بِسْمِ اللَّهِ الرَّحْمَٰنِ الرَّحِيمِ
قُلْ يَٰٓأَيُّهَا ٱلْكَٰفِرُونَ ﴿١﴾ لَآ أَعْبُدُ مَا تَعْبُدُونَ ﴿٢﴾ وَلَآ أَنتُمْ عَٰبِدُونَ مَآ أَعْبُدُ ﴿٣﴾ وَلَآ أَنَا۠ عَابِدٌ مَّا عَبَدتُّمْ ﴿٤﴾ وَلَآ أَنتُمْ عَٰبِدُونَ مَآ أَعْبُدُ ﴿٥﴾ لَكُمْ دِينُكُمْ وَلِىَ دِينِ ﴿٦
Qul yaa ayyuhaa alkaafiruuna, laa a’budu maa ta’buduuna, walaa antum ‘aabiduuna maa a’budu, walaa anaa ‘aabidun maa ‘abadtum, walaa antum ‘aabiduuna maa a’budu, lakum diinukum waliya diini.
1). Say : O disbelievers!
2). I worship not that which ye worship
3). Nor worship ye that which I worship
4). And I shall not worship that which ye worship
5). Nor will ye worship that which I worship
6). Unto you your religion , and unto me my religion
We are now almost at the end of the year based on Georgian calendar and Christian celebrates Christmas before the new year. However Islam has its own lunar calendar totally independent of Georgian calendar. Islam has tied Muslim’s lives with Islamic calendar based on lunar months. From performing five time prayers, fasting, hajj, Eid etc every responsibility and festivity of Muslims is attached to Islamic Calendar.
Many of us ask about greetings Christmas and New Year for Muslims.
There are two opinions upon this issue:
- Ibn Taymiyyah, Ibn Qoyyim and his followers such as Sheikh Ibn Baaz, Sheikh Ibn ‘Uthaymeen, may Allah have mercy on them-as well as others such as Sheikh Ibrahim bin Muhammad al Huqoil found that congratulate Christmas is forbidden as it is part of celebration and symbol of their religion. Allah does not accept any disbelief against His servants. Indeed in saying congratulations to them is tasyabbuh (resembling) with them, and this is forbidden. They also said that it is obligatory for Muslim to avoid their celebrations, to avoid from attitudes that resemble their actions, to avoid attending their celebration, do not get involve in it, do not congratulate them on their feast days, and avoid the use of various names and special terms in their worship.
- Contemporary Muslim scholars have different opinions about the greeting. Among them is Sheikh Yusuf al-Qaradawi who argued that “changes in global conditions has made me different from Ibn Taymiyyah about greetings in Christian’s or other religions.” Yusuf al Qaradawi allows it if they (the Christians or other non-Muslims) are those who love peace to Muslims, even more so if there are relationships between non-Muslim and Muslims, such as: relatives, neighbors, college friends, co-workers and so on so forth. It is included in doing good which is not forbidden but Allah loves him as He Almighty loves to do fair.
Among the arguments used by the scholars who allow say Merry Christmas is the word of Allah :
لا ينهاكم الله عن الذين لم يقاتلوكم في الدين ولم يخرجوكم من دياركم أن تبروهم وتقسطوا إليهم إن الله يحب المقسطين
” Allah does not forbid you to be kind and fair applicable to those who fight you not for religion and not ( also ) driven you from your homes. Indeed, Allah loves those who act justly . ” (QS Al Mumtahanah : 8 )
This verse is rukhshoh ( permissible ) of Allah to build relationships with people who are not hostile to the believers and not to fight them.
These two groups lean towards a number of dalil or hadits or arguments. Although the greetings of merry Christmas partially include in aqeedah region but it has a legal jurisprudence that lean towards a deep understanding, a detailed review of the various texts Shar’i (from Al-Qur’an and Hadits).
Anas ibn Maalik said: “The Prophet pbuh arrived in Madinah while people were celebrating two particular festivals, so he asked: “What is (the significance of) these two days?” Some people replied: ‘They are days which we used to celebrate during the pre-Islamic era.” So the Messenger replied: “Allah has replaced them for you with two days which are better, the day of ‘Eid Al-Fitr and ‘Eid Al-Adh-haa” [Abu Daawood]. Therefore, it is not permissible for Muslims to celebrate New Year, because it is not one of Muslim’s celebrations.
If you disbelieve, then verily, Allah 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. [QS Al-Zumar 39:7]
This day, I have perfected your religion for you, completed My favor upon you, and have chosen for you Islam as your religion [QS: Al-Maa’idah 5:3]
Christmas and New Year are non-Islamic event just as Eid and Ramadan are Islamic events. We have not seen non-Muslims celebrating these events [Eids] with Muslims, so why is it necessary for Muslims to celebrate Christmas and New Year with non-believers?
Christmas is part of the principle of Christianity, they believe that in this day Jesus Christ was born. Christ means Christ (Jesus) and Mass means many people gathered to remember / celebrate the birth of Christ. And they believe Christ is the manifestation of God.
Islam does not stop Muslims from being happy and supporting others over their beliefs. But this does not mean that Muslims should forget their individuality and be part of other’s lives. Islam is a clear and distinct religion, it emphasizes He oneness of the Almighty and follows His scripture.
Doing good to them is not to greet Christmas but not to disturb their celebration (social aspect).
Wallahu’alam
Source: many sources
