Happy Birthday To Me
I've discovered that I share my birthday with Garry Kasparov (world chess champ - perhaps a day for strategy and brains?), Samuel Beckett (playwright, most famously of 'Waiting for Godot', so some hope for me developing deeper high-brow writing skills?) and Thomas Jefferson, third president of the USA (I leave you to draw your own conclusions on that one!).
Interestingly, (well, according to Wikipedia, anyway) it is thought the large-scale celebration of birthdays in Europe began with the cult of Mithras, which originated in Persia but was spread by soldiers throughout the Roman Empire.
You may be aware that some segments of the Muslim communities do not celebrate birthdays of any sort, either their own, or even that of the Prophet Muhammed. I know that they cite this as "bid'ah", based on the view that this was not part of the Prophet's way (something I don't feel is strictly correct, but that's my personal view). However, I was curious to discover that Jehovah's Witnesses do not celebrate it either as they state it is a pagan custom. Apparently some Jews do not celebrate birthdays either (I'd be interested to find out more from any Jewish readers if this is the case), stating that the day of death is better than the day of birth, and also citing the only example of a birthday celebrating in the Torah being that of the Pharaoh, and who would want to emulate him?
In any case, I find birthdays a great way to take some time out to show someone they are special. Yeah, yeah, I get that you are supposed to show them everyday, but let's be realistic - a day specially focusing on someone is a real treat to renew and strengthen loving attachment.
And of course, birthdays are a good excuse for a get-together and some cake. Mine's a double chocolate with fresh strawberries, if you were wondering.
Interestingly, (well, according to Wikipedia, anyway) it is thought the large-scale celebration of birthdays in Europe began with the cult of Mithras, which originated in Persia but was spread by soldiers throughout the Roman Empire.
You may be aware that some segments of the Muslim communities do not celebrate birthdays of any sort, either their own, or even that of the Prophet Muhammed. I know that they cite this as "bid'ah", based on the view that this was not part of the Prophet's way (something I don't feel is strictly correct, but that's my personal view). However, I was curious to discover that Jehovah's Witnesses do not celebrate it either as they state it is a pagan custom. Apparently some Jews do not celebrate birthdays either (I'd be interested to find out more from any Jewish readers if this is the case), stating that the day of death is better than the day of birth, and also citing the only example of a birthday celebrating in the Torah being that of the Pharaoh, and who would want to emulate him?
In any case, I find birthdays a great way to take some time out to show someone they are special. Yeah, yeah, I get that you are supposed to show them everyday, but let's be realistic - a day specially focusing on someone is a real treat to renew and strengthen loving attachment.
And of course, birthdays are a good excuse for a get-together and some cake. Mine's a double chocolate with fresh strawberries, if you were wondering.
Labels: personal
posted by Shelina Zahra Janmohamed at 22:47
9 Comments:
Happy (belated?) Birthday! It's refreshing to see an open minded, practicing, muslim who doesn’t follow the arab/literal form of Islam in the public domain. If ever I encounter the bidah-exclaiming-lovers (bless) on my birthday, I usually tell them I am celebrating the joy my parents felt when I was born!
Salam,
Happy Belated Birthday! The cake sounds delicious!
If your readers are anything like me, they would have all jumped straight to wikipedia to look up famous people they share their birthday with :-) Karl Marx for me!
Thanks! I wish I had got one like that! Maybe next year...
When I was a Benedictine monk we didn't do birthdays, but we did do patronal days: i.e. whatever monastic name you had chosen - mine was Stephen - you were congratulated and blessed by the whole community when that Saint's Day appeared in the liturgy.
Took some getting used to that my own identity had been superceded by that of my particular saint, but then again that was an integral aspect of monastic 'formation'.
All the more confusing for the brethren that I had chosen not Stephen the Proto-Martyr, whose feast falls the day after Christmas Day [Good King Wenceslas looking out etc...], but St. Stephen Harding - an English lawyer who became one the first Cistercians - an obscure saint whose name day was late in January.
They would all line up dutifully on Dec 26th to give me my patronal blessing, only to be reminded by the Abbot that they had gotten my 'birthday' wrong!
(I did once ask the Abbot if they did paper hats for Christmas luncheon - but he was Germam and so didn't do humour sadly. Another month of penitential bread and water for me!)
i forgot exactly what my minister-turn-muslim friend when we were discusing things and just happened to mention birthdays, but basically he based his disagreement with celebrating birthdays on astronomical pov.
anyway, happy belated, may Allah bless your days onwards, making them full of joy and enligtment for you and those around you, and accepts the ones in the past. amin
btw, you also need to consider celebrating your hijrah calender based birthedays, sis ... :-)
Having two birhtdays isn't such a bad idea huh?
take care!
Really interesting to hear that something that is so often taken easily for granted - birthdays - has so many different facets and nuances.
Peter, even though your own birthday wasn't celebrated (i.e. the day of your own physical birth), there was a day where you were 'special' and singled out, albeit in the shadow of another person/name.
Satriyo - yes, agree, we should give more prominence to our Islamic birthdays. Funnily, I was discussing this with my five year old niece and she wished me happy birthday on my Islamic birthday too!
salaam
yeap historically it is a pagan ritual, and i know a historian too :D
So yeah unfortuantly it is forbidden for us to practice. And as muslims, well soem muslims follow the sunnah, the prophets ways. As i do so i do nto practice pagan rituals such as brithdays, or christians rituals such as valentines day, Christmas, easter, or new years.
It is always easyer to the do the wrong thing, and it is always hard to do the right thing.
As modern muslims it is easyer to follow the disbelievers then it is to follow Muhammed (SAW)
Saloua
a bid'ah is when you add something to religion and say that it is part of religion. No-one is saying that here.
BTW, taraweeh prayer is considered bid'ah, but is named "good innovation"
Post a Comment
<< Home