Dr. Muhammad Raziul Islam Nadvi
Secretary Sharia Council Jamaat Islami Hind
Translated by Sumayya Zainab (Oman)
It is natural for the people who live in a society to meet each other, to share each other’s joys, to share each other’s sorrows and to meet each other’s needs. This is the hallmark of any civilized society. A society in which these values are not found is called uncivilized and a monument to the horrors.
Islam has given clear instructions to its followers regarding living and relationships with followers of other religions. Those who converted to Islam but their parents were disbelievers and polytheists were told:
وَانۡ جَاهَدَكَ عَلَٰى َۡنۡ تُشِرِكَ بِي مَا لَيۡسَ لَكَ بِهٖ عِلۡمٌ
“If they put pressure on you to associate with me someone you do not know, then do not listen to them and treat them well in the world.”
This verse indicates that there will be no tolerance and tolerance in matters of beliefs in relation to non-Muslims, although pleasant social relations will be maintained with them. The same rule has been given in Surah Mumtahanah. Allaah says :
“Allah does not forbid you to deal kindly and justly with those who have not fought you in religion and have not expelled you from your homes. “
Celebrations play an important role in strengthening and stabilizing human relationships. These celebrations are both social and religious. There is nothing wrong with participating in the non-Muslim social events if illegal and indecent acts are not being done, but it is not permissible for Muslims to participate in their religious ceremonies, as they usually involve worship and polytheistic practices are performed. In order to be free from shirk, it is necessary to refrain from participating in them. However, the part of these religious ceremonies and festivals that are social, in which programs are held just to meet various close and related people and also invite people of other religions to show communal harmony and good will. It is permissible for Muslims to participate in them. However, for these occasions, it is necessary to follow the teachings of Islam in the matter of food and drink. Therefore, if the food and drink includes meat of an forbidden animal, alcohol or other intoxicating beverages, avoid them.
In the case of non-Muslim religious ceremonies and festivals, it is important for Muslims to be careful not to participate in them themselves. For example Burn on the occasion of, or
If you participate in a ceremony, put your hands in front of the idol or put a tilak on your forehead, saying that all this is similar to shirk and non-shirk, which is forbidden.
Sweets are exchanged on the occasion of festivals. Sweets and other food items received from non-Muslims can be accepted and eaten, if they are satisfied that they are not for offerings to gods and goddesses, nor do they contain anything haraam or impure.
As far as congratulating non-Muslims on the occasion of festivals is concerned, it is generally said to be illegal in the books of jurisprudence and fatwas. It has been argued that congratulating them shows the support and greatness of disbelief and polytheism. This argument does not seem to be strong. Congratulations are a social process. This is an expression of good behavior in worldly affairs, which has been instructed in the Qur’an and Hadith.
On this basis, I find this resolution passed in the seventh session of the Arab Council for Fatwa and Research to be correct. In the light of this, the scholars of the subcontinent and the companions of Ifta should reconsider their opinion and the institutions of collective ijtihad should accept the proposal of its justification. واللہ اعلم _ [For details see Monthly Zindgie Nau New Delhi, December 2019, in which the Urdu translation of the resolution of the European Council of Ifta and Research has been published _ (In this resolution non-Muslims on the occasion of their religious ceremonies) The opinions of Maulana Mufti Umar Abidin Qasmi Madani, Maulana Yahya Nomani and Dr. Muhammad Fahim Akhtar Nadvi have been recorded among the Indian scholars.
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