Candle Light Gathering, Is It Islamic?
Question:
Some people show sympathy for a sad incident (e.g. killing of civilians by terrorists) by organising candle gathering (where people bring candles to a popular location in the city to remember the victims). Is this Islamic?
Answer:
It depends what you mean by "Is this Islamic". If it means "does this come from the religion of Islam" then the question seems to be based on a wrong assumption. The assumption seems to be "everything we do needs to come from Islam". The fact is that the vast majority of things that we do in our every day life does not come from the religion of Islam. It is indeed interesting and sad that when it comes to noble acts like showing sympathy for others suddenly the question is raised of whether this is from Islam.
Not all things that we do in our life need to come from the religion of Islam. In fact, it is impossible that we only do those acts that come from the religion of Islam. This is simply because the religion of Islam is not aiming to give us a complete list of what to do and what not to do in our life. The religion of Islam only gives us DOs and DON'Ts that are significant for our hereafter. Even then, only those things are spelled out to us because they were not clear enough or needed reminding.
The prophet (pbuh) did not reject all norms of the society in which he lived to replace them with 'something from Islam'. He adopted those practices that were valuable and harmless. When he was a young man he entered the covenant of half al-fudhul. This was a covenant among a group of young people in Mecca to help bring justice to those who see injustice in merchandise in Mecca. Later when the prophet (pbuh) received revelation and was in Medina he was quoted to say that he would participate in the acts of this covenant if he was called to it.
On the other hand, if "Is this Islamic" means "is this halal", then the answer is Yes. This is because we cannot announce anything haram unless we have evidences from reliable sources of religion to tell us it is indeed haram.
If the argument is that this is imitating non-Muslims, then again this is on the basis of false assumption. Forbidding imitating non-Muslims was to avoid doing haram things that they were doing and also to remain separate from those among the direct addressees of the prophet (pbuh) who rejected him out of arrogance and enmity. It has nothing to do with an act like candle gathering.
Showing sympathy for such atrocities comes from human nature, universal akhlaq (morals) and religion as well. As long as nothing haram will be involved, it does not matter how to show this sympathy. Candle gathering seems to have become a way that many societies and cultures have now adopted to show their sympathy for such incidents. There is no reason why a Muslim should not attend one or organise one.In fact, if it is done with correct intentions, then it can also be rewarding before the Almighty.
December 2014
Some people show sympathy for a sad incident (e.g. killing of civilians by terrorists) by organising candle gathering (where people bring candles to a popular location in the city to remember the victims). Is this Islamic?
Answer:
It depends what you mean by "Is this Islamic". If it means "does this come from the religion of Islam" then the question seems to be based on a wrong assumption. The assumption seems to be "everything we do needs to come from Islam". The fact is that the vast majority of things that we do in our every day life does not come from the religion of Islam. It is indeed interesting and sad that when it comes to noble acts like showing sympathy for others suddenly the question is raised of whether this is from Islam.
Not all things that we do in our life need to come from the religion of Islam. In fact, it is impossible that we only do those acts that come from the religion of Islam. This is simply because the religion of Islam is not aiming to give us a complete list of what to do and what not to do in our life. The religion of Islam only gives us DOs and DON'Ts that are significant for our hereafter. Even then, only those things are spelled out to us because they were not clear enough or needed reminding.
The prophet (pbuh) did not reject all norms of the society in which he lived to replace them with 'something from Islam'. He adopted those practices that were valuable and harmless. When he was a young man he entered the covenant of half al-fudhul. This was a covenant among a group of young people in Mecca to help bring justice to those who see injustice in merchandise in Mecca. Later when the prophet (pbuh) received revelation and was in Medina he was quoted to say that he would participate in the acts of this covenant if he was called to it.
On the other hand, if "Is this Islamic" means "is this halal", then the answer is Yes. This is because we cannot announce anything haram unless we have evidences from reliable sources of religion to tell us it is indeed haram.
If the argument is that this is imitating non-Muslims, then again this is on the basis of false assumption. Forbidding imitating non-Muslims was to avoid doing haram things that they were doing and also to remain separate from those among the direct addressees of the prophet (pbuh) who rejected him out of arrogance and enmity. It has nothing to do with an act like candle gathering.
Showing sympathy for such atrocities comes from human nature, universal akhlaq (morals) and religion as well. As long as nothing haram will be involved, it does not matter how to show this sympathy. Candle gathering seems to have become a way that many societies and cultures have now adopted to show their sympathy for such incidents. There is no reason why a Muslim should not attend one or organise one.In fact, if it is done with correct intentions, then it can also be rewarding before the Almighty.
December 2014
