Note! This is the History of Valentine's Day, Not From Islam
Many Muslim teenagers do not know the history of Valentine's Day. Because of ignorance and just following the trend, also so that they want to say it's slang, in the end they celebrate it. Among them give gifts to each other, especially to loved ones. Then we see chocolate and various souvenirs selling well on that day. What is the actual history of that day?
Forerunner of Valentine's Day
Actually there are many versions that are spread regarding the origin of Valentine's Day. However, in general, most people know about the historical event that began when long ago the Romans commemorated a big day every February 15th which was called Lupercalia. The Lupercalia celebrations were a series of purification ceremonies in Ancient Rome (February 13-18). The first two days are dedicated to the goddess of love (queen of feverish love) Juno Februata. On this day, the youth draw the names of the girls in the box. Then each youth takes a name at random and the girl whose name comes out must be his partner for a year to have fun and be the object of entertainment. On February 15, they asked the god Lupercalia for protection from the wolves. During this ceremony,
When Catholic Christianity became the state religion in Rome, Roman rulers and Roman Catholic religious leaders adopted this ceremony and colored it with Christian overtones, including changing the names of girls with the names of Popes or Pastors. Among his supporters were the Emperor Constantine and Pope Gregory I (The Encyclopedia Britannica, subtitle: Christianity). In order to bring it closer to Christian teachings, in 496 AD Pope Gelasius I made this Ancient Roman ceremony a Church Celebration Day with the name Saint Valentine's Day in honor of St. Valentine who happened to die on February 14 (The World Book Encyclopedia 1998).
Relationship between Valentine's Day and Valentine's Day
The Catholic Encyclopedia Vol. XV subtitles St. Valentine writes that there are 3 names of Valentine who died on February 14, one of which is described as having died in Roman times. However, there was never any explanation as to who “St. Valentine” in question, also with the story whose ending is never known because each source tells a different story.
According to the first version, Emperor Claudius II ordered the arrest and imprisonment of St. Valentine for declaring his God is Isa Al-Masih and refusing to worship the gods of the Romans. People who yearn for St.Valentine's prayer then write letters and put them on the prison bars.
The second version tells that Emperor Claudius II considered single young soldiers to be more steadfast and strong on the battlefield than married people. The emperor then forbade the young people to marry, but St. Valentine broke it and secretly married many young people so he was arrested and hanged on February 14, 269 AD (The World Book Encyclopedia, 1998).
Another version tells that the afternoon before Saint Valentine was to die as a martyr (died a hero for fighting for his beliefs), he wrote a small declaration of love that he gave to his prison warden which read "From your Valentinus". (Source of discussion above: http://id.wikipedia.org/ and others)
From the explanation above we can draw conclusions:
Valentine's Day originates from an ancient Roman religious ceremony which was full of paganism and polytheism. The ancient Roman ceremony above was finally changed to a church celebration day with the name Saint Valentine's Day at the initiative of Pope Gelasius I. So the Valentine's event became a Christian religious ritual whose commemoration was changed to the 14th February, coinciding with the death of St. Valentine. Valentine's Day is also a day of respect for Christian figures who are considered warriors and defenders of love.
It's ironic indeed the condition of today's youth. Some people may already know the historical facts above. It's as if they closed their eyes and declared that it was okay to celebrate Valentine's Day, the forerunner of which was actually a ritual of paganism. It is appropriate for Muslims to think that it is not appropriate for them to celebrate this day after it is clear that the Valentine's ritual is a non-Muslim ritual and even starts from a pagan ritual. Even the Prophet sallallaahu 'alaihi wa sallam explicitly said, " Whoever resembles a people, he is one of them " (HR. Ahmad and Abu Daud). This argument is enough as a reason for the prohibition of celebrating Valentine's Day, regardless of the form of celebration. Also read the article Making Love on Valentine's Dayon this beloved web.
Wallahu waliyyut taufiq .
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Riyadh-KSA, 25 Rabi'ul Awwal 1434 H
Author: Muhammad Abduh Tuasikal
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