CELEBRATING NON

MUSLIM FESTIVALS
C

MEMBERS:
SITI NURAZWANI BINTI ZULKEFLEE 1327736
NUR SYAFIQAH BINTI PARDEE 1325268
NURAFIQAH BINTI MD YUSOF 1411778

INTRODUCTION
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DALIL OF QURAN
Allah Almighty (S.W.T.) said in surah Al-Anam:153
"And verily, this is my straight path, so follow it, and
do not follow other paths, for they will separate you
away from His path. This He has ordained for you that
you may become Al-muttaqun, the pious."

(2) In the middle part of this verse, Allah (S.W.T.)

commands us to follow this deen by abiding strictly to
its rules, and not to follow other paths. These other
paths are actually not from the deen of Allah (S.W.T.). If
these paths are followed in any major or minor matter
they will definitely lead the people to go astray and
deviate them from this straight deen of Allah.

(3) In the last part of this verse Allah (S.W.T.) instructs

us to be very careful, and stay for away from what he
prohibits us to do.

HADITH
Among the Ummah of Muhammad (peace and
blessings of Allah be upon him) there will be people
who deviated from the truth and went towards
falsehood, changing and altering things. The Prophet
(peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said:

I will precede you to the Cistern, and men from

among you will be brought to me, and when I stretch
forth my hand to them, they will be pulled away. I will
say, O Lord! My followers! and it will be said: You do
not know what they innovated after you were gone.

CLASSIFICATION OF
FESTIVALS
C

FESTIVALS IS DIVIDED INTO

TWO:

CULTUR
E

BELIEFS

FESTIVALS
RELATED TO
CULTURE
C

CHINESE NEW
YEAR
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 Chinese New Year, known in modern Chinese as

the"Spring Festival"(Chinese: ;pinyin:Chn
ji), is an important Chinese festival celebrated at the
turn of the traditional lunisolarChinese calendar.
Celebrations traditionally run from the evening
preceding the first day, to theLantern Festivalon the
15th day of the first calendar month. The first day of
the New Year falls on the new moon between 21
January and 20 February.In 2016, the first day of the
Chinese New Year is on Monday, 8 February.

 The New Year festival is centuries old and gains

significance because of several myths and traditions.
Traditionally, the festival was a time to
honordeitiesas well as ancestors.Chinese New Year
is celebrated in countries and territories with
significant Chinese populations, includingMainland
China, Hong Kong,Macau, Taiwan,
Singapore,Thailand, Cambodia, Indonesia, Malaysia,
Mauritius,and the Philippines.Chinese New Year is
considered a major holiday for the Chinese and has
had influence on the lunar new year celebrations of
its geographic neighbors.

 Within China, regional customs and traditions

Within China, regional customs and traditions
concerning
concerningthe
thecelebration
celebrationof
ofthe
theChinese
ChineseNew
NewYear
Year
vary
widely.
Often,
the
evening
preceding
Chinese
vary widely. Often, the evening preceding Chinese
New
NewYear's
Year'sDay
Dayisisan
anoccasion
occasionfor
forChinese
Chinesefamilies
familiesto
to
gather
gatherfor
forthe
theannualreunion
annualreuniondinner.
dinner.ItItisisalso
also
traditional
traditionalfor
forevery
everyfamily
familyto
tothoroughly
thoroughlycleanse
cleansethe
the
house,
house,ininorder
orderto
tosweep
sweepaway
awayany
anyill-fortune
ill-fortuneand
andto
to
make
way
for
good
incoming
luck.
Windows
and
make way for good incoming luck. Windows and
doors
doorswill
willbe
bedecorated
decoratedwith
withred
redcolorpapercolorpapercutsandcoupletswith
cutsandcoupletswithpopular
popularthemes
themesof"good
of"good
fortune"
fortune"or
or"happiness",
"happiness","wealth",
"wealth",and
and"longevity".
"longevity".
Other
Otheractivities
activitiesinclude
includelighting
lightingfirecrackers
firecrackersand
and
giving
money
inred
paper
envelopes.
giving money inred paper envelopes.

