Question:
In recent days, many Muslims celebrate the Valentine Day especially the girls. What is the rule of Shariah about this practice?
Fatwa:
All perfect praise be to Allaah, The Lord of the Worlds. I testify that there is none worthy of worship except Allaah, and that Muhammad 
is His slave and Messenger.
To love is a natural instinct and Islam is the religion of love and brotherhood. It always insists on good relations among the members of society. Allaah (Subhanahu wa t'aala) will provide shelter for those who love one another in His Shadow when there would be no shadow other than His. Allaah's Apostle (Sallallaahu alihi wa sallam) said: "Verily Allaah would say on the Day of Resurrection: 'Where are those who have mutual love for My sake only? Today I shall shelter them in My Shadow when there is no other shadow but Mine.'" [Reported by Imaam Muslim]
Moreover, the true love of the believers is a reason to enter Paradise as the Prophet (Sallallaahu alihi wa sallam) said: "You shall not enter Paradise so long as you do not affirm belief (in all those things which are the articles of faith), and you will not believe as long as you do not love one another. Should I not direct you to a thing which, if you do, will foster love amongst you: (i.e.) give currency to (the practice of paying salutation to one another by saying) As-Salaamu Alaykum."
The Muslims who celebrate Valentine Day are not aware of their religion and follow the footsteps of disbelievers. We would like to bring to the attention of all Muslims the origin of this celebration so everyone can easily see the ruling of Shariah concerning the celebration of Valentine Day.
The Romans had a festival named Lupercalia and they used to celebrate it on the 15th February every year. On that day they offered sacrifices to their supposed god named "Lurks" to protect their cattle and the like from being killed by wolves. They celebrated this festival during the spring holidays according to their calculations.
During the thirteenth century the day of this festival was changed to February 14th. There was an incident that led to this change in the day for this celebration. In the thirteenth century a Roman Emperor Claudius II, forbade his soldiers to marry because marriage would involve them in family life and cause them to lose interest in fighting.
A catholic priest named Valentine revolted against this emperor's order and performed weddings for the soldiers secretly. After a while his disobedience was discovered and he was imprisoned. While in prison he fell in love with the jailer's daughter. On February 14th he was executed. After his death people believed that he had sacrificed himself for the sake of Christianity and to save lovers. Subsequently the church elevated him to Sainthood and February 14th came to be observed as Saint Valentine's Day.
In this day young girls and boys send love letters, love cards, gifts, etc. to each other. They are celebrating this day by engaging in such practices. Based on the above details we conclude that celebrating this day and any other holiday of non Muslims is forbidden in Shariah. Aisha (May Allaah be pleased with her) reported: "Abu Bakr came to my house while two small Ansaari girls were singing beside me the stories of the Ansaar concerning the Day of Bu'aath. And they were not singers. Abu Bakr said protestingly, "Musical instruments of Satan in the house of Allaah's Apostle!" It happened on the Eid day and Allaah's Apostle (Sallallaahu alihi wa sallam) said, "O Abu Bakr! There is an Eid for every nation and this is our Eid." [Reported by Bukhaari and Muslim]
In fact, celebrating some days and festivals is part of the religion. Imaam Ibn Taymiyyah (May Allaah have mercy on him) said: 'Feasts are a part of Shariah and of the rituals of Islam. Allaah says (interpretation of meaning): {For every nation We have ordained religious ceremonies which they must follow.} [22: 67] The feasts are Islamic rituals just like facing the Qiblah and fasting. There is no difference in participating in their feasts or in their whole religion because approving their feasts means approving their Kufr (disbelief) since the feasts are the special symbols of religions.'The Prophet (Sallallaahu alihi wa sallam) did not approve the feast of Jahiliyyah (pre-Islamic period). Anas (May Allaah be pleased with him) reported that the Prophet (Sallallaahu alihi wa sallam) came to Madeenah with two days they played in. The Prophet (Sallallaahu alihi wa sallam) asked, 'What are these two days?' They said, 'These are two days we used to play in in our Jahiliyyah'. The Prophet (Sallallaahu alihi wa sallam) said, 'Allaah has replaced them with two better days: Eid Al Adha and Eid Al Fitr."
One of the most distinguished qualities of the slaves of al-Rahmaan (i.e. good Muslims) is that they do not attend false practices. Allaah says (interpretation of meaning): {And those who do not witness falsehood, and if they pass by some evil play or evil talk, they pass by it with dignity.} [25: 72]
In the light of these details we know clearly that Valentine Day is not a feast of Muslims, it is rather a Christian polytheistic feast.We ask Allaah to lead the Muslims to the right path and cause them to follow the Truth.
Allaah knows best.
Mofti: Fatwa Team Supervised by Dr. Abdulla Al-Faqeeh
