Can Muslims Celebrate Christmas?

Mohamad Mostafa Nassar
Twitter:@NassarMohamadMR

There is no doubt that what is mentioned of celebrations of Christmas is haram, because it is an imitation of the unbelievers. It is well known that the Muslims do not have any festival apart from ‘Eid al-Fitr and ‘Eid al-Adha , and the weekly “‘Eid” which is Friday (Yawm al-Jumu‘ah).

Celebrating any other festival is not allowed and is either of two things: either it is an innovation (bid‘ah), if it is celebrated as a means of drawing close to Allah, such as celebrating the Prophet’s Birthday (Mawlid) ; or it is an imitation of the unbelievers, if it is celebrated as a tradition and not as an act of worship, because introducing innovated festivals is the action of the people of the Book who we are commanded to differ from. So how about if it is a celebration of one of their actual festivals?

It is not permissible to celebrate innovated festivals such as the Christmas of the Christians, or Nowrooz (Persian New Year) or Mahrajaan (Persian festival), or festivals that have been innovated by Muslims such as the Prophet’s birthday in Rabee’ al-Awwal or the Israa’ in Rajab and so on. It is not permissible to eat from that food which the Christians or Mushrikeen prepare on the occasion of their festivals.

It is also not permissible to accept their invitations to join them in their celebrations of those festivals, because this encourages them and is tantamount to approving of their bid’ah, which gives the wrong idea to ignorant people and makes them think that there is nothing wrong with that.

The Christian celebration of what they call Christmas is an innovated and polytheistic (shirki) celebration. It is not permissible for the Muslims to imitate them in that, and ‘Eesa (Jesus – peace be upon him) has nothing to do with it or them.

Congratulating the disbelievers on the occasion of Christmas or any of their other religious festivals is haraam according to scholarly consensus, because it implies approval of what they follow of disbelief and approving of it for them. Even if he does not approve of this disbelief for himself, it is haraam for the Muslim to approve of rituals of disbelief or to congratulate someone else for them.

Similarly, it is haraam for the Muslims to imitate the disbelievers by having parties on these occasions, or exchanging gifts, distributing sweets or plates of food, taking time off work, and so on, because the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) said: “Whoever imitates a people is one of them.” Narrated by Abu Dawood.

End quote from Majmoo‘ Fataawa wa Rasaa’il Ibn ‘Uthaymeen (3/45-46)

𝐏𝐚𝐭 𝐑𝐨𝐛𝐞𝐫𝐭𝐬𝐨𝐧 𝐚𝐝𝐦𝐢𝐭𝐬 𝐂𝐡𝐫𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐦𝐚𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐚𝐥𝐥 𝐚𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐯𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐞𝐬 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐢𝐭 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐚𝐝𝐨𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐟𝐫𝐨𝐦 𝐏𝐚𝐠𝐚𝐧𝐢𝐬𝐦

Pat Robertson Former Southern Baptist minister, Robertson advocates a conservative Christian, and religious broadcaster, political commentator, former presidential candidate. Pat Robertson admits, Christmas is Pagan, the date of 25 December is originally Pagan, exchanging gifts at the name of Jesus is Pagan.

All these Pagan activities were NOT approved by God not even inspired by God, Yet Christians are quite happy to ADOPT the Pagan rituals and claim it as Religious Christian activities.