The Question:

“Is it allowable to celebrate a holiday that commemorates the independence of my country?”

The Answer:

“A holiday [that commemorates] the independence of a country is not a [religious] holiday. The holidays which are forbidden [for Muslims] to observe are those with religious overtones [such as Christmas and Easter*] not the festive gatherings people observe due to certain events. Therefore, people are allowed to celebrate wedding anniversaries, birthdays or any occasion as such celebrations are not related to religious holidays. It is imperative that we work to remove the confusion surrounding this misunderstanding and the doubts that have affected many people [regarding this issue]. [Because of this misunderstanding] people find hardship and difficulty in their religion. Especially when a religious minded person holds [such non religious celebrations] to be from the major sins or rejected acts when, in fact, they are not.

Understanding an Important legal maxim [The origin of things is permissibility unless there is a text to the contrary]

The origin of things is permissibility so there is no problem with you attending such an event. The school of Ahmed [Hanabliah] allowed the celebration of al-’Atirah which was a sacrifice, during the month of Rajab, observed by the people who lived prior to the advent of the Prophet [may the peace and blessings of Allah be upon him]. Although the school of Imam Malik [Malikis] considered it disliked, since it was a practice from those days, the school of Ahmed allowed this practice since there was no text [from the Qur’an, Sunna or Consensus] that explicitly forbade it. Thus, this practice remained upon its original ruling, permissibility [here the sheikh is showing us how the scholars utilized the legal maxim mentioned above]. So, if people gather together to sacrifice there is no objection for them to congregate, celebrate, enjoy themselves and commemorate the independence of their country. Therefore, there is no hardship in celebrating such occurrences.

With regards to the statement [of the Prophet may the peace and blessings of Allah be upon him] that “Allah [The Exalted] has given you better than those (feasts): Eid al-Adha (Sacrificing) and the ‘Eid al-Fitr”, then “those feasts” were those with strict religious over tones: one a Christian holiday and the other a pagan one. In addition, the Prophet [may the peace and blessing of Allah be upon him] mentioned that the Islamic holidays were two: ‘Eid al-Fitr and ‘Eid al-Adha. But it is not understood from this that he [may the peace and blessing of Allah be upon him] forbade people from gathering and celebrating [other non-religious occasions]. Even if a person considered [such gatherings] disliked there is no need for him to bother others by making things difficult that were not prohibited by the Qur’an, the Sunna, the consensus [of the scholars] and where no agreement was reached within the schools of Islamic law.

This is because ease in matters [such as these where there is no prohibition and the origin is that of permissibility] is a must, and those statements that create hardship and burden [related to such matters], that are not based on explicit texts [that prohibit them], are weak. Thus, there is nothing that prohibits us from facilitating such matters for the people and giving them some breathing room because ease and facilitation are from the foundations of Islam: Allah says, “And He did not make any hardship for you in religion.” [Surah al-Hajj 78] and “Allah wants to lighten your burdens.” [Surah al-Nisa V. 28] and “Verily, with hardship there is ease. Verily with hardship there is ease.” [Surah al-Sharh V. 5-6]. The Prophet [may the peace and blessings of Allah be upon him] said, “Facilitate [things] and do not make things difficult. Give glad tidings, and do not cause others to flee.” In closing, we reiterate that the foundation of Islam is ease and the independent interpretation of the legal sources [ijtihad of scholars] is respected but is not [equal to] texts from the Shari’ah [Qur’an and Sunna].”

May peace be upon you
Dr. Abdullah Bin Bayyah

Dear Sheikh,

“I live in Sri Lanka and wondered if it was acceptable for the Muslim community here to gather for the sake of remembering Allah as a congregation?”

The Answer:

This is a controversial issue amongst the scholars. Some saw gatherings for the purpose of reciting Qur’an and the remembrance of Allah [in a group] as innovation, and there were others who saw it as something venerable. Each and every one of these scholars relied on certain proofs and evidences. Some relied on the statement of Ibn Mas’ud* [may Allah be pleased with him] “Indeed, you have brought an evil innovation”, and there were others who relied on the apparent [meaning of] the statement of the Prophet [may the peace and blessings of Allah be upon him] who said, “No people gather together, in one of the homes from the houses of Allah, reciting the Qur’an and studying it amongst themselves, except tranquility descends upon them, they are shrouded in mercy, the angels envelop them with their wings and Allah makes mention of them in front of those who are with Him.” [related by Muslim #2699]. So, the explicit meaning of this hadith directs towards the permissibility of such gatherings. Imam al-Awza’i [may Allah have mercy upon him] was asked about gatherings, after the Dawn prayer, that included congregational studying and the remembrance of Allah [meaning they did so with one voice not silently]. He responded, “There is nothing wrong with such gatherings.” Al-Awza’I said, “Hassan bin ‘Atiyyah informed me that the first person to start this practice was Hisham bin Ismail al-Makhzomi during the caliphate of Abdul Malik bin Marawan and he was criticized for it.”

