[Q-ID0816] What is the ruling on celebrating and greeting others on New Year’s Day?

QUESTION:

What do the scholars of the Dīn and muftīs of the Sacred Law state regarding the following issue: what is the ruling on celebrating and greeting others on New Year’s Day?

Questioner: Brother from UK

ANSWER:

بسم اللہ الرحمن الرحیم
الجواب بعون الملک الوھاب اللھم ھدایۃ الحق والصواب

Even though the Hijri calendar begins on the first of Muharram -and Muslims should give greater consideration to the Hijri calendar- there is no shar’i prohibition on greeting others at the beginning of the Gregorian year.

It is narrated in Imām Tabarānī’s al-Mu’jam al-Awsat:

كَانَ أَصْحَابُ النَّبِيِّ صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ، يَتَعَلَّمُونَ هَذَا الدُّعَاءَ إِذَا دَخَلْتِ السَّنَةُ أَوِ الشَّهْرُ: اللَّهُمَّ أَدْخِلْهُ عَلَيْنَا بِالْأَمْنِ، وَالْإِيمَانِ، وَالسَّلَامَةِ، وَالْإِسْلَامِ، وَرِضْوَانٍ مِنَ الرَّحْمَنِ، وَجِوَارٍ مِنَ الشَّيْطَانِ»

When the new month or year would begin, the companions of The Prophet ï·º would supplicate with the following words:

اللَّهُمَّ أَدْخِلْهُ عَلَيْنَا بِالْأَمْنِ، وَالْإِيمَانِ، وَالسَّلَامَةِ، وَالْإِسْلَامِ، وَرِضْوَانٍ مِنَ الرَّحْمَنِ، وَجِوَارٍ مِنَ الشَّيْطَانِ

“O Allāh! Enter it (new month/year) upon us with safety, faith, security, Islam, Your Pleasure, and refuge from satan.”

(المعجم الاوسط للطبرانی ج ۶ ص ۲۲۱ حدیث ۶۲۴۱ دارالحرمین قاہره)

It becomes apparent from this that to deem it a permissible action, there is no harm in greeting others, making du’ā, expressing righteous wishes and desires, regardless of whether it is the Gregorian new year or Hijri new year, and neither is there any harm in reciting the above du’ā; this is such a comprehensive du’ā that it may be recited at the beginning of each day.

However, the many immoralities that are committed on New Year’s Eve; in which gatherings of dance and song are organised with great impudence; in which, God forbid, alcohol & various other types of intoxicants and games of chance abound, millions of pounds are spent on fireworks, aerial firing taking place, and countless other disobediences occur, after which many people even lose their lives, due to these reasons, it is forbidden for Muslims to involve themselves in such actions, and to attend these gatherings of sin is also impermissible.

Rather, we should celebrate the new year by supplicating for another; that the new year be full of blessings for us, make intentions for increasing in righteous works and make sincere repentance for any wrongs committed in the previous year and make a firm resolve to not commit such sins in the future. One ought to take him/herself to account, keeping in mind that life is melting away like ice and another year of one’s life has passed by; so that the upcoming year is not spent in heedlessness just as the previous one was.

واللہ تعالی اعلم ورسولہ اعلم صلی اللہ علیہ وآلہ وسلم
کتبہ ابو الحسن محمد قاسم ضیاء قادری

Answered by Mufti Qasim Zia al-Qadri
Translated by Zameer Ahmed

Read the original Urdu answer here: [Q-ID0816] What is the ruling on celebrating and greeting others on New Year’s Day?