In the name of Allah, Most Gracious, Most Merciful.

The Dangers of Birthday Celebrations

meelaad

Peace and blessing be upon our master (sayyidina) Muhammad and also upon his family, his

companions, his wives (azwaajihi) and his descendents (dhurriyyaathi) with great peace. Amen.

All praises

are due to Allah: who raised the supports of the Sunnah and exalted its lamps; who diminished

the existence of innovation (al-bid`ah) and eclipsed its lights; who elucidated the evidences of

truth (al-haqiqah) and revealed its secrets; who laid bare the path of falsehood and wiped out its

traces; who clarified the procedures of the spiritual realities (al-haqa'iq) and constructed its

mysteries; and who commanded us to follow the Sunnah and to adhere to its traditions. May the

best prayers and most abundant peace be upon our master Muhammad and upon his family and

Companions - all of them. May Allah be pleased with the best of the Followers (Taabi`een), the

right-acting scholars, the four Imams who exercised independent judgment, and those who

follow them until the Day of Judgment. This paper is called: The Dangers of Birthday

Celebrations or eelaad. If Allah wills, it will be of benefit for whoever seeks to

detach themselves from on clutches of paganism in this age. Success is with Allah!

I was asked to compile something on this subject by one of our noble workers and

pioneers of Islam in this country Imam Mutawwaf Abdus-Shaheed, may Allah protect and

preserve him, Ameen! Though I am fully aware that there are many others more qualified for the

task, I consider it a humbling honor that the Imam would even make this request of me. After

pondering on the issue for a bit, the importance and ramifications of neglecting to address and

subsequently protect the believers from its subtle yet disastrous results hit me like a ton of bricks.

In our (American) society, the celebration of birthday is seen as a harmless, festive

commemoration of the date in which that person was born. Traditionally, on the anniversary of a

well. There is often a cake with the perso

They are then asked to blow out the candles and if he or

she is successful at blowing out all of the candles simultaneously that is taken as a sign of good

luck or a good omen. Of course, these celebrations are based on the Gregorian or solar calendar

in our society. After the cake is cut those in attendance usually eat, intermingle and otherwise

celebrate or have a good time. The specifics of every individual birthday party or celebration

vary from one to the other; some are more elaborate having many other components, while

someone has just aged another year.

The Origin of Birthday Celebrations

**********

When one investigates the history of this, and many other holidays, that fact emerges that

this one tradition is actually a conglomeration of various different pagan rituals synthesized

under one name. Originally, the people of ancient Egypt, Greece, Rome, and Persia celebrated

the birthdays of gods, kings, and nobles. Authors Ralph and Adelin Linton reveal the underlying

reason for this. In the book called The Lore of Birthdays, the authors write: "Mesopotamia and

Egypt, the cradles of civilization, were also the first lands in which men remembered and

honoured their birthdays. The keeping of birthday records was important in ancient times

principally because a birth date was essential for the casting of a horoscope."1

Originally the idea [of birthday greetings and wishes for happiness] was rooted in

magic. The working of spells for good and evil is the chief usage of witchcraft. One is especially

dreamed on the birthday eve should be remembered, for they are predictions of the future

greetings have power for good or ill because one is closer to the spirit world on this day. Good

wishes bring good fortune, but the reverse is al

birthday and be surrounded only by well-

.

The giving of birthday gifts is a custom associated with the offering of sacrifices to

pagan gods on their birthdays. Certainly the custom was linked with the same superstitions that

formed the background for birthday greetings. The exchange of presents is associated with the

importance of ingratiating good and evil fairies on th

The traditional birthday cake and candles also have their origin in ancient pagan idol

worship. The ancients believed that the fire of candles had magical properties. They offered

prayers and made wishes to be carried to the gods on the flames of the candles. Thus we still

have the widely practiced birthday custom of making a wish, then blowing out the candles. The

Greeks celebrated the birthday of their moon goddess, Artemis, with cakes adorned with lighted

candles...

The Egyptians discovered to which of the gods each month and day is sacred; and found

will end his days, and what sort of man he will be (Herodotus, Persian Wars, Book II, ch. 82)

astrological horoscopes came into being, purporting to foretell the future, based on the time of

e stars, since without the calendar, no one could tell

when to celebrate his birthday. They are also indebted to the stars in another way, for in early

(The Lore of Birthdays, p. 53).

