Monday 14 January 2013



Christmas in Islam: Permissible or Forbidden?

This Article is a Response to those Sufis(Barelwi) who celebrate the Christmas.May Allah Guide them Ameen.

Contents:
1) RULING ON CELEBRATING CHRISTMAS,NEW YEAR.
2) RULING ON CONGRATULATING ON CHRISTMAS,NEW YEAR.
3) IF CHRISTIANS GREET US ON THE OCCASION OF CHRISTMAS,NEW YEAR SHOULD WE RESPOND OR NOT ?
4) RULING ON ACCEPTING INVITATION FOR CHRISTMAS,NEW YEAR.



1)RULING ON CELEBRATING CHRISTMAS,NEW YEAR.

Allah says,''O you who have believed, do not take the Jews and the Christians as friends.They are [in fact] friends of one another. And whoever is an friends to them among you -
then indeed, he is [one] of them. Indeed, Allah guides not the wrongdoing people.(Surah Maidah Ayat-51)

Allah Says,"And those who oppose the Apostle after the obvious truth to him, and follow the path that is not the way believers, We let him freely against the fallacy that they have learned it and We insert it into the Jahannam, and Jahannam was an evil refuge! . '(Surah An Nisa' [4]: 115)

Allah Says,''They have certainly disbelieved who say, " Allah is the Messiah, the son of Mary" while the Messiah has said, "O Children of Israel, worship Allah , my Lord and your Lord." Indeed, he who associates others with Allah - Allah has forbidden him Paradise, and his refuge is the Fire. And there are not for the wrongdoers any helpers.(Al-Quran 5:72)

Allah Says, “Never will the Jews nor the Christians be pleased with you till you follow their religion. Say: "Verily, Islâmic Guidance is the only Guidance. And if you were to follow their desires after what you have received of Knowledge, then you would have against Allâh neither any protector nor helper.”(Al-Quran Surah Baqrah 2:120)

Hadith-1
Narrated ‘Umar ibn al-Khattaab that he said: “Do not enter upon the mushrikeen in their churches on the day of their festival, for divine wrath is descending upon them.”
SUNAN KUBRA BAIHAQI (HADITH 18288)

SOURCE OF SUNAN KUBRA BAIHAQI:-http://www.islamweb.net/newlibrary/display_book.php?idfrom=18288&idto=18292&bk_no=71&ID=3935

Hadith-2
Narrated Umar said: “Avoid the enemies of Allaah on their festivals.
(SUNAN KUBRA BAIHAQI (HADITH 18289)

SOURCE OF SUNAN KUBRA BAIHAQI:http://www.islamweb.net/newlibrary/display_book.php?bk_no=71&ID=3935&idfrom=18288&idto=18292&bookid=71&startno=1

Hadith-3
Narrated ‘Abd-Allaah ibn ‘Amr that he said: “Whoever settles in the land of the non-Arabs and celebrates their new year and festival and imitates them until he dies in that state, will be gathered with them on the Day of Resurrection.”
SUNAN KUBRA BAIHAQI (HADITH 18290)

SOURCE OF SUNAN KUBRA BAIHAQI:-http://www.islamweb.net/newlibrary/display_book.php?bk_no=71&ID=3935&idfrom=18288&idto=18292&bookid=71&startno=2

Hadith-4
Narrated Abu Said: The Prophet (P.B.U.H) said, “You will follow the wrong ways, of your predecessors so completely and literally that if they should go into the hole of a mastigure, you too will go there.” We said, “O Allah’s Apostle! Do you mean the jews and the christians?” He replied, “Whom else?” (Meaning, of course, the jews and the christians.)
(SAHIH BUKHARI Volume 4 Book #56, Hadith #662)

Hadith-5
Narrated Abdullah ibn Umar: The Prophet (peace_be_upon_him) said: He who copies any people is one of them.(ABU DAWOOD (Book #32, Hadith #4020)

2) RULING ON CONGRATULATING ON CHRISTMAS,NEW YEAR.


It is not permissible to greet or congratulate the kuffaar on the occasion of Christmas, New Year or any of their other holidays, and it is not permissible to respond to them when they greet us on those occasions, because they are not festivals that are prescribed in our religion, and returning their greeting is an affirmation and approval of them. The Muslim should be proud of his religion and its rulings, and he should be keen to call others and convey to them the religion of Allaah, may He be glorified and exalted.

