In 2022, Saudi Arabia officially celebrated its first Halloween, with many Saudis hitting the streets of Riyadh dressed as fictional characters from popular series, many of which are occult or pagan-centric.
Nearly two years later, the first shop selling alcoholic beverages to non-Muslims opened in the center of Riyadh.
While the Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia, Mohammed Ibn Salman, aims to promote a more liberal society and image of Saudi Arabia by amending religious laws to allow celebrations like Halloween and the consumption of alcohol in the country.
Even though these changes are currently heavily restricted, one can’t help but wonder how far the rules can be bent or eventually broken to accommodate liberal ideologies and agendas.
Under his Vision 2030 reform agenda, Saudi Arabia’s de facto ruler, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, is striving to transform the world’s largest crude exporter and Islamic center into a business hub with a more liberal economic agenda.
What do these changes mean for Islam? To answer this question adequately, we must delve into the origin of Halloween and Quranic verses that address alcohol.
ORIGINS OF HALLOWEEN IS HARAM TO ISLAM
The Halloween holiday has its roots in the ancient Celtic festival of Samhain, a pagan religious celebration to welcome the harvest at the end of summer. During this time, people would light bonfires and wear costumes to ward off ghosts.
This was a celebration done in honor of the druid god of Death, “Samhain”. Halloween, also known as Hallowtides, was a celebration held on the night when certain rituals were performed to facilitate the entrance of the dead into our world. Wearing costumes to mimic the dead, ghosts, witches, and other terrors of the night was just part of this ritual.
So, by default, the celebration of this in Saudi Arabia is Haram. This is a major Haram that causes those who participate to engage in idolatry, whether they are aware of it or not.
While the Quran does not specifically mention pagan celebrations like Halloween, it addresses the concept of associating partners with Allah and engaging in practices contrary to Islamic beliefs. Here are some verses that speak against such actions:
- Surah Al-Baqarah (2:165): “And [yet], among the people are those who take other than Allah as equals [to Him]. They love them as they [should] love Allah. But those who believe are stronger in love for Allah. And if only they who have wronged would consider [that] when they see the punishment, [they will be certain] that all power belongs to Allah and that Allah is severe in punishment.”
- Surah An-Nisa (4:48): “Indeed, Allah does not forgive association with Him, but He forgives what is less than that for whom He wills. And he who associates others with Allah has certainly gone far astray.”
Apart from the invocation of the Celtic god of death, many other sins go on during this celebration, fornication, intoxication and even homosexuality in many cases.
Why the globally accepted center of Islam will at this time endorse such a practice is baffling, why there is a need for Saudi to accept cultural norms by endorsing the worship of death gods in their capital is very troubling.
ALCOHOL NOW LEGAL IN THE CAPITAL OF SAUDI ARABIA
Saudi Arabia’s decision to permit its first alcohol shop in the Diplomatic Quarter has stirred debate among citizens and foreigners, raising questions about the extent of this policy shift.
The store, catering exclusively to non-Muslim diplomats, will enforce purchasing quotas and require registration via an application, with customers mandated to keep their phones in a designated pouch while browsing alcoholic beverages.
While some view this as a step towards wider alcohol availability, others express concerns about its impact on Saudi identity and Islam.
The Quran explicitly addresses the issue of alcohol consumption in several verses, condemning it as harmful and detrimental to individuals and society. Here are some key surahs (chapters) that speak against alcohol:
- Surah Al-Baqarah (2:219): “They ask you about wine and gambling. Say, ‘In them is great sin and [yet, some] benefit for people. But their sin is greater than their benefit.’ And they ask you what they should spend. Say, ‘The excess [beyond needs].’ Thus Allah makes clear to you the verses [of revelation] that you might give thought.”
- Surah Al-Ma’idah (5:90): “O you who have believed, indeed, intoxicants, gambling, [sacrificing on] stone alters [to other than Allah], and divining arrows are but defilement from the work of Satan, so avoid it that you may be successful.”
- Surah An-Nahl (16:67): “And from the fruits of the palm trees and grapevines you take intoxicant and good provision. Indeed in that is a sign for a people who reason.”
- Surah Al-Kahf (18:29): “And say, ‘The truth is from your Lord, so whoever wills – let him believe; and whoever wills – let him disbelieve.’ Indeed, We have prepared for the wrongdoers a fire whose walls will surround them. And if they call for relief, they will be relieved with water like murky oil, which scalds [their] faces. Wretched is the drink, and evil is the resting place.”
Since when does liberalism take precedence over the laws of Allah? This push for Idolatry in the practice of pagan Holidays like Halloween and the gradual liberalization of alcohol in Saudi Arabia is indeed a bad sign for the world of Islam and the people of the book.
In Islamic belief, the end times are marked by various signs, including moral decay, societal corruption, and the abandonment of religious values. The Quran and prophetic traditions warn against engaging in practices contrary to Islamic teachings, such as idolatry and the consumption of intoxicants like alcohol.
Although the authorities in Saudi Arabia have stated that they can create a Halal Halloween and a Halal way of dealing with alcohol through the restrictions they impose on the practice, anyone with two brain cells can understand that every society today facing issues with alcohol and intoxication began like this.
“We will allow alcohol but with restrictions,” then another generation comes who grew up with that limited use of alcohol, they will view it as too conservative or too restrictive. They will remove more restrictions until anyone can obtain alcohol. It is only a matter of time before we see Muslims selling alcohol to Muslims.
It is only a matter of time before dressing as the dead to have fun with friends on the streets becomes a festival of sexual and pagan debauchery fueled by alcohol and other intoxicants.
We must remain vigilant, for the end is near. As the world continues to descend into depravity, how long will it be before we witness the very people who protect the Kaaba destroying it because all they will see is a symbol of a time when they couldn’t engage in sexual immorality on the streets?
Readers drop your comments in the comment section and lets see hear your thoughts on if this is a good move or a terrible idea for Islam.