Who is Valentine?

Most Muslims who indulge in many alien cultural practices, these days, do not know what they are doing. They are just blind followers of their equally blind cultural leaders.

Little do they realise that what they regard as innocent fun may in fact be rooted in paganism. That the symbols they embrace may be symbols of unbelief. That the ideas they borrow may be products of superstition. And that all these may be a negation of what Islam stands for.

Consider Valentine’s Day, a day that after dying out a well deserved death in most of Europe – but surviving in Britain and the United States – has suddenly started to emerge across a swath of Muslim countries. Who was Valentine? Why is this day observed?

Legends abound, as they do in all such cases, but this much is clear: Valentine’s Day began as a pagan ritual started by Romans in the 4th century BCE to honour Lupercus, the ‘god of fertility and flocks’. Its main attraction was a lottery held to distribute young women to young men for ‘entertainment and pleasure’ – until the next year’s lottery.

Among other equally despicable practices associated with this day was the lashing of young women by two young men, clad only in a bit of goatskin and wielding goatskin thongs, who had been smeared with the blood of sacrificial goats and dogs. A lash of the ‘sacred’ thongs by these ‘holy men’ was believed to make the women better able to bear children.

As usual, Christianity tried, unsuccessfully, to n the evil celebration of Lupercalia. It first replaced the lottery of the names of women with a lottery of the names of saints. The idea was that during the following year the young men would emulate the life of the saint whose name they had drawn. Christianity ended up doing in Rome, and elsewhere, as the Romans did.

The idea that you can preserve the appearance of a popular evil and yet somehow turn it to serve the purpose of virtue has survived. Look at all those people who are still trying, helplessly, to use the formats of popular television entertainment to promote good. They might learn something from this episode in history. It failed miserably.

The only success it had was in changing the name of Lupercalia to St Valentine’s Day. It was done in the year 496 by Pope Gelasius, in honour of one Saint Valentine. However, there are as many as 50 different Valentines in Christian legends. Two of them are more famous, although their lives and characters are also shrouded in mystery.

According to one legend, which is more in line with the true nature of this celebration, St Valentine was a ‘lover’s saint’ who had himself fallen in love with his jailer’s daughter.

Due to serious troubles that accompanied such lottery, French government banned the Valentine ritual in 1776. It also vanished over the years in Italy, Austria, Hungry, and Germany. Earlier, during the 17th century when the Puritans were strong it had been banned in England, but King Charles II revived it in 1660.

From England the Valentine ritual arrived in the New World, where enterprising Yankees spotted a good means of making money. Esther A Howland who produced, in the 1840s, one of the first commercial American Valentine Day cards called – what else valentines sold $5,000 worth in the first year. (Then $5,000 was a lot of money.) The valentine industry has been booming ever since.

It is the same story with Halloween, which has otherwise normal human beings dressing like ghosts and goblins in a re-enactment of an ancient pagan ritual of demon worship.

The pagan name for that event was Samhain (pronounced sow-en). Just as in case of Valentine’s Day, Christianity changed its name, but not the pagan moorings.

Five star hotels in Muslim countries arrange Halloween parties so the rich can celebrate the superstitions of a distant period of ignorance that, at one time, even included the shameful practice of human sacrifice.

Christmas is another story. Today Muslim shopkeepers sell and shoppers buy Christmas symbols in Islamabad or Dubai or Cairo. To engage in a known religious celebration of another religion is bad enough. What is worse is the fact that here is another pagan celebration (Saturnalia) that has been changed in name – and in little else – by Christianity.

Even the apparently innocuous celebration might have pagan foundations. According to one account, in pagan cultures, people feared evil spirits, especially on their birthdays. It was a common belief that evil spirits were more dangerous to a person when he or she experienced a change in their daily life, such as turning a year older. So family and friends surrounded the person with laughter and joy on their birthdays to protect them from evil.

How can anyone in his right mind think that Islam would be indifferent to practices steeped in anti -Islamic ideas and beliefs? Islam came to destroy paganism in all its forms: it cannot tolerate any trace of it m the lives of its followers.

Further, Islam is very sensitive about maintaining its purity and the unique identity of its believers. Islamic laws and teachings go to extra lengths to ensure it.

For example, salâh is forbidden at the precise times of sunrise, transition and sunset to eliminate the possibility that it might get mixed up or be confused with the practice of sun worship. To the voluntary recommended fast on the tenth of Muharram, Muslims are required to add another day (9th or 11th) to distinguish it from the then prevalent Jewish practice. Muslims are forbidden to emulate the appearance of non- Muslims.

A Muslim is a Muslim for life. During joys and sorrows, during celebrations and sufferings, we must follow the one straight path – not many divergent paths. It is a great tragedy that under the constant barrage of commercial and cultural propaganda from the forces of Jahiliya and the relentless media machine, Muslims have begun to embrace the Valentines, the Halloween ghosts, and even Santa Claus.