 Chinese New Year is purely a cultural celebration.

For example, visiting relatives even if they are not Muslim, is
strongly encouraged. Therefore the Chinese tradition of the
Reunion Dinner can be considered to be acceptable.
A word of advice would be that when it comes to cultural
celebrations, observing Islamic manners is a must but
showing sensitivity to other cultures is also essential.

DOS
When visiting families and friends offer ang pow
even if they are married.
Attend reunion dinners with awareness of halal and
haram foods. If you like to eat Bak Kwa, a delicacy
made of dry meat, you can order it from halal Chinese
butchers and you can even offer it to your family.
Wishing the family members Xin Nian Kuai Re or
May Allah guide all of us.

 Wear red, as long as the wording and design on the

clothing do not have un-Islamic elements.
You can enjoy watching the lion dance or dragon
dance.
Identify relatives who are broader minded and
accept your religious views on alcohol and gambling

DONTS
Do not wear black. The Chinese believe black is a
sign of mourning and sadness.
Reading and listening to horoscope predictions is a
common tradition among the Chinese. Dont get
involved.
Avoid participation in Chinese ancestor worship and
the ritual of welcoming the god of prosperity and Tian
Gong, the Jade Emperor god.

 If you have doubts about the permissibility of the

food you are offered, do not ask your hosts, they will
be offended. If youre not sure make an excuse.
Do not open discussions about accidents or deaths
during Chinese New Year. If any of your relatives have
just passed away or you have attended a funeral
ceremony, do not inform them. The Chinese believe
that such a person will bring bad luck.

DEEPAVALI
C

 Diwali (or Deepavali, the "festival of lights") is an

ancient Hindu festival celebrated in autumn (northern
hemisphere) or spring (southern hemisphere) every
year. Arguably the most important festival in
Hinduism, it is an official holiday in Fiji, Guyana, India,
Pakistan, Malaysia, Mauritius, Nepal, Singapore, Sri
Lanka, Suriname and Trinidad and Tobago. The
festival spiritually signifies the victory of light over
darkness or good over evil, knowledge over
ignorance, and hope over despair.

 On the same night that Hindus celebrate

Diwali,Jainscelebrate a festival of lights to mark the
attainment ofmokshaby Mahavira,
[SikhscelebrateBandi Chhor Divasand someNewar
Buddhistsalso celebrate Diwali remembering
Ashoka's conversion to Buddhism.

IN YOUR OPINION, CAN MUSLIMS

CELEBRATE DEEPAVALI?
YES
It is a culture
Celebrating the light festivals.
NO
Imitating other religion
Following other religion practice

CHRISTMAS
C

 The disbelievers spare no efforts to draw the Muslims

away from the straight path and to cut their relation
with their true religion. Allah says (what
means):{Many of the people of the Scripture (Jews
and Christians) wish that if they could turn you away
as disbelievers after you have believed, out of envy
from their ownselves, even, after the truth (that
Muhammad is Allah's Messenger) has become
manifest unto them. But forgive and overlook, till
Allah brings His command. Verily, Allah is able to do
all things.}[Qur'an 2:109].

 The non Muslims' celebrations such as the second

millennium, Christmas Day, etc. are among the
falsehoods that a Muslim should avoid. Allah says
(what means): {And those who do not bear witness to
falsehood, and if they pass by some evil play or evil
talk, they pass by it with dignity.} [Qur'an 25:72].
Many scholars of Qur'an like Ibn Seereen and Mujaahid
may Allah have mercy upon them interpret
"falsehood" as the festivals of the disbelievers.

 However, participating in the festivals of non-Muslims

is a kind of cooperation in the disobedience of Allah.
Allah says (what means):{Help you one another in
Al-Birr and At-Taqwa (virtue, righteousness and piety);
but do not help one another in sin and
transgression.}[Qur'an 5:2].

