What is Halloween?

Halloween today is defined by children going house to house on the night of October 31st, dressed up in a variety of costumes collecting treats. Although Halloween may seem like a time for children to have fun carving pumpkins and collecting candy, not many know the origins of this ‘festival’ and its traditions that date back centuries.

The origins of Halloween date back to the time of the Celtics or ‘Celts’.They were a group occupying the area that is now Ireland, the United Kingdom, and Northern France about 2,000 years ago. This group celebrated

their new year on November 1st. This day marked the end of the summer and was reflected upon as a time of darkness and cold as winter approached. The Celtics associated this dark time of year with death.

On October 31st (the Celtic new year’s eve) they celebrated a festival called Samhain. This celebration was supported by the belief that the ghostsof the dead roamed the earth. Priests (‘Druids’) were believed to be able to
communicate with these ghostly spirits and tell the future by doing so; by telling the ‘future’ many were given hope for the long, dark winter ahead. The Priests built large fires on this night and the people gathered to burn crops and animals as sacrifices to the Celtic deities/gods. During the festival they wore animal heads and skins as costumes.

Customs
Dressing up in costumes: This was done so that the ‘spirits of the dead’ would not recognize people. It was also done by people imitating supernatural beings that were believed to roam the earth at that time.

Trick-or-treating: The Priests/Druids would go from house to house on October 31st and demand specific types of food (to offer to the spirits in order to calm them). If their demands were not met, it was believed the people and their homes would be cursed with trouble, sickness, and death. Prosperity was promised to those who generously donated (hence the phrase, ‘trick or treat’, implying a demand for treats or else a certain consequence would have to be given).

Jack-o’-lantern: This started off as a legend associated with a man of Irish origin named Jack who supposedly enjoyed playing pranks on the Devil. The legend states that after his death, Jack did not go to Heaven or Hell and therefore, had to wander the earth carrying a lantern, providing him with some light to see where he was going. Pumpkins that were hollowed out and had candles lit inside were representative of this legend. They were also
supposed to scare evil spirits away (this is why odd looking faces are carved on the pumpkins).

Bats & Black cats: These animals were believed to communicate with the dead. It is also believed black cats were able to house the souls of witches.

How Halloween came into Christianity
By the 800s A.D., the influence of Christianity had spread into Celtic lands. In the seventh century, Pope Boniface IV designated November 1st as All Saints’ Day, a time to honor saints and martyrs. It is widely believed today that the pope was attempting to replace the Celtic festival of the dead with a related, but church-sanctioned holiday. The
celebration was also called All-hallows or All-hallowmas, (from Middle English Alholowmesse meaning All Saints’ Day) and the night before it, the night of Samhain, began to be known as All-hallows Eve or Holly Eve (because it was the eve of a holy celebration the next day) and eventually, Halloween.

Quick Fact: The word Halloween does not appear in the bible at all. Jeremiah 10:02 clearly warns: “Do not follow the ways of other heathens (pagans)”.

Halloween Today
Each year people spend billions of dollars on candy and costumes at this time of year. A survey conducted by BIGresearch found that an estimated $3.29 billion was spent on this holiday in 2005. In a world stricken with poverty and malnutrition in many underprivileged countries, this amount seems rather Ridiculous to be spent on candy and costumes.

Quick Facts: In 2003, the major pumpkin producing states in America produced an estimated 805 million pounds, valued at $81 million.

United Nations World Food Program
- more than 800 million people go to bed without food everyday
- one child dies every five seconds in the world form hunger and other related causes

Many devil worshippers and occult groups now ritualistically recognize Halloween as the Devil’s Day. Over 60% of costumes are sold to adults who become outrageous exhibitionists.

The Islamic Perspective

“We have sent them the truth, but they indeed practice falsehood” (Quran 23:10)

“You must keep to my Sunnah and the Sunnah of the Rightly Guided Caliphs; cling to it firmly. Beware of newly invented matters, for every new matter is an innovation, and every innovation is misleading.” (Bukhari).