The origin of the birthday celebration is also connected with the celebration of Christmas,

which takes place on December 25th. As we mentioned earlier, the original birthday celebration

deity

A.D., Bishop Liberius of Rome ordered the people to celebrate [Christmas] on December 25. He

probably chose this date because the people of Rome already observed it as the Feast of Saturn,

celebrating the birthday of the sun. sun-god

whose name is Mithras y believe to be the son of God.

So to reiterate, the [1] acknowledgement and or celebration of date of birth

originated from paying homage to the alleged birth of pagan deities (taaghuut). [2] This pagan

[3] The practices associated with

birthday celebrations such as exchanging gifts, lighting candles, making wishes, etc all serve a

purpose in the worship of false gods. The practice of exchanging gifts takes its origin from

offering sacrifices to these various pagan gods on their birthdays. They believed that the flames

from the candles had special magical properties and prayers and wishes made over them would

be carried to the gods. [4] Even the use of the cake on this occasion has its significance

Greeks believed that everyone had a protective spirit or daemon who attended his birth and

watched over him in life. This spirit had a mystic relation with the false-god on whose birthday

the individual was born. The Romans also subscribed to this idea. . . . This notion was carried

down in human belief and is reflected in the guardian angel, the fairy godmother and the patron

saint. . . . The custom of lighted candles on the cakes started with the Greeks. . . . Honey cakes

round as the moon and lit with tapers were placed on the temple altars of [Artemis]. . . . Birthday

candles, in folk belief, are endowed with special magic for granting wishes. . . . Lighted tapers

and sacrificial fires have had a special mystic significance ever since man first set up altars to his

gods. The birthday candles are thus an honor and tribute to the birthday child and bring good

The above makes it clear that the concept of celebrating birthdays not only has its origin

in paganism, but all of the seemingly harmless practices which go along with it are also rooted in

kufr and shirk (disbelief and polytheism).

The Ruling on Birthday Celebrations

**********

The believers must always be aware that Muslims do not have or give credence to the

-idea which has opened the door for

Muslims to engage in many practices that are not only bad but, in many cases, nullify their Islam.

idea of a secular/religious division into the Muslim discourse was the freemasonic agent of

European interests named Muhammad Abdu of Egypt. Many of our contemporary challenges

stem from him and the works of his teacher and one of his students and colleagues, Jamal ad-

Deen al-Afghani and Rashid Rida, respectively.

All of our actions fall into one of five categories; either the action is [1] waajib or

[2] haraam meaning

prohibited, which means that the doer of the deed is deservi

classified as [3] manduub, which means that it is recommended. When someone does an action

which is manduub, he is worthy of

[4] makruuh action is one which is

disliked or hated by Allah. This act is just short of being prohibited, so there is no punishment for

doing it, yet there is a reward for abandoning it. Lastly, there is a neutral category called [5]

mubaah which we translate as permissible.

So there is no such thing as an act that falls outside of the the Islamic law or

way of life! Every act has a ruling connected to it. If that were not the case, what act is more

-

peace has informed us that there is a reward or a punishment involved in that act. This is proven

by the following hadith, which can be found in Imam an- Forty Hadith2:

In was narrated on the authority of Abu Dharr may Allah be pleased with him.: Some of the

companions of the messenger of Allah peace be upon him said:" O Messenger of Allah, the

affluent have made off with the rewards, they pray as we pray they fast as we fast, and they give

away in charity the superfluity of their wealth." He said:" Has not Allah made things for you to

give away in charity? Every tasbihah is a charity, every takbirah is a charity, every tahmidah is a

charity, and every tahlilah is a charity, to enjoin a good action is a charity, to forbid an evil

action is a charity, and in the sexual act of each of you there is a charity." They said: "O

Messenger of Allah, when one of us fulfils his sexual desire will he have some reward for that?"

He said: "Do you not think that were he to act upon it unlawfully he would be sinning? Likewise,

if he lawfully acts upon it he will have a reward." This hadith was related by Imam Muslim may

Allah be pleased with him.

