{"id":4754,"date":"2026-01-04T10:40:25","date_gmt":"2026-01-04T15:40:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/deenminder.com\/blog\/?p=4719"},"modified":"2026-01-04T10:40:25","modified_gmt":"2026-01-04T15:40:25","slug":"how-a-muslim-can-respond-to-new-year-greetings","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/deenminder.com\/blog\/how-a-muslim-can-respond-to-new-year-greetings\/","title":{"rendered":"How a Muslim can respond to New Year greetings"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"ez-toc-container\" class=\"ez-toc-v2_0_82_2 counter-hierarchy ez-toc-counter ez-toc-custom ez-toc-container-direction\">\n<div class=\"ez-toc-title-container\">\n<p class=\"ez-toc-title ez-toc-toggle\" style=\"cursor:pointer\">Table of Contents<\/p>\n<span class=\"ez-toc-title-toggle\"><a href=\"#\" class=\"ez-toc-pull-right ez-toc-btn ez-toc-btn-xs ez-toc-btn-default ez-toc-toggle\" aria-label=\"Toggle Table of Content\"><span class=\"ez-toc-js-icon-con\"><span class=\"\"><span class=\"eztoc-hide\" style=\"display:none;\">Toggle<\/span><span class=\"ez-toc-icon-toggle-span\"><svg style=\"fill: #0a0a0a;color:#0a0a0a\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" class=\"list-377408\" width=\"20px\" height=\"20px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" fill=\"none\"><path d=\"M6 6H4v2h2V6zm14 0H8v2h12V6zM4 11h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2zM4 16h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2z\" fill=\"currentColor\"><\/path><\/svg><svg style=\"fill: #0a0a0a;color:#0a0a0a\" class=\"arrow-unsorted-368013\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"10px\" height=\"10px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" version=\"1.2\" baseProfile=\"tiny\"><path d=\"M18.2 9.3l-6.2-6.3-6.2 6.3c-.2.2-.3.4-.3.7s.1.5.3.7c.2.2.4.3.7.3h11c.3 0 .5-.1.7-.3.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7zM5.8 14.7l6.2 6.3 6.2-6.3c.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7c-.2-.2-.4-.3-.7-.3h-11c-.3 0-.5.1-.7.3-.2.2-.3.5-.3.7s.1.5.3.7z\"\/><\/svg><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/a><\/span><\/div>\n<nav><ul class='ez-toc-list ez-toc-list-level-1 eztoc-toggle-hide-by-default' ><ul class='ez-toc-list-level-3' ><li class='ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-1\" href=\"https:\/\/deenminder.com\/blog\/how-a-muslim-can-respond-to-new-year-greetings\/#Calendar_Years_vs_Religious_Celebrations_A_Crucial_Distinction\" >Calendar Years vs Religious Celebrations: A Crucial Distinction<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-2\" href=\"https:\/\/deenminder.com\/blog\/how-a-muslim-can-respond-to-new-year-greetings\/#How_a_Muslim_can_respond_to_Happy_New_Year_greetings%E2%80%A6\" >How a Muslim can respond to Happy New Year greetings&#8230;<\/a><ul class='ez-toc-list-level-4' ><li class='ez-toc-heading-level-4'><ul class='ez-toc-list-level-4' ><li class='ez-toc-heading-level-4'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-3\" href=\"https:\/\/deenminder.com\/blog\/how-a-muslim-can-respond-to-new-year-greetings\/#What_You_Should_Avoid\" >What You Should Avoid<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/li><\/ul><\/li><\/ul><\/nav><\/div>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Question: Assalaam Alaikum, Sheikh, I need you to help us clarify or teach us how a Muslim can respond to New Year greetings. This is because we have a lot of non-Muslims all around us, and they believe that the New Year festival is general. So, they usually greet us for this, and since we have come to know the <a href=\"https:\/\/deenminder.com\/blog\/reason-why-muslims-dont-celebrate-new-year\/\">reason why we Muslims don&#8217;t celebrate New Year&#8217;s<\/a>, we believe that we must not join them in this, either.<\/p>\n<p>Answer: Alhamdulillah, we give praises to Almighty Allah. You\u2019re not alone in this, my brother. The question of &#8220;how a Muslim can respond to New Year greetings?&#8221; is one many Muslims ask during these festive seasons, especially those who truly understand that we Muslims don&#8217;t join them in celebrating the New Year festival.<\/p>\n<p data-start=\"779\" data-end=\"820\">But Islam doesn&#8217;t leave any matter unexplained. Islam is a religion of clarity, balance, and principled mercy. Allah says:<\/p>\n<blockquote data-start=\"913\" data-end=\"996\">\n<p data-start=\"915\" data-end=\"996\"><strong>\u201cAnd thus We have made you a balanced nation.\u201d\u00a0 (Surah Al-Baqarah 2:143)<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p data-start=\"998\" data-end=\"1185\">This issue is not small because it touches on identity, belief, customs, and how Muslims live among others. <span style=\"font-size: 14px;\">Islam does not ask you to abandon your creed to please people. <\/span>So before rushing to conclusions, Islam teaches us to understand the root of the matter, its meanings, and its implications. When you understand why something is sensitive, responding wisely becomes easier and more sincere.