Celebrating a Non-Muslim Holiday?

By Abd Al-Baasit Khan. Published on November 12, 2009.

HAVE YOU EVER WONDERED ABOUT THE ISSUE OF

celebrating or partaking in Non-Muslim holidays, festivals

and celebrations? What is the Islamic ruling regarding this?

Is it permissible,  is it disliked, is it impermissible? Is there a

difference of opinion on this matter?  Insha’Allah, in this

short article, I hope that all of these (and related) questions

will be clearly answered.

1. Greeting the Kuffaar on Christmas and other similar

holidays of theirs is Haraam by Ittifaaq (consensus of the

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scholars), as Shaykh-ul-Islaam Ibn al-Qayyim said

in Ahkaam Ahl adh-Dhimmah:

Congratulating the Kuffaar on the rituals thatbelong to them is prohibited by consensus, as iscongratulating them on their festivals by saying‘A happy festival to you’ or ‘May you enjoy yourfestival,’ and so on…”

2. It is prohibited for a Muslim to accept invitations on such

occasions, because this is worse than congratulating them,

as it implies taking part in their celebrations.

3. 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 Muhammad said:

من تشبه بقوم فهو منهم“Whoever imitates a people is one of them.”

This hadeeth was authenticated by a great deal of scholars

including Abu Dawood, Ibn Hibbaan, Ibn Hajar, Az-

Zarqaani, Adh-Dhahabi, Al-Haythami, Al-‘Iraaqi, As-

Sakhaawi, As-San’aani, Muhammad Jaarullaah As-Sa’di,

Ahmad Shaakir, Ibn Baaz, Al-Albaani, Ibn `Uthaymeen, and

others.

Ibn Taymiyyah, in his beautiful and monumental book

Iqtidaa’ as-Siraat al-Mustaqeem Mukhaalafatu Ashaab’il-

Jaheem (In Pursuit of the Straight Path by Contradicting the

People of the Hellfire), said:

“Imitating them in some of their festivals impliesthat one is pleased with their false beliefs andpractices, and gives them the hope that they mayhave the opportunity to mislead the weak.”

Therefore, whoever does anything of this sort is a sinner,

even if he does it out of politeness, friendliness, shyness, or

for whatever other reason, because this is hypocrisy in Islam

and it makes the Kuffaar feel proud of their ways and

festivals.

Please also take note of the following:

1. Remember the hadith of ‘Aa’ishah in Sahih al-Bukhari and

Muslim where she narrated that on the Day of Eid , two

young girls were doing a special performance for her

(singing some songs). When Abu Bakr came to visit the

Prophet and found these girls with ‘Aa’ishah, he rebuked

them harshly. So the Prophet (who had been facing the

wall), said:

يا أبا بكر, إن لكل قوم عيدا, وهذا عيدنا

Abu Bakr, (know that) every group of peoplehas its Eid  (festival). And this is our Eid.”

Eid عيد is the name given to something which returns

(Ya’ood), and is used to describe gatherings which happens

repeatedly on a regular basis. Therefore, the Prophet clearly

stated that the Eid of the people of Islam is the Eid

(celebration) after Ramadaan and Eid at the end of the Hajj

season. In addition to this, Friday is also considered a Eid for

the Muslims, because it is a weekly gathering and is the best

day of the week.

2.  The Prophet also explicitly expressed his desire to

contradict the ways, celebrations, and festivities of the non-

Muslims. In this hadith that has a good chain of narration,

as stated by Abu Bakr Al-Athram, Umm Salamah Hind Bint

Abi Umayyah said that,

أن النبي صلى هللا عليه وسلم كان يصوم السبت واألحد ٬ ويقول : هما عيدان للمشركين فأنا أحب أن أخالفهماThe Prophet used to fast on Saturdays and onSundays, and he would say: “These are two daysof Eid for the Mushrikoon. So I love to opposethem (contradict them, differ from them) inthese two.”  (For more info on the issue offasting on Saturdays, see:http://www.islamway.com/?iw_s=Article&iw_a=view&article_id=2325 )

So, for the pagans, Saturday and Sunday was a special

holiday for them, a Eid. On these days they would party,

celebrate, relax, enjoy, dance, sing.  And in and of itself,

MUSLIM YOUTH MUSINGS

there’s nothing wrong with relaxing on Saturday our

Sunday, but the mere fact that the Pagans used to do this,

was enough reason for our beloved Prophet to differ from

their practice and not imitate them and fast on these days

(to show his indifference and his disregard for their Eid).

