Is a teddy a problem - advice from Muslim mumsnetters please!

[Teddyhelp]

I ordered some flowers for a Muslim colleague who has just had a baby. I saw you could add a lovely stuffed bunny so I added that to the order. A bit later, I suddenly had a thought that this might not be okay so I googled it and it might not. I'm on hold trying to cancel the order but can anyone advise me if this will be completely unacceptable if the order gets delivered??? Causing any offence is the last thing I want to do. Thank you

@TrickyD that was Abu huraiyrah I think

We do have a sizeable Muslim minority in this country but i) it's a minority and ii) very unevenly spread around the country. Why is it surprising that someone would seek advice before buying a gift? I did before choosing a Bat Mitsvah (sp?) gift for a Jewish friend's daughter. I've only needed to buy one once.

@CustardySergeant

Helpimfalling "I wish we wasn't allowed teddy's" "As I literally have them coming out my ears!!"

Really? Well in that case, we're going to need a photo! I'd love to see that.

Would love too show you but....thinks of excuse....I'm Muslim....we don't do photos (phew)

Off to check my insta....

what an interesting thread - I knew about the not having images thing, but had never thought about it in the context of teddies (or bunnies).

Helpimfallng, thanks you set me off googling about Islam and cats:

"Prophet Muhammad's fondness for cats is conveyed in his hadith: "Affection for cats is part of faith" (Maqasid al-Hasanah, al-Sakhawi). So, loving a cat is a sign that someone is a believer. When Prophet Muhammad came across a black-and-white Abyssinian cat breastfeeding her kitten during the Uhud campaign, he changed the course of his soldiers. On his way back he adopted this cat and gave her the name "Muezza." One day, he slightly tipped his cup so that a cat passing by could drink stome water."

The sleeve person was Ahmed Rufah, apparently.

Cats seem to be revered rather than seen as unclean.

@Elopelo thank you for expanding :)

Christmas in Tehran

Not the point at all, but am I only person left who thinks teddies are just bears? Stuffed rabbits are… rabbits. When did all stuffed toys start being teddies?

@Elopelo

Hi OP. I’m Muslim and I can tell you that the teddy will be fine and will be much appreciated by your colleague. I wish I had colleagues as nice as you!

For previous posters asking, majority of Muslims do not like to have pictures or images of animate beings in their homes etc, this is because of many prohibitions dealing with drawings or images of faces etc, it’s just something that traditionally Muslims don’t do/like. It all goes back to the idea of not knowing what God/angels/Prophets look like. It’s why traditional Islamic art is usually made up of calligraphy and geometric patterns.

However when it comes to kids toys etc there is no issue.

Not a single Muslim I know would think anything of a stuffed toy. It is literally just that. And I am saying that as one and grown up in an "Islamic". It is not a thing at all.

BudrosBudrosGalli. I will confess I wouldnt have a clue that the picture you put up was anything to do with Judaism. In fact I have never knowingly met anyone Jewish. So ignorance maybe but not wilful. I think some people forget that not everyone lives in a multicultural city.

This is totally outing for any old flatmates of mine, but I once had a delivery that was sent to me by accident. Well more dropped on my doorstep, brand new in the packaging.

It was an Islamic Prayer Bear - a cuddly bear, that when you pressed his tummy, paws etc would teach Arabic phrases/prayers etc.

So I'm guessing they are fine

😂

[quote EileenGC]@treesandweeds there are also many branches of Christianity that don’t agree with Halloween celebrations, or choose not to mark Christmas in any special way (I’m not talking Jehovah Witnesses asking the school to refrain from singing about Santa Claus - just people not decorating or doing cards).

Do you go around thinking about the preferences or beliefs of non-Muslims too? Because it we’re being considerate, let’s not make it an exclusive thing for certain groups.

In my religion we don’t do Halloween, Christmas, Easter, and would try to avoid Harry Potter and Stranger Things for example, especially when it comes to the kids. My neighbours and colleagues at work have no idea about some of my beliefs and I wouldn’t think it inconsiderate if they gifted me something related to any of the above. I also don’t drink, but because I’m white no one thinks that it could ever offend me to receive a bottle of wine.[/quote]
Really?