Consider this verse:

O you who believe, enter into al-Islam completely ( ) and

follow not the footsteps, of Shaytan, he is an open enemy to you.3

after converting to Islam still observed the Sabbath with reverence and were averse to [the

consumption of] camels. When one examines this situation carefully you will notice that the

Sabbath was a Jewish observance. In fact, it was a Jewish practice that was enforced by Allah,

ho violated the Sabbath were punished severely. Also

when one looks at some of the individual aspects of it, it does not seem to violate any of the

tenets of Islam. But yet, Allah still revealed that verse condemning this observance! He, the Most

High, eve

ways, you have not entered Islam all of the way. And the fact that you still have a soft spot in

your heart for the old observances and still practice them you are, in fact, following the footsteps

of Shaytan (the devil). Keep in mind that the sabab un-nuzuul or reason for the revelation of this

verse was for a group of noble Sahaabah (companions of the Prophet) who were practicing

something that was formerly legislated by Allah! What should be said about the observance of

ganism associated with every single aspect of this practice?

Truly to Allah we belong and to Him is our return!

The Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace went out of his way to

protect the integrity of his ummah (community). He wanted to insure that his blessed ummah

would not be infected by the diseases of foreign communities. This is why he ordered us to be

different from them in almost every way imaginable. Consider the following:

[1] He ordered us to dye our hair because the Chris (Abu

Hurayrah relates that the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace said,

Bukhari

and Muslim); [2] He prohibited us from imitating the Devil. (Jaabir, may Allah be pleased with

Muslim.) [3] He encouraged us to

hurry when breaking our fast, so as not to be like the former nations who were destroyed; [4] He

commanded us to trim our mustaches and let our beards grow because the People of the Book

(Christians and Jews) do the opposite of that; [5] He even combed his hair in Mecca in a way

different than the Pagans of Quraysh and then after his Hijrah from Mecca to Medina he combed

his hair like the people of Mecca to be different than the people of the Book in Madinah! (It is

related in the Shamaa il of Imam at-Tirmidhi that Ibn Abbaas, may Allah be pleased with him

and his father says: The Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, used to

leave his hair the way it naturally was, without making a path in the hair (parting the hair). The

reason being that the mushrikeen (polytheists) used to make a path in their hair, and the Ahlul-

Kitaab (People of the Book) did not do so. In the early periods, the Messenger of Allah, may

Allah bless him and grant him peace preferred to follow the Ahlul-Kitaab, rather than others, in

matters where no command had come from Allah. Later this was abrogated, and the Messenger

of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace began opposing the ways of the Ahlul-Kitaab

after this. [6] He found the Jews in Madinah fasting on the 10th of Muharram and said that if he

were to live the next year he would also fast an additional day just to distinguish himself from

them. We could continue in this vein for a very long time. When Allah changed the Qiblah from

Jerusalem to Mecca one of the charges that the Jews of Medinah leveled against him was that he

only looks to what they do and then legislates the opposite!

[7] The Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace would also substitute pagan

holidays with Islamic ones:

)) ((

Anas, may Allah be pleased with him, reported that when the Messenger of Allah, may Allah

bless him and grant him peace, came to Medina, the people had two days on which they engaged

to engage ourselves in them in the Pre-Islamic period (al-jahiliyyah). The Messenger, may Allah

the Day of Sacrifice and the Day of the breaking of the Fast (yaum al-adha wa yaum al-fitr

[Abu Dawuud; An-Nasaa i]

In , a commentary of the Sunan Abu Dawuud, it explains that these two

days were the days of Nayrouz (solar new year -- festival of Magians) and Mahrajaan (spring

equinox). As you can see the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace replaced their

pre-Islamic celebrations with Islamic ones. Our holidays and celebrations not only allow us to

have fun but at the same time this fun is still connected to a higher purpose and is still an act of

worship.

In this light the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace in a well

known hadith informed us that:

4

This comprehensive statement of our beloved Prophet is always found in the book or chapter of

Dress in our books of Hadith. Most of us think that there is no harm in dressing, acting, or

celebrating in a way which is synonymous with the popular, disbelieving culture. In fact, any

condemnation of this imitation is usually met with accusations of shallow thinking or the like.