So, just to differ from them, to show that we’re different, to

indicate that he, in no way, is taking part in their Eid, he

would fast on Saturdays and Sundays. It is as if to send a

clear message: “I’m not partaking in the Eid of Non-

Muslims. I want to differ from them. I love to differ from

their practice (of relaxing, enjoying, partying) on these two

days.” So, even though it’s permissible to relax on Saturdays

and Sundays, he decided to exert himself and fast on these

two days just for this particular purpose. Therefore, one can

just imagine what our Prophet would’ve said if he were alive

today and were asked about Christmas or Thanksgiving!

What would he say upon seeing Muslims greeting and

warmly congratulating the Kuffaar on their Eids?

What if he saw his Ummah actually having Christmas trees

and lights, imitating the Kuffaar and making these Eids of

the disbelievers a part of their lives?

Fully indulging, forget contradicting and trying to differ

from them, the Muslims are not even shunning their

practices, but are rather completely participating in their

traditions! “Followers” of Muhammad as they claim, but yet

we see them exchanging Christmas cards and presents with

the Kuffaar and making Thanksgiving turkeys. On top of all

of this, they are even allowing their children to go and

partake with the Kuffaar in trick-or-treating and Halloween-

related events.

من تشبه بقوم فهو منهم“Whoever imitates a people is one of them.”

So the above Prophetic words do not apply, as some

ignorant people misunderstand, to normal common things,

like wearing a T-shirt, or tie, or sneakers, or driving a BMW

or Mercedes-Benz SLR.  Rather, it refers to things that are

specific for Non-Muslims and are well-known to be widely

practiced by Kuffaar. For ‘Eids’ like Halloween, Christmas,

Thanksgiving, Easter, there is no doubt whatsoever that

such Eids  fall into this meaning.

3. Ibn al-Qayyim said in his book, Ahkaam Ahl adh-

Dhimmah, “It is not permissible for the Muslims to attend

the festivals of the disbelievers, according to the consensus

of the scholars whose words carry weight.

The Fuqahaa’ who follow the four schools of thought have

stated this clearly in their books. Al-Bayhaqi narrated with

an authentic isnaad from ‘Umar ibn al-Khattaab that he said:

“Do not enter upon the disbelievers on the day oftheir festival, for divine wrath is descending upon

them.”

And ‘Umar also said:

“Avoid the enemies of Allah on their festivals.”

Al-Bayhaqi narrated with an acceptable isnaad from

‘Abdullaah 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.”

So yes, most definitely, as the Prophet told us, as reported in

Saheeh Al-Bukhari:

المرء مع من أحب“A person will be with the one whom he loved(on the Day of Resurrection).”

You will be with the one whom you loved. “Love” is not just

saying, ‘I love Allah, I love Islaam, I love Prophet

Muhammad.’ Love is not talk. Talk is cheap!  Love is

striving to imitate, to be like, and to follow the practices of

someone or something.

Now, ask yourselves this: Are you imitating the Prophet

more in your life, or are you abandoning his Sunnah?

Forget about whether it’s obligatory or recommended. This

isn’t a Fiqh issue. It’s an issue of: Do you really love the

Prophet Muhammad such that you will strive to imitate him

in every aspect of your life?  Or are you imitating the

Kuffaar more in your life?  Do you imitate their traditions

more than the traditions of your Prophet? Who do you wish

to be resurrected amongst? You will be with those whom

you love.

