Permissibility of Easter Eggs
Answered by Shaykh Farid Dingle
Question: Assalamu alaykum
I live in the UK and at this time of the year chocolate eggs are sold in supermarkets which are known as Easter eggs.
Is purchasing and consuming these chocolate easter eggs with no religious intentions permissible?
Answer: Wa alaykum assalam,
I’m English and I guess I’m fairly au fait with English culture, and I see Easter as a religious occasion, and therefore Easter eggs would be part and parcel of that Easter celebration.
It would seem that buying and consuming Easter eggs during the Easter period would be mimicking Christians in a religious act and would not be permissible.
Maybe others might see this in a different light, but I certainly wouldn’t let my kids do it, even if they got sad and felt left out.
My suggestion would be to do something more fun (and tasty) a week before Easter so that your kids don’t feel left out. Always try to give two halals for every haram that you stop your kids from having. (Maybe you could even do a kids play of the story of Ibrahim smashing the idols, and you could smash up giant Easter bunnies! But just keep that to your own family. We don’t need to be offending anyone!)
I pray this helps.
Wassalam,
[Shaykh] Farid Dingle
Shaykh Farid Dingle grew up in a convert family in Herefordshire, UK. In 2007, he moved to Jordan to pursue traditional studies. Shaykh Farid continues to live in Amman, Jordan with his wife and kids. In addition to continuing his studies he teaches Arabic and several of the Islamic sciences.
Shaykh Farid began his journey in sacred knowledge with intensives in the UK and Jordan (2004) in Shafi’i fiqh and Arabic. After years of studying Arabic grammar, Shafi’i fiqh, hadith, legal methodology (usul al-fiqh) and tafsir, Sh. Farid began specializing in Arabic language and literature. Sh. Farid studied Pre-Islamic poetry, Umayyad, Abbasid, Fatimid, and Andalusian literature. He holds a BA in Arabic Language and Literature and continues exploring the language of the Islamic tradition.
In addition to his interest in the Arabic language Shaykh Farid actively researches matters related to jurisprudence (fiqh) which he studied with Shaykh Hamza Karamali, Shaykh Ahmad Hasanat, and continues with Shaykh Amjad Rasheed.