There were some who rejected what Hisham had done, such as Imam Malik [may Allah have mercy upon him], and there were others who said, “There is no problem with this.” Harb mentioned that he saw the people of Damascus, Hims and Basra gathering together to recite the Qur’an after the Dawn prayer. However, the people of Sham would read the Qur’an together with one loud voice, while the people of Basra and Mecca would gather and one person would read ten verses while the people would remain silent. After the first person finished, they others would read what he had read until they would complete what he had recited. Harb, commenting on this said, “All of this is excellent and pleasing.”

Regarding Sri Lanka, then I tend to lead towards the opinion that such an action is fine. If the Muslims gather there, from time to time, to study and recite the Qur’an [together], or to remember Allah [together], without there being any forbidden acts such as mixing between the sexes, dancing or any type of evil, then it is good, and it is incumbent to avoid making [the observance of such acts] difficult upon them.

Dr. Abdullah Bin Bayyah

What is the ideal position for a Muslim to take when confronted with different scholarly opinions?

The Answer:

What is obligatory is to investigate the correct opinion in every issue, and to investigate the opinion that actualizes benefits for the Muslims and protects them from harm as long as [that opinion] is not free of evidence [from the sources of Islamic Law]. This type of investigation requires insight, knowledge and a deep understanding. Thus, if one is unable to perform such a task, then what is asked of him is to follow, from amongst the scholars, one who possesses the most insight, knowledge and is known to be a person of piety and righteousness. In addition, such a scholar should be known as one who does not haste in giving religious edicts, nor does so without knowledge. Therefore, [if one finds] a scholar who gives religious edicts who acquired the above mentioned qualities, then he [the questioner] should follow that scholar’s opinion and there is no blame on him in doing so.

Dr. Abdullah Bin Bayyah

The Question:

“Is allowable for me to pray behind an Imam who reads the second khutbah in a language other than Arabic?”

The Answer:

The origin is that the Friday sermon is conducted in the Arabic Language, and this is the opinion of the majority of the scholars. However, Abu Hanifa, may Allah have mercy upon him, allowed for the sermon to be given in a language other than Arabic. Therefore, there is nothing to stop one from praying with this Imam particularly if the people of that country do not [speak/understand] Arabic. However, we advice this Imam to, at a minimum, mention a few words in Arabic during the Friday sermon such as, remember Allah and seek Allah’s pardon. These [Arabic phrases] will allow him to avoid falling into a disliked act, the differences and the doubts that surround this issue. We ask Allah to guide you and us.

Dr. Abdullah bin Bayyah

The Question:

“Is it allowable for me to eat in an establishment where alchohol is served?”

The Answer:

The origin [related to this act] is that a Muslim is not allowed to sit at a table where alcohol is served as found in a sound hadith related by Imam Ahmed and Imam al-Tirmithi. However, this type of prohibition is from the prohibitions related to means about which Ibn al-Qayyim said, “Indeed, the prohibitions related to means are not the same as the prohibitions related to objectives*.The prohibitions related to means are made permissible in the face of needs and the prohibitions related to objectives are only permissible in the presence of necessities.” Thus, this [act of sitting at a table were alcohol is served] is from the prohibitions related to means.

Some of the scholars stated that the prohibitions related to means are from the makhrohat [disliked acts]. Therefore, if one needs to sit in such a restaurant, he should not sit at a table where alcohol is served, and if he does, he should not do so in the presence of his small children who could be affected by it. If one needs to take food from such a restaurant, and he cannot find any other place to take his food, then this issue is one that rests upon hardship, difficulty and a sincere need. Thus, in the presence of the prohibition [the hadith alluded to above] this order could be understood to be disliked or [an absolute] prohibition. However, it is from the prohibitions related to needs, means and necessities whose rulings are lifted [made permissible] in the face of sincere needs as Ibn al-Qayyim mentioned.

Dr. Abdullah bin Bayyah

*the difference between muharamat al-wasail [prohibitions related to means] and muharamt al-maqasid [prohibitions related to aims/objectives] is that the former, although forbidden, are considered lesser in weight than the latter as the former are related to causes, where as the latter are related to an actual forbidden act. Thus, sitting at the table, although not the same as drinking, could lead to it whereas drinking in itself is absolutely forbidden.

The difference between Hajat [needs] and Daruriyyat [necessities] was discussed in great detail by al-Shatibi D. 691 A.H in his monumental work al-Muwafaqat. He states that Daruriyyat are things whose absence would cause life to cease, and hajjat are things that one needs to function comfortably but in their absence one would experience some hardship. For a more detailed discussion click here.