blessings of Allah continue to abide unto the noblest of prophets,
Muhammad (s.a.w), his household and followers.
Allah has chosen for us Islam as our religion and He will not accept
any other religion apart fro, Islam, as He says in Quran 3 vrs 85
"And whoever seeks a religion other than Islam, it will never be
accepted from him, and in the Hereafter he will be one of the losers."
So, doing anything that is contrary to the tenets of Isam is
unacceptable. Submission as the cornerstone of islamic belief includes
staying within the confines of the religion, using the Quran and the
hadiths as guide, no matter the pressure from the society.
Pressure from the society
The Prophet saw what the world would look like thousands of years
after his death. He was accurate in his prophecy.
A world where women will murder shame and expose their treasure to
every Dick and Harry; a world where men would take the position of
women and shamelessly turn the order of nature in marital relationship
upside down and inside out.
He warned the ummah against these developments that Muslims should
distinct themselves from these ways and never in any way imitate or
follow their path. Unfortunately, the path and customs of the kuffaar
are now being packaged in such a way that is enticing.
Nowadays, a new dimension has spread among the Muslim youths - males
and females alike on the issue of Valentine's Day. Some rationalising
it as another way of showing love which they further submit that does
not contradict the dictates of Islam.
Care must be exercised and we must have a clear understanding of this
issue so that we dont undermine the belief ('aqeedah) which we tend to
uphold.
But how did this day become recognised?
The Festival of Love was one of the festivals of the pagan Romans,
when paganism was the prevalent in Rome more than seventeen centuries
ago. In the pagan Roman concept, it was an expression of "spiritual
love"; although they later changed it from the pagan concept of
"spiritual love" to another concept known as the "martyrs of love",
represented by Saint Valentine, a martyr, who had advocated love and
peace. He was persecuted by the Gothic leader Claudius, c. 296 CE.
The crux of the persecution was that, according to records, after
Christianity had become widespread, the Roman emperor Claudius II
decreed in the third century CE that soldiers should not get married,
because marriage would distract them from the wars they used to fight.
This decree was opposed by Saint Valentine, who started to perform
marriages for the soldiers in secret.
When the emperor found out about that, he threw him in jail and
sentenced him to execution. In prison, he (Saint Valentine) fell in
love with the jailer's daughter, but this was a secret because,
according to Christian laws, priests and monks were forbidden to marry
or fall in love.
But he was still regarded highly by the Christians because of his
steadfastness in adhering to Christianity when the emperor offered to
pardon him if he dumped his religious ideals and worshipped the Roman
gods.
He offered him a juicy position in Rome and also become his
son-in-law. But Valentine declined and so, he was executed on 14
February 270 CE, on the eve of February 15, the festival of
Lupercalis.
So this day was named for this saint.
This was how the day was designatd as Valentine's day.
This is what translated into exchanging of red roses, boxes of gifts
to wives, and friends which are an expression of love, the "spiritual
love". In some palces, parties are held and sexual acts becomes the
order.
The Prophet Muhammad (s.a.w.) said: "You will certainly follow the
ways of those who came before you, span by span, cubit by cubit, until
even if they were to enter a lizard's hole, you would follow them." La
tattabi'unna Sanan man kaana qablakum.
Why Muslims should desist from such act is contained in the Quran and
the hadiths. The fact that it is not our ways and Islam had been
perfected for the ummah, we don't need any other thing to become a
good Muslim other than what is contained in the Quran and hadiths.
Allah says: "And be not as those who divided and differed among
themselves after the clear proofs had come to them. It is they for
whom there is an awful torment" (Q 3:105)
Written By Haroon Balogun
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