Comments ADD YOURS

Sami on November 24, 2009 at 3:43am

Salam Br. AbdelBasit,

JAK for the informative article.

Many legitimate scholars argue that holidays

that don’t have a religious origin are not

included under the above daleel (i.e. they

would differentiate between

Thanksgiving,Mothersday, etc. and

Christmas,Easter,Valentines Day and so

forth).

Also, I don’t personally celebrate these

holidays as I believe its best to stay away

from doubtful matters. However, I just

wanted to make aware that there are

difference in this regard.

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Food for thought:

http://www.suhaibwebb.com/islam-

studies/american-customs-what-is-

permissible/

Sami

Abd Al-Baasit on November 24, 2009 at 12:22pm

Of course, there will always be difference of

opinion on every issue.

But the issue here is not, (quote on quote)

religious holidays vs. “Non-religious”

holidays.

It’s أعياد (`Eids) of the non-Muslims vs. the

`Eids that Allah has given us – people of

Islaam.

In the Saheeh, the Prophet tells Abu Bakr:

.Every people have their `Eid“ إن لكل قوم عيدا

”.And THIS is our `Eid وهذا عيدنا

He said, the Day of `Arafah (this coming

Thursday), the Day of Nahr (Friday) and

the Days of Tashreeq (following 3 days)

are the `Eids (annual days عيدنا أهل اإلسالم

of celebration) for us, People of Islaam.

…. So the point, is – we want to try & differ

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from the traditions, the practices, the annual

celebrations of the non-Muslims, in sha

Allah. * Not whether it is permissible or

impermissible, or religious or non-religious.

* As the Prophet said about those 2 days the

Kuffaar took as days of relaxation & party –

I want to differ from them, in أريد أن أخالفهما

this practice of theirs. * It wasn’t a

religious/non-religious issue. It was about,

being different.

+ Finally, I want to leave you with this

hadeeth to think about (in my next

comment). :)

Abd Al-Baasit on November 24, 2009 at 12:42pm

The hadeeth was authenticated by Abu

Daawood (in his Sunan), An-Nawawi (in

Al-Khalaasah), Ibn Taymiyyah (in the book

which I referenced to him in the above

article, towards the beginning), Al-Baghawi

(in Sharh as-Sunnah), Ibn Al-`Arabi (in

Abdul-Haqq Al-Ishbeeli (in` ,(عارضة األحوذي

Al-Ahkaam As-Sughraa), Ibn Al-Mulqin (in

his Sharh of Bukhaari), Ibn Hajar (in

Buloogh al-Maraam, etc), Al-`Ayni (in

‘Umdah al-Qaari), and Al-Albaani (in

Saheeh al-Jaami`, Saheeh Abi Daawood,

Saheeh an-Nasaa’i, Takhreej Mishkaat al-

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Masaabeeh, Salaat al-`Eedayn).

Narrator: Anas Ibn Maalik. * When the

Prophet came to Madeenah, ولهم يومان

the People of Madeenah had 2 يلعبون فيهما

days in which they used to enjoy themselves

& play and have fun. * {So, Br. Sami, it’s

nothing religious.} The hadeeth says,

كان لهم يومان في كل سنة يلعبون فيهما , فلما

قدم النبي _ صلى هللا عليه وسلم _ المدينة قال :

كان لكم يومان تلعبون فيهما وقد أبدلكما هللا بهما

خيرا منهما , يوم الفطر ويوم األضحى

They used to have 2 days (imagine,

Thanksgiving/Christmas) in every single

year (i.e. annual), in which they used to play

and party. When the Prophet arrived to

Madeenah, he asked them: ما هذان اليومان؟

“What are these 2 days of yours?” What did

they say? They said: كنا نلعب فيهما في

We used to play on these 2 days“ الجاهلية

every year, in the time of Jaahiliyyah.”

+ They didn’t say, we sacrifice for the gods.

Or this is the day of Jesus Christ’s birth, or

the day of Hubal and Laat. Or any relgious-

related issue… no! They simply said, we

used to play on these 2 days, every single

year, in the pre-Islamic period.

