Valentine day

[Dan-Borno]

Malam Waziri please check this out, it seems we have to come back from our earlier position, Malama Husna Babbar Daliba ce:

http://www.alminbar.com/khutbaheng/184.htm

[_Waziri_]

Malam Waziri please check this out, it seems we have to come back from our earlier position, Malama Husna Babbar Daliba ce:

http://www.alminbar.com/khutbaheng/184.htm

Mallam Dan-Borno,

You are right actually that Husnaa babbar mallama ce, but you see, I read what you gave on that link and I quite agree with all what the writer said about BLIND IMITATION of the West. I also read about what Bammali wrote concerning Valentines and its origin. But the question I ask is always, is celebrating Valentines as I think it is supposed to be done akin to BLIND IMITATION of the West? Does the history of Valentines give us enough ground to say it should not be celebrated?

To these two questions I say no. Because, first, I think, BLIND IMITATION of the West is when we do what they are doing always without evaluating it according to the needs of outlined standards given by Islam, you can consider the issue of Banking, Trade, International Laws concerning smuggling, Dress Code, Alcoholism,  and many other things. On the issue of Valentine, I think, I tried to take it and put it on the scale of Muslim tradition before I reached conclusion.

Secondly, I say history of the Valentines and the fact of it being the product of pagan practice, does not provide us with sufficient reason to say it is Haram either. Why because many things originating from Persia, West, Rome have found inroad into our ways of living without questioning. The examples of which I gave above. This reminds me of another handy example. In the 1930s, Sarkin Zazzau Ja'afaru gave a fatwa that listening to Qur'anic recitation via radio is Haram, just for the reason then, as it seems,  that Radio was seen as a product of the West and that it was also a common medium of playing music of different sorts and as such Mallam Ja'afaru( Rahimahullahu) said it was Haram. He saw it then to be a sort of blind imitation of the West and as such should not be done. Mallam Dan-Borno, do you agree with Mallam Ja'afaru?

To crown it up all, the link you gave me, only brought out reasons as to why we should not imitate the West but failed to show us with clearcut proofs as to what it is if we do should be seen as imitating the West, is it shaving? is it dressing in jeans and t-shirts? is it in boarding buses and taxis? is it in snapping pictures? or what and what? This is where the issue of jurisprudence comes. Always Muslims intellectuals are tasked to look on certain traditions and based on Qur'an and Sunna, adjudge that those traditions are Halal or Haram. This is what brought about the four school of thoughts in Sunna and the others in Shi'a bacause there has always been reason why some scholars deem certain things to be Haram and others Halal. This is also where I differ with those who say celebrating Valentines is Haram, based on the reasons I highlighted above. I will try to get an input I once gave on similar issue on Halal or Haram, West, Islam and our destiny and post it here to give you a perspective of what I mean.

Wallahu a'alamu.

[_Waziri_]

This is the link Mallam Dan-Borno,

Dafatan Allah ya kara mana hikima:
http://kanoonline.com/smf/index.php?topic=1382.0

[Dan-Borno]

Amin Akramakallahu

[lionger]

If I may interject...interesting discussion so far. This subject of Valentine's day pops up every year on Kano Online but this is the first time I've seen a serious discussion.

Husnaa I'm surprised at your whole-hearted endorsement of Bamalli's article. Surely there are certain portions that simply aren't acceptable. First of all Bamalli, what site did you get this article from? Some of its paragraphs are identical, word-for-word, with those on the site Dan Borno posted previously; while others are completely different. What's up with that?

Secondly, some portions of Bamalli's article seem to be based on hearsay and over-generalizations, which suggest the notion that the writer has little or no experience with Western culture:

The love referred to in this festival ever since the Christians revived
it, is romantic love outside the framework of marriage.
Islam does not encourage flirting or suggestions of romantic
relationships before marriage.
The result of that is the spread of fornication and adultery and
immorality.

Love in Islam is more general and more comprehensive; it is not
restricted only to one kind of love, that between a man and a woman. There are
many more kinds of love. There is the love of God, love of His
Messengers, love for good and righteous people, love and support for the
religion. There are many kinds of love. It is a dangerous mistake to restrict
this broad meaning to this one kind of love.

Valentine's day is not a celebration of 'extra-marital' romantic relationships solely; this is plainly wrong idea. Anyone that has lived in the West knows this. Married folks also can observe the Day at their own discretion - anyone in any romantic relationship whatsoever. It is also plainly incorrect to conclude, as this writer does, that Valentine's Day confines the definintion of love to the romantic kind only. The fact that only romantic love is celebrated on the Day does not mean that it renders other kinds of love void.

Now let us look at the state of affairs in western societies where
Valentines Day is celebrated, and ask, what is the state of marriage
relationships in those societies, and do these celebrations have any positive
effect on interactions between husbands and wives?

Studies and statistics show the following:

A study carried out by the National American Office for Mental Health
states the following:

- 17% of women who go to emergency rooms are victims of beatings by
their husbands or boyfriends.

- In a report of the Central American Agency for Examination [FPT] it
states that every 18 seconds there is a woman who is beaten by her
husband somewhere in America.

- In Britain, in an opinion poll in which 7,000 women took part, 28% of
them said that they had been subjected to attacks by their husbands and
boyfriends.

So how can we believe that Valentines Day is of any benefit.

These stats - if they are indeed authentic - ultimately do not prove anything.

Firstly, it needs to be contextualized by demographics. How many women are there in America/Britain, and of that number, how many of them are in relationships? And among those who experience abuse, how many of them habitually celebrate Valentine's Day (it's not br force, you know)?

Secondly, this writer ought to have compiled stats from societies that do not observe Valentine's Day (the Muslim world perhaps?) and compared it with the West's to see is the Day truly 'makes the difference'. Do the non-Valentine societies fare better? Otherwise, for all we know the West fares better than other societies when it comes to domestic abuse and violence against women.

Thirdly, Valentine's day is just one day. What about anniversaries, birthdays and the like?? Couples also celebrathe their love on these days, not so? Why fault Valentine's day alone?

The truth is that it is a call for more permissiveness and immorality,
and the forming of forbidden relationships....

The love referred to on this day is romantic love, taking mistresses
and lovers, boyfriends and girlfriends. It is known to be a day of
promiscuity and sex for them, with no restraints or restrictions... They are
not talking of pure love between a man and his wife or a woman and her
husband, or at least they do not distinguish between the legitimate love
in the relationship between husband and wife, and the forbidden love of
mistresses and lovers. This festival for them is a means for everyone
to express love.

Here are more stereotypes, sweeping statements and brazen false information that truly do not deserve a second look. Like I said before, anyone that has lived in the West surely will not believe this propaganda. Frankly no-one else should. Yes, the West is a sexually 'liberal' society, but that is not due to Valentine's Day, nor does it represent the height of promiscuity. Valentine's day is probably one day that you won't spend with a mistress if you were married!! People observe the Day at their on volution and discretion: those who are promiscuous will be promiscuous, the 'conservative' will celebrate appropriately and modestly, and those who don't feel like doing anything won't do anything. Period.

[_Waziri_]

Amin Akramakallahu

Ma'aka, Mallam  Dan-Borno,

You know what my great grans father, specifically the sixth, studied, about 170 yrs ago, amidst a certain Mallam Wake, who was said to be having only one wife. Who also used to take his wife for a stroll, horse back riding, each morning, before he attended his students. It sounded to us like he was a 'bature' in lifestyle even when he was only a distinguished Islamic scholar of his time.