<\/p>\n<p data-start=\"998\" data-end=\"1185\">To truly understand how a Muslim can respond to Happy New Year greetings, we must first understand why this greeting raises concern in the first place. Islam never prohibits something arbitrarily. There is always a foundation rooted in belief, worship, and intention.<\/p>\n<h3 data-start=\"1985\" data-end=\"2055\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Calendar_Years_vs_Religious_Celebrations_A_Crucial_Distinction\"><\/span>Calendar Years vs Religious Celebrations: A Crucial Distinction<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n<p data-start=\"2057\" data-end=\"2103\">At the heart of the issue lies a key question: Is \u201cHappy New Year\u201d merely a calendar statement, or is it tied to religious meaning? We all know that the answer is that it is just a mere calendar statement. Nothing changes, we only move from one day to another. The calender changes only. Nothing more. The two major celebrations we have in islam is Eid Al Adha and Eid Al Fitr. Other celebrations are not part of our deen<\/p>\n<p data-start=\"2408\" data-end=\"2513\">The Prophet \ufdfa was explicit when he arrived in Madinah and found people celebrating certain days. He said:<\/p>\n<p data-start=\"2408\" data-end=\"2513\"><a href=\"https:\/\/deenminder.com\/blog\/how-a-muslim-can-respond-to-new-year-greetings\/black-and-gold-luxury-happy-new-year-2026-instagram-post\/\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-4724\"><img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-4724 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/deenminder.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/Black-And-Gold-Luxury-Happy-New-Year-2026-Instagram-Post.png\" alt=\"How a Muslim can respond to New Year greetings\" width=\"1200\" height=\"900\" title=\"\"><\/a><\/p>\n<blockquote data-start=\"2515\" data-end=\"2637\">\n<p data-start=\"2517\" data-end=\"2637\"><strong data-start=\"2517\" data-end=\"2605\">\u201cAllah has replaced them for you with two better days: Eid al-Fitr and Eid al-Adha.\u201d<\/strong><br data-start=\"2605\" data-end=\"2608\" \/><strong>(Abu Dawud \u2013 Hasan Sahih)<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p data-start=\"2639\" data-end=\"2697\">From this hadith, scholars derived an important principle: Muslims do not adopt religious celebrations that are not legislated in Islam. The Gregorian New Year (January 1st) originates from a calendar system historically tied to Roman and later Christian traditions. While today it may appear secular, its roots and global celebration culture are not religiously neutral in origin.<\/p>\n<p data-start=\"2639\" data-end=\"2697\"><span style=\"font-size: 14px;\">Festivals and celebrations are symbols of religion. To participate in them outwardly reflects approval inwardly. <\/span>This does not mean a Muslim cannot know or use the <a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Gregorian_calendar\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Gregorian calendar<\/a>, it is widely used for civil matters. But celebrating its \u2018New Year\u2019 is where sensitivity arises.<\/p>\n<blockquote data-start=\"4632\" data-end=\"4817\">\n<p data-start=\"4634\" data-end=\"4817\"><strong>Congratulating them for their festivals is more serious than congratulating them for drinking wine or committing immorality, because it involves approval of their religious symbols.\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p data-start=\"4819\" data-end=\"4903\">This strong statement is not about manners, but about religious endorsement. Our Prophet \ufdfa said&#8230;<\/p>\n<blockquote><p><strong>\u201cWhoever imitates a people is one of them.\u201d\u00a0 Sunan Abi Dawud 4031<\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p data-start=\"2639\" data-end=\"2697\">Imitating them in part of their festivals implies contentment with their falsehood and a sickness in the heart&#8230; even if the Muslim does not intend to imitate them, the resemblance in form may lead to resemblance in hearts. So, my dear brothers and sisters, your awkward feeling is the healthy sensitivity of your faith (Eeman) telling you that joining them might lead to a path of diluting our unique faith and compromising a matter of our creed.<\/p>\n<h2 style=\"text-align: center;\" data-start=\"2639\" data-end=\"2697\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"How_a_Muslim_can_respond_to_Happy_New_Year_greetings%E2%80%A6\"><\/span><strong> How a Muslim can respond to Happy New Year greetings&#8230;<\/strong><span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>The basic ruling is that it is not permissible for us to greet them first, like saying &#8220;Happy New Year&#8217; No, this is not allowed, but when they greet you with &#8221; Happy New Year, how will you respond? You can say&#8230;<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/deenminder.com\/blog\/how-a-muslim-can-respond-to-new-year-greetings\/black-and-gold-modern-happy-new-year-poster-a2-portrait\/\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-4725\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-4725 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/deenminder.