The Prophet says to them: إن هللا قد أبدلكم

,Surely“ بهما خيرا منهما, يوم الفطر ويوم األضحى

Allah has indeed replaced these 2 days for

you, with 2 days that are Better than them!

The Day of Fitr, and the Day of Adhaa.”

So – my dear brother – this is the issue.

Not religious or otherwise, or halaal or

haraam. * It’s just that, Allah has given us in

exchange for these man-made holidays,

Holidays that are Better! So instead of

celebrating thanksgiving, we have the Day

of Adha —- a Day of Shukr and

thanksgiving to Allah. :) Give gifts &

‘turkeys’ to the non-Muslims on This day,

on Our god-given day of celebration, no on

theirs. What better way of Da’wah? Tell

them that this is Our annual day of

celeberation. Party on your day of `Eid, not

on their day.

Catch my drift?

zuhwra on December 13, 2009 at 1:42pm

Asalamm aleikum

My daughter is 6 yrs old, and was told to

dress up as a doll for the xmas school play (

it was santas xmas presents) was this haram

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for her?

Jaza kallakheir.

AbdulBasit on December 14, 2009 at 5:03pm

Hey everybody – I just found out that the

book I referred to in the article (by Shaykh-

ul-Islaam Ibn Taymiyyah), اقتضاء الصراط

In Pursuit of) المستقيم مخالفة أصحاب الجحيم

the Straight Path by Contradicting the

People of the Hell re) … this book is

available in English under the title “The

Right Way”, published by Darussalam,

Riyadh.

AbdulBasit on December 14, 2009 at 5:23pm

Allah knows best. This is from the هللا أعلم

issues that relate to attending public schools

& the requirements of that.

It is well-known that if you attend public

schools, you will end up participating in

Valentine’s Day, Thanksgiving projects and

activities, Halloween-related activities, and

the same goes for Christmas, etc.

So it’s not about, this particular Christmas

play (and whether she dresses up like a doll

or like Santa). It goes deeper into the issue

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of attending public schools vs. Muslim

schools.

* But there’re not a lot of fulltime Muslim

schools, sadly. So many times Muslim

children end up having to attend public

schools.

As a parent, one must try his/her best to

educate the child about Islaam, to counter

the non-Islamic teachings they’re getting

throughout the week. Not just putting them

in a Sunday school or… but really teaching

them the meaning of Islaam, what it means

to be a Muslim, who is Allah, etc.

Conclusion: Some things are requirements

in public school, some are not. You have to

make the judgment إن شاء هللا. I don’t want

to say whether dressing up like a doll (as a

present of Santa) for a Christmas school

play is HALAAL or HARAAM… just realize

that whatever children are brought up upon,

whatever children are shown, taught, and

made accustomed to – especially during

their young years (until around 13) – it will

have an effect on them.

Allah knows best

– AbdulBasit Khan

AbdulBasit on December 16, 2009 at 1:25am

But as for a direct answer from myself, I

would say: I don’t think that this is a very

serious matter (the case you mentioned).

However, you must make sure that you are

teaching her about Islam, and as she grows

older, how we must differ from the non-

Muslim practices and traditions.

Shahin136 on July 2, 2010 at 11:28pm

@Abd al-Baasit Khan-thank you so much

for writing this! I’ve been looking

everywhere for an explanation of that

hadeeth about imitating people and I was

also one of those who thought it referred to

wearing T-shirts and jeans and stuff and i

was also looking to find which non-muslim

holidays we could or could not celebrate

and this answered all my questions.

@Arif Kabir-I’ve heard many sheikhs say the

word “Salaf” and my friend told me she’s

Salafi. What does that mean? i’ve researched

on this but I can’t seem to find any

authentic website that answers my question.

