Muslims Participating in Christmas: Halal or Haram? and www.muslimtoysanddolls.com a charity site for Muslims

Participating in Christmas: Halal or Haram?

It’s that time of year again when houses and trees are being adorned with colourful lights and living rooms are decorated with colors of green, red and white. Big sales are being advertised among all major retailers. People are preparing for vacations to meet families out of the country or in another city. Turning on the television and the theme for most channels is about the man in red, the North Pole or deer that fly in the air. Yes, you guessed right, it is the Christmas holiday season – and it confronts us wherever we go.
But what is this holiday about? How does it affect us as Muslims here in the West? What do we as parents need to do so that our children behave in the Islamic manner when Christmas approaches?
Below is a piece I’ve written that explores this subject in order to in sha Allah help us understand this pressing issue.
The Origins of Christmas
I am sure most of us are aware that Christmas has something to do with Prophet ‘Isa (as) and that it is a Christian holiday. But what are the origins of Christmas and how did it come to be one of the biggest holiday celebrations in the West? According to Encyclopaedia Britannica here is a brief background:
“Christmas, the festival commemorating the birth of Jesus Christ, is celebrated by a majority of Christians on December 25 on the Gregorian calendar. But early Christians did not celebrate his birth, and no one knows on which date Jesus was actually born (some scholars believe that the actual date was in the early spring, which would place the occurrence of the holiday closer to Easter, the holiday commemorating his resurrection). The origins of the holiday and its December date lie in the ancient Greco-Roman world, as commemorations probably began sometime in the 2nd century. There are at least three possible origins for the December date. The Roman Christian historian Sextus Julius Africanus dated Jesus’ conception to March 25 (the same date upon which he held that the world was created), which, after nine months in his mother’s womb, would result in a December 25 birth. In the 3rd century, the Roman Empire, which at the time had not adopted Christianity, celebrated the rebirth of the Unconquered Sun (Sol Invictus) on December 25th—this holiday not only marked the return of longer days after the winter solstice but also followed the popular Roman festival called the Saturnalia (during which people feasted and exchanged gifts). It was also the birthday of the Indo-European deity Mithra, a god of light and loyalty whose cult was at the time growing popular among Roman soldiers. As the church in Rome only formally celebrated December 25th in 336 during the reign of the emperor Constantine, who made Christianity the effective religion of the empire, some have speculated that choosing this date had the political motive of weakening the established pagan celebrations. The date was not widely accepted in the Eastern empire, where January 6 had been favored, for another half-century, and Christmas did not become a major Christian festival until the 9th century.”
Participating in Christmas: Halal or Haram?
While it is obvious among many Muslims that it is not permissible for Muslims to participate in the Christmas celebrations, the reasons may be a little harder to determine especially in the modern day environment where the Christian elements to the celebration have almost been completely removed. In order to understand whether we can participate in the holiday celebrations, we need to first ask ourselves how the Prophet Muhammad (saw) viewed prevailing customs and traditions during his (saw) time? His (saw) response must be understood and adopted since we must follow his (saw) example due to what Allah (swt) revealed:

“Indeed in the Messenger of Allah you have an excellent example (to follow) for him who hopes in (the meeting with) Allah and the Last Day and remembers Allah much.” [TMQ 33:21]

“And whatsoever the Messenger (Muhammad) gives you, take it, and whatsoever he forbids you, abstain (from it), and fear Allah. Verily, Allah is severe in punishment.” [TMQ 59:7]

As such when it comes to any situation, we must refer to the commandments of Allah (swt) as revealed to the Prophet (saw) who was chosen by Allah (swt) to be the role model for humanity. The Prophet (saw) warned the Muslims against imitating the non-Muslims in any affair related to revealed subject matters (i.e. ibadaat and mu’amalat). Abu Said Al-Khudri (ra) reported that the Messenger of Allah (saw) said:

“You will indeed follow the ways of those before you, hand span by hand span, and an arms length after another. Even if they enter into a lizard’s hole, you will follow them.”  We asked, “Is it the Jews and the Christians” He (saw) replied, “Who else!” [Bukhari]

Ibn Abbas (ra) reported that the Prophet (saw) said:

“He is not one of us who imitates other than us. Do not imitate the Jews or the Christians.” [Tirmidhi]

  Ibn Umar and Hudhaifah (ra) reported that the Prophet (saw) said:

“Whoever imitates a people, he is one of them.” [At-Tabarani & Abu Dawud]

These ahadith are an evidence for the prohibition of imitating the Jews and the Christians in their religious occasions, symbols or any matter related to their belief. Celebrating Christmas is therefore an act of imitation that is forbidden in Islam and something the Messenger (saw) warned us against. During his (saw) life, one situation occurred after the Prophet (saw) had migrated to Madina al-Munawarah. Anas (ra) narrated:

“When the Prophet (saw) migrated from Makkah to Madina, the people of Madina used to have two festivals. On those two days, they had carnivals and festivity. The Prophet (saw) said, ‘Instead of those two days, Allah has appointed for you two other days, which are better, the days of ‘Eid ul-Fitr and ‘Eid ul-Adha.’” [An-Nasaa’i]

