As they have become better acquainted with non-Muslim cultures, and the knowledge that every celebration does not entail worshipping an idol, especially in the United States, scholars of Islam have long since backed away from the notion that is it haram for a Muslim to celebrate anything besides the two Eids.
That is why no living scholar that I am aware of, will publicly own the ruling that all celebrations are prohibited besides the two Eid because such a ruling is so easily refuted by the due process of Islamic jurisprudence. It is an embarrassing position for a scholar at this juncture, to continue to hold onto a ruling about which there is no evidence.
The only people today who still insist on promoting outdated rulings that are people who argue devoid of proofs, and blind followers who mimic the scholars of the past, who in many cases were ill informed. Such people themselves, although Muslim, remain unfamiliar with the rules of fiqh, and the burden of proof required to render something prohibited, that Allah and His Prophet (SAWS) did not expressly make prohibited in the first place.
As scholars attained a better understanding on the issue, people who used to mimic them without having direct knowledge of fiqh on the issue, lagged behind. which is why today you have people who still insist on making any celebration besides the two Eids haram, but are unable to articulate a cogent argument, proving their thesis.
It’s like the people who continued to maintain that the Earth was flat, even though Aristotle had presented evidence as early as 350 B.C. that it wasn’t. Or the people who continue to maintain that former President Barak Obama was not an American citizen, even though it was proven he was born in Hawaii.
People who still stick to the disproven theory that any and all celebrations besides the two Eids are prohibited, are Islam’s equivalent of the birther movement. The Muslims celebrated when the Romans beat the Persians in Battle (30:4 ar-Rum). They celebrated when Umar ibn al-Khattaab became Muslim, they celebrated when the Prophet (SAWS) was given the well of Kauthar (108:2 Al-Kauthar). They celebrated when the Prophet SAWS) entered Medina, they even sang a song upon his arrival which is well known. They celebrated the birth of their children by doing aqeeqa, which is sunna. They celebrated when they conquered Mecca.
They celebrated their victories in battle. The companions of the Prophet (SAWS) simply didn’t go around stern faced all year and only rejoiced on the two Eids, celebrated, and waited till the next Eid. This is the nonsense that passes for scholarship these days.
Still, there is no prohibition in hadith or Quran that the Musim cannot celebrate at any time of the year except on the two Eids. That is an absolute lie on Rasoolillaah, and a gross misunderstanding of the hadith about the two Eids. All the extra stuff about condemning people’s every day celebrations is just conjecture. No basis for it.
We’ve embraced self-hate so much that people want to prohibit people from celebrating or expressing joy except twice a year. People celebrate beating cancer, people celebrate graduating from college, people celebrate getting a house, in fact, there’s sunna du’aa for that. People celebrate being saved from a calamity. People celebrate another day as a Muslim. It is sunna to celebrate each day you wake up in the morning by saying; “Praise to the one who has bought me back to life after He caused me to die“. Yet, you have people saying that any kind of celebration is haram. Such a claim is essentially a celebration of ignorance. And Allah knows best.
Imam Luqman Ahmad
imamabulaith@yahoo.com
Imam Luqman Ahmad Mosque Without Borders 