Islamic View:

First of all, we’d like to shed light on the origin of this festival, known as "Valentine Day" or "Festival of Love":

The Festival of Love was one of the festivals of the pagan Romans, when paganism was the prevalent religion of the Romans more than seventeen centuries ago. In the pagan Roman concept, it was an expression of "spiritual love".

There were myths associated with this pagan festival of the Romans, which persisted with their Christian heirs. Among the most famous of these myths was the Roman belief that Romulus, the founder of Rome, was suckled one day by a she-wolf, which gave him strength and wisdom.

The Romans used to celebrate this event in mid-February each year with a big festival.

One of the rituals of this festival was the sacrifice of a dog and a goat. Two strong and muscular youths would daub the blood of the dog and goat onto their bodies, then they would wash the blood away with milk. After that there would be a great parade, with these two youths at its head, which would go about the streets. The two youths would have pieces of leather with which they would hit everyone who crossed their path. The Roman women would welcome these blows, because they believed that they could prevent or cure infertility.

The connection between Saint Valentine and this festival:

Saint Valentine is a name which is given to two of the ancient "martyrs" of the Christian Church. It was said that there were two of them, or that there was only one, who died in Rome as the result of the persecution of the Gothic leader Claudius, c. 296 CE. In 350 CE, a church was built in Rome on the site of the place where he died, to perpetuate his memory.

When the Romans embraced Christianity, they continued to celebrate the Feast of Love mentioned above, but they changed it from the pagan concept of "spiritual love" to another concept known as the "martyrs of love", represented by Saint Valentine who had advocated love and peace, for which cause he was martyred, according to their claims. It was also called the Feast of Lovers, and Saint Valentine was considered to be the patron saint of lovers.

One of their false beliefs connected with this festival was that the names of girls who had reached marriageable age would be written on small rolls of paper and placed in a dish on a table. Then the young men who wanted to get married would be called, and each of them would pick a piece of paper. He would put himself at the service of the girl whose name he had drawn for one year, so that they could find out about one another. Then they would get married, or they would repeat the same process again on the day of the festival in the following year.

The Christian clergy reacted against this tradition, which they considered to have a corrupting influence on the morals of young men and women. It was abolished in Italy, where it had been well-known, then it was revived in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, when in some western countries there appeared shops which sold small books called “Valentine’s books”, which contained love poems, from which the one who wanted to send a greeting to his sweetheart could choose. They also contained suggestions for writing love letters.

The above quotation is excerpted, with slight modifications, from www.Islam-qa.com

As regards the Islamic stance on this festival, Dr. Su`ad Ibrahim Salih, professor of Islamic Jurisprudence (Fiqh) at Al-Azhar University, states the following:

Indeed, Islam is the religion of altruism, true love, and cooperation on that which is good and righteous. We implore Allah Almighty to gather us together under the umbrella of His All-encompassing Mercy, and to unite us together as one man. Allah Almighty says: (The believers are naught else than brothers. Therefore make peace between your brethren and observe your duty to Allah that haply ye may obtain mercy.) (Al-Hujurat 49: 10)

Focusing more on the question in point, I can say that there are forms of expressing love that are religiously acceptable, while there are others that are not religiously acceptable. Among the forms of love that are religiously acceptable are those that include the love for Prophets and Messengers. It stands to reason that the love for Allah, and His Messenger Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) should have the top priority over all other forms of love.

Islam does recognize happy occasions that bring people closer to one another, and add spice to their lives. However, Islam goes against blindly imitating the West regarding a special occasion such as Valentine’s Day. Hence, commemorating that special day known as the Valentine’s Day is an innovation or bid`ah that has no religious backing. Every innovation of that kind is rejected, as far as Islam is concerned. Islam requires all Muslims to love one another all over the whole year, and reducing the whole year to a single day is totally rejected.

Hence, we Muslims ought not to follow in the footsteps of such innovations and superstitions that are common in what is known as the Valentine’s Day. No doubt that there are many irreligious practices that occur on that day, and those practices are capable of dissuading people from the true meanings of love and altruism to the extent that the celebration is reduced to a moral decline.

Why islam rejected valentine:

"Valentine" became a familiar term and referred to the momentum of the popular February 14. Momentum keeps separate values for those who celebrate it. Thus not infrequently February 14 actualized as a special celebration each year. Starting with a special gift packaging, cast saying "Happy Valentine", to hold a big celebration like a wedding reception. This is considered reasonable for a momentum that "privileged".