In order to save one self from falling into and following the practices of a society,one must have firm knowledge of the teachings and rulings of ones own religion and belief system. Clearly all that deviates from the Sunnah of the Prophet (pbuh) and leads to wrong practices is contrary to the beliefs of Islam.

Halloween is a celebration that rejoices in all things magical and evil. In the Quran Allah says of magic that it only harms and brings no benefit (Surah Al-Baqarah, V.102).

Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) said: “The final hour will not come until my followers copy the deeds of the previous nations and follow them very closely, span by span, and cubit by cubit” (Bukhari).

“Whoever imitates a nation is one of them” (Abu Dawud).

Islam propagates the idea of conscious living, and upon the advent of Islam, it served to cleanse ignorant and superstitious practices. Muslims have been ordered to work for a purposeful, beneficial cause for mankind. Indulging in prehistoric and ignorant practices can only lead to frittering away ones life and thus making one an ultimate loser in the Hereafter.

References:
http://www.agday.org/tc/tc-funfacts.html
http://islam.about.com/library/weekly/aa103098.htm
http://www.witness-pioneer.org/vil/Articles/misc/halloween_an_islamic_perspective.htm

Celebrating Valentine’s Day And Secular Holidays

Bismillah

Author: Sadaf Farooqi

As every year ends and a new one begins, Muslims all over the world face the dilemma of whether or not to celebrate some international holidays and festivals that follow close on each other’s heels. Examples of these are Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas, New Year and Valentine’s Day. These are soon followed by Easter.

Muslims living in Western countries in particular, get overwhelmed by a rush of partying, decorations, greetings, school holidays, seasonal sales, and merry-making on a communal level, leaving them with little options about what to do. 

Although most progressive societies claim to offer individual freedom-of-choice to their dwellers, boasting multi-ethnic populations which exhibit mutual tolerance and respect, the fact remains that Muslims are seldom genuinely respected for their lack of integration into these societies.

Since Muslims are unflinching about their worship and Islamic obligations in any sphere of life — be it social interaction, dress code, dietary rules, or work ethics — they usually face silent antagonism from their communities; one that brims quietly under the surface, but is very much present.

As a Muslim, when you and your family are faced with the dilemma of how to spend the time during which everyone around you is preparing for, or celebrating, a holiday that is not part of Islam, how should you think, act and react in general, with other Muslims, as well non-Muslim peers and colleagues?

Educate yourself and your family in a mature manner:

You can consult original sources of knowledge about what a Muslim should and should not do during secular festivals and celebrations. What exactly is it about partaking in these festivities that is frowned upon in Islam? Is it the aspect of imitating non-Muslims? Is it the extravagance and spending involved? Or is it the support of the beliefs and concepts on which these celebrations are based, that is disliked?

You can refer to your local mosque, or Islamic QA sources on the Internet for your answers, so that you make an informed choice about your actions. After that, you may choose to educate your fellow Muslims – those who are willing and eager to listen – about what you have learned. However, please do not forcefully lecture or preach to those Muslims who are not interested in listening – those who want to celebrate the holidays, and are unconcerned about the Islamic viewpoint of this issue.

Click here for a video by Sheikh Abdullah Hakim Quick, titled “The Truth About Holidays”, a lecture which he delivered at the University of Miami, regarding celebrations and holidays in Islam.

Enjoy the holidays alternatively:

Since the family might be getting a few days off any way, you should carefully plan some fruitful and fun outings to make the most of them. Visiting relatives in another town or in a different country is a good option. Going to parks, the zoo, on a lakeside picnic, or to a cabin in the mountains for the weekend, are other enjoyable options.

If on a budget, you can camp out in your own backyard, teaching your children how to set up camp and start a bonfire!

