Short answer
No. Holi is a Hindu religious festival, and throwing its colours, the Holika bonfire and its celebrations are part of its rites, so the Hanafi school does not allow Muslims to play Holi, even just for fun. If someone throws colour on you without your choice, you carry no sin. Stay kind to Hindu friends without joining the festival.
Taking part in Holi, whether by playing colours, attending the bonfire or celebrating, is haram because it shares in the rites of another religion, and doing it to honour the festival endangers faith. Being coloured against one's will is not sinful.
The four schools agree on this.
Explanation
Holi is a spring festival rooted in Hindu sacred stories, including Prahlad and Holika and the play of Krishna. Its night begins with the Holika Dahan bonfire, and the next day people throw coloured powder and water. However cheerful it looks, it is a religious festival with its own meaning.
People often say they only want to play for fun. The scholars answer that copying the distinctive rites of another religion is not allowed even without believing in them, because of the hadith "whoever imitates a people is one of them". When the Prophet ﷺ arrived in Madinah and found two days of festivity, he said Allah had replaced them with the two Eids.
- Invitations at college or work: excuse yourself politely. You can still greet people kindly that day.
- Colour thrown at you: no sin on you. Wash it off when you can.
- Wudu and prayer: dry colour that only stains the skin does not stop wudu. If the colour forms a layer that water cannot pass, as some oily or paint colours do, remove it before wudu.
- Sweets: ordinary sweets gifted by neighbours may be eaten, but avoid food offered to a deity.
Muslims and Hindus share streets, workplaces and friendships in India, Pakistan, the UK and the US. Respect for each other's faith includes not joining its rites, and Hindu friends usually understand this when it is explained kindly. See can Muslims celebrate Diwali? and what Islam says about Hinduism.
The evidence
Quran, Surah Al-Furqaan 25:72
وَٱلَّذِينَ لَا يَشْهَدُونَ ٱلزُّورَ وَإِذَا مَرُّوا۟ بِٱللَّغْوِ مَرُّوا۟ كِرَامًۭا ﴿٧٢﴾
And [they are] those who do not testify to falsehood, and when they pass near ill speech, they pass by with dignity.
Early scholars explained this as not attending the festivals of other faiths.
Quran, Surah Al-Kaafiroon 109:6
لَكُمْ دِينُكُمْ وَلِىَ دِينِ ﴿٦﴾
For you is your religion, and for me is my religion."
Respect for other faiths without sharing in their rites.
Sunan Abi Dawud 1134
Graded sahih... قد أبدلكم الله بهما خيرا منهما يوم الأضحى ويوم الفطر ...
"Allah has replaced them for you with something better: the day of Adha and the day of Fitr."
Muslims have their own festivals in place of those of others.
Sunan Abi Dawud 4031
Graded hasan sahih... من تشبه بقوم فهو منهم ...
"Whoever imitates a people is one of them."
Joining another religion's rites, even for fun, is to be avoided.
Where the ruling is recorded
- al-Fatawa al-Hindiyya, Kitab al-Siyar, the chapter on the rulings of apostates, words of kufr about the festivals of non-Muslims. Joining or honouring the festivals of idol worshippers is a grave matter.
- Radd al-Muhtar (Ibn Abidin), Kitab al-Taharah, the discussion of what prevents water reaching the skin in wudu. A stain with no body does not invalidate wudu, while a layer that blocks water does.
Checked by our team. For a more accurate answer to your own situation, consult a scholar. Quran translation by Sahih International. Hadith Arabic from the standard editions of the six books and the Muwatta, with gradings as recorded there; the English is our own rendering. Spotted a mistake? Tell us.