Greeting the kuffaar on Christmas and other religious holidays of theirs is haraam, by consensus, as Ibn al-Qayyim, may Allaah have mercy on him, said in Ahkaam Ahl al-Dhimmah: “Congratulating the kuffaar on the rituals that belong only to them is haraam by consensus, as is congratulating them on their festivals and fasts by saying ‘A happy festival to you’ or ‘May you enjoy your festival,’ and so on. If the one who says this has been saved from kufr, it is still forbidden. It is like congratulating someone for prostrating to the cross, or even worse than that. It is as great a sin as congratulating someone for drinking wine, or murdering someone, or having illicit sexual relations, and so on. Many of those who have no respect for their religion fall into this error; they do not realize the offensiveness of their actions. Whoever congratulates a person for his disobedience or bid’ah or kufr exposes himself to the wrath and anger of Allaah. because it implies that one accepts or approves of their rituals of kufr, even if one would not accept those things for oneself. But the Muslim should not accept the rituals of kufr or congratulate anyone else for them, because Allaah does not accept any of that at all, as He says (interpretation of the meaning):

If you disbelieve, then verily, Allaah is not in need of you, He likes not disbelief for His slaves. And if you are grateful (by being believers), He is pleased therewith for you.
(SURAH ZUMAR 39 VERSE 7)

This day I have perfected for you your religion and completed My favor upon you and have approved for you Islam as religion.(SURAH MAIDAH 5 VERSE 3)

So congratulating them is forbidden, whether they are one’s colleagues at work or otherwise.

3)IF CHRISTIANS GREET US ON THE OCCASION OF CHRISTMAS,NEW YEAR SHOULD WE RESPOND OR NOT?

If they greet us on the occasion of their festivals, we should not respond, because these are not our festivals, and because they are not festivals which are acceptable to Allaah. These festivals are innovations in their religions, and even those which may have been prescribed formerly have been abrogated by the religion of Islaam, with which Allaah sent Muhammad (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) to the whole of mankind. Allaah says (interpretation of the meaning)

Whoever seeks a religion other than Islaam, it will never be accepted of him, and in the Hereafter he will be one of the losers.”(SURAH AL IMRAN 3 VERSE 85)

4) RULING ON ACCEPTING INVITATION FOR CHRISTMAS,NEW YEAR

It is haraam for a Muslim to accept invitations on such occasions, because this is worse than congratulating them as it implies taking part in their celebrations.Similarly, Muslims are forbidden to imitate the kuffaar by having parties on such occasions, or exchanging gifts, or giving out sweets or food, or taking time off work, etc., because the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said:

Hadith-6
Abu Sa’id al-Khudri reported Allah’s Messenger (may peace be upon him) as saying: You would tread the same path as was trodden by those before you inch by inch and step by step so much so that if they had entered into the hole of the lizard, you would follow them in this also. We said: Allah’s Messenger, do you mean jews and christians (by your words)” those before you”? He said: Who else (than those two religious groups)?
SAHIH MUSLIM (Book #034, Hadith #6448)

Hadith-7
Narrated Abu Said: The Prophet (P.B.U.H) said, “You will follow the wrong ways, of your predecessors so completely and literally that if they should go into the hole of a mastigure, you too will go there.” We said, “O Allah’s Apostle! Do you mean the jews and the christians?” He replied, “Whom else?” (Meaning, of course, the jews and the christians.)
SAHIH BUKHARI (Volume 4:: Book #56, Hadith #662)

Hadith-8
Narrated Abdullah ibn Umar: The Prophet (peace_be_upon_him) said: He who copies any people is one of them.
ABU DAWOOD (Book #32, Hadith #4020)

Shaykh al-Islaam Ibn Taymiyah said in his book Iqtidaa’ al-siraat al-mustaqeem mukhaalifat ashaab al-jaheem: “Imitating them in some of their festivals implies that one is pleased with their false beliefs and practices, and gives them the hope that they may have the opportunity to humiliate and mislead the weak.Whoever does anything of this sort is a sinner, whether he does it out of politeness or to be friendly, or because he is too shy to refuse, or for whatever other reason, because this is hypocrisy in Islaam, and because it makes the kuffaar feel proud of their religion.Allaah is the One Whom we ask to make the Muslims feel proud of their religion, to help them adhere steadfastly to it, and to make them victorious over their enemies, for He is the Strong and Omnipotent.
(MAJMOO’AH FATAAWA WA RASAA’IL AL-SHAYKH IBN ‘UTHAYMEEN, 3/369)

For more details do visit the following website:http://islamqa.com/en/ref/161539/christmas --->http://islamqa.com/en/ref/145427/christmas --------->http://islamqa.com/en/ref/145676/christmas

Conlusion:-May Allah Protect us from all those Evils Ameen. I'm really grateful to our Brother Aijaz Shaikh :) may Allah reward him for compilation of this Article,Ameen.