Once you get down to it, your creative ideas will start flowing. E.g. during Halloween, when all other children are trick-or-treating, or getting pumpkins from the pumpkin patch, you can buy your children some candy and a pumpkin anyway, explaining how Allah created it. Later on, after the holiday is gone, you can buy them a costume of their liking, if they feel too dismayed at not having one while other children do.

For older children, you can give them a short background about Halloween and why it is not celebrated in Islam. The same goes for Christmas – when your children ask you who Santa is, or why everyone is decorating a tree in their living room, you can give them the background of the whole celebration. But that will be possible only if you yourself know it first!

You should remember that unless you focus on providing fun alternative family entertainment and outings, your children will definitely want to join in with the international holiday celebrations, feeling left out and lonely. It is easy to deny them their joys, but more difficult to actually provide them with enjoyable alternatives. As Muslim parents, it is your duty to do the latter.

One of the questions many Muslims mothers have asked me is, “How do I not celebrate my child’s birthday? I give in to pressure from relatives, who say its just some harmless fun, but afterwards, I end up feeling bad about encouraging a celebration that has no basis in Islam.”

The answer to this question is: provide an alternative celebration to your child a month or so before their birthday comes up.

First of all, explain to them that their birth date keeps moving according to the lunar calendar, just like the annual ‘Eid celebrations move every year. Make them remember their lunar birth date and year (click here for a solar-to-lunar date converter), besides just the Gregorian one.

Because children should not be denied their fun and parties, organize a party every year for each of your children, before their birthday comes up, in which all their friends are invited for games, food and fun. That way, the child will not feel that his/her parents do not love him/her, when their birthday goes by uncelebrated; they will already feel special and thought of.

Instead of a cake, you can keep individual muffins. Leave out the birthday song, candle-blowing and the cake-cutting, but have the games, assorted party food, Islamic musical entertainment (such as duff-accompanied nasheeds) and colorful decorations, as part of the festivities. Instead of making your child expect gifts from guests, buy individual gifts that he or she can give to each friend when they leave. This will encourage your child to have a giving spirit.

Muslim parents should also plan special festivities on both ‘Eids, so that their children never feel that their family is “no-fun” or “boring”. If, in addition to annual children’s parties, picnics on the beach, trips to the park/playground, to the zoo, the museum, and to fun-fairs, in addition to swimming, cycling, archery, other sports and horse-riding, are a regular part of your children’s life, they will never, ever miss not having “birthday celebrations”, because their yearning for enjoyment will be more than satisfied.

You, as a Muslim parent, have to ensure that you provide healthy, Islamic alternatives for your children’s enjoyment, for this to be possible.

Respect others; abstain from preaching intolerance or judgmental behavior:

Just because you and your family are not celebrating a particular holiday, there’s no need to pass judgments on those who are. Allah alone is the Judge of mankind. You can pass the days calmly unaffected by the hearty festivities, and if asked about why they are being carried out, be factual and brief in your reply, for example, “They celebrate it because it is their cultural/religious tradition,” or “It is a special, festive day in their religious calendar.” 

Reflect upon your identity:

People do a lot of things in the heat of the moment just because everyone around them is doing it. This attitude is indicative of youth, immaturity and impulsiveness. Wise, mentally independent and intelligent people don’t just do something because the world tells them to do it. They think about who they are, what they believe in, and where they want to go in life before they do something.

As a Muslim, if you feel there is ‘nothing wrong’ with being part of a community celebration, even if it signifies, or is the result of, the belief-set of another religion; maybe you should ask yourself some key questions about your faith. What do you believe, and why? Why are you a Muslim? Because you were born one? Because your parents raised you as one? Or because you have chosen to be one, after serious study of Islam’s authentic sources? Are you akin to a leaf floating on a river, going where ever the flow takes it? Or are you a strong, confident individual; someone who knows who they are, what they want in life, and is not apologetic about it? 