Abd al-Baasit Khan on July 3, 2010 at 4:35am

As for your question – Shahih136 – about

the Arabic word سلف (salaf), literally this

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word means, “that which came before, that

which preceded”. As it occurs in the Qur’an

(8:38): “Tell the disbelievers (O

Muhammad), if they desist and cease

( ghting/attacking the Muslims), يغفر لهم ما

’then ‘everything that has preceded قد سلف

will be forgiven for them.”

So this is the origin of the term, linguistically

speaking. * As for its meaning in Islam, and

when it’s used by speakers, it is a reference

to: “The Pious Predecessors” (as you nd it

translated in some places), or “The

Righteous Forefathers”. i.e. those pious

great Muslims who came before us. And

sometimes you’ll hear some Islamic speaker

use the phrase, لف الصالح -As-Salaf As“ الس

Saalih”, which basically has the same

meaning as just mentioned.

Specially, and in most cases, when we use

this term (Salaf), it is particularly referring

to the 1st 3 generations of Muslims [i.e. the

Prophet & his Companions (صحابة), then the

following generation (called the تابعون

[Taabi’oon], or the Successors), and then

the generations after them]. * Why are these

three considered special? Due to a

statement of the Prophet, wherein he stated:

“The best of all generations humanity has

ever seen is my generation (i.e. of his

Companions), then the generation that will

follow them, and then the generation that

will follow them.” — And he stopped. 300

years. {And FYI, all of the 4 famous Imams

of the Muslims, Abu Haneefah, Maalik,

Shaa ’ee, Ahmad lived in this time period,

these three hundred years.}

+ Last note: As for a very recent

phenomenon that has emerged (and truth

be told, it was some of our very recent

Scholars, and Hadeeth specialists of this era,

who coined this term with the best of

intentions), of calling oneself a “Sala ”

which btw, as u can probably… سلفي

guess now, means someone who is

following the “Salaf”, the way and

methodology of our Pious Predecessors … I

personally have seen some

dangers/problems arise from this kind of

labeling, such as harsh exclusiveness, and

many extreme groups calling themselves

“Sala s” emerging, who malign and attack

many of our Scholars here in the West, and

are always busy in refuting and “warning”

against individuals, etc.

In general, there’s basically nothing wrong

with saying you’re a “Salafi”, IF and only if

you clarify along with mentioning this

‘label’, what its intended meaning is – so

that no one thinks that this is some kind of

“new sect”, or cult or whatever…

Shahin136 on July 5, 2010 at 9:03am

Jazakallah khair brother for the detailed

explanation and I hope you keep writing for

MYM in the future to benefit a lot of

people.

Abd Al-Baasit on July 3, 2010 at 7:10am

BTW, u may also wanna listen to this

important 3 min. clip – from a lecture by

Dr. Bilal Philips:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?

v=wbGlzlS3O9g ;)

Arif on September 28, 2010 at 5:57pm

There’s actually a novel in Bangladesh about

Umar (radhiAllahu anhu) visiting current-

day Bangladesh and aghast at all the Fitan

everywhere. Now, I don’t know if that is

correct Islamically, but it sure gave another

perspective to imagine that Umar or any of

the Salaf saw us doing what we do today.

May Allah protect us…

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valentine day and islam on February 27, 2011 at 4:46pm

The Festival of Love was one of the festivals

of the pagan Romans, when paganism was

the prevalent religion of the Romans more

than seventeen centuries ago. In the pagan

Roman concept, it was an expression of

“spiritual love”. There were myths

associated with this pagan festival of the

Romans, which persisted with their

Christian heirs. Among the most famous of

these myths was the Roman belief that

Romulus, the founder of Rome, was suckled

one day by a she-wolf, which gave him

strength and wisdom. The Romans used to

celebrate this event in mid-February each

year with a big festival. One of the rituals of

this festival was the sacrifice of a dog and a

goat. Two strong and muscular youths

would daub the blood of the dog and goat

onto their bodies, then they would wash the

blood away with milk. After that there

would be a great parade, with these two

youths at its head, which would go about

the streets. The two youths would have

pieces of leather with which they would hit

everyone who crossed their path. The

Roman women would welcome these

blows, because they believed that they could

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prevent or cure infertility.

