Can Muslims celebrate Christmas?

[bamalli]

Can Muslims celebrate Christmas?

Christmas is not a Muslim holiday, therefore, Muslims do not
celebrate it. Muslims in the United States often request that their
children not attend Christmas functions at school because the belief
of Jesus, peace be upon him, being the son of God runs directly
against the core Muslim belief.

Christians celebrate at Christmas what they believe to be the "day of
the birth of God's Son" or what they call "God Incarnate". Thus it is
not only a celebration of another religion, it is also a celebration
that is based on a belief that is totally against the teachings of
Islam. From the Islamic point of view, the belief in the "Son of God"
or "God in the flesh" is a blasphemy and kufr (denial of God's
Oneness). By participation in Christmas, it is possible that slowly
one may lose his or her consciousness of this basic point of
difference. Muslims must be very careful in this matter. The greatest
danger is for our next generation, who may slowly lose their Islamic
faith in tawhid and may start believing in Jesus as "more than a
prophet and servant of Allah".

The argument that Christmas is, after all, Prophet Jesus' birthday
and so there is no harm in celebrating Christmas is neither logical
nor Islamic. Why should Muslims celebrate Jesus' birthday? Why not
the birthdays of the other 24 prophets and messengers who are
mentioned in the Qur'an by name? For us Prophet Muhammad (peace and
blessings be upon him) is the final Prophet and Messenger of Allah,
not Jesus. Christians believe that Jesus was the last one and they
say that "after God spoke through many prophets in these last days he
spoke to us through his son whom he made to inherit every thing" (New
Testament, Hebrews 1:1). Thus they celebrate his coming, but for us
Muslims, Prophet Muhammad was the last Prophet and Allah appointed
him for all people and for all times to come.

Unfortunately, there are some Muslims who do not pay any attention to
Ramadan and `Eid. Some of them do not even come to `Eid prayers and
even if they come, they do not take their day off from work. Thus
their children have no idea about Islamic holidays or they think that
Islam is a religion without any festivals and celebrations.

Explaining the reasons why Muslims dont celebrate and believe in
Christmas, Sheikh Ahmad Kutty, a senior lecturer and Islamic scholar
at the Islamic Institute of Toronto, Ontario, Canada, states:

Christmas was a pagan custom which was adopted into Christianity; it
has nothing to do with reverence and love of Jesus, the mighty
Messenger of Allah that we Muslims hold in the highest regard and
respect. If Jesus were to come today, whether or not he would
identify himself with those who celebrate Christmas is a question one
should ask seriously.

If we are celebrating the great teachings of Jesus or other prophets,
we must do so everyday. To do so means to practice love, mercy,
justice and compassion and to be actively engaged in doing the will
of God.