life.
Until today we have never seen the other religions celebrate our festivals. We do not see them celebrating Eid ul Fitr or Eid ul Adhha, we do not see them recite the takbeer in a loud voice on the first 10 days of Dhul Hijjah.
On the contrary whatever they are doing we are imitating, practising and celebrating. Allah Ta’ala has prescribed our identity why are we trying to adopt their identity? Allah Ta’ala has created us for this reason that other nations follow us by our way of life and that we live a life in such a beautiful manner in which others would strive to follow and except it as their own.
After the Prophets, Allah Ta’aala has given the Muslim Ummah such a rank that through them the entire creation would turn towards Allah, and would recognize their Creator, their Sustainer and be grateful to Him.
Unfortunately, we are losing our identity, our way of life, our likes and dislikes are changing.
Let us obey Allah and proclaim:
“Indeed, my prayer, my [rites of] sacrifice, my living and my dying are for Allah [alone], Lord of the worlds. (6:162)
So let’s BE Muslims and follow Islam. Rather, we should show everyone the beauty of Islam.