Sumiaya on October 24, 2011 at 4:46am

so that means we can’t celebrate birthdays?

like we can’t even wish people happy

birthday?

Shiney on October 24, 2011 at 11:40am

nope, no birthdays. because the Prophet

(SAW) said we only have 2 Eids (an Eid in

Arabic means a day that is celebrated every

year on the same day) and birthdays fall

under the linguistic meaning of Eid. and for

the most part, wishing someone on their b-

day means acknowledging it, which

shouldn’t have been done. but in the

end, scholars differ as to how strict or

lenient they want to be with this issue or

birthdays.

Sumaiya on November 10, 2011 at 5:43pm

ok JazakAllah!

Shaheer on January 24, 2012 at 2:59am

Shahin, I do remember that the

Prophet(saw) said we only have two eids

but i am failing to find the reference. Can

you please help me with that? jazakAllah

khairan

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Yughni on January 26, 2012 at 12:29pm

He said words to this effect on numerous

occasions, but here’s just one quick example

[transmitted by Abu Dawud & An-Nasaa’i;

authentic]: When the Prophet came to

Madinah, he found the people celebrating 2

holidays or festivals (and as far as we know,

they were not religious fesitvals. They were

just, يومان في كل سنة يلعبون فيهما  – as

Anas Ibn Maalik said, “two days every year,

in which the people would party, celebrate,

take the day off”; essentially, 2

holidays/’Eids). So when he came to

Madinah, he asked them: ما هذان اليومان؟

“What are these 2 days?”

They replied, كنا نلعب فيهما في الجاهلية “We

used to play on these days (take the day off

& just celebrate) in the days of Jaahiliyyah

(before Islam).”

So what did the Prophet say? ♦ He said, إن

هللا قد أبدلكم بهما خيرا منهما, يوم الفطر ويوم

Then surely, Allah has already“ األضحى

replaced these 2 days for you, with 2 days

that are better than them: the day of Fitr,

and the day of Adhaa.”

○ See: “Saheeh Sunan An-Nasaa’ee”, #1555.

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And “Saheeh Sunan Abi Daawood”, #1134.

It was authenticated by Abu Daawood

himself (1134), Ibn Taymiyyah in his book

referred to in the article (Iqtidaa’ As-Siraat

Al-Mustaqeem, 1/485 – wherein he said:

“Its isnaad meets the criteria of Imaam

Muslim”), An-Nawawi, Al-Baghawi, Ibn

Al-‘Arabi Al-Maaliki, ‘Abdul-Haqq Al-

Ishbeeli, Ibn Al-Mulqin, As-Suyooti, Ibn

Hajar Al-‘Asqalaani, Al-‘Ayni Al-Hanafi, Al-

Albaani, etc.

So in Islam, we have our own, distinct

celebrations and holidays. Allah has given us

better, as the Prophet said. And we should

be content with what He has given us, and

really make a Big Deal out of our God-

given holidays/festivals instead of

continuously trying to hold on to, and justify

our celebration of the non-Muslim holidays.

– And Allah Knows Best.

Usama891 on December 13, 2011 at 3:01pm

jazakallahukheir

Vandy on January 25, 2012 at 3:34pm

This article is POORLY written, deceptive

and outright incorrect. The texts have been

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misused and cherry picked in order to

propagate a certain view. Ibn Taymiyah did

NOT say that! Fear Allah – he said the

opposite!

Arif Kabir on January 25, 2012 at 10:56pm

Please provide your evidence for such a

claim.

Yughni on January 26, 2012 at 12:13pm

Vandy (may Allah have mercy on you), your

comment carries no weight unless you

provide clear proof for what you’re trying to

say… But in fact, if you have ever read the

book by Shaykh Al-Islam, Imam Ibn Al-

Qayyim (may Allah have mercy on him),

-Ahkaam Ahl adh“ [أحكام أهل الذمة]

Dhimmah” – you would not be saying this.