Whether you choose to celebrate or not – there’s no need to be too vocal about your opinions:

So, maybe you are one of those Muslims who go ahead and celebrate every holiday under the sun with your entire eclectic group of friends. You pull out all the stops and don’t give two hoots about any kind of Islamic restrictions, when the time comes to eat, drink, and be merry. You, therefore, can not stand the sight, sound or company of Muslim men in thobes, wearing kufi’s and sporting beards, with their hijab-donning wives in tow, telling others about the reality of these holidays and how they are impermissible to celebrate in Islam. Whenever you get the chance, you snub, criticize and degrade these practicing Muslims, calling them demeaning names and rejecting their polite efforts at Islamic brotherly relations.
Be a little tolerant yourself; live and let live. If they make you feel guilty for some reason, causing you to go on the offensive to defend yourself, resist the urge to put them down in front of non-Muslims – it doesn’t look pretty. Just live and let live. Quietly.

Try not to get into arguments:

Your Muslim neighbor, sibling or friend might not be too keen about celebrating the New Year. They are not letting their children go to a New Year party. Your ‘weird’ cousin got no gift, chocolates, or flowers for his wife on Valentine’s Day, saying he “doesn’t believe in it”. Your married sister pulled her children out of a secular school when it held a Christmas celebration. Your parents refuse to buy a Christmas tree, presents or stockings for the living room on Christmas Eve; because, they insist, they are Muslims.

No matter how much you don’t understand, nor appreciate this apparent “extremism” or “narrow-mindedness”, try not to argue with them about their beliefs. They have their reasons for their actions, and maybe those reasons are genuine – to them. If you don’t mind your friends of other faiths making an effort to preserve their own cultures and traditions, don’t hate Muslims for intending to do the same thing. Ever wonder why Chinese restaurants are hued with red? Ever think why most Hindus do not eat beef? Ever criticize them for it? If not, treat your fellow Muslims with the same respect. 

If you are comfortable and confident about your faith in Islam, you won’t really be bothered about what the world thinks of you if you don’t participate in secular festivals and celebrations. However, if you are yourself inclined towards these celebrations, you will probably resort to complaining about, and criticizing, the restrictions of Islam, labeling those who adhere to them as extremists, bores, or fundamentalists. Whatever the case, try not to get into fights over each others’ choice of action, and remember that mutual respect and tolerance is preached by all religions of mankind; therefore, adhere to this universal law, especially with your own brothers and sisters in Islam, whenever pumpkins, fir trees, red hearts or Santa’s appear on the horizon.

The author writes for Hiba Magazine.

Quran – An Abiding Wonder

Source : cpsglobal

Many revelations had been made by God and committed to writing by His devotees before the advent of the Qur’an. Then what particularly distinguishes the sacred Islamic text from its forerunners? It is not just that it is complete and the other revealed books incomplete. To categorise the sacred scriptures in this way would amount to discriminating between the Prophets themselves which is certainly not right.

What then is its great distinguishing feature? There is only one. A simple, but a major one. The text of the Qur’an has never been tampered with, whereas all the other Books have long ago lost their original form and content, which has meant a serious loss of authenticity. It is this characteristic of the Qur’an – its perfect state of preservation –which singles it out from its predecessors as a unique vehicle for divine guidance and salvation, one which will retain its validity until Doomsday.

The preservation of the Qur’an was a laborious task requiring remarkable skill and dedication. As such, it was the most extraordinary undertaking of the age. This feat gains in importance when seen in the context of the loss of authority of previous texts which were not maintained in their pristine state. The Qur’an alone has survived as the completely preserved utterances of the Almighty.

