Feb 14, 2014

VALENTINE ' S DAY



14th February.

Yeah, I know, it’s the same old, ‘You can’t celebrate Valentines Day’ statement again. Always there to bug you when you feel like celebrating it the most.

Imagine the situation:
 You log in to Facebook. The newsfeed’s filled with love and sweet wishes for loved ones. Next, you’re with your other half at the mall. It’s Valentine’s Day, for goodness sake. You look around and other couples are being ever so sweet to each other. They’re giving each other sweets, gifts, flowers, surprises…and you get the urge , the adrenaline rush to celebrate it too though deep down, subconsciously,  you know you’re not suppose to. And then you say, whatever, let’s just celebrate! I don’t want to be the only couple not celebrating it, you say to yourself. We don’t want to be the odd-one-out. C’mon, be open-minded it’s 2014, try to blend into society for a bit!

One of my teacher said in his class, when you study, always ask WHYYYY? Why this? What’s the reason? I think it’s good advice really. When you think, you stimulate your neurons to work. And that’s good for your brain, great for you! And furthermore, you tend to reaffirm that what you do is right. It gives you confidence.

So let us ask ourselves, why can’t we, as Muslims, celebrate the once-in-a-year very sweet, day of love, Valentines Day? Why can’t we go with the flow and blend ourselves with what the society does?



I had to actually google about Valentine’s Day prior to writing this and not one search about it’s history came back to Islam. ZERO.

All websites and our favourite Wikipedia either referred it origins from Christianity or its correlation with the Pagan Romans. And if you type Valentine’s Day and Muslim, there are a whole lot of articles on the prohibition  for muslims to celebrate it. Most people believe Valentine’s Day is celebrated to honour St. Valentines, a Christian martyr. The story differs but the main point is, it is based on other religions and by far NOT RELATED to Islam at all.

‘Yeah I’m just celebrating it for fun. It’s not like I’m celebrating the martyr, priest, romans, or whatever religious things. It’s about love, that’s all. C’mon, cut me some slack. Relax. Chill’
Well, what does love and passion lead to? Honestly, we’re grown ups, you know the answer. In the heat of things, and the devils whisper, and our nafs, we never know what we end up doing.  This refers to unmarried couples especially, as they tend to celebrate it more.



And do not approach unlawful sexual intercourse. Indeed, it is ever an immorality and is evil as a way. (Al.Israa:32)

  This verse of the Quran notes that we as Muslims are prohibited to do anything which leads us to unlawful ‘zina’.

And just because some things  are acceptable in society nowadays, if Allah says NO it means NO. Just because the general society say it’s okay for a guy and a girl to hold hands when their unmarried, it doesn’t mean it’s right. Just because Valentine’s Day is celebrated internationally, it does not mean it’s a celebration for all including muslims. There are reasons for why Allah says no. It’s to preserve our iman and protect us from wavering so we can be happy in Jannah one day.

Me? I personally love special dates. Birthday, anniversaries, and yes, I remember my grandparents death date too. I’m sure I’m not the only odd one out. Humans especially the ladies tend to want to feel special. It’s like this is our day. But I say, let’s leave Valentine’s Day out of the list. If it’s haram, it’s haram, no such thing as maybe haram. Want to find a special date? There’s roughly 365 days a year. Pick other ones unrelated to other religious events.



Let’s just love each other all year, every second, every minute, every hour, every day just like Allah wants us to. Keep it halal. But never forget to love Allah more. He’s the only one beside you, in happiness and in sorrow. When you keep things inside and put up a tough front outside and nobody seem to know or understand, know that Allah knows. He gave you life, your family and countless blessings. So which of the favors of your Lord would you deny?


Penulis :

hud_hud
Medical University of Warsaw


No comments:

Post a Comment