Is It Permissible for Children to Participate in Activities Associated with Halloween?
Answered by Shaykh Dr. Muhammad Abu Bakr Badhib
Question
Is it permissible for children to participate in activities associated with Halloween, such as wearing costumes representing specific characters?
Answer
In the name of Allah, and all praise is due to Allah, and blessings and peace be upon our master Muhammad, the Messenger of Allah, his Family, his Companions, and those who follow him.
The summary of the ruling on specifying Halloween by wearing a specific costume or engaging in a specific activity by Muslims is that it is not permissible due to it involving the imitation of non-Muslims in their religious festivals.
Detailed Answer
Islam is the final religion, as Allah (Most High) has stated:
“Whoever seeks a way other than Islam, it will never be accepted from them.” [Quran, 3:85]
And our Master Muhammad (Allah bless him and give him peace) is the final prophet, as is necessarily known in the religion.
Therefore, any law that contradicts his law is rejected and not accepted, as it contradicts the teachings of Islam.
Halloween is one of the Christian festivals, and there are three opinions regarding it:
- Many in the West believe that the idea of Halloween has purely Christian roots. It is an annual celebration held specifically on the last day of October to coincide with another historical Christian festival called All Saints’ Day. [Maha Daham, Mawdu‘]
- Other researchers and historians suggest that the idea of Halloween has pagan roots, as the ancient Celtic culture (tribes that settled in Central Europe sharing language, culture, and religion. [Who Were Celts]) knew the Harvest Festival or the Gaelic Samhain Festival, which resembles the way Halloween is celebrated.
- However, it is most likely that the origins of Halloween are unknown, both historically and culturally.
Guidance
Based on what has been presented, we know that this is not part of Islamic festivals in any way, and it is incumbent upon Muslims to keep their children away from imitating non-Muslims in their festivals and occasions. This imitation is a serious matter included in the principles of allegiance and dissociation (wala’ wa bara’), even if the imitator does not believe in their beliefs, because “the companion pulls one along,” and the Prophet (Allah bless him and give him peace) has instructed us to differ from the Jews and Christians in his saying: “Contradict the Jews and Christians.” And he (peace be upon him) also said, “Whoever imitates a people is one of them.” [Abu Dawud; Ahmad; Malik]
We ask Allah to keep our religion safe for us, to protect us in our beliefs, and to keep us steadfast in Islam until we meet Him. And Allah is the Granter of success.
[Shaykh] Dr. Muhammad Abu Bakr Badhib
Shaykh Dr Muhammad Abu Bakr Badhib is a prominent Islamic scholar from Yemen born in Shibam, Hadhramaut, in 1976. He received his degree in Shari‘a from Al-Ahqaf University, a master’s degree from the Islamic University of Beirut, and a PhD in Usul al-Din from Aligarh Muslim University (AMU).
He studied under great scholars such as Shaykh al-Habib Ahmad Mashhur al-Haddad, Shaykh Fadl Ba‘ fadl, Habib Salim al-Shatiri, Habib Ali Mashhur bin Hafeez, and others. He has served as the Director of Publications at Dar al-Fiqh, the former Deputy Director of Cultural Relations at Al-Ahqaf University, a former Assistant for Employee Affairs at Atiyah Iron Company, a researcher at the Sunna Center affiliated with the Dallah al-Baraka Foundation, and a researcher at Al-Furqan Foundation’s Makka al-Mukarrama and Madina al-Munawwara Encyclopedia branch.
Currently, he is a researcher at Al-Furqan Foundation’s Makka al-Mukarrama and Madina al-Munawwara Encyclopedia branch, teaches traditionally through the Ijaza system at Dar al-Fuqaha in Turkey, supervises the Arabic department at Nur al-Huda International Institute (SeekersGuidance), and is a member of the Board of Trustees of the Manuscript House in Istanbul.
His works include “The Efforts of Hadhramaut Jurists in Serving the Shafi‘i School,” “Contributions of Hadhramaut Scholars in Spreading Islam and its Sciences in India,” “Hada’iq al-Na‘im in Shafi‘i Fiqh,” in addition to verifying several books in Fiqh, history, the art of biographies, and Asanid (chains of narration).