However, what the proponents of imitation fail to realize is the fact that this outer imitation is a

clear manifestation of what has already taken root in the heart. This was brought to light by one

of the scholars amongst the companions - - when he said:

This fact is so well known and accepted as such that it has been reiterated from the time of the

Prophet until now. Ibn Khaldun, the famous father of modern historiography, even dedicated an

vanquished (al-mughlabuun) always want to imitate the

victor in his distinctive characteristics ( ), his dress (zayyihi), his occupation, and all his

other conditions (ahwaalihi) and customs. The reason for this is that the soul always sees

perfection in the person who is superior to it and to whom it is subservient. It considers him

perfect, either because it is impressed by the respect it has for him, or because it erroneously

assumes that its own subservience to him is not due to the nature of defeat but to the perfection

of the victor. If that erroneous assumption fixes itself in the soul, it becomes a firm belief. The

soul then, adopts all the manners of the victor and assimilates itself to him. This, then, is

Therefore, the vanquished can always be observed to assimilate themselves to the victor 5

In this way, Modibbo Abdullahi ibn Muhammad Bellel (Qadi Modi Abdu) - one of the

premier scholars of the Sokoto Caliphate - said by way of advice to the Amirs and other notables

on the eve of the British invasion of Modern-Day Nigeria:

However, if the terms of truce (al-muhadinah) result in the opposite of the above, then

no one among the scholars said that it was permitted - like the terms of truce with the Christians

in these times. This is because their terms of truce will only amount to the promotion of the

diminishing of al-Islam and its people; which is the necessary result of the Christian Europeans

entering among the people of al-Islam.

This will result in the Muslims being stamped with their destructive characteristics and

blameworthy customs and the Muslims will eventually imitate the Europeans illicit way of life.

This will go on until the weak hearted ones among the Muslims grow fond of their customs and

become laden with corruption. Eventually, the youth will mature molded in the pattern of the

European way of life. The women and children will become fascinated by them and began to

dress themselves with their adornment until when the amply honored Sunnah of the Prophet

perishes and pitch-black innovation (bid`ah) is revived. This state of affairs will continue until

their European way of life prevails and spreads. Thus, the Muslims become humiliated because

of their entering under the domination of the Christians. "Truly we belong to Allah, and to Him

we will return!"

Indeed, this is the real danger inherit in the desire of the modern Muslim in his yearning

to celebrate the pagan holidays of those who once conquered him. An imitation of the

disbelievers regarding their outer appearance and customs is only a symptom of a deeper

imitation and love in the hearts which ultimately leads to loving what Allah hates which is

disbelief and everything that glorifies disbelief. May Allah protect us from that!

Where does this custom of commemorating a date of birth come from? It comes

from the paganism of Ahlur-Ruum or the Europeans, as we mentioned above. These are the same

people that Qadi Modi Abdu is warning against! This Pagan practice existed during the time of

the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace; if there were any good in it,

he would have incorporated it into Islam! He incorporated the use of the Dinar (gold coin) and

the Dirham

exchange were not originated by the Arabs or the Muslims, however their use is consistent with

the principles of Islam therefore Allah, and His Messenger have sanctioned their use. Likewise,

the Jewish practice of fasting on the 10th

Musa, may Allah grant him peace and the Children of Israel was absorbed into Islam with the

addition of an additional day of fasting for the purpose of differentiating the Muslims from the

Jews.

It is clear from all that was mentioned above that the birthday celebration ( eid meelaad)

is a haraam innovation (al- -muharram). It is an innovation because it does not have its

foundation or roots in Islam; Dan Fodio, may Allah envelop him in his mercy

said,

Innovation is that which does not have its foundation in the Book, the Sunnah or the

Consensus. 6

This statement is based upon the words of the best of creation, may Allah bless him and grant

him peace,

it 7

The operative word in this well-known hadith is ahdatha into

essence of or innovation. In other words, those practices whose fundamental principles

contradict the aims and objectives of the are rejected i.e. not acceptable and invalid

(baatil).

As ahlus-sunnah wal- (the people of the Sunnah and the community) we know

that there are several types of innovation not all of them are bad (contrary to popular belief).

However, this practice is based on ibaadah or worship to other than Allah. This is why it is not

permissible (haraam).

The premise of the birthday celebration is the worship of pagan gods! Every traditional

practice connected to it is designed to summon some demonic spirit! Birthday celebrations are

even praised in The Satanic Bible:

"The highest of all holidays in the satanic

direct contradiction to the holy of holy days of other religions, which deify a particular god who

has been created in an anthropomorphic form of their own image, thereby showing that the ego is

not r

god in your image, why not create that god as yourself." Every man is a god if he chooses to

recognize himself as one. So, the Satanist celebrates his own birthday as the most important

about the birth of someone you have never even met? Or for that matter, aside from religious

holidays, why pay higher tribute to the birthday of a president or to a date in history than we do

to the day we were brought into this greatest of all worlds? Despite the fact that some of us may

treat yourself like the king (or god) that you are, and generally celebrate your birthday with as

much pomp and ceremony as possible."8

By way of review, at least 5 lessons should be learned from this discussion. [1] There is

or has an effect on his or her religion. The action is

either [a] obligatory, [b] prohibited, [c] highly recommended, [d] disliked, or [e] permissible.

