Being a Muslim on New Years’ Eve

It’s that time of year again, when many people are invited to parties with their near and dear, or absolute strangers, to countdown to midnight and celebrate the coming of the new year. If aliens from a distant galaxy arrived at midnight on a particular New Year’s Eve, they would probably believe they were watching a global comedy channel because of the fascination these mere humans dressed up in all sorts have at a clock ticking away, whilst getting wasted and trying their luck with anyone who is accepting. It looks quite ridiculous if you’re not in on the whole story. Luckily for humans, ailens are not scheduled to visit earth any time soon.

And what is a Muslim to do during such a night where many others are sinning and possibly inviting you to do the same? I have heard some say that during the last hours of the old year a Muslim should pray to God, to distinguish himself from sinners, possibly, and to earn more rewards for not joining the status quo; to make duaa to God during these hours and make Him know you will not forget Him during a night where everyone else has forgotten their own names. But that doesn’t mean Muslims can’t accept invitations to gatherings where everyone will enjoy each others company, eat good food and perhaps even encourage each other to pray a couple of night prayers in order to please God, no?

There are those who don’t like to recognise the New Year since it is according to the Gregorian calendar which began with what Christians believe is Prophet Isa’s death. Muslims believe that Prophet Isa is not dead, so celebrating a new year to mark a death that never happened goes against their core beliefs. Then there are Muslims who know this fact and celebrate with the intentions of starting a new year with themselves, which is where the famous new years’ resolution came about; after all, the world is run mainly by the Gregorian calendar, we write and look at the date every day, so many Muslims will celebrate it with different intentions than Christians. And celebrate they shall.

There is less excitement about the Islamic New Year when you compare it to the Gregorian New Year. This is possibly due to the fact that the Western world favors parties and any excuse to go out and have fun. Nowadays even Muslim countries are celebrating New Years Eve with fireworks and gatherings. Who knows if the infamous party kiss as the midnight clock rings actually takes place too.

Whatever you do decide to do on New Year’s Eve, take a moment to pray or make duaa to God. Because while everyone else is having fun, there are others out there who are victims of poverty, war and human brutality. As Muslims it is alright to have fun, but as Muslim youth we should remember to have fun responsibly.