Birthday

Islam's view on Celebrating Birthdays

Islam teaches Muslim to have a unique character and to be distinguished. A Muslim is weaned on morality and avoiding blind imitation. Islam supports the celebration of a birthday if it is an expression of gratitude to Allah for His bounties, sustenance and blessings in man’s life, as long as that celebration does not include anything that may displease Allah, the Almighty.

Focusing on the issue of celebrating birthdays, we would like to start by citing the following:
"In Islam, birthdays are not considered `eid (a festival) like `Eidul-Fitr or `Eidul-Adha, because `eids have conditions and guidelines such as not being allowed to fast during the days of Eid. Therefore, birthdays are simply occasions of a person's date of birth and are a matter of culture. If a person wants to commemorate his/her date of birth, then he/she may do so, especially if he/she takes the opportunity to reflect on the past and pledge to be better during the following year. However, to make the birthday an important occasion is not recommended or encouraged."

Shedding more light on the issue, the prominent Muslim scholar Sheikh Tajuddin Hamid Al-Hilali, Mufti of Australia and New Zealand, states:
"A Muslim has a distinguished personality. He should not imitate others in evil things and leave the good ones. Talking to our children about their birthdays, we should remind them that on such days they should remember the blessings of Allah and praise Him for giving them life and guidance. It would be better if we ask them to offer something in charity as a form of showing gratitude.

Still there is nothing wrong if we try to make them feel happy on that day as long as we are using lawful things. It is better if we make it a day ahead or a day after. If the child insists on having his desires fulfilled at this early age, what is going to happen when he grows older? We need to be alarmed and never allow Western traditions that are based on individualism, to ruin our families. Thus, calling birthdays `eids is not accepted, for this has no basis in Islam. At the same time, there is nothing wrong if we use these occasions to inculcate Islamic principles in our children, like showing gratitude to Allah, praising Him and seizing the chance of this life in performing good deeds since the older we grow the nearer to the grave we come."

Speaking about the same issue Sheikh Faysal Mawlawi, Deputy Chairman of the European Council for Fatwa and Research, adds:
“Permissibility is the original ruling in this case, as there is no evidence of prohibition. The principle of not following the Jews and Christians is really required in matters of their false claims and beliefs in relation to religion. Such beliefs are no more than disbelief from an Islamic perspective.

Islam supports the celebration of birthdays if it is an expression of gratitude to Allah for His bounties, sustenance and blessings in man’s life, as long as that celebration does not include anything that may displease Allah, the Almighty. In this context the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) was asked about fasting on Mondays, and he answered: “It is the day on which I was born.” Muslim scholars take this hadith and the hadith of fasting on the Day of `Ashura’ (10th of Muharram) as evidence on the permissibility of celebrating good occasions, which have special significance in our religion such as occasions like the birthday of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him).

In this context, people must be aware that celebrating such occasions, e.g. the Prophet’s birthday, is no more than a matter of habit, and by no means a religious requirement. However, if it entails any forbidden practices, such a celebration becomes forbidden for that reason alone. Moreover, a celebration of this sort becomes recommended if it includes recommended acts of worship.
It is also right to say that such celebrations contain some aspects of innovation, however it is an innovation in matters of popular habits not in matters of religion. Actually innovation in habits is not prohibited. What is prohibited in this context is innovation in religion, as indicated in a well-known Prophetic hadith.

By analogy, there is nothing wrong in celebrating birthdays, as long as the celebration does not include any forbidden practices.

Birthday Celebration in Brunei

The Sultan's Birthday

The most common birthdays celebrated in Brunei Darussalam are the birthdays of the Royal family members, the Independence Day, the Royal Armed Forces, etc. and the grandest got to be the birthday of our beloved Sultan, Sultan Haji Hassanal Bolkiah Mu’izzaddin Waddaulah, the Sultan and Yang Di-Pertuan Negara Brunei Darussalam which falls on the 15th of July annually. Since then, 15th of July is part of Brunei’s public holiday and also a date every citizens are waiting for.

It started off by the preparations for the hoisting of the giant national flag to mark the beginning of His Majesty's birthday celebration is usually held at the open courtyard of Yayasan Sultan Haji Hassanal Bolkiah Fountain, fronting the Omar 'Ali Saifuddien Mosque, in the capital.
The hoisting of the flag is meant to evoke the nationalistic and patriotic spirit of the people as well as their love for their beloved ruler and country.

In the older days, the giant flag will be hoisted in time along with the national anthem sung by choir groups. But nowadays at the ceremony, the guest of honour will hand national flags to the four district (Brunei-Muara, Tutong, Belait and Temburong) officers for various flag hoisting ceremonies in their respective districts.

The giant national flag hoisting ceremony will also mark the start of the national flag rising for members of the public on July 1. Pengirans and those who have been bestowed with titles are requested to fly their private flags.

Hoisted flags must adhere to the stipulated rules and be in good condition.

The day before 15th of July, citizens would usually be invited and encourage to go to mosques and suraus to pray Maghrib and Isya’ and recite prayers together to commemorate and kick-start the celebration. The Sultan will usually join in the event. From 15th July onwards, various celebrations will be conducted which include fireworks displays, street processions and a tug-of-war tournament.

The celebration would usually goes on until the end of July.

