WESAK DAY

NOR AZZERA NATASHA BINTI ZULKIFLEESITI UMMIRUL SYAMIRAH BT ABD WAHID

NUR SYAHIRAH BT MUSTAFFASAIDATUN FADZILAH BT DRAMAN

NORFADILATUL NADIAH BT MOHD FADZIL

What is wesak day

When it is celebrated

Why it is celebrated

How it is celebratedIslamic view on wesak day

celebration

What is Wesak Day???• known as 

Vesak Visakah Puja (Buddha‘s Birthday Celebrations)

Buddha Purnima • There are other numerous names for Wesak day:

Malaysia: Hari WesakThailand: Visakha Bucha

Burmese: Kason Full Moon DayIndonesian : Waisak

Japanese: Hanamatsuri• holy day celebrated by the entire Buddhist

throughout the world• This festival is celebrated for some purposes

WHY IT IS CELEBRATED ??

To commemorate three significant events:

1) Buddha’s birth

2) Enlightenment (nirvana)

3)Death (parinirvana)

Buddha’s Birth

• Siddharta Buddha’s was born in the ancient kingdom of Sakyas(modern Nepal)

• He was born in Lumbini in 623 BC.

Enlightenment

• Buddha sat down under the Bodi tree• Ignore temptation from demon• Solved the riddle of human suffering• Attained enlightenment at the age of 35

Death

• Buddha announce he would soon reach Paranirvana

• He died at the age of 80 • In Kusinara in the year 543 BC.

When The Wesak day

is celebrated ?

• The exact date of Vesākha varies according to the various lunar calendars

• Theravada countries (the Buddhist calendar) falls on a full moon Uposatha day, typically in the 5th or 6th lunar month.

• Vesākha Day in China and Korea is on the eighth of the fourth month in the Chinese lunar calendar

• The date varies from year to year in the Western Gregorian calendar, but usually falls in April or May

• Wesak Day in Malaysia is a national public holiday.

HOW WESAK DAY IS

CELEBRATED

The Buddhist devotees will begin the celebrations usually even before dawn where they will gather at the temples.

Then, hoist the Buddhist flag and sing hymns in praise of the holy triple gem namely; The Buddha, The Dharma (his teachings) and The Sangha (his disciples).

Devotees may bring simple offerings of flowers, candles and joss-sticks to lay at the feet of their teacher.

They are encouraged to partake of vegetarian food for the day.

Also birds, insects and animals are released by the thousands in what is known as a 'symbolic act of liberation‘.

Some devout Buddhists will wear a simple white dress and spend the whole day in temples with renewed determination to observe the eight Precepts.

Some temples also display a small image of the baby Buddha in front of the altar in a small basin filled with water and decorated with flowers, allowing devotees to pour water over the statue

Devotees are expected to listen to talks given by monks.

Buddhists will distribute gifts in cash and kind to various charitable homes throughout the country.

This is how Buddhists are expected to celebrate Wesak: to use the opportunity to reiterate their determination to lead noble lives, to develop their minds, to practice loving-kindness and to bring peace and harmony to humanity.

ISLAMIC VIEW ON WESAK

DAY

• Based on Islamic view, we as the Muslims are strongly prohibited to attend the Wesak Day celebration.

• According to Islamic scholars, joining non-believers in their festivals and participating in those is an act of imitation. According to a Prophetic Tradition recorded in Sunan Abi Dawood,

• “Whoever imitates people (nation) is one of them.”

• Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyah (may Allah have mercy on him) said:

• “It is not permissible for Muslims to imitate them (non-Muslim) in any way that is unique to their festivals, whether it is food, clothes, bathing, lighting fires or refraining from usual work or worship, and so on. And it is not permissible to give a feast or to exchange gifts or to sell things that help them to celebrate their festivals or to let children and others play the games that are played on their festivals, or to adorn oneself or put up decorations.”

• However, the ruler of a country could attend the ceremony but they are prohibited to do the ceremony proceeding.

• On the 68th muzakarah of the National Fatwa Committee for Islamic Religious Affairs on April 12, 2005, they have discussed the Guidelines for Muslims celebrating Religious Festivals of Non-Muslims like Wesak Day. Muslims can attend the ceremony if it is:

1. Not accompanied by ceremonies that against the Islamic faith (aqidah).

2. Not accompanied by action contrary to Islamic faith.

karma

nirvana

samsara

3. Not accompanied by immoral culture.

hehehe

4. Not accompanied with something that affect sensitivity of Muslims.

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