Despite the fact that there were prevailing customs and traditions, the Prophet (saw) did not in any way compromise by involving himself or the Sahabah (ra) in those festivals. Rather, he (saw) acted upon what was revealed – which was to abstain from them. Consequently we should view Christmas in a similar manner; since it does not emanate from the Islamic culture we should not partake in its events.
Christmas and our Children
In sha Allah it should be quite clear as to the origins of Christmas and why we should not participate in Christmas celebrations. However, as parents it can still seem quite daunting when thinking about how we are going to explain these concepts to our children especially when most people living in the West partake in the occasion irrespective of their religion or way of life.
As parents it is important for us to remember that we need to be constantly working to inculcate our children with the correct Islamic concepts as living in a society where many of the ideas held and purported by society run contrary to Islam. As such we should not have a reactionary approach to our children’s upbringing but rather a proactive approach on how we want to raise our children as Islamic personalities while living in the West. This requires from us extra effort and diligence to ensure that our children are brought up with correct concepts that emanate from Islam. This will require us to constantly question and scrutinize the ideas that we hold and those that are being presented by the society around us and to ensure that they are in line with Islam as the Qur’an and Sunnah are our yardstick which we use as a gauge to measure our concepts and actions.
A pre-requisite to teaching our children about non-participation in Christmas celebrations is to establish within our lives and to establish within our children a strong foundation in Islam. As parents we must take care in implementing Islam within our own lives first as it is unrealistic to expect our children to abide by the Islamic rules, when we ourselves fail to do so. For example, if parents ensure that they pray the 5 obligatory prayers, in sha Allah the children will observe and imitate. However, if the parents neglect their salah than it is likely the children will follow suit. To our children, our actions speak louder than our words.
While the parents are meticulous in implemented Islam in their own lives, they should also teach their children that submission to Allah (swt) is the only reason why they do something or abstain from it. Parents need to establish the reality that Allah (swt) exists – He (swt) is the only One who can decide what is right and what is wrong, that He (swt) has full knowledge of all things, and, most important of all, that we will all be held accountable by Allah (swt) on the Day of Judgment. The children should be taught that we the parents will also be just as accountable to Allah (swt) as they will be. Consequently, the children will in sha Allah learn to undertake the Islamic obligations and abstain from the Islamic prohibitions including non-participation in Christmas celebrations because of their obedience and love for Allah (swt) and His Messenger (saw).
If we work diligently to establish within our children a strong foundation built upon the belief in Allah (swt) and obedience to Him (swt), in sha Allah when Christmas time approaches we can explain to them that it is haram to participate and provide them with the evidences. Of course this discussion needs to be communicated in a manner that is most effective and according to their age and understanding. When we are speaking to our children we should put emphasis on the fact that while others celebrate Christmas or other holidays we as Muslims have 2 days of celebration each year given to us by Allah (swt) – the 2 Eids. This will in sha Allah help build confidence in the Islamic identity of our children as they will now be aware of the fact that while others have their celebrations we as Muslims also have our own celebrations and on top of that they are given to us by Allah (swt)! We also need to be aware and exert some effort to direct our children’s emotions to align with this understanding. With all the decorations and gifts exchanged during the holiday season, it can be very difficult for young children (who have a more difficult time controlling their emotions than we do as adults) to remain unaffected. As parents we should be aware of this and should understand that our children need our help to give them support and provide for them halal alternatives that will direct their emotions away from the holiday celebrations.
Another very crucial point pertains to the 2 Eids; Eid should be given a lot of importance and emphasis. We should go out of our way to make these days very special for our children since we do not live in an environment where everyone is joining us in our celebration as it happens in the Muslim world. We need to help build their love and attachment to Islam from a young age and we need to use different means available to us that will help them.
There are less than two weeks left until the Christmas day celebration but the atmosphere is already being felt. If we have not thought about how this is going to affect our children we need to make it a top priority to take some time and reflect on what our children’s attitudes are towards the holiday and what needs to be done (if anything) to clarify their thinking. May Allah (swt) help us in doing our utmost in raising our children with Islamic personalities so that when we stand before Allah (swt) on the Day of Judgement He (swt) will be pleased with us. Ameen. muslimtoysanddolls.com is a charity site to help Muslims in need and it sells over 2,600 products for the whole family.it makes a great homeschooling resource to. The American Muslim Journal wrote a full page ad on my charity work.The United State Department interviewed me and wrote an article about my charity work with Muslims and published it on their website america.gov.Ponn Sabra owner of americanmuslimmom.com the largest online Muslim magazine in the world with one million unique views a year did two podcasts on my charity work with <Muslims.shop here and get great Islamic gifts and help Muslims in need. we sell over 750 Muslim dolls with hijab all different,200 Muslim handmade doll clothes with hijab,250 Eid decorations,250 Islamic decorations,Islamic and Arabic electronic toys,games,and puzzles.500 Islamic and Arabic childrens books,100 styles of handmade childrens prayer rugs,100 gold Allah necklaces, and much more.toll free business number 9787885028 toll free busness number in the Virgin Islands,Puerto Rico,Mexico,Canada,and the USA please leave a message if noone answers.info@muslimtoysanddolls.com fee aman Allah,Sister Debbie Al-Harbi