 Many times Allah has mentioned the details of the

birth of 'Eesaa (Jesus) may Allah exalt his mention
in the Qur'an but He did not mention any celebration
to be done on this occasion. Therefore, a Muslim is
neither allowed to celebrate the Christmas Day nor is
he allowed to congratulate them. A Muslim celebrates
only the Islamic Eed days. Anas may Allah be
pleased with him reported:

 "The Prophet sallallaahu `alayhi wa sallam ( may Allah

exalt his mention ) came to Madeenah while they had two
days they celebrated. The Prophet sallallaahu `alayhi wa
sallam ( may Allah exalt his mention ) asked, "What are
these two days?" They said, 'These are two days we used
to celebrate in our pre Islamic era. The Prophet sallallaahu
`alayhi wa sallam ( may Allah exalt his mention ) said:
"Allaah has replaced them with two better days: 'Eed AlAdh-haa and 'Eed Al- Fitr." [Ahmad and At-Tirmithi]

 Congratulating non Muslims for their feasts is

synonymous of accepting their wrongdoing and
disbelief in Allah. Is there a greater disbelief than
attributing a son to Allah or saying that 'Eesaa (Jesus)
may Allah exalt his mention is Allah or that Allah is
the third of three "gods"? So, any Muslim who
congratulates a person for a sin, an innovation or an
act of disbelief has exposed himself to the hatred and
anger of Almighty Allah.

FESTIVALS
RELATED TO
BELIEFS
C

THAIPUSAM
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 Thaipusam, Thaipoosam (Tamil: ,

Taippcam ?)(Malayalam: ,Thaippyam) is a
Hindu festival celebrated mostly by the Tamil
community on the full moon in the Tamil month of
Thai (January/February). It is mainly observed in
countries where there is a significant presence of
Tamil community such as India, Sri Lanka, Malaysia,
Mauritius, Singapore, South Africa, Guadalupe,
Reunion, Indonesia, Thailand and Myanmar

 The word Thaipusam is a combination of the name of

the month, Thai, and the name of a star, Pusam. This
particular star is at its highest point during the
festival. The festival commemorates the occasion
when Parvati gave Murugan a Vel "spear" so he could
vanquish the evil demon Soorapadman. There is a
misconception among people that Thaipusam marks
Murugan's birthday; however, it is believed that
Vaikhasi Vishakam, which falls in the Vaikhasi month
(May/June), is Murugan's birthday.

 Thaipusam is a religious celebration, much like Eid Al-Adha, with all

the symbolic rituals to be followed and performed by the devotees. It
is celebrated mostly by Tamil Hindus on the full moon in the month of
Thai. Every year, a throng of people disregard of race and religion will
head over toBatu Caves, one of the focal points for the celebration in
Malaysia.
What amazedme the most is the fact that the devotees could carry
the Kavadi while being pierced and hooked and though the Kavadi
varies in shape and size, most of the time, itis usually heavier than
the weight of the person who was carrying it.

HALLOWEEN
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 Halloween is a celebration observed in a number of

countries on 31 October, the eve of the Western
Christian feast of All Hallows Day. It begins the threeday observance of Allhallowtide, the time in the
liturgical dedicated to remembering the dead,
including saints (hallows), martyrs, and all the faithful
departed.

 On this occasion, it was believed that supernatural

forces gathered together, that the barriers between
the supernatural and human worlds were broken.
They believed that spirits from other worlds (such as
the souls of the dead) were able to visit earth during
this time and roam about.

