New Year’s Eve: Between Euphoria and Faith Awareness

By: Aceng Syamsul Hadie (ASH)

The turn of the year is often welcomed with euphoria.

Fireworks light up the sky, parties fill public spaces, and crowds gather in celebration across cities worldwide.

Yet for Muslims, the question is not merely what is celebrated, but how time itself is understood and accounted for.

In Islam, time is not an object of celebration; it is a mandate. Every second of life carries responsibility and will be accounted for.

Therefore, Muslim attitudes toward New Year’s Eve should be framed within moral, ethical, and faith-based values—not merely as social traditions followed without reflection.

Several prominent Islamic figures have offered clear guidance on this issue.

Habib Rizieq Syihab (HRS) has consistently rejected New Year’s Eve celebrations characterized by excessive revelry.

His stance is rooted in the reality that such celebrations often lead to moral transgressions—drunkenness, promiscuity, wastefulness, and loss of self-control.

From this perspective, New Year’s Eve is not meant for celebration, but for muhasabah (self-evaluation), repentance, and personal improvement.

A more communicative approach is presented by Ustadz Abdul Somad (UAS). He emphasizes that time itself is neutral; its value—good or bad—depends entirely on how humans use it. If New Year’s Eve is filled with immoral acts, then it clearly contradicts Islamic teachings.

However, if it is used for reflection, worship, or strengthening family bonds, there is no prohibition.

The key message is clear: the problem lies not in the changing of the year, but in human behavior.

Ustadz Bachtiar Nasir (UBN) also underscores the importance of introspection and returning to the path of goodness as the year turns.

According to him, the new year should serve as momentum to correct oneself, abandon what Allah has forbidden, and increase righteous deeds and devotion.

Meanwhile, Ustadz Adi Hidayat (UAH) reminds Muslims not to fall into rituals that have no religious foundation.

Islam already has the Hijri calendar as its primary reference for worship and historical reflection.

Therefore, New Year’s Eve does not need to be treated as a special religious celebration.

Nevertheless, it may still be used as a moment for reflection and life planning—as long as it is not assigned religious symbolism or ritual status.

From these perspectives, a clear common thread emerges: Islam is not hostile to time, but it firmly rejects immorality and the loss of moral consciousness.

The turn of the year should serve as a mirror for self-evaluation, not merely as a moment of unchecked euphoria.

Ironically, amid natural disasters, social crises, poverty, and inequality that continue to afflict the nation, some communities choose to dissolve themselves in momentary festivities devoid of deeper meaning—as if changing calendar numbers could erase responsibility for past and ongoing realities.

New Year’s Eve should instead be a quiet space to ask meaningful questions: What have we done for our families, our society, our nation, and our faith? It should not be about counting down seconds, but about measuring how far life has been lived with purpose, values, and responsibility.

The nation is not lacking entertainment or celebration. What it truly needs is awareness, moral maturity, and the courage to change.

And that change always begins with how we define time—whether it is spent in fleeting euphoria or used as a foundation for a more meaningful and responsible life.

Author:

Aceng Syamsul Hadie, S.Sos., MM

Lecturer and Chairman of the Daarurrahman Foundation,

Cigayam, Majalengka

(Managing MAS, MTs, Madin, and TPA)