Muslims/Muslimahs Day of the Dead Help.?

I know this is not about Ramadan, but this date is coming, it is Oct 1 to 3. And I know that this part of the yahoo answers is visited mostly by muslims.


Hello brothers and sisters. I have a question. I have recently converted to Islam. I am Mexican and in our culture we have this holiday that is callled Day of the Dead. It is when we pray for the sake of our dead, also we arrange food on the table, flowers and candles, then we eat the next night. Is this something that I can still do? I mean I will be praying to Allah for my beloved dead.


Saalam.

Muslims/Muslimahs Day of the Dead Help.?
Assalam Alikum w/r w/b, Sister.





Well first off, hats off to you for converting to Islam. Islam is truly a very peaceful and beautiful religion, and i am very sure that you won't regret your decision.





I have heard of Day of the Dead, although not too knowledgeable, but I have heard of the Holiday.





As long as you pray and dua to ALLAH, asking him to save the deceased from the fire of hell, i think it will be ok.





As long as you don't participate in anything that is against Islam, such as polytheistic rituals, and as long as you don't believe anything that is not written or preached in Islam, i think you will be fine..





From personal experience, I would like to add, that mixing culture with faith can be a very hard task, because depending on where you are from, traditions can vary, but ultimately, Paradise is our main goal, and in order to get to Paradise, we need to follow Islam...





May Allah (swt) keep you on the straight path inshallah leading up to Jannat.





Hope i helped and RAMADAN MUBARAK!!





Allah Hafiz
Reply:as-salaam aleikum wa rahmatullahi wa barakatuh,





(I answered on your other question too but I will put my response here as well)





Mabrook (congratulations) on becoming Muslim sister!





like most everyone is saying, this holiday is one you cannot celebrate anymore now that you are Muslim. I do know that depending on the region you are from, it is either just a day of families gathering and enjoying lots of food and time together, and in other places, it is a very religious celebration. But, the origins of this holiday was religious and today it is now mixed with the Catholic holiday of Día de Todos Santos.





We can keep cultural practices as long as they do not go against Islam, and unfortunately, Dios de los Muertos was and still is a non-Muslim religious celebration so it goes against Islam.





I totally know how hard it is to have to stop when it is all around you and you have been doing it for so many years... I am half Japanese and the Japanese have a celebration to honor the dead called O-bon or Bon Festival. It is a Buddhist celebration although even non-Buddhist families in Japan celebrate it as well. Families get together and go to clean and decorate graves and make prayers for them. Then there is also a dance festival that is celebrated for the dead called Bon Odori.





It is soooo fun but I had to stop celebrating it too. You may have some family who will get offended if you don't celebrate it. They won't understand why you won't and will tell you it is no big deal for you to celebrate it with them(even some of my family just don't understand why I can't celebrate it anymore).





inshallah you will have an easy time breaking away from this cultural practice sis. It was not too hard for me, but even after 5 years of being a Muslim I do miss all of the fun dancing and celebrations.





May Allah replace this with something better for you!
Reply:The Day of the Dead is more of a cultural practice then a religious one, but it's mostly practiced by those of the Catholic faith, mainly in Mexico.





In Islam, you can pray for the dead that they will enter Jinah after Judgement Day, Allah has nothing against that, but the foundation of Islam is against idol worship, didn't Moses come down to the people and find them worshiping the Golden Calf and tell them to turn away from it and follow the One God?





I personally, this shouldn't affect your belief but, I see the Day of the Dead as practically praying to your dead in hopes that they will give you protection and watch over you. This seems really close to Idol worship, but in your heart, if you believe in Allah alone and know that no one can take his place, then I do not see a problem with it in the cultural aspect.
Reply:i know that those of the jewish faith practice something similar but i don't know about muslims. i don't see why you can't honor the dead anyway. the tradition you're speaking of is a mexican one, not a catholic one. it has nothing to do with religion really. it's more of a cultural custom.
Reply:of course you can keep on doing this if you like it.Muslim is a great religion that lets you to do anything unless it hurts you or somebody.
Reply:WaSalaam, no you dont want to do that, that was your old religion now you have found the true one.


Salaam