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Every year this debate rages in the Muslim world – can a Muslim mark this day?

WHAT ARE THE RELIGIOUS FESTIVALS FOR MUSLIMS?
Rehana Matri: There are only two religious festivals for Muslims: The two Eids. However, this does not mean that it is forbidden to celebrate historic events and cultural festivals that are not based on religion, is it?

INVESTIGATE CAREFULLY
Rehana Matri: God said whenever you hear anything investigate carefully into it before you declare something as wrong. And God said to celebrate the praises of Allah on Eid even more than you celebrate the praises of your fathers. Thus it is not forbidden to celebrate historic events as long as these celebrations are not celebrated more greatly than the religious festivals during which we remember Allah.

THE TRUE MEANING OF VALENTINE’S DAY
The true spirit seems to be to remember and honour marriage.

Rehana Matri:  This festival is about marriage, love marriage, not about sweethearts getting together out of marriage. Why do people turn the good Valentine did around and make it look bad? He married couples who wished to be married, he worked against the establishment of his time that refused them to be married.

Whenever you hear something you have got to investigate it before you declare it a wrong. Valentine secretly married couples who wished to be married, secretly because the establishment of his time had forbidden couples to be married. If this information is correct he did the right thing. In Islam we are not to prevent couples from marriage.

THE PLACE OF NON RELIGIOUS EVENTS
Rehana Matri: There are only two religious festivals to be observed by Muslims, the two Eids. But when did Allah and His Messenger forbid to celebrate non-religious events, like historic events, like Mothers’ Day or birthdays or marriage?

There is such a thing as couples to meet before marriage and agree to marriage before the event. And if they wish to be married and the establishment forbids such a sacred communion, and some righteous man takes it upon himself to marry them, is this not praiseworthy in Islam?

Indeed, nobody today is able to say with certainty what the reality of the story is but THIS IS THE STORY. The teachings of the Prophet (PBUH) is to investigate carefully any story before you judge this or that way.

THE PROPER EXPRESSION OF LOVE
Shimaila Matri Dawood: Going by the Holy Quran itself, of course there is love before marriage, and it is a mercy and blessing from God himself. The whole injunction is that you do not debase such as noble feeling but elevate it and treat it with honour.

Waseema Abdulrasheed: Love has also been given importance in the Quran but in the proper way and how it should be dealt with.

Rehana Matri: It should be given importance. Husband and wife are to live together with love between them. Couples should be married if they have got the means. Express your love to your wife, says the Quran. So what is wrong with reminding people that marriage is about love and sweethearts?

WHAT VALENTINE DID
Rehana Matri: Valentine  did not tell the couples to live together out of marriage. He married them. Why cannot we remind our young people of this? The Western way of living together out of marriage is definitely not the way to go. Valentine stood against it and married them. Should we really disapprove?

Allah has not forbidden marriage. What is forbidden is sex out of marriage. Love out of marriage is a totally different story. Everyone follows their own direction, as they understand the teachings of Islam. And in the end everyone is to give account for their choices.

 Rehana Matri:  May all lovers, men and women, be married and may all married men and women celebrate their love and this is what Valentine’s Day stands for, a celebration of love and marriage as I see it. But I would like to add that Valentine’s Day is not being celebrated in the spirit of Saint Valentine, and this is to be rejected. For he did not stand for free love out of marriage. It is a day to come out with your love, propose to your loved one, to make it known to everyone that you seek each other in marriage. It is not a day to celebrate free love out of marriage.

It is a day to come out with your love, propose to your loved one, to make it known to everyone that you seek each other in marriage. It is not a day to celebrate free love out of marriage.