[2] Those who hold on to the holidays and ceremonies of the previous nations have not

embraced Islam completely, are following the footsteps of Shaytan, and need to come full circle.

This is evidenced by the revelation of Surah al-Baqarah, Verse 208.

[3] Allah and His Messenger the Prophet, Muhammad, may Allah bless him and grant

him peace have commanded us to be different and distinct from the disbelievers who surround

us. We have mentioned 7 examples of this in the ; the last of which being that the

Prophet substituted the 2 days of celebration practiced in Madinah for the i.e. the 2

Eids.

[4] Imitation of a people in terms of dress, mannerisms and other outward displays are a

clear sign of the love and admiration contained in the heart for those same people, their customs

and is an admission of their superiority. One who loves a thing seeks to be like it. Hence, the

believer who loves the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace always finds ways to

imitate him! Much of the world has been conquered by the disbelieving Europeans therefore

many of us see their customs as being superior and are inclined to embrace them even at the

expense of our deen. We seek refuge with Allah from that!

[5] This practice is a haraam innovation ( ) which must be avoided at

all costs! There is nothing whatsoever about this practice that has originated from the Prophets or

their followers. This practice is even held in high esteem by the Devil worshippers!

It was not our intention to exhaust the subject matter or the evidences for the position

contained therein. It was only our intention to scratch the surface and alert the intelligent, sincere

seeker of truth. After knowing the origin and objective of this Shaytanic practice, we find it hard

to believe that anyone with an ounce of imaan in their heart would still seek out a way to

celebrate this evil practice! Some of us may attempt to continue this tradition of celebrating

birthdays or saying happy birthday by changing the name! We may begin to call it an

anniversary or something else. Our advice to those who do this is to fear Allah! Altering the

name of a thing does not change its essence or the sin associated with it. For those of us who

may have celebrated birthdays in the past without knowing what we have mentioned in this

discourse, we must make tawbah (a sincere repentance) and warn our friends, loved ones, and

anyone who will listen against this demonic tradition.

Our beloved soldier, Imam Mutawwaf, asked me to compile this based upon the position

of the Maliki School or the Amal of the people of Madinah. When I began to look into this

matter I found that this issue undermines the very essence (usuul) of our deen or way of life

our Aqeedah! It is our belief that this affair goes beyond madhhaab or school of thought.

However, with the Imam s request in mind, we ve supported the ruling in this matter with the

statement of one of the most well known Maliki Mujtahids in recent history Shehu Uthman

Dan Fodio the West African, Fulani, scholar-warrior of 18th Century Hausaland! We pray that

the Imam is pleased and that he and the remainer of those who hear or read it obtain some benefit

from it.

We will conclude by saying what Shaykh

is in this

book and takes some benefit from it, I ask that he include me in his pious supplication, that Allah

may benefit me by it in this world and the hereafter. It has been related in Sahih Muslim on the

authority of Abu Dardaa', may Allah be pleased with him, that the Messenger of Allah, may

Allah bless him and grant him peace said,

((

lication of an individual Muslim for his brother who is absent is answered. There sits

at his head an angel charged with his needs. Whenever he supplicates for blessings for his

brother, the angel charged with his affairs says, Amen-

O Allah give us success in following the Sunnah of Your Prophet Muhammad, may Allah bless

him and grant him peace, by his rank with You.

1 The Lore of Birthdays, Ralph and Adelin Linton (New York, 1952) 2 Hadith #25 3 Qur'an: al-Baqarah 208. 4 Related by Abu Dawuud in his Sunan

his father. 5 Franz Rosenthal, Ibn Khaldun: The Muqaddimah: An Introduction to History (Princeton University Press, 1967),

116. 6 Wathiqah al-Ikhwaan. 7 Related by both Imam al-Bukhari and Imam Muslim

This hadith is well-known and can also be found in Imam an- 40 Hadith (Hadith #5). 8 The Satanic Bible (Anton Szandor LaVey, (Air) Book of Lucifer The Enlightenment, Avon Books, 1969, Ch XI,

"Religious Holidays," p. 96)