I don’t give anyone wine unless I know they drink it, because I know many people do not. Equally I wouldn’t give people who I thought were Pentecostal Christians a range of gifts including anything vaguely supernatural, as I just don’t know if they’d be comfortable and there’s many other gifts to choose from.

So I get you think you’ve sprung a ‘gotcha’, but in fact many people are considerate of all others when it comes to gift-giving. I’m surprised you’ve not encountered anyone who thinks before they give a gift.

What a shame to try and make the OP feel that she’s in the wrong here.

Teddy bear is fine and is a lovely idea

Some v strict Muslims do believe you shouldn’t have thinks that are a true likeness to any living thing. This extends to toys, photos, dolls etc. I would say that of all the Muslims I’ve met (I am Muslim too) even those who are quite conservative do have commercially available toys for their children.

Ruling if you’re interested is below

www.google.co.uk/amp/s/islamqa.info/amp/en/answers/9473

Also
www.google.co.uk/amp/s/islamqa.info/amp/en/answers/23445

@Elopelo

Hi OP. I’m Muslim and I can tell you that the teddy will be fine and will be much appreciated by your colleague. I wish I had colleagues as nice as you!

For previous posters asking, majority of Muslims do not like to have pictures or images of animate beings in their homes etc, this is because of many prohibitions dealing with drawings or images of faces etc, it’s just something that traditionally Muslims don’t do/like. It all goes back to the idea of not knowing what God/angels/Prophets look like. It’s why traditional Islamic art is usually made up of calligraphy and geometric patterns.

However when it comes to kids toys etc there is no issue.

I didn’t know this thanks for the information.

OP I’m sure it’s fine!

@WorraLiberty

Isn't it being considerate?

But this is the whole point.

Most of the Muslim parents at the school/neighbours in the street, don't want 'special consideration'. They just want to live like every other parent and be treated the same.

Especially when 9 times out of 10, being considerate normally ends in the person saying "Because I don't want to offend".

It makes my best friend want to bang her head off the wall, because she feels like it makes people think Muslims are so easily offended.

I beg to differ. I gleefully wished my dentist (from the Lebanon) 'Merry Christmas' and the silent thunder fixed glare I received you would have thought i'd asked him for a kidney.

The entire dental surgery was decked out with decorations and christmas cards. There are many muslim and Jewish dentists there.
I tried to treat him the same as everyone else. I apologised, put on my coat and skidaddled. Christmas is the season of goodwill to all men.

If someone had wished me Happy Eid I would have taken it in the spirit it was intended.

Well yes that’s what I said in my original post that when it comes to kids toys and bears there is no problem and the prohibition doesn’t apply. You can check the Hadith re: Aishah and her dolls.

Sorry that last post was for @LondonerRandomName did try to quote your post but didn’t work.

Someone also mentioned images of religious leaders from Iran- I don’t know for certain as I am a Sunni Muslim but I think Shiah Muslims do allow illustrations of religious figures.

@Elopelo

Someone also mentioned images of religious leaders from Iran- I don’t know for certain as I am a Sunni Muslim but I think Shiah Muslims do allow illustrations of religious figures.

Yeah I think it’s v common to have images for Ali (ra) and the other Shia imams xx

I'm muslim. We give each other teddies. When babies are born. Me and my sis in law don't stop giving teddies.

Don't think on it!

Huh why wouldn’t it be ok? And I’m a teacher of RE!

Yeah I think it’s v common to have images for Ali (ra) and the other Shia imams
Thank you both for the explanation. It does seem strange they interpret the rules this way, but it's not for me to judge.

@Zwellers

BudrosBudrosGalli. I will confess I wouldnt have a clue that the picture you put up was anything to do with Judaism. In fact I have never knowingly met anyone Jewish. So ignorance maybe but not wilful. I think some people forget that not everyone lives in a multicultural city.

Fair enough. Although I did head the image with 'Shana Tova'. I have learned about the major religious holidays of leading religions, such as Eid ul-Fitr, as well as Ramadan, Diwali, Holi, as well as main Christian celebrations as a child, and thought this was quite usual general knowledge.