Why Muslims do not celebrate Halloween?

On October 31st many people in America and other parts of the world will be celebrating Halloween. It originated with ancient Celtic festival. People believed that on the night of October 31st the ghosts of the dead would return to Earth so they would light bonfires and wear costumes to avoid evil spirits.

Times have changed and so have the ways to celebrate. Like many other festivals, Halloween has also evolved over time. Every year in America people spend billions of dollars on candies, costumes, and decorations. They believe that by wearing masks and ghoulish disguise they would ward off evil ghosts. As an Ahmadi Muslims, I don’t believe that dead can come back to life or have any power over us. This goes against the idea of unity of God in Islam. The Holy Qur’an states, “That is because it is God alone Who is the True God, and whatever they call upon beside Him is falsehood, and because it is God alone Who is the Most High, the Incomparably Great” (31:31). Indeed, He is the creator of this world and nothing happens without His will. In another place the Holy Qur’an explains, “Say, ‘Call upon those whom you assert to be gods beside God. They control not even the weight of an atom in the heavens or in the earth, nor have they any share in either, nor has He any helper among them” (34:23).

As Ahmadi Muslims we do not celebrate Halloween because there is no spiritual meaning behind it no matter how deep we dig, instead the message of Halloween is that of witches, evil spirits and satanic worship. It is extremely wrong to ‘believe in’ things that are ‘supernatural’ even if it is for fun. There are many other ways for us all to have meaningful fun. To indulge in activities that are rooted in false tales can hinder moral development. The truth is that no matter what the festival is or what is the history behind it instead we should see festivals as an opportunity to spend some quality time with our family and friends rather than wasting money on such wasteful matters. The Holy Quran emphasizes that, “And give thou to the kinsman his due, and to the poor and the wayfarer, and squander not thy wealth extravagantly” (17:27). Instead of spending money on Halloween candy and costumes, we can donate money for more charitable causes such as homelessness, education, climate change, and other causes. On this subject the Holy Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessing be upon him) teaches us to, “Eat and drink of the good things lawful for you. Spend in charity and clothe yourselves without extravagance and vanity.” According to Islamic teachings the best charity is to feed the hungry.

By giving donations and charities we are not only helping others but ourselves as well because helping others has a positive impact on one’s physical, mental, and spiritual health. Now let us all hope and try to bring some change starting this Halloween by seeing festivals as an occasion to be close to family and friends and to spend our money for better sake.