Read Full Text

My Journey through Quran’s Chapter 3 : The Family of Imran

by Shaheen Ahmed

As I went through the journey of Quran’s Chapter 3 Ale Imran, I remembered my state of complete ignorance when I had first experienced Quran three years ago. I had been so dazed, that to comprehend the historical events of the Quran seemed impossible to my rusty mind. I had no knowledge of seerah. So I really didn’t grasp the backdrop of ghazwa-euhud.
Today when you were reading the verses I could picture the entire scene as if I had myself seen and felt the bruises on my own soul. How simply courageous were the staunch supporters of Islam. The newly uprooted muhajireen and the generous open hearted ansaar. How simply unlucky were the munafiqeen to have earned the lowest ranks of jahannam at the same time when people were earning the highest reward of being a mujahid with Allah’s Rasool and shaheed. For the sake of Allah’s deen. I was amazed How Allah Ta’ala has pinpointed all the weaknesses of their characters. It is so important to recognize the fact that these were in the early period of tarbiyyat. And later on the same people were an asset for spreading Islam in the world. So if today we see some weaknesses around us and in ourselves it is not a cause for mayoosi, If we remain true to Allah and keep checking ourself and dedicate ourself in self improvement plans then
surely with Allah’s help there is great hope. The few important things that I feel are needed for this are …..
1) Never thinking ourselves to be perfect or flawless
2) Willingness to listen and to accept criticism as much as we crave for compliments
3) Having a self motivation for tazkiyah (self purification)
4) Having teachers and environment where tazkiyah is given as much importance as is given to academic “rattafication” (rote learning)

for the other topics, the words that filled me with a deep longing were about Kaaba,
Undoubtedly the first House for the worship of Allah ever built for mankind is the one at
Bakka (Makkah), a blessed site and a guidance for all the worlds. In it are clear
signs and the Station of Ibrãhïm (Abraham) where he used to worship. Whoever enters
it is safe. Performance of Hajj (pilgrimage) to this House is a duty to Allah for all who
can afford the journey to it; and the one who disobeys this commandment should know
that Allah is Self-sufficient, beyond the need of any from the worlds.[Ale Imran 96 - 97]

And the hope in the following words:
Whoever holds fast to Allah, will indeed be guided towards the Right way .[Ale Imran:101]

But the most important thing is how Allah has told us again and again in clear words that the fate of the ummah can never be saved until they perform their first and foremost duty in the following ayaat.

Let there arise from among you a band of people who should invite to righteousness,
enjoin good and forbid evil; such are the ones who shall be successful.[Ale Imran: 104]
You are the best nation which has ever been raised for the guidance of mankind. You
enjoin good, forbid evil, and believe in Allah.(Ale Imran :110)
Even the quality of the god-fearing Ahl-e-kitaab (people of the book) has been described as:

Yet, they are not all alike: there are some among the People of the Book who are upright, who recite the revelations of Allah all night long and then prostrate before Him;they believe in Allah and the Last Day, they enjoin good and forbid evil and rush in
emulating each other in good deeds. These are the righteous people.[Ale Imran 113 -114]
So how can Muslims think themselves to be exempt from this responsibility.??

But to accomplish this, we need to build in ourselves the qualities of “Taqwa and sabar”

What I feel everyone should write out on posters and spread in the whole Muslim ummah is the defining characteristics of the MUTTAQIN as  everyone is so fond of being projected as such. Only we are not concerned with what Allah means by a Muttaqi person,

they are those who spend generously in the Way of Allah, whether they are in prosperity or in adversity, who control their anger and forgive other people for Allah loves such charitable people,[134] who, if they commit an indecency or wrong their own souls, earnestly remember Allah and seek forgiveness for their sins; for no one can forgive sins except Allah, and those who do not knowingly persist in something wrong which they have done.[Ale Imran 135]

For people who lose heart at every turn and corner, Allah has this  ayat full of hope

Do not grieve and get disheartened: for you will have the upper hand if you are the
believers.[Ale Imran 139]

Two ramazans ago I heard a voice reciting the following ayat before the beginning of your daily lecture. I was mesmerized by this most unusual recitation. Daily I would turn on the TV well ahead of time at Asar so as not to miss this ayat in the beginning. I just could not have enough of it. I tried to play various qiraats on the net to find out whose voice it was but could not locate it. Finally one day as I was browsing through your website I decided to go to the recitation section and tried this unfamiliar name Mishaary bin Raashid. Immediately I recognized his voice. Downloaded the entire quran in one sitting and to this day he remains my favourite teacher of tajweed !!