Ibn Al-Qayyim, رحمه هللا, proves therein that

this “certain view” (as you said) is the clear

consensus of the Scholars of the 4 Schools

of Thought. This is exactly what he said, • It

is NOT permissible for the Muslims to

attend the festivals (أعياد) of the disbelievers,

according to the consensus of the scholars

who words carry weight! • On top of this,

we even have explicit reports from the

Prophet’s Companions forbidding this. See

`Umar Ibn Al-Khattaab’s statement cited in

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the article, as well as ‘Abdullaah Ibn ‘Amr

s statement about settling in’(رضي هللا عنهما)

the lands of the disbelievers and celebrating

their festivals and imitating them until death

(how such a person will be gathered with

them on the Day of Judgment). ♦ This

article proves, with clear evidence, how this

is something that was known to be

impermissible from the beginning of Islam.

And btw, Ibn Qayyim’s teacher (Ibn

Taymiyyah, يرحمه هللا) said the exact same

thing – if you have ever read his book [and

based on your comment, it’s pretty clear

you haven’t]: اقتضاء الصراط المستقيم مخالفة

-Iqtidaa’ As-Siraat Al] أصحاب الجحيم

Mustaqeem, Mukhaalafatu As’haabi’l-

Jaheem]. • His conclusions are not

ambiguous, rather he undeniably proved the

impermissibility of celebrating the festivals

of the disbelievers, etc.

Do you read Arabic, Vandy?  >> These are

*his* words, not mine [and they leave no

room for doubt]:

مشابهتهم في بعض أعيادهم توجب سرور قلوبهم

بما هم عليه من الباطل٬ وربما أطمعهم ذلك في

-Imaam Ibn Al  انتهاز  الفرص واستذالل الضعفاء

Qayyim (يرحمه هللا) was also explicit on this

issue,

وأما التهنئة بشعائر الكفر المختصة به فحرام

باالتفاق٬ مثل أن يهنئهم بأعيادهم وصومهم٬

فيقول: عيد مبارك عليك٬ أو تهنأ بهذا العيد ونحوه٬

فهذا إن سلم قائله من الكفر فهو من المحرمات

وهو بمنزلة أن يهنئه بسجوده للصليب بل ذلك

أعظم إثما عند هللا٬ وأشد مقتا من التهنئة بشرب

الخمر وقتل النفس٬ وارتكاب الفرج الحرام ونحوه٬

وكثير ممن ال قدر للدين عنده يقع في ذلك٬ وال

يدري قبح ما فعل٬ فمن هنأ عبدا بمعصية أو بدعة٬

  أو كفر فقد تعرض لمقت هللا وسخطه

He stated that, ♦ Congratulating the

disbelievers on the rituals that belong only

to them is Haraam (Prohibited) by

CONSENSUS, as is congratulating them on

their ‘Eids (Festivals/Holidays) 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

(he is not involved in kufr), it is still

prohibited. It is like congratulating someone

for prostrating to the cross, or even worse

than that! It is even greater a sin in Allah’s

sight than congratulating someone for

drinking wine, or murdering someone, or

having illicit sexual relations, and so on. And

MANY of those who have no respect or

appreciation for their Religion fall into this

error, and they do not realize the

offensiveness (“qabh” – lit. hideousness) of

their actions. So whoever congratulates a

person for his disobedience (to God) or

bid’ah (religious innovation) or kufr

(disbelief), exposes himself to the wrath and

anger of Allah! ♦  End quote from his

words, may Allah have mercy on him.○ So

Vandy, please think long & hard before you

speak without knowledge, and please go

back and read the works of these Scholars

of Islam before making false

accusations.    – Thank you!