Normal Birthday Celebrations

Grand or just the normal small parties held at our own house, the common stuff Bruneian usually have at birthdays are of course, the birthday cake, foods (home-made or catered), presents, balloons, greeting cards, bouncers, lucky draw, loud music, etc.

But every party would usually be started off with the reciting of prayers intended to bless the birthday recipients as well as the party itself.

Or Bruneians would simply invite along family and friends to restaurants just to treat them for remembering their birthday.

I chose

Assignment 2: Festive Calendar

We were asked to choose one design from any given and make a new one by changing the design, colors and such while maintaining the position of the images inside the calendar.

The theme is Festival that we/I celebrate.

In my case, it's the Eid-ul Fitr or also known as Hari Raya Aidilfitri/Puasa. So I chose the month of July's design which is in pink. This year, Hari Raya fall on the month of September.

Eid-ul Fitr or Hari Raya Aidilfitri/Puasa literally "Celebration Day of Fasting" is usually celebrated by muslims on the 1st of the Islamic month of Syawal. It is widely celebrated by muslims all over the globe including Brunei, Malaysia, Singapore and Indonesia. In this month, muslims usually seek forgiveness spiritually and physically from each other especially to elderly people.

Preparation

On the eve of Hari Raya, Muslims will recite the takbir, which is held in mosques and surau (smaller place of worship). In some communities, there will be congregations reciting the takbir from house to house.
In big cities and towns, shopping malls and commercial centres will hold big promotions and price discounts for festive shoppers as people purchase clothes and supplies. Decorations are hung in public areas and Hari Raya songs will be played in shopping complexes. The media, such as the television will host various programs in conjunction with the celebrations.
Many people also traditionally return to their hometown generally from big metropolitan cities to rural areas. This is known as balik kampung — literally going back to one's home town to celebrate Hari Raya with family and friends. At many times, the flux of vehicles on the roads nationwide increased the number of car accidents, including deadly ones, occurring during the festive season. Road safety campaigns are often launched by the authorities ahead of the festivities in the effort of lowering the discomforting number of accidents.

Celebrating

Usually on the eve of the celebrations, family members, especially mothers and housewives, will be busy preparing food, cakes, sweets, biscuits and various delicacies to be served on the day of Hari Raya. Delicacies such as ketupat or rice cake and a meat cuisine called rendang are among the most famous cuisines that are served during this day. Other family members will help in other chores such as decorating and cleaning up the house.
Days before Hari Raya, house compounds, particularly those in the countryside will be lit up with oil lamps known as pelita or panjut. This display of oil lamps will reach its height on the 27th night of Ramadan, called the Tujuh Likur night. 'Likur' literally meaning a figure between 20 and 30, hence 'tujuh likur' means twenty seven. Originally during the early days of the arrival of Islam among the Malays, the purpose of lighting the oil lamps was to attract spirit of passed relatives and angels to descend to people's homes during the night of Lailatulqadar. However after ages has passed, such misconception is regarded counterfactual as much understanding of Islam were obtained. Nowadays the oil lamps are lit solely for decorative purposes.
It is customary for Malays to wear traditional Malay costumes. The dress for men is called baju Melayu while the women's are known as baju kurung and baju kebaya. Traditional textiles such as songket and batik are worn favourably during this day.
Muslims will attend Eid prayer in the morning and consecrate together harmoniously while taking the chance to meet and greet each other. Once the prayer is done, it is also common for Muslims in Malaysia to visit the grave of their loved ones. During this visit, they will clean the grave, perform the recital of the Yasin — a chapter (surah) from the Qur'an and also the tahlil or prayers for the deceased. All these are done in hope that their loved ones are blessed by God and they are spared from the punishment in the grave.
The rest of the day is spent visiting relatives or serving visitors. Hari Raya is a very joyous day for children for this is the day where adults are extra generous. Children will be given token sums of money, also known as duit raya from their parents and elders.
During the night, there are often celebrations with sparklers and firecrackers, albeit restrictions on playing firecrackers enforced by the authorities. Most firecracker stocks are purchased and smuggled illegally from black markets. Safety issues, especially among children are raised and alarming cases relating to injuries caused by playing firecrackers are often reported, which initially led to the banning of playing firecrackers. Despite of the enforcement of banning firecrackers, more Malay children turn to home-made firecrackers such as meriam buluh (bamboo cannon) as alternatives to commercial fireworks. Usually the lighting of firecrackers begins a few days before the end of Ramadan, and continues for about a week afterwards.

My Inspiration

STEPS

Step 1:

I started my calendar by typing out the days and dates using the Type Tool, moving them to desired position and changing the color of the font.

Then followed by typing the 'September 09', again with the Type Tool and positioned it.

I just copy and paste 'Eid Mubarak' and 'Forgive & Forget' to make it looks like borders.

Step 2:

I drew the 'Ketupat' with Brushes > Charcoal and then changed the color to green.

Step 3:

I continued the wordings (vertically) until they reached the top.

The wordings design in Arabic that read 'Eid Mubarak' was written with Brushes > Charcoal in black and I completed it with 'tajwid' (so that it'll have the correct sound when we read) which are in red.

I, then, completed the design with another bigger green 'ketupat'.

'Ketupat' usually represents Hari Raya in countries such as Brunei, Malaysia, Singapore and Indonesia.

FINAL DESIGN