En these holidays are there due to the Nasârah. Something called birthday was never known among the Muslims.

If we were to allow that people would celebrate a birthday, we would have allowed it for the people to celebrate the birthday of the prophet (peace be upon him). And this is not permitted.

And if it is done with the intention to come closer to Allah, it would be classified as a Bid’ah (innovation) and imitating the Kufâr. And if there is no intention to come closer to Allah, it will be classified as imitating the Kufâr.

And in a Hadith narrated by Abdur-Rahman ibn Thaabit who heard from Hassan ibn ‘Atiyyah who heard from Abi Muneeb al-Djurashi who heard from ibn ‘Umar (may Allah be pleased with them) that the messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) said:

عَنِ ابْنِ عُمَرَ، قَالَ قَالَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم: “مَنْ تَشَبَّهَ بِقَوْمٍ فَهُوَ مِنْهُمْ.” حسن صحيح الألباني

“He who copies any people is one of them.”

Sheikh ul Islam ibn Taymiyyah (may Allah have mercy on his soul) said: “The chain of narrators of this Hadeeth is good.” [Iqtidhaa’ As-Siraat Al-Mustaqeem]

And from the apparent it becomes clear that imitating (them) is a action of Kufr, and the least to be construed from the Hadeeth is the forbiddance.

Sheikh al-Islam also said: “Imitating the disbelievers in apparent practices leads to affection with them inwardly.”

That’s why it should be forbidden for a person to celebrate his birthday, or the birthday of his children, or an one year anniversary and things similar to this. These are all practices of the Christians and we should forbid them. Even if someone claims he does this because he wants to come closer to Allah (i.e. worship), we say: We do not forbid it because it is a Bid’ah, rather we forbid it because it is imitation of the Christians and it from their practices.

And the prophet (peace be upon him) forbade us the imitation of the Kufar.

Translated by Abu Yahya al-Maghribi

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