السَّلاَمُ عَلَيْكُمْ وَرَحْمَةُ اللهِ وَبَرَكَاتُهُ
It’s Saturday 12th December 2020.
Let’s talk about ‘Christmas’ today.
If memory serves me correctly, the first time I heard the word Christmas was when I attended nursery in the early 70s. As children at school, Christmas was a very special occasion. All the teachers at school were non-Muslim and the majority of the children were also non-Muslim.
So there was a real buzz as soon as December started. The Christmas tree, Santa Claus, Christmas carols, presents, cards, the play, and not to forget the party where the highlight was making our own different colours of jellies. Although we all used to take part in everything back then, one thing was definitely for sure. We all knew that this was a Christian celebration and, more importantly, we only participated in all the activities in our school only. Once we were back home, there was hardly any mention of Christmas, besides maybe the TV programmes such as The Wizard of Oz.
Fast forward 50 years. I hope my information is incorrect, but it appears that more and more Muslims have started to celebrate Christmas. This should not be the case. Remember, Christmas is not even a Christian festival. Its roots are from Paganism. However, regardless of its origins, it is not a time of celebration for Muslims.
Yes, of course, we are all off work, and the children are off school. No one is stopping us from enjoying the holidays. However, it should not be with a Christmas theme. The terms ‘Christmas turkey’, ‘Christmas get together’, Christmas party’, etc. are becoming very common in Muslim households.
Our beautiful religion teaches us that we should not imitate the traditions and rites of other religions. More importantly, it is of paramount importance that we safeguard our beliefs (‘Aqā’id) and also the beliefs of our children, and generations to come.
Who was Ḥaḍrat ‘Īsā, عَلَيْهِ ٱلسَّلَامُ? What is the Islamic belief? I will touch upon this in part 2.
Please ensure that you and your family, especially your children, are fully aware of the Islamic beliefs regarding Ḥaḍrat ‘Īsā, عَلَيْهِ ٱلسَّلَامُ.
Continued in Part 2.
Almighty Allāh safeguard the Īmān and ‘Aqā’id of all Muslims worldwide, Āmeen.
جَزَاكَ اللَّهُ خَيْرًا
Request for Du’ās
وَالسَّلَامُ Hanif Dudhwala
Supplementary Resources
Sayyidunā ‘Īsā ‘alayhis salām – A Prophet of Islām – Ḥaḍrat Mawlānā Muḥammad Saleem Dhorāt Ḥafizahullāh
‘Īsā ‘alayhis salām – His Blessed Mission in Light of the Glorious Qur’ān – Mawlānā Muhammad ‘Īsā ‘Abdullāh (a revert from Catholicism)
A Glimpse at the Life of Sayyidunā ‘Īsā ‘alayhis salām – Ḥaḍrat Mawlānā Muḥammad Saleem Dhorāt Ḥafizahullāh