However, the fairness of the celebration of Valentine's being debated, even inviting warm conversation, when Islam took part for the privilege of this celebration. Valentine is believed to be a culture born of the Christian religion has involved the greater part of the Islamic youth to celebrate. It is considered one that gave birth to the claim of "unlawful" for Muslims who celebrate it.

why islam rejected valentine Ironically, the fatwa "unlawful" for Valentine's Day celebration for Muslims, not even making Muslims (especially teenagers) to leave this Valentine celebration of culture, but on the contrary, the celebration actually ingrained and "grounded" in Islamic society in general. Is it because the doctrine is an "independent reasoning" that the new law lacks clarity as other life issues, he explained fatwa "illegitimate" for the celebration of Valentine's Day is less likely to have "generic sense", which in turn makes it less ignored fatwa.

History of Valentine's vagueness why islam rejected valentine
Unlike the other big days such as December 25 as Christmas day, or 12 Rabi 'al-Awal, which is Muhammad's birthday, February 14 actually has a "vague history" as a great day. Most people call this a day of "love", but no concrete foundation and argumentative kebenarannya.Menurut to refute the Catholic Encyclopedia (Catholic Encyclopaedia 1908), a term adapted from Valentine that the name "Valentine" at least refers to the three martyrs or saints (a saint) is different, namely: a priest in Rome, a bishop Interamna, and a martyr in the Roman province of Africa. The connection between these three martyrs of the celebration of love does not have a clear historical record. Even Pope Gelasius II in 496 AD stated that in fact nothing is known of this martyr of the third. February 14 is celebrated as a saint Valentine warning as an attempt to surpass the holiday Lupercalica (god of fertility) that was celebrated on February 15.

Unlike the other big days such as December 25 as Christmas day, or 12 Rabi 'al-Awal, which is Muhammad's birthday, February 14 actually has a "vague history" as a great day. Most people call this a day of "love", but no concrete foundation and argumentative kebenarannya.Menurut to refute the Catholic Encyclopedia (Catholic Encyclopaedia 1908), a term adapted from Valentine that the name "Valentine" at least refers to the three martyrs or saints (a saint) is different, namely: a priest in Rome, a bishop Interamna, and a martyr in the Roman province of Africa. The connection between these three martyrs of the celebration of love does not have a clear historical record. Even Pope Gelasius II in 496 AD stated that in fact nothing is known of this martyr of the third. February 14 is celebrated as a saint Valentine warning as an attempt to surpass the holiday Lupercalica (god of fertility) is celebrated on 15 Februari.Beberapa source mentions that the saint's body was identified as Hyppolytus the saint's body is put into a Valentine gold coffin and sent to the Carmelite church Whiterfiar Street Churc in Dublin Ireland by Pope Gregory XVI in 1836. Since then, many tourists who visit the church on February 14. On that date a special Mass was held and dedicated to the young people and those who are in a relationship of love.

why islam rejected valentine The first record of association with the saint's day of love began in the 14th century in England and Prrancis, where it was believed that February 14 is the day when the birds find their spouses. These beliefs are written in English literary works of the 14th century named Geoffery Chaucer. In these works he wrote: "... for this was sent on seynt valentyne's day, ... when every Foul Cometh chosehis There to matc (this was sent on the day of saint Valentine, ... when all the birds come there to choose his partner)".

why islam rejected valentine Another source of a Valentine's card of the 14th century who is said to be part of the collection pernaskahan British Library in London, told some of the legends of saints Valentine, among others noted that: the evening before Valentine was killed as a martyr, he wrote a little love statement given to the prison warden reading "of Valentinus". It is said that when the Roman soldiers were forbidden to marry by the Emperor Claudius II, saint Valentine secretly helped marry them. That's why at the time the couple was making love with the usual exchange of notes and calls his partner as "Valentine".

Valentine Celebration Actualization
Bit records "vague history" celebration of Valentine's background outlined above are still not enough reason to associate with the February 14th day of love. Oddly, to this day Valentine's celebration of the actualization flourish and thrive as the growth of mushrooms in the rainy season. Yet, without realizing this celebration has been removed from the church calendar in 1969 as an effort to eliminate the belief in saints history of the origins of the legend was limited and still need to be questioned.

why islam rejected valentine Bit records "vague history" celebration of Valentine's background outlined above are still not enough reason to associate with the February 14th day of love. Oddly, to this day Valentine's celebration of the actualization flourish and thrive as the growth of mushrooms in the rainy season. Yet, without realizing this celebration has been removed from the church calendar in 1969 as an effort to eliminate the belief in saints history of the origins of the legend and only limited dipertanyakan.Aktualisasi still need a further celebration of Valentine's fertility can be seen in some regions of the world that helped put time to celebrate. As in Japan, Valentine's Day, thanks to large-scale marketing, as a day where women give men chocolate candy they love. This was not done voluntarily, but as an obligation, especially for those who work in offices. With a few additional features, Thaiwan also actualize such a celebration of Valentine's Day Valentine's Day celebration France ini.Di toned with fireworks, while in Australia the usual teenagers congregated along the road with friends and their partners to celebrate Valentine's Day why islam rejected valentine