Full Lecture Transcript (Cleaned)
The Argument of Pagan Origins — 31:14
The second issue that is raised: "Oh, but Halloween is not like the 4th of July. Halloween is something that emanates from paganism." Okay, clear. Excellent point.
Without a doubt, any custom, any ritual, any cultural manifestation that is associated with paganism and is done by members of a religion as a mark of that religion is absolutely haram. There's no two opinions about this. So many Hindus wear the red dot — that is a mark of certain sects and types of Hinduism. We as Muslims can never do that. Buddhists have a particular garb that only Buddhist monks wear. We're not allowed to wear that because that's a mark of a Buddhist. Anything that is clearly associated with paganism cannot be done by Muslims.
What If the Association Is Gone? — 32:29
What if it used to be associated with paganism, but it is no longer associated at a mass level with paganism? That is what we're dealing with when it comes to Halloween. In other words, does the origin matter, or does the current status quo matter?
The response: what matters is the current status quo and not the origins. And the reason for this is because actions are judged by intentions. When there is a universal understanding that the only people that wear the red dot are those that are venerating or associated with Hinduism, then the cultural understanding would be that because it is associated with Hinduism, it must be avoided. But if that cultural understanding is gone and nobody knows of the past — and I'll give you plenty of examples.
The Days of the Week and Months of the Year — 34:14
The most obvious examples — ones we still operate with to this day: the ancient Romans were the ones who instituted the names of our days and our months. And every single one of them was done in commemoration of and veneration to different gods. You can look this up.
Monday — the moon god. Sunday — the sun god. Thursday — from Thor. Wednesday — from Odin. Literally Wednesday from Odin. And so on and so forth. The names of the months as well — Jupiter gives us July, Saturn gives us Saturday. Each one of them — the names of the months are literally coming from the Roman gods.
The origins of the names of the days and the names of the months in the English language as currently used by all of us have pagan roots explicitly. They literally wanted to venerate the gods, so they named the days and the months after the gods.
Simple question: is it haram to say "today is Tuesday" and "we're in the month of October"? Because we have to be consistent. If you're going to say that the origins play a role, then be consistent and never say "today is Tuesday" — or else you're committing shirk. But that's obviously absurd. We have to move beyond emotion here.
The Olympics — 35:29
But that's not the only example. There are a ton of examples because that's how culture works. The Olympics — every Muslim country in the world participates in the Olympics. Every single Muslim country. What was the origin of the Olympics? It was to venerate the Greek gods. The entire festivities from beginning to end were meant to venerate the Olympian gods. That's the purpose of the Olympics.
Is it haram for Muslim countries to participate or to watch the Olympics? Nobody knows this anymore. It's gone. It's forgotten.
Nike Shoes — 36:16
Your Nike shoes that you're wearing — the guy who made that swoosh, he took the god of speed or war, whatever. He wanted to replicate that. Is it haram to wear Nike? By the way, some scholars have that fatwa, and I don't want to mock it. They're pious people and I respect their piety. But you understand why some groups believe some scholars are disconnected from reality.
Wedding Rings — 39:23
Even the rings that we give when we get married — you think they're Christian? No, actually they're pagan. They go back to ancient Egypt, believe it or not. There's some holy ring or something that would be "the ring of light" or something like that. And then Christianity added a bit of a Christian motive — the third finger, the ring finger: the Father, the Son, the Holy Ghost. But even Christians have lost track of that theology. I don't think anybody wears a ring for that religious reason anymore. It's gone.
And this culture has been absorbed around the world. Muslims around the world — Muslims of the Middle East, Muslims of India, Pakistan, Muslims here — they're all giving rings when they get married. Wedding rings, engagement rings, whatever. And the Sharia is not dictating these things even if the origin was pagan, because nobody has that notion when they're practiced anymore.
The Principle — 40:07
So bottom line: pagan roots only play a role if the concept of paganism is still associated with that idea and concept. If the association is gone, the practice is judged by its current meaning and usage, not its historical origins.