14/02/2020
CELEBRATING ST. VALENTINE’S DAY
The yearly globalized celebration of love with its
ritual circulation of greeting cards, flowers,
exalting the color red, and exchanging presents in
honour and respect for free love is completely
against Islamic teachings.
Its prohibition is not merely because of its 4th
festival held in honour of the Roman god
Lupercus, in whose honour an annual lottery on
the 13-15 of February was held to distribute
young women among young men for
"entertainment and pleasure," although this fact
alone is enough to prohibit it.
Nor is it because of its Christian adaptation in
honour of St. Valentine, worshiped by Catholics
as the lover’s saint, although this concept of shirk
alone is also sufficient to make it forbidden.
Nor is it due to the use of pagan symbols of
Cupid, the Roman god of desire, erotic love, and
affection, portrayed as a little boy with a bow,
whose arrows pierce hearts and overwhelms them
with uncontrollable desire.
It is primarily forbidden because it promotes and
glorifies sexual abandon and licentiousness in the
name of the divinely granted emotional gift of
love.
While love in the Islamic context is expressed in a
balanced way, beginning with the love of God,
love of family and love of society—each having its
own rights and duties.
This moderate view puts love in its proper
context, benefiting everyone all year long and not
just confined to a commercialized crazy day of
ritualized romantic chaos in the name of love.