 In many parts of the world, the Christian religious

observances of All Hallows' Eve, including attending
church services and lighting candles on the graves of
the dead.
Halloween activities include:
trick or treating (or the related guising)
attending Halloween costume parties
telling scary stories and watching horror films
visiting haunted attractions
playing pranks

In Islamic perspective, virtually all Halloween traditions

are based either in ancient pagan culture, or in
Christianity. From an Islamic point of view, they all are
forms of idolatry (shirk). As Muslims, our celebrations
should be ones that honor and uphold our faith and
beliefs.

Guidance from the Quran:

"When it is said unto them, 'Come to what Allah has
revealed, come to the Messenger,' they say, 'Enough
for us are the ways we found our fathers following.'
What! Even though their fathers were void of
knowledge and guidance?" (Al-Maidah: 104)

 "Has not the time arrived for the believers, that their
hearts in all humility should engage in the
remembrance of Allah and of the Truth which has
been revealed to them? That they should not become
like those to whom was given the Book aforetime, but
long ages passed over them and their hearts grew
hard? For many among them are rebellious
transgressors. (Al-Hadid: 16)
Thus, holidays are not just excuses to binge and be
reckless. In Islam, our holidays retain their religious
importance, while allowing proper time for rejoicing,
fun and games.

EASTER DAY
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 Easter, also called Pascha or Resurrection Sunday, is

a festival and holiday celebrating the resurrection of
Jesus Christ from the dead, described in the New
Testament as having occurred on the third day of his
burial after his crucifixion by Romans.

 The week before Easter is called Holy Week, and it

contains the days of the Easter Triduum, including
Maundy Thursday, commemorating the Maundy and
Last Supper, as well as Good Friday, commemorating
the crucifixion and death of Jesus. In Western
Christianity it begins on Easter Sunday and lasts
seven weeks, ending with the coming of the fiftieth
day, Pentecost Sunday (also known as white Sunday).

 Easter eggs is as symbol of empty tomb. hard-boiled

eggs dyed bright red to symbolize the spilt Blood of
Christ and the promise of eternal life, are cracked
together to celebrate the opening of the Tomb of
Christ.

 And (for) their saying: Indeed we have killed The

Messiah, Jesus the son of Mary, the Messenger of
Allah. And they did not kill him, nor did they crucify
him but (another) that was made to resemble him to
them. And indeed those who differ over it are in doubt
about it. They have no knowledge of it except the
following of assumption. And they did not kill him for
certain. (An Nisaa:157)

 The belief of Muslim upon Isa (Jesus) is that he is still

alive. He was ascended by Allah, body and soul, as
mentioned in this verse: Rather, Allah raised him to
Himself. And ever is Allah Exalted in Might and Wise.
(An Nisaa: 158)

 Both verses above explicitly showed that Prophet Isa

was not killed, nor crucified, but Allah had saved both
his body and soul, by raising him to heaven. And at
the near time to The Hour, he will be descended to kill
Dajjal (The Liar). He will not bear new teaching,
instead he will follow the teaching of Prophet
Muhammad PBUH. After completing his tasks, then he
will die and will be buried on earth.

 This occurrences were narrated by Abu Huraira may Allah

be pleased with him- , that The Prophet said: I am the most
rightful person to honor Isa (Jesus) son of Mary, because
there will be no prophet between my time and his(he then
explained the coming of prophet Isa, and continued his
saying), Prophet Isa will live on earth at a length Allah willing
him to, and after that he will die, and muslim will perform
janaza prayer upon him, then bury him. (Collected by
Ahmad, hadith no, 9349 and the grade is sahih according to
Al Albani)

 Ibn Athiya: All Muslim agree to have faith upon the

content of hadith mutawatir (from plenty of valid
chain of narrations) that Prophet Isa is still alive in
heaven. He will descend at end of time, kill the hogs,
break the cross, kill Dajjal, impose justice, and the
religion of Muhammad will win over its enemies with
his lead, and he also perform hajj (Al-Muharrar AlWajiz, 3:143)

