Darul Iftaa Mahmudiyyah

Kindly explain the Shar’ee ruling on exchanging gifts especially on Valentine’s day.

· 6 Shaʻban 1446 AH1 min readFatwa 4964English

Question

Every year before Valentine?s day - February 14 - the media kindles our emotions to express love to our dear ones. As a wife, my husband expects me to present him a gift on that day.

Answer

In the Name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful.

As-salāmu ‘alaykum wa-rahmatullāhi wa-barakātuh.

Valentines day has its roots in the Christian religion. It was established to mourn the death of a Roman priest, St. Valentine of the third Century AD. (Sunday Tribune 6/2/2000)

Since Valentines day was initially associated with Christianity, the expression of love in the form of exchanging Valentines gifts on that day will not be permissible. Rasulullah (Sallallaahu Alayhi Wasallam) said, Whosoever imitates a nation, is amongst them.(Abu Dawud pg.559; HM Saeed)

And Allah Ta’āla Knows Best

Checked and Approved by,
Mufti Ebrahim Desai.

(14/02/02)

Checked & approved by
Mufti Ebrahim Desai
View original Compare with other Darul Iftas
Questions about this ruling, answered only from the archive with sources.

Where scholars differ, it’s safer to take the more cautious view.

Fatawa SA is an independent, read-only index of fatawa already published by Darul Iftaa Mahmudiyyah. It is not a fatwa service. For your own situation, please ask a Mufti. Report an issue

For corrections or mistakes, please email us at fatawasa786@gmail.com.

Source: Darul Iftaa Mahmudiyyah — https://askimam.org/public/question_detail/4964
Fatawa SA: https://fatawa.co.za/fatwa/askimam-4964

Related fatawa