Today as I came upon this ayat I was so happy as if I had met a most beloved friend !

Allah has done a great favor to the believers that He raised among them a Rasool from
among themselves, reciting to them the Revelations of Allah, sanctifying them and
teaching them the Book and Wisdom, although before this they were in manifest
error.[Ale Imran :164]
And last but not least I was reminded of myself at the age of 7 or 8 when I read a chapter in my islamiat book about the death of the prophet (S.A.W.) I had really wept with sorrow. Today these words Reminded me of how Hazrat Umar (ra) was so passionate even in his sorrow and how the Kind soul Hazrat Abu Bakar(ra)  comforted him. Islam has a place for every emotion and a balm for every pain. SubhaanAllah !!

Muhammad is no more than a Rasool of Allah, like the Rasools that passed away before him. If he dies or is killed, will you turn back on your heels (become unbelievers)? He that turns back on his heels will do no harm to Allah; but Allah will reward the thankful.[Ale Imran 144]

The lesson remains the same and grows with every ayat and every surah

O believers! Endure and outdo all others in endurance, be ready and have fear of Allah so that you may succeed. [Ale Imran 200]
May Allah guide us all towards a true understanding of the Book and make it
the joy of our hearts and a light to show the way. Ameen

Muhammad (saw) The Last Messenger of Allah

Do You Know The Meaning of the name “Muhammad”?

Muhammad is an Arabic name which comes from the root word H-M-D which means “Praise”. Thus the name Muhammad means “The Most Praised.” The Prophet of Islam Muhammad (saw) in reality really is the most praised personality of all times. Every Muslim on hearing his name , due to their deep love and respect for him praise him by saying in Arabic “Sall allahu Alayhe Wassallam” which means “May peace be upon him.”

Never is his name mentioned or written without the short form of this phrase “saw” or “pbuh” i.e. Peace Be Upon Him said or written after it.No man in history can ever come close to the status of Prophet Muhammad (saw) . Muhammad is also the most common firs, last and family name in the world. 15 million people are estimated to bear this name.

In the recent times, there has been a lot of negative propaganda against Islam and slander against Prophet Muhammad (saw). Without knowing about our beloved Prophet (saw), his life, personality and his environment people have slandered and insulted him.

Have you tried to learn more about Muhammad (saw) .. the truth .. the reality? not the negative propagation of the media??

We invite everyone to learn about our beloved Prophet Muhammad (saw), read his life history,learn about his personality, his beautiful character and his teachings before indulging in biased slander and propaganda against him. Inshallah, God Willing you will find him to be the best person of the best character in human history.

Seerah – Biography of Prophet Muhammad (saw)

His father died before he was born and his mother died when he was only six. He was then raised by his grandfather and later by his uncle. He married a 40 year old widowed woman when he was only 25 years of age. Still with his first wife, at the age of 40, he was visited by the Angel Gabriel who announced that he was Rasul Allah, the Apostle of God…

Read the Biography of Prophet Muhammad (saw)

• The Sealed Nectar by Safiurahman Mubarakpuri
• Life of Muhammd (saw) by Mohammad Husain Haykal
• The 100: A Ranking of the Most Influential Persons in History by Micheal H Hart

Listen to his Biography in Urdu

• Uswa e Hasana (Explanation of Part of book”Zad Al Mad” by ibn Al Qayyem) by Dr. Farhat Hashmi
• The Life of Rasool Allah (saw) by Yasmeen Khakwani

Listen to his Biography in English

• Life of Muhammad (saw) – Makkan Period by Imam Anwar Awlaqi
• Life of Muhammad (saw) – Medinan Period by Imam Anwar Awlaqi