Abu Abdillah on November 22, 2012 at 7:33pm

As-Salaamu ‘Alaikum,

It’s Muharram. The month in which Allah’s

Final Messenger sallallahu ‘alaihi wa sallam

fasted the most outside of Ramadhan. It’s a

Thursday. One of the days we are

recommended to fast on a regular basis. I

look forward to feasts on our ‘Eids, the days

in which our Prophet stated substituted for

other eids. I am an American convert of

over 30 years. Our Messenger would fast

differently than others who were also

ordered to fast before us, and to make it a

POINT to differ from those previous

23

communities. My non-Muslim family and

the culture that I grew up in has me in a

position – since I am living in the US –

where their practices already have a greater

impact on my life than I do on theirs.

Holding proudly and tightly onto Islam and

standing out and up for it is getting like

holding onto hot coals. I can invite my

family for eids or other days if I really want

them to come together or be with them or

want my children to know them or want to

give them da’wah on my terms or where I

have a real say and a likelihood to be

listened to. Such an event can be planned

well in advance (years even) so they can

take the day off or travel as can I. I want to

put more effort into OUR ‘Eids than theirs. I

fasted today and I pray it was accepted.

BTW Sorry I am not a ‘youth’. Just sharing.

AND I don’t despise my family (at least not

most of them), I like turkey and football

too, but…

malik on December 22, 2012 at 5:50am

great article! may Allah reward you.24

25

Eman on June 25, 2013 at 12:59pm

So according to this when a Muslim marry a girl

from the people of the book he has to prohibit her

from celebrating her holidays …Islam never said she

had to convert ..and one of the reasons men are

allowed to marry people of the book is because we

do believe in Jesus and Moses (Pbu)..so if we apply

this ruling the girl would have to give up her religion

and convert which Islam never said so…

Arif Kabir on June 30, 2013 at 10:59pm

Where did he say that?

AbdulBasit Khan on December 5, 2013 at 4:53pm

Eman, may Allah increase you in knowledge

and bless you, this is an incorrect

extrapolation. The Prophet’s own wife,

Sa yyah, رضوان هللا عليها وصلى هللا عليه وسلم,

who was of Jewish heritage – when she

embraced Islam, she still would visit her

Jewish family every week on the Sabbath.

So she embraced Islam, yet she did not give

up keeping ties with her family and relatives

*on their religious day*.

So even more so, for a Jewish or Christian

woman married to a Muslim man, she

26

27

practices her religion and keeps to her

traditions and festivals.

You said, “Islam never said she had to

convert” – I concur, Eman. You’re

absolutely right. The above ruling applies

for Muslims only. She, being a non-Muslim,

maintains her religion and what it entails.

This is part of the tolerance of this beautiful

deen.

Kamrun on December 9, 2013 at 8:49am

Assalamualaikum, can you advice me in this

issue that im goin through,my 6yr old

daughter who attends public school or

doing a winter show, her class will be

singin, Santa is coming to Town, Is it

permissible for her to participate in this

show, if i dont allow her to participate,

during rehersals and the day of the show

they will make her sit by the bench by

herself.What advice can you give me, asap

Jazakh Allah Khair

Aziza on December 9, 2013 at 10:56pm

Assalamualaikum wa rahmatullahi wa

barakatu Kamrun,

Here is a quote from a longer fatwa located

28

29

at: http://islamqa.info/en/4237

“(Children should) Not (be) attending

parties where there is dancing, music and

singing, or joining in celebrations of

immorality or the festivals of kufr;”

Also there is a comment above by the

author about a similar issue. Based on the

above quote, it may be best for your

daughter not to participate and perhaps

arrangements can be made with the teacher.

InshaAllah you can try to explain it to your

daughter in a way that will make her feel

proud of being different instead of feeling

left out.

I pray that everything will work out by

Allah’s grace.

Abdullah Salim on April 20, 2014 at 3:14am

Assalaam aleikum. Thanks for open us our

eyes on how to protect from them. but if

someone Christian give you a gift, may I

receive it?

Aziza on April 21, 2014 at 6:39pm

Assalamualaikum wa rahmatullahi wa

barakatu Abdullah,

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31

Please see the following links. Hope it helps

you, InshaAllah.

http://islamqa.info/en/11564

http://islamqa.info/en/85108

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