We understand that celebrating the new year or even making a special dua or prayer is Haram (forbidden). does that mean making a new year’s resolution is Haram as well?

Celebrating False Festivals is Haram

The essence of this story is that in Islam we are only allowed to celebrate two festivals, two Eids. this is the Eid of Al Fatah and idul adha. these are the two events that Muslims are allowed to celebrate. any other feast or festival falls under the category of imitating the Kuffar, the disbelievers, or innovation in Islam. therefore celebrating the 10th of Muharram which is known as Ashura, we Muslims fast. others may celebrate and commemorate the death of Al Hussein (may Allah be pleased with him) and this is an Innovation, clear innovation. celebrating Birthdays, National Days, Mother’s Day, Halloween, Easter, Thanksgiving, Christmas, New Year, any of these things for us as Muslims celebrations are totally Prohibited. and to engage or assist or cooperate is also prohibited. to congratulate to send postcards is also prohibited. because these are false festivals and celebrations that we Muslims would not approve of.

Having said that, when did we say it is wrong to make a resolution? we usually look at the intention. why is it that you are specifically making that or taking that resolution on New Year’s Eve? if the answer is because it’s a blessed night because it is something to celebrate, is something that everybody’s doing so we might as well be with them, the answer would be no. this is prohibited. anything that imitates the disbelievers in their habits, their religion, and their customs become prohibited for us as Muslims. Meaning whatever they do, which no one ever does, is part of their tradition, part of Kuffar.

Ibn Umar reported: The Messenger of Allah, peace, and blessings be upon him, said, “Whoever imitates a people is one of them.”

Source: Sunan Abī Dāwūd 4031

Now people would say, as usual, those keyboard knights, or those who just argue without any knowledge, and we feel sorry for them, but nevertheless, we have to cater for their ignorance. they say why are you wearing the watch? Using the chair and your clothes are made abroad? Listen. when we say that it is prohibited to imitate them in what is part of their customs their religion their habits, this is which means that whatever they are known to do and no one else does that. riding cars, taking airplanes, using technology, using the computer, and having electricity, this is shared by everyone. and no one does it because the Christians did it or the Jews invented It. this is something that everyone does it regardless of their ethnicity or religion. we’re talking about a celebration.

whether it’s Christmas or New Year or whatever they may call these feasts and celebrations and the Muslims are like monkeys. they do whatever they see people doing. they imitate them celebrating Christmas. In some Muslim countries, you will be shocked like a country that has 90 million people almost all Muslims and maybe four or five Christians but you enter the hotels and shopping malls and you see fine Christmas trees like three weeks or four weeks before even Christmas is due. this is preposterous, this is outrageous. never ever you would go to Washington or to London or to Paris and you’d find them celebrating Eid or slaughtering sheep on idul adha and trying to share with the Muslims their festivals. this is never the case. and if someone tells you that George and his wife Jeanette and their sons David and Tracy are getting ready because tomorrow is idul adha, and they went to the market and bought a big Ram to slaughter it and after offering salat, the home they went and slaughtered it and they divided the meat into three sections and gave one as charity and one as a gift and they consumed the third. but then they were late for their church sermon so they had to go because it was Sunday. anyone who hears this will say this is crazy. George and Jeanette are crazy.

This is exactly what’s happening to the Muslims you have celebrities that look like Muslims yet they celebrate and pretend to be Christians. this cannot be in the religion of Islam, this kind of split identity, like dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, this is unacceptable in Islam. the identity of a Muslim is crystal clear. Inside to outside is the same. that’s why those who, let’s say, are not Muslims, especially the politicians and the people of authority fight Islam. they don’t want Muslims in their countries to be real Muslims. they want to dilute them. they want them to be dissolved in the melting pot so they make preserve the name, Ahmed or Mohammed

Mohammed, you may call him mo not, Mohammed because this is embarrassing for them. they call themselves mo and they may have these names but they celebrate Christmas, they may go to parties, they may sit with people drinking intoxicants, and they may even drink and toast. they’re not heavy drinkers but this is social. a drink of champagne or something just for the occasion. so this kind of split personality is rooted in implementing their strategy over the past years. most of the Muslim communities, most of the Muslim countries without any exception have been colonized mentally. when they watch their national channels, or satellite channels, when they watch wrestling movies, American Hollywood movies, soap operas, and TV series, we used to get them in English now they are dubbed in Arabic. we have Mexican soap operas dubbed into Arabic, Turkish, and now Korean, tomorrow maybe they’ll bring some from maybe Zimbabwe or from whatever. what is this? Muslims have their own identity to preserve, protect, not dilute and dissolve as we see nowadays.

So is taking New Year’s Resolution Haram or Halal in Islam?

Coming back to the question, taking a New Year’s Resolution is Haram with that intention. but if someone says “listen I don’t celebrate New Year’s, I have nothing to do with the New Year’s but it is something to remember so that I can audit it after a year from today and see how much progress I had made or how less progress there was”, it’s just a day, in this case, this is permissible. like what a lot of merchants and traders and businessmen do when they come to the closing year. and they audit and, look into whatever they have in their stores and try to know the profit and the loss, etc, and give their financial statements. this is not related to religion or to customs but rather it is just another date of the year.

Conclusion