NEW YEAR AND THE PERENNIAL POLEMICS- BY PROFESSOR TIMEHIN SAHEED

A new solar year begins today, and I wish you a very happy new year. It has become a yearly ritual for me to try to explain to many of my very good friends that wishing others a happy new year at the beginning of a solar year does not alter my Islamic identity.

My traditional approach had been to argue from the cosmological angle that Allah created the sun and moon for the reckoning of time and years. *However, with the vehemence and passion that accompany my friends' position, I think it is necessary to attempt a deep, critical, and juristically grounded reflection on the question of whether Muslims may offer New Year greetings on January 1st.

I also feel that this reflection must not be approached through the lens of some pietist reductionist verdicts, but through juristic foundations,  maqaasid al-shariʿah, sociological realities, and ethical discernment. 

1. Framing the Question Correctly

The core question is not just:

" Is saying Happy New Year" haram or halal?"

Rather, the more precise juristic question is:

"Does greeting others on January 1st constitute religious endorsement, cultural participation, or merely social courtesy?"

This distinction is foundational in Islamic legal theory and determines the ruling. In unpacking the whole ideational structure, it is important to reflect on the following:

1. January 1st: Is it a  religious rite or civil convention?

Historical Reality

January 1st originates from the Roman civil calendar, later embraced, adapted, appropriated, and standardized globally by different monarchs for administrative, economic, and diplomatic purposes. Unlike Christmas or Easter, January 1st is not a religious rite even within Christianity.

Thus, it is:

Not a religious festival

It is rather a *civil convention that attained a global dimension.

It is worthy of note that Islamic law recognizes neutral customs under the principle:

 الأصل في العادات الإباحة

The default ruling in customs is permissibility.

This implies that civil conventions are inherently permissible unless clear prohibition is established from Allah or His Prophet (saw). 

Those who condemn 'new year' greetings often fear "at- Tashabbuh (Imitation)." They often invoke the hadith:

مَن تشبَّه بقوم فهو منهم

“Whoever imitates a people is counted among them.”

 There is need for a critical clarification here. Several authorities have restricted the application of the term "imitation" significantly. Even traditional scholars Ibn Taymiyyah, al-Qaraafii and Ibn ʿAabidiin emphasized that tashabbuh applies only when:

1. The act is religiously distinctive, and

2. The intention is identity adoption or endorsement

Please note that greeting on January 1st fails both criteria:

It is not religiously distinctive and it does not signify theological alignment

By this logic, using the Gregorian calendar, wearing Western clothes, or using smartphones would also be forbidden,  and this is  an untenable position.

It may also be argued that the names of the months of the Gregorian calendar are taken from the Roman gods. Yes, they are, but neither the months nor the days were objects of religious veneration. We can give names to the months in accordance with our peculiar custom and traditions. The Yoruba have names for these months of the Gregorian calendar and so do the Arabs. It is therefore a social construct,  not religious.

Second, it is also necessary to reflect on:

2 - Intention (Niyyah) and Semantic Content

Islam evaluates actions not only by form but by intent and meaning:

 *إِنَّمَا الأَعْمَالُ بِالنِّيَّاتِ*

Actions are judged by intention.

When Muslims say:

“Happy New Year”, what do they mean? 

They typically intend: courtesy, well-wishing, social harmony, and hope for personal improvement.

They do NOT mean:

Religious sanctification, celebration of non-Islamic theology.

Thus, the greeting remains ethically neutral, or even commendable, if tied to good intention.

Third, it is pertinent to distinguish greeting from celebration.

3. A crucial distinction must be maintained between the simple courtesy of exchanging wishes and celebrating the day with partying:

It must be asserted that polite greeting and well-wishing and reflective self-renewal are not only generally permissible but also commendable; while all forms of frivolous gathering, immoral revelry (alcohol, lewdness, obscenity) and wasteful spending are prohibited.

Fouth, it is also necessary to note that Islam does not prohibit time-markers; it rather regulates behaviour within them.

4. The Prophet (saw) and Temporal Markers

The Prophet (saw) recognized time transitions without sanctifying them. Though the Hijrah marked a civil epoch, it was not sanctified by the Prophet and his companions, but Umar acknowledged it by making it the beginning of the Islamic calendar.

The sacred months, too, are acknowledged but not ritualized beyond the Shariʿah. Similarly,  du'aʾ for new beginnings was encouraged.

All these show Islam’s ability to engage time meaningfully without ritual excess.

Fifth, using the Maqaasid al-Shariʿah (Objectives or purposes of Islamic Law) and Contemporary Muslim Reality to deconstruct the issue can really help

5. From the maqāṣid perspective:

Muslims are expected to strive for the preservation of social harmony (حفظ العرض والعشرة),  carry out daʿwah through good character,  and avoid unnecessary alienation.

In a plural society like Nigeria, refusing all civil greetings often projects Islam as hostile, uncivil, or hateful, and this undermines daʿwah, and violates the prophetic ethics of gentility, and social benevolence. The Prophet is reported to have said: 

Rifq (friendliness, leniency, or gentility) does not exist in a thing without beautifying it.

"وما كان الرِّفق في شيءٍ إلا زانه"

Sixth, it is also instructive that the issue at hand enjoys a broad scholarly spectrum (without polemics).

6. The multiplicity of approaches to the issue of greetings on New Year Day across the various schools of thought shows that it is not a fundamental problem. While strict Salafi ruling is to avoid all greetings to block gradual imitation of non-Muslims, Mālikī & Ḥanafī authorities hold it as permissible if the day is customarily non-religious. Contemporary fiqh councils across the world hold it as permissible with ethical boundaries, while Maqaasid-based scholars argue that it is context that determines ruling.

This diversity thus reflects ijtihad, not heresy. We should, therefore, look for an ethically balanced approach.

In light of the above, what, then, is permissible? 

It is permissible to say “Happy New Year” as social courtesy; make du'a for goodness and moral renewal, and use the moment for personal reflection and accountability.

What is not permissible include:

Believing January 1st holds a sacred status, engaging in immoral festivities, and replacing Islamic festivals with civil celebrations

Final Reflection

Islam is not a religion of chronological anxiety but of moral consciousness. Thus, if a greeting does not contradict Tawhid, sanctify false beliefs, or erase Islamic identity, then, wisdom and pragmatic accommodation, not rigidity, should guide the Muslim attitude. 

Our strength does not lie in isolation from space- time reality, but in coming to terms with it, subduing it, and gaining mastery over it.

Happy New Solar Year.

© PROFESSOR TIMEHIN SAHEED OLUROTIMI

-Nigeria