OPINION TO
CELEBRATE NONMUSLIM FESTIVALS
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 DR. YUSUF AL-QADRAWI

It is encourage for us to reply wish from non muslims
to us or to wish them on their festival.
This is no more than to create sympathy to them. This
does not mean that we believe in their religion or
allows our faith to deviate from Islam.
Islam does not prohibits us from doing good towards
non muslims who are not hostile to Islam

 As for such [of the unbelievers] as do not fight

against you on account of [your] faith, and neither
drive you forth from your homelands, God does not
forbid you to show them kindness and to behave
towards them with full equity, for, verily, God loves
those who act equitably.
(Al-Mumtahanah:8)

 Prophet Muhammad SAW once referred to Abdullah

Ibn Urayqit who is non muslim pertaining to directions
when Prophet was on his journey to Madinah during
his hijrah.
The role of Abdullah at that time was very significant
that he may lied to Prophet if he had bad intention
and consequently will fail the Prophets strategy to
hijrah.
But Abdullah did not do so. Prophet still used the
expertise which comes from yahudi.
It shows that Islam does not prohibits the relations
between two people who come from different religion.

OPINION AGAINST
CELEBRATING NONMUSLIM FESTIVALS
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 Ibn Qayyim in Ahkaam Ahl al-Dhimmah:

"Congratulating the kuffaar on the rituals that belong
only to them is haraam by consensus, as is
congratulating them on their festivals and fasts by
saying A happy festival to you or May you enjoy
your festival, and so on. If the one who says this has
been saved from kufr, it is still forbidden. It is like
congratulating someone for prostrating to the cross,
or even worse than that.

 It is as great a sin as congratulating someone for

drinking wine, or murdering someone, or having illicit
sexual relations, and so on. Many of those who have
no respect for their religion fall into this error; they do
not realize the offensiveness of their actions.
Whoever congratulates a person for his disobedience
or bidah or kufr exposes himself to the wrath and
anger of Allaah."

Al-Shaykh ibn al Uthaymeen

These festivals are innovations in their religions, and
even those which may have been prescribed formerly
have been abrogated by the religion of Islam, with
which Allah sent Muhammad (peace and blessings of
Allah be upon him) to the whole of mankind. Allah
says (interpretation of the meaning):

 "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." [Al-Imran 3:85]
Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him)
said: "Whoever imitates a people is one of them."

 In his book Iqtidaa al-siraat al-mustaqeem

mukhaalifat ashaab al-jaheem: "Imitating them in
some of their festivals implies that one is pleased
with their false beliefs and practices, and gives them
the hope that they may have the opportunity to
humiliate and mislead the weak.

 Whoever does anything of this sort is a sinner,

whether he does it out of politeness or to be friendly,
or because he is too shy to refuse, or for whatever
other reason, because this is hypocrisy in Islam, and
because it makes the kufar feel proud of their religion.

Shaykh Mufti Taqi Usmani

"It is not proper for Muslims to bow down before such
avenues of sin. The challenges to what Islam forbids
being experienced by you give you all the more
occasion to stay firm on your Faith. And should the
Muslims living in non-Muslims countries (and they are
not that few) could get to agree on not participating in
such functions, chances are that non-Muslims
themselves would be left with no reasonable option
but to weed out such disagreeable practices from their
functions.

OTHER ARGUMENTS:
The Prophet used to fast on Saturdays and on Sundays,
and he would say: These are two days of Eid for the
Mushrikoon. So I love to oppose them (contradict them,
differ from them) in these two.
Al-Bayhaqi narrated with an authentic isnaad from Umar
ibn al-Khattaab that he said: Do not enter upon the
disbelievers on the day of their festival, for divine wrath
is descending upon them.

 Al-Bayhaqi narrated with an acceptable isnaad from

Abdullaah ibn Amr that he said: Whoever settles in
the land of the non-Arabs and celebrates their new
year and festival and imitates them until he dies in
that state, will be gathered with them on the Day of
Resurrection as the Prophet told us, as reported in
Saheeh Al-Bukhari: A person will be
with the one whom he loved (on the Day of
Resurrection).

