Questions & Answers

Alhamdu lillah, ISLAM determines what is good and what is bad, what is accepted and what is not accepted. What is obligatory upon a Muslim is to adopt Islam as his way of life. All culture and customs have to be checked according to the laws of Allah found in the Qur'an and the authentic Sunnah. Whatever cultural practices and customs that opposes the Book and the Sunnah, such have to be rejected and not acted upon, for indeed the true identity of a Muslim is his Islam before his nationality, tribe, clan or background. That is what a muslim identifies as, before any identity. Allah says:

"Today I have completed your religion for you and perfected my bounties upon you and I am pleased with Islam for you as a religion" (Surah Al-Ma'idah v:3)

The companions understood that when they embraced Islam it was above everything else and it had to be their only guide in life.

Salman Al-Farisiy (رضي الله عنه) was a Persian and when he embraced Islam he used to say: "My father is Islam, there is no father for me other than it whenever they tribally boast with Qays and Tameem" (Two noble Arab tribes)

Umar bin Al-Khattab said: "We are a people whom Allah has honored through Islam. If we seek honor in anything other than Islam, Allah will humiliate us" [Al-Haakim]

Customs Within Islamic Boundaries:
As for the norms and customs that people are used to, and those customs do not oppose the Quran and the Sunnah and the way of the Sahaabah, like the customs on how certain people wear, what they are used to eat and similar norms like these then the scholars have mentioned that one can indulge in such customs as the Fiqh principle states: "The custom is ruled with"

This is if the custom is within the boundaries of Shari'ah and it does not oppose any Quranic verse or authentic Hadeeth and it is not related to beliefs or superstition. There is no custom or culture above the Deen of Allah.

Sheikh Ibn Baaz (رحمه الله) said: "It is the duty of every Muslim not to rely on customs, but rather to compare them to the pure Shari'ah. Whatever it approves of is permissible to do, and whatever it does not then it is not allowed."

Alhamdu lillah, ISLAM determines what is good and what is bad, what is accepted and what is not accepted. What is obligatory upon a Muslim is to adopt Islam as his way of life. All culture and customs have to be checked according to the laws of Allah found in the Qur'an and the authentic Sunnah. Whatever cultural practices and customs that opposes the Book and the Sunnah, such have to be rejected and not acted upon, for indeed the true identity of a Muslim is his Islam before his nationality, tribe, clan or background. That is what a muslim identifies as, before any identity. Allah says:

"Today I have completed your religion for you and perfected my bounties upon you and I am pleased with Islam for you as a religion" (Surah Al-Ma'idah v:3)

The companions understood that when they embraced Islam it was above everything else and it had to be their only guide in life.

Salman Al-Farisiy (رضي الله عنه) was a Persian and when he embraced Islam he used to say: "My father is Islam, there is no father for me other than it whenever they tribally boast with Qays and Tameem" (Two noble Arab tribes)

Umar bin Al-Khattab said: "We are a people whom Allah has honored through Islam. If we seek honor in anything other than Islam, Allah will humiliate us" [Al-Haakim]

Customs Within Islamic Boundaries:
As for the norms and customs that people are used to, and those customs do not oppose the Quran and the Sunnah and the way of the Sahaabah, like the customs on how certain people wear, what they are used to eat and similar norms like these then the scholars have mentioned that one can indulge in such customs as the Fiqh principle states: "The custom is ruled with"

This is if the custom is within the boundaries of Shari'ah and it does not oppose any Quranic verse or authentic Hadeeth and it is not related to beliefs or superstition. There is no custom or culture above the Deen of Allah.

Sheikh Ibn Baaz (رحمه الله) said: "It is the duty of every Muslim not to rely on customs, but rather to compare them to the pure Shari'ah. Whatever it approves of is permissible to do, and whatever it does not then it is not allowed."