Celebrating non-Muslims' festivals

Bismillah

As-Salamo Aleikom Wa Rahmatullahi Wa Barakatuhu

I know every year we have to talk about the same thing but this issue is taken very lightly by Muslims and it shouldn't be that way. It's a serious problem.


It is not permissible for the Muslim to join the non-Muslims in their festivals and to express joy and happiness on these occasions, or to take the day off work, whether the occasion is religious or secular, because this is a kind of imitating the enemies of Allah, which is forbidden, and a kind of co-operating with them in falsehood.

It was proven that the Messenger of Allah (salAllahu 'alayhi wa salam) said:

“Whoever imitates a people is one of them.” (Narrated by Abu Dawood, 3512; classed as saheeh by al-Albaani in Irwa’ al-Ghaleel, 2691)

Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyah (may Allaah have mercy on him) said in Iqtida’ al-Siraat al-Mustaqeem, 237:

This at the very least indicates that it is haraam to imitate them, although the apparent meaning is that the one who imitates them is a kaafir.

And Allah says:

“Help you one another in Al‑Birr and At‑Taqwa (virtue, righteousness and piety); but do not help one another in sin and transgression. And fear Allah. Verily, Allah is Severe in punishment” [al-Maa'idah 5:2]

And finally, as Allah said in the Qur'an, our religion is complete and any festivals and religious rituals that the Prophet (salAllahu 'alayhi wa salam) and his Companions (may Allah be pleased with them) didn't practice or condoned are not part of the religion and so they are rejected in Islam.

Allah says:

“This day, I have perfected your religion for you, completed My Favour upon you, and have chosen for you Islam as your religion” [al-Maa'idah 5:3]

The Prophet (salAllahu 'alayhi wa salam) stated repeatedly that:

"Every newly-invented thing is a bid'ah (innovation), every bid'ah is a going astray, and every going astray will be in the Fire."

(Reported by al-Nisaa'i in al-Sunan, Salaat al-'Eedayn, Baab kayfa al-Khutbah). Reports with the same meaning were narrated via Jaabir (may Allaah be pleased with him) by Ahmad, via al-'Irbaad ibn Saariyah by Abu Dawud and via Ibn Mas'ood (may Allaah be pleased with him) by Ibn Maajah.

The Prophet (salAllahu 'alayhi wa salam) used to say, when beginning a khutbah (sermon):

"… The best of speech is the Book of Allaah and the best of guidance is the guidance of Muhammad. The worst of things are those which are newly-invented, and every innovation is a going astray…" (reported by Muslim, no. 867)

Those who say that it's a good thing to celebrate the "birth of Jesus" ('alayhi salam) or Christmas and to be happy about it miss the point that not even Christians themselves know exactly when Jesus ('alayhi salam) was born and most of them are celebrating a pagan Roman date, there's no place in the Bible where it states the date of 25th December or 24th December. There's also nothing in the Bible stating that Jesus ('alayhi salam) enjoined the Christians to celebrate his birthday or anyone's birthday for that matter.

The Prophet (salAllahu 'alayhi wa salam) has rightly said:

“You will certainly follow the ways of those who came before you hand span by hand span, cubit by cubit, to the extent that if they entered the hole of a lizard, you will enter it too.”

We (the companions) said: “O Messenger of Allaah, (do you mean) the Jews and the Christians?” He said: “Who else?” (Narrated by al-Bukhaari, 1397; Muslim, 4822)

Will YOU go into the lizard's hole?

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