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/Black-And-Gold-Modern-Happy-New-Year-Poster-A2-Portrait.png\" alt=\"How a Muslim can respond to New Year greetings\" width=\"1200\" height=\"900\" title=\"\"><\/a><\/p>\n<blockquote><p><strong>&#8220;All praise to God (Allah) for keeping us alive and may He grant us goodness in all time&#8221;<\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>You don&#8217;t have to stress it more and perhaps if you can just reply with a general greeting if you think the person won&#8217;t notice or mind, that&#8217;s better. Like saying<\/p>\n<blockquote><p><strong>Good afternoon, or Good morning, Oh, may God (Allah) keep us upon goodness\u00a0<\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>This is enough and you don&#8217;t need to stress it. You don&#8217;t have to keep saying I wish you the same, or happy new year and all that. The evidence for the above statement is the <a href=\"https:\/\/deenminder.com\/blog\/what-is-the-dua-after-waking-up-from-bed\/\">dua we say after waking up<\/a>, where we thank Allah for keeping us alive after taking our souls while sleeping.<\/p>\n<p data-start=\"986\" data-end=\"1061\">Islam commands good character even with those who do not share our beliefs. Allah says:<\/p>\n<blockquote data-start=\"1078\" data-end=\"1220\">\n<p data-start=\"1080\" data-end=\"1220\"><strong>\u201cAllah does not forbid you from being kind and just to those who do not fight you because of religion.\u201d\u00a0 (Surah Al-Mumtahanah 60:8)<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p data-start=\"1222\" data-end=\"1312\">So, ignoring people harshly, appearing cold, or acting superior is not from the Sunnah. At the same time, Islam protects the heart from affirming religious meanings that contradict Tawheed. This balance is essential when handling New Year greetings.<\/p>\n<h4 data-start=\"1479\" data-end=\"1505\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"What_You_Should_Avoid\"><\/span>What You Should Avoid<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h4>\n<ul>\n<li data-start=\"1642\" data-end=\"1719\">Avoid explicitly celebrating the New Year as a religious or festive event<\/li>\n<li data-start=\"1722\" data-end=\"1773\">Avoid phrases that mirror endorsement, such as:<\/li>\n<li data-start=\"1778\" data-end=\"1806\">\u201cHappy New Year to you too!\u201d<\/li>\n<li data-start=\"1811\" data-end=\"1842\">\u201cMay this New Year be blessed!\u201d<\/li>\n<li data-start=\"1847\" data-end=\"1891\">\u201cWishing you a joyful New Year celebration!\u201d<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p data-start=\"2580\" data-end=\"2632\">Respond with words that are general, not specific. This is the key. General goodness, not a specific celebration wording, human warmth, not religious approval<\/p>\n<p>We ask Allah to keep us firm upon our deen and grant us a better understanding and the ability to practise it very well. Aameen.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>&nbsp; Question: Assalaam Alaikum, Sheikh, I need you to help us clarify or teach us how a Muslim can respond to New Year greetings. This is because we have a lot of non-Muslims all around us, and they believe that the New Year festival is general. So, they usually greet us for this, and since<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":4723,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"image","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6,50,2],"tags":[515,516,517],"class_list":{"0":"post-4754","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-image","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-ethics-morality","8":"category-fatwa-islam-question-answer","9":"category-featured","10":"tag-how-a-muslim-can-respond-to-happy-new-year-greetings","11":"tag-new-year","12":"tag-new-year-greetings","13":"post_format-post-format-image"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/deenminder.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4754","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/deenminder.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/deenminder.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/deenminder.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/deenminder.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4754"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/deenminder.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4754\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/deenminder.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/menu-items\/4723"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/deenminder.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4754"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/deenminder.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4754"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/deenminder.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4754"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}