LOVE makes the World go round

We LOVE everything to do with LOVE.

And why not?
 Love is a
beautiful &
pure emotion
Fresh and Crisp like Daisies in
Sunshine Deep and powerful like the Ocean
 Love is definitely “good”

It is mentioned in the Qur’an in

several places and in different
contexts
The Glorious Qur'an says:
"The believers are stauncher in (their)
love for Allah."
(Surah Al Baqarah, 2: Verse,165)
And among His signs is this, that He
created for you mates from among
yourselves, that you may dwell in peace
and tranquility with them, and He has put
love and mercy between your (hearts):
Verily in that are signs for those who
reflect"
(Surah Ar-Rum,30: Verse, 21)
 Alas! Come 14th February
and some people hijack love
…
 … and sell it like
cheap candy that
leaves a bad
taste in the
mouth – But it is
wrapped in a
very fancy paper!
 And they call it

Valentine’s
Day
And they sell cards, balloons …
…chocolates, flowers …
They start early…
Should this come under cruelty
to animals?
Is all this shabang to
spread love?
EXCUSE ME!
The Cost of Showing
You Care

$17 billion
 Sweets For Your Sweetie
confectioners churned out between 8 billion and 9 billion
conversation hearts (enough to stretch from coast to coast
and back again), as well as 36 million heart-shaped boxes
of chocolate, according to the National Confectioners
Association of USA - 2009
Putting It On Paper
While electronic cards have
elbowed in a bit, paper
Valentine's cards are still
huge business, with
approximately 190 million
cards sold each year,
according to Hallmark.
Cupid must be a CAPITALIST!
How it Began
Valentine's Day
began as a pagan
ritual started by
Romans in the 4th
century BC to
honor their god
Lupercus.
The main attraction of this ritual was a
lottery held to distribute young women
to young men for "entertainment and
pleasure"--until the next year's lottery.
One practice associated
with this day was the
lashing of young women by
two young men, clad only in
a bit of goatskin and
wielding goatskin thongs,
who had been smeared with
blood of sacrificial goats
and dogs. A lash of the
"sacred" thongs by these
"holy men" was believed to
make them better able to
bear children.
Christianity tried, without success,
to stop the celebration of
Lupercalia.
It replaced the lottery of the names of
women with a lottery of the names of
saints. The idea was that during the
following year the young men would copy
the life of the saint whose name they had
drawn.
They did change the name of the
festival from Lupercalia to

St. Valentine's Day

It was done in CE 496
by Pope Gelasius,
in honor of some
Saint Valentine.
There are as many as 50 different Valentines
in Christian legends.
Two are more famous, although their lives and
characters are also shrouded in mystery.

According to one legend, and the one more in

line with the true nature of this celebration, St.
Valentine was a "lovers'" saint, who had himself
fallen in love with his jailer's daughter.
Christianity
ended up
doing in Rome,
and elsewhere,
as the Romans
did!
 1840s
From Europe, this festival reached the New World, where
enterprising Yankees spotted a good means of making money.
 Esther A.
Howland

Produced the first commercial “Valentines” in 1840

Why do we get taken in by this?
Because of the “virtual” way we
have started to look at love
He loves me . . .
He loves me Not . . .
He loves me . . .
She loves me not . . .
He Loves me …
All these “love” stories
in the media have
made our heads spin
round.
We don’t
know real love
from “virtual
love.”
 Love in La La Land
Boy meets girl.
Boy is tall, dark and handsome.
Girl is “Fair & Lovely.”
Boy says “I’ll take you out, but don’t tell your parents.”
Girl says “I’ll skip college and we’ll meet secretly.”
Boy says “Dad, can I borrow your car? I have to go study.”
Girl says “Mom, can you pick me late? Extra classes today.”

And they all live happily ever after???

 Just "I Do" It ?
2.3 million marriages
take place in the U.S.
each year--more than
6,000 "You-may-kiss-
the-brides" per day—
though just 9% of
propositions are lobbed
in February.
According to Conde Nast Bridal's 2006
American Wedding Survey
 WHY is that?
Think about it
What “brand” of love does Valentine’s Day
promote?
 Virtual Love
Is: Causes:
• Dishonest • Pain
• Deceitful • Heartache
• Dramatic • Anxiety
• Destructive • Tension
• DUMB …….. • Failure
• Islam is realistic and
constructive

• It shakes us awake and brings

us into the REAL WORLD
There is plenty of room in Islam for
Real love And
Romance and
Flirting
YES – FLIRTING
…

With your husband/wife

Islam gives us Nikah
And among His signs is this, that He
created for you mates from among
yourselves, that you may dwell in peace
and tranquility with them, and He has put
love and mercy between your (hearts):
Verily in that are signs for those who
reflect"
(Surah Ar-Rum,30: Verse, 21)
 Interpretation of Hadith
The Prophet (PBUH) said:

Nikah is my Sunnah. He who turns

away from my Sunnah is not of me.
When asked, 20 years after her death,
who was the dearest person to his heart,
the Prophet (PBUH) said without
hesitation that it was his first wife Khadija
(RA)," "When asked, 'And who is the
second most beloved person to your
heart,' he said that it was his present wife
Aisha (RA)."
The Prophet (PBUH) had no problem
declaring in public that the women he
selected as wives were the dearest and
fondest beings to him.

But he never even touched a

non-mehram woman.
Romance and
love – Islam
style - builds
families with
strong pillars
& structures
surviving
challenges &
obstacles of
real life