How Should I Respond When My Child Is Invited to Halloween Parties?

Question: Some Muslims around us celebrate Halloween and Christmas. They do so to have fun, not on a religious basis. What should we do when they invite us to such parties? Our kid gets excited when he sees other kids dressed in costumes. How should we deal with this? Right now, even if we participate for the sake of fun, our kid might go into the depths of Halloween culture when he grows up. We as a parent how should we respond to such invitations?

Answer:

Assalamu alaykum,

Thank you for your excellent question. You are absolutely right when you say that your child might grow up and go deeper into the Halloween culture and make it his own. Follow your instincts.

Resources

You will find excellent answers to your question below; please read them in full:
https://seekers.flywheelstaging.com/articles/featured-articles/including-our-children-in-the-halloween-discussion-by-hina-khan-mukhtar/
https://seekers.flywheelstaging.com/articles/prophetic-guidance/halloween-imam-zaid-shakir/

Etiquette

As for the etiquette of declining an invitation to such parties, there are a few ideas that come to mind:

-At the very least, politely decline and explain that you don’t celebrate Halloween for the reasons from the above links. Eventually, with some thought, they will join your side, in sha Allah.

-Organize, in advance, a party or get-together so the children can see their friends and play and not be sad about not going trick-or-treating.

-Our local Islamic school organizes an evening event for all the Muslim students, so they have somewhere to go and are not tempted to go out trick-or-treating. Suggest this to your local school or mosque.

Overall

Most of all, teach your child early the reasons that we don’t celebrate Halloween. Teach them to be proud of the decision and not to be apologetic about it. Show compassion when they are disappointed and teach them that we refrain from this for the pleasure of Allah and our principles and not because of fear of how we will look to others. May Allah give you the best of this world and the next.

[Ustadha] Shazia Ahmad

Checked and Approved by Shaykh Faraz Rabbani

Ustadha Shazia Ahmad lived in Damascus, Syria, for two years, where she studied aqidah, fiqh, tajweed, Tafseer, and Arabic. She then attended the University of Texas at Austin, where she completed her Master’s in Arabic. Afterward, she moved to Amman, Jordan, where she studied fiqh, Arabic, and other sciences. She recently moved back to Mississauga, Canada, where she lives with her family.