Can Muslims Celebrate Thanksgiving? Is it Halal?
Many Muslims, particularly those living in the United States and Canada, wonder whether they can celebrate Thanksgiving without violating Islamic teachings. The answer depends on how the occasion is observed and the Islamic principles involved.
Thanksgiving is a national holiday celebrated in several countries, most notably the United States and Canada. The dates differ between the two countries. In Canada, Thanksgiving is observed on the second Monday of October, while in the United States, it falls on the fourth Thursday of November.
Thanksgiving originated as a harvest celebration associated with religious and cultural traditions. Today, it is widely observed as a cultural and family holiday, with people gathering to share meals and express gratitude.
The Islamic Perspective on Celebrating Thanksgiving
Islamic scholars differ on whether Muslims may participate in Thanksgiving. Some consider celebrating non-Muslim holidays impermissible, while others distinguish between religious observances and secular cultural activities.
Those who prohibit participation argue that Muslims should not imitate the religious festivals and distinctive practices of other faith communities. They refer to the following hadith:
Ibn Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) narrated that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said:
“Whoever imitates a people is one of them.”
Source: Sunan Abi Dawud 4031.
This hadith is cited in discussions about imitating the distinctive religious practices and customs of other communities. However, its application to particular cultural occasions requires scholarly interpretation.
Does Thanksgiving Count as Imitation?
Not every custom originating in another culture necessarily falls under the prohibition of imitation. Scholars distinguish between practices that are specific to another religion and ordinary customs shared by people of different backgrounds.
In Mirqat al-Mafatih, Mulla Ali al-Qari discusses the concept of imitation and its connection to practices distinctive to particular groups.
Some scholars argue that Thanksgiving is now primarily a secular national holiday in the United States and Canada. For many families, it is an occasion to spend time together, share a meal, and express gratitude rather than participate in a religious ceremony.
Others maintain that celebrating a holiday associated with another community remains impermissible, even when its contemporary observance is largely secular.
Therefore, the fact that Thanksgiving is widely celebrated as a cultural holiday does not, by itself, establish a universally accepted Islamic ruling.
Can Muslims Spend Thanksgiving with Their Families?
Muslims living in the United States and Canada may face practical circumstances associated with Thanksgiving. Schools, government offices, and many businesses close for the holiday, giving families an opportunity to spend time together.
However, whether participating in a Thanksgiving gathering is permissible depends on the scholarly position followed and the nature of the activity.
Muslims should avoid prohibited elements, including consuming haram food, participating in religious rituals that conflict with Islamic beliefs, and engaging in conduct forbidden by Islam. Gratitude, maintaining family ties, and sharing permissible food are encouraged in Islam, but these values do not automatically settle the question of celebrating a particular holiday.
There is a difference of scholarly opinion on whether Muslims may celebrate Thanksgiving. Some scholars prohibit participation because they regard it as an imitation of non-Muslim holidays, while others distinguish between religious celebrations and secular cultural gatherings.
Muslims should consider the reasoning behind these positions and consult a qualified scholar they trust when deciding how to approach Thanksgiving. Whatever position they follow, they should maintain Islamic principles, avoid prohibited activities, and preserve good relationships with family members and neighbours.
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From my student zayden, he said that the article is really good and informative. 🙂
Enjoyed the article and learning your point of view.
As a grateful american born in the beautiful land of America, your understanding as expressed is a bit bent in perception of the actual American tradition; not sure where your information comes from but its also a skewed view of truth according to a greater majority of Americans who truly value the opportunity to gather and give special alms and thanksgiving to God our Creator and heavenly Father for the bountiful blessings He’s given.
To posture oneself stating, “most Americans currently celebrate Thanksgiving as a national holiday that does not have any religious significance”, is a boldly arrogant judgement and boastful assumption that holds little merit of truth outside ones own perspective.
My family is a rainbow of color and religious practice … Christians and other faiths including Muslims; and we embrace each family member, respecting each others god-given right (not man-given right) as a created being to believe, and worship according to ones faith. We do not put down anothers faith or speak to or about them as if one holds a superior truth and authority over another … for that is the highest form of pride, arrogance, and deception.
When we learn to free people to be accountable to their Creator according to their freewill, we become free ourself to believe as we will; otherwise, we live in a bubble of rules created by man, unable to love another unless they look like us think like us, believe like us and talk like us. That is in fact a non-human, called a ‘robot’, a created thing – not a created being. This perspective has no part in the Creator Himself.
Should you choose to celebrate Thanksgiving or not, I sincerely hope this season you will find a new freedom by freeing others… even if they choose to celebrate with a family food fight.
Thank you for reading, and for taking the time to write.
The line you quoted was about how Thanksgiving functions in public life in the US and Canada today: a federal holiday, schools and businesses closed, and a family meal, with no required church service or creed. That is the sense in which we called it a national holiday without a single religious rite. It was not a claim that no American gives thanks to God on that day. Many do, as your family does, and the older harvest-thanksgiving history is real. Both things can be true at once: a civil day off for the country, and a religious act of thanks inside particular homes and churches.
Our piece was written for Muslim readers asking about a fiqh boundary, not as a verdict on American belief. In that frame, joining another community’s act of worship is not allowed, while a day off and a family meal, kept free of prohibited food and of any rite taken from another religion, is treated as permissible. That is a ruling about Muslim practice. It is not a statement that your thanksgiving to God is false, or that your family may not observe the day as you do.
We are glad your family makes room for one another across faiths. A Muslim at that table can share the meal and keep their own worship; that is the distinction the article was trying to draw.