POSITION IN
MALAYSIA
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 The 68th muzakarah of the National Fatwa Committee

for Islamic Religious Affairs on April 12, 2005
discussed the Guidelines For Muslims Celebrating
Religious Festivals Of Non-Muslims. The muzakarah
has decided that:
In determining the non-Muslim celebrations that can
be attended by Muslims, several main criteria should
serve as guidelines so as not to contradict the
teachings of Islam. The criteria are as follows:

 The event is not accompanied by ceremonies that are

against the Islamic faith (aqidah). The meaning of
against the Islamic faith (aqidah) is a thing, act,
word or situation which if conducted will lead to
tarnishing the faith (aqidah) of Muslims.
The event is not accompanied by acts against the
Islamic law. The meaning of against the Islamic law
is a thing, act, word or situation which if conducted will
contradict the Islamic teachings practised by the
Muslim community.

 The event is not accompanied by acts that

contradict with moral and cultural development of
Muslim society in this country. The meaning of acts
that contradict with moral and cultural development
of Muslim society is a thing, act, word or situation
which if conducted will contradict the values and
norms of the Muslim society of this country which
adheres to the Islamic teachings based on Ahlus
Sunnah Wal-Jamaah.

 The event is not accompanied by acts that can stir the

sensitivity of Muslim community. The meaning of stir
the sensitivity of Muslim community is a thing, act, word
or situation which if conducted will offend the feelings of
Muslims about their beliefs and practices.
The organisers and the public are asked to get the views
of religious authorities before organising or attending
celebrations of non-Muslims.

ISSUES
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LEADERS
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MUALLAF
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MAQASID SHARIAH
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IT IS DIVIDED INTO FIVE:

Protection
of religion

Protection
of life

Protection
of intellect

Protection
of lineage

Protection
of property

PROTECTION OF RELIGION
Mixing with them during the celebration will cause
confusion especially to those muallaf.
Influence the Muslim by their rituals.
Imitating others in their festival and rituals.
Corrupts the Muslims heart and weakens their
commitment to religion.
Lead to kuffur.

 This day I have perfected your religion for you,

completed My favor upon you, and chosen for you
Islam as your religion
(Al-Maidah:3)
Guide us to the Straight Way. The way of those on
whom You have bestowed Your grace, not (the way) of
those who earned Your anger nor of those who went
astray.
(Al-Fatihah:6-7)

PROTECTION OF LINEAGE
Free mixing between male and female.
No observance of ikhtilat.
Call for more permissiveness and immorality.
Lead to fornication or adultery.
Destroy the family institution when there is
illegitimate child.

And do not come near to adultery, it is a shameful

deed and an evil, and opening the road to other evils.
(Al-Isra:32)

PROTECTION OF INTELLECT
The celebration will normally involve in drinking of
intoxicating substances. ie: alcoholic drink
Alcohol leads to other grave sin. Alcohol is the mother
of sins.
Drugs and ecstasy which will cause harm to the
intellect.
There is a high degree of physical and psychological
addiction.
Both can cause depression.

 They ask you about wine and gambling. Say, "In them
is great sin and [yet, some] benefit for people. But
their sin is greater than their benefit." And they ask
you what they should spend. Say, "The excess
[beyond needs]." Thus Allah makes clear to you the
verses [of revelation] that you might give thought.
(Al-Baqarah:219)

PROTECTION OF PROPERTY
Extravagance in preparing for the costume. Ie:
Halloween
Expand on expensive things for the celebration.
Islam encourage us to be moderate and balance even
in our own festival.

 And give the relative his right, and [also] the poor
and the traveler, and do not spend wastefully. Indeed,
the wasteful are brothers of the devils, and ever has
Satan been to his Lord ungrateful.
(Al-Isra:26-27)

THE END. THANK

YOU
C