“Independence Day” Sh. Abdullah Bin Bayyah
The Question:
“Is it allowable to celebrate a holiday that commemorates the independence of my country?”
The Answer:
“A holiday [that commemorates] the independence of a country is not a [religious] holiday. The holidays which are forbidden [for Muslims] to observe are those with religious overtones [such as Christmas and Easter*] not the festive gatherings people observe due to certain events. Therefore, people are allowed to celebrate wedding anniversaries, birthdays or any occasion as such celebrations are not related to religious holidays. It is imperative that we work to remove the confusion surrounding this misunderstanding and the doubts that have affected many people [regarding this issue]. [Because of this misunderstanding] people find hardship and difficulty in their religion. Especially when a religious minded person holds [such non religious celebrations] to be from the major sins or rejected acts when, in fact, they are not.
Understanding an Important legal maxim [The origin of things is permissibility unless there is a text to the contrary]
The origin of things is permissibility so there is no problem with you attending such an event. The school of Ahmed [Hanabliah] allowed the celebration of al-’Atirah which was a sacrifice, during the month of Rajab, observed by the people who lived prior to the advent of the Prophet [may the peace and blessings of Allah be upon him]. Although the school of Imam Malik [Malikis] considered it disliked, since it was a practice from those days, the school of Ahmed allowed this practice since there was no text [from the Qur'an, Sunna or Consensus] that explicitly forbade it. Thus, this practice remained upon its original ruling, permissibility [here the sheikh is showing us how the scholars utilized the legal maxim mentioned above]. So, if people gather together to sacrifice there is no objection for them to congregate, celebrate, enjoy themselves and commemorate the independence of their country. Therefore, there is no hardship in celebrating such occurrences.
With regards to the statement [of the Prophet may the peace and blessings of Allah be upon him] that “Allah [The Exalted] has given you better than those (feasts): Eid al-Adha (Sacrificing) and the ‘Eid al-Fitr”, then “those feasts” were those with strict religious over tones: one a Christian holiday and the other a pagan one. In addition, the Prophet [may the peace and blessing of Allah be upon him] mentioned that the Islamic holidays were two: ‘Eid al-Fitr and ‘Eid al-Adha. But it is not understood from this that he [may the peace and blessing of Allah be upon him] forbade people from gathering and celebrating [other non-religious occasions]. Even if a person considered [such gatherings] disliked there is no need for him to bother others by making things difficult that were not prohibited by the Qur’an, the Sunna, the consensus [of the scholars] and where no agreement was reached within the schools of Islamic law.
This is because ease in matters [such as these where there is no prohibition and the origin is that of permissibility] is a must, and those statements that create hardship and burden [related to such matters], that are not based on explicit texts [that prohibit them], are weak. Thus, there is nothing that prohibits us from facilitating such matters for the people and giving them some breathing room because ease and facilitation are from the foundations of Islam: Allah says, “And He did not make any hardship for you in religion.” [Surah al-Hajj 78] and “Allah wants to lighten your burdens.” [Surah al-Nisa V. 28] and “Verily, with hardship there is ease. Verily with hardship there is ease.” [Surah al-Sharh V. 5-6]. The Prophet [may the peace and blessings of Allah be upon him] said, “Facilitate [things] and do not make things difficult. Give glad tidings, and do not cause others to flee.” In closing, we reiterate that the foundation of Islam is ease and the independent interpretation of the legal sources [ijtihad of scholars] is respected but is not [equal to] texts from the Shari’ah [Qur'an and Sunna].”
May peace be upon you
Dr. Abdullah Bin Bayyah
*according to the Maliki school it is disliked to offer congratulations to other faiths during their religious holidays. Thus, it is a permissible act. See Sharh al-Saghir of Sidi Ahmed al-Dardir and Fiqh al-Malikiyyah wa Adilatuhu by Habib Tahir. [translator]
www.suhaibwebb.com
July 4th, 2007 at 7:32 am
As Salamu ‘alaykum Abang,
Apa khabar? Thank you for sharing this timely information. I hope all is well with you and your wonderful family.
July 4th, 2007 at 4:44 pm
JazakAllah khair Imam Suhaib Webb!!!!!!
July 4th, 2007 at 5:57 pm
Asalamu Alakum
This is excellent, Sidi Suhaib Masha’Allah please keep carry on trnslating on articles like this. If the important issues facing Muslims in the west are presented formally by moderate Ulamah-then Insha’Allah we can hope in the West.
May I suggest you perhaps produce formal leaflets or even produce regular journals (such as one similar to Zaytuna) presenting balanced fatwas of important issues…
Honestly with some of the articles read–the minimum my colleagues have adapted at least, is respect for their fellow Muslim.
I hope Allah blesses you even more and helps you in your studies
W/Salam
July 5th, 2007 at 8:06 am
Assalamu alaykum
Wonderful piece!
I have a follow-up question: what about the celebration of ‘religious’ holidays that are observed in a non-religious way? For example, what about sharing Christmas with non-Muslim family where the festival has no religious content (consisting of swapping presents and eating a halal turkey, but no religious ritual whatsoever)?
Thanks and salams.
July 7th, 2007 at 10:36 am
JazakAllahu Khayrun for sharing such beautiful material.
July 12th, 2007 at 8:59 pm
assalamu alaikum Imam Suhaib,
I hope all is well with you.
This is an amazing fatwa, and Im always in awe how shaykh Bin Bayyah reaches conclusions in such a precise and logical manner. jzak Allahu khair for the translation.
July 13th, 2007 at 8:04 am
As-salaamu ‘alaikum
One thing I would like to know is why the Shaykh does not deem birthdays to be steeped in religion. Since the celebration of birthdays is of pagan origin and the ancient Egyptians used to celebrate the “birth” of their “gods”, I also thought that this is where the zodiac signs originated from. If this is the case and paganism being a religion then “birthdays” surely have a religious connotation attached to them, right?! In addition, is there any record of the Prophet (sall-Allaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam), his family or his companions every celebrating their birthdays or each others birthdays?
And Allaah knows best!
July 15th, 2007 at 11:07 pm
JAK Imam Suhaib. It is a fatwa that would be hard for many to swollow in the West but is necessary and timely as it gives festivals and celebrations some sort of context and puts things in perspective for us.