Celebrate birthday...

A. A! I hope you all gayz... Today am talking about birthday celebration... Celebrating birthdays is not a part of the Islamic traditions; the Islamic doctrines have not persuaded or recommended us to celebrate our birthdays. Although celebrating a child's birthday does have some positive effectss, this practice has no Arabic or oriental root. God, the Glorified, has not referred to any of the prophets' births except in two cases. The first refers to divine grace in connection with Prophet Moses' birth. God reminds us of His grace and favor to Moses for saving him from Pharaoh and letting him grow up in his house. The Quran says:

"فَالْتَقَطَهُ آلُ فِرْعَوْنَ لِیَکُونَ لَهُمْ عَدُوًّا وَ حَزَناً ..."

"Then the people of Pharaoh picked him up (from the river): (It was intended) that (Moses) should be to them an adversary and a cause of sorrow…"

The second case refers to the birth of Jesus' as the expression of God's power. God, the Almighty, does not make mention of Prophet Ibrahim or other prophets' birth because a man's birth at an appointed time is of no value and significance for him. It is of no benefit for him either. That is why Islam has not recommended us to celebrate the birthdays of the Prophet (s) or any of the Imams or others. There is no doubt that Muslims have imitated other civilizations in this regard, those that commemorated the birthdays of their prophets and religious leaders. For instance, Christians annually celebrate the birthdays of their religious leaders, literary men and great artists. They have even chosen Jesus Christ's birthday as the beginning of history and the Christian calendar whereas the Islamic calendar is reckoned from the time of migration (Hijra) of Prophet Mohammad (s) rather than his birthday.

In fact, we do not have a negative stance in this regard as we do not see any harm in imitating such traditions and in celebrating the birthdays of religious leaders because the birthday ceremonies, commemorations and celebrations held by people here and there acquaint them with the teachings, efforts, missions and conducts of the religious leaders creating a bond between people and them. These commemorations help acquaint people with the lives of the religious leaders. They help bring liveliness and joviality in Islamic society, and let people emulate the religious leaders throughout their lives. Unlike some non-Shia Muslims who consider such celebrations as a kind of bid’ah or innovation in religion, we believe that such practices are not bid'ah because bid'ah (innovation) does not include such matters about which there is no injunction in the Quran and traditions.