SubscribeAsk The Imam - No Valentine’s Day For You!
As we have noted before, matters of love seem to weigh heavily upon the pious scholars of Islam.
Every day the Solons at Islam Question And Answer grapple with queries about love and sex — actually they are mostly about sex. But sometimes even the topic of romantic love rears its ugly head and must be dealt with.
To that end the current issue of Islam Q & A has issued a 7,535 word treatise on the evils and dangers of St. Valentine’s Day.
As it runs over ten pages we merely present some excerpts and the final imprecations:
Celebrating Valentine’s Day
Allaah has forbidden imitation of the kuffaar; He has described it as hateful and has warned against the consequences of that, in many aayahs, on many occasions, and in various ways, especially imitation of the kuffaar. Sometimes He does that by forbidding following them or obeying them; sometimes by warning against them or being deceived by their plots, following their opinions, or being influenced by their actions, conduct or attitude. Sometimes He does that by mentioning some of their characteristics that will put the believers off from them and from imitating them. Most of the warnings in the Qur’aan refer to the Jews and hypocrites (munaafiqeen), then the People of the Book in general and the mushrikeen. Allaah tells us in the Qur’aan that imitating and obeying the kuffaar may constitute riddah (apostasy). Allaah also forbids following them, obeying them, or following their whims and desires and bad characteristics.
Prohibition of imitating the kuffaar is one of the basic principles of sharee’ah. Allaah sent His Messenger with guidance and the true religion so that it might prevail over all other religions, and Allaah has perfected His religion for mankind…
Imitation causes defects in the Muslim personality, such as feelings of inadequacy, inferiority, weakness and defeatism, then it leads to shunning and keeping away from the path and laws of Allaah. Experience has shown that admiration for the kuffaar and imitation of them causes people to love them, have complete faith in them and take them as friends and helpers, and to reject Islam and its people, its heroes, its legacy and values, and become ignorant of all of that.
The purpose of Valentine’s Day in these times is to spread love between all people, believers and disbelievers alike. Undoubtedly it is haraam to love the kaafirs…
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….
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 (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “If a man loves his brother, let him tell him that he loves him.” (narrated by Abu Dawood, 5124; al-Tirmidhi, 2329; it is saheeh)…
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 Allaah, love of His Messenger (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) and his companions (may Allaah be pleased with them), love for good and righteous people, love and support for the religion, love of martyrdom for the sake of Allaah. There are many kinds of love. It is a dangerous mistake to restrict this broad meaning to this one kind of love…
What these people think, that love before marriage is a good thing, is wrong, as has been proven in studies and by real-life experience. In a study conducted by the University of Cairo, on what they called “love marriage” and “traditional marriage”, the following was stated:
In marriages which came after a love story, 88% of cases ended in failure, i.e., the success rate was not more than 12%. But in cases of what the study calls traditional [arranged] marriage, 70% were successful. In other words, the success rate in marriages described as traditional was six times more than those described as “love marriages”. (Risaalah ila Mu’minah, p. 255)
Now let us look at the state of affairs in western societies where Valentine’s Day is celebrated, and ask, what is the state of marriage relationships in those societies, and do these celebrations have any positive effect on interactions between husbands and wives?
Their own studies and statistics show the following:
1 - In an American study done in 1407 AH/1987 CE, it states that 79% of men beat their womenfolk, especially if they are married…! (al-Qabas newspaper, 15/2/1988).
2 - A study carried out by the National American Office for Mental Health states the following:
- 17% of women who go to emergency rooms are victims of beatings by their husbands or boyfriends.
- 83% of those who have previously been admitted to hospital at least once for treatment of injuries, were admitted as a result of beating.
The study added that there are more women who do not go to hospital for treatment, but deal with their injuries at home.
3 - In a report of the Central American Agency for Examination [FPT] it states that every 18 seconds there is a woman who is beaten by her husband somewhere in America.
4 - American Time magazine stated that around 4,000 wives out of approximately 6 million who are beaten die as a result of that beating.
5 - In a German study it said that no less that 100,000 women annually are exposed to acts of physical or psychological abuse on the part of their husbands or the men they live with. The real figure may exceed one million.
6 - In France, approximately 2 million women face beatings.
7 - In Britain, in an opinion poll in which 7,000 women took part, 28% of them said that they had been subjected to attacks by their husbands and boyfriends.
So how can we believe that Valentine’s Day is of any benefit to married couples? The truth is that it is a call for more permissiveness and immorality, and the forming of forbidden relationships…
The Fatwa of the Standing Committee
Finally, we offer our brothers the following advice:
1 - They should urge the khateebs of the mosques to tell the people and warn them. They should explain this matter to the imaam of the mosque and tell him when this day is approaching. They should give him a copy of the fatwas of the Standing Committee and of Shaykh Muhamamd ibn Saalih ibn ‘Uthaymeen (may Allaah forgive him). Every person should make the effort to contact the imaam of his mosque and tell him about this. Certainly there are imaams of mosques among the brothers so perhaps the responsibility of telling them about this will be discharged when they read this article.
2 - Every teacher should explain the reality of this holiday and warn his or her students about it. They will be answerable before Allaah tomorrow. They should explain that it is haraam by quoting the Fatwaa of the Standing Committee. All that should begin a week beforehand in order to be of any benefit.
3 - Those who go around and check on people and the headquarters of organizations should be notified of any shops which are selling gifts for this day or which put up pictures showing what the gift is or how it is wrapped.
4 - Each person should make his family members aware of this. Whoever has sisters in school or brothers should tell them and warn them about this matter, because many people are unaware of this holiday and what it means.
We ask Allaah to protect the Muslims from the harm of temptations and from the evil of their own selves and the plots of their enemies, for He is the All - hearing Who answers prayers. May Allaah send blessings upon His slave and Messenger Muhammad, and upon all his family and companions.
Hey, I want to sign up for the Standing Committee, so I can issue fatwas too.
By the way, one of the core principles of Islam is supposed to be that there is no priestly class standing between Allah and his people.
No one is supposed to interpret the Koran, which is "the perfect guide to life," because it is the plainly written word of God.
So exactly who are these Imams again?
But thankfully they have shown us the dangers of Valentine’s Day. It leads to the vicious abuse of women:
every 18 seconds there is a woman who is beaten by her husband somewhere in America…
She must be awfully sore.
Still, she gets candy and roses once a year.
However my favorite passage is:
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 Allaah, love of His Messenger (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) and his companions (may Allaah be pleased with them), love for good and righteous people, love and support for the religion, love of martyrdom for the sake of Allaah.
Yes, instead of dangerous St. Valentine’s Day we should have a holiday when we celebrate suicide bombers and other such terrorists martyrs for the sake of Allah.
But don’t they already do that every day in the Muslim world?