Message to My Christian Neighbor on the Occasion of Christmas

This is a message I address to my Christian neighbor and colleague on the occasion of Christmas. My Christian neighbor, you might expect me to say to you "Merry Christmas" or "A blessed birthday," especially since you have congratulated me on Ramadan, Eid al-Fitr, and Eid al-Adha, and especially since you visit me when I am sick and congratulate me on social occasions.

Before we talk about congratulating you on Christmas in particular, allow me to remind you of some facts about my religion and about Christmas, and then you tell me if you expect me to congratulate you or not.

Intention in Islam

Our Prophet, peace be upon him, said: "Actions are but by intentions." So any words I say or deeds I do as a Muslim, I must know why I say them or do them, and my intention must be sincere. When I congratulate you on Christmas, it is either that I do so as an act of worship to Allah, or it is a permissible matter that I can do as a gesture of goodwill towards you.

What is Christmas?

First, let us remember what Christmas is so that we can see if my congratulating you on Christmas or participating with you in celebrating it is something that can be done for the sake of Allah or something that can be done to be polite to you.

Christmas is a day that began as a pagan celebration, as explained by Christian references, including the fourth volume of the Encyclopedia Biblica, written by four priests, meaning according to your religion, my Christian neighbor. It says: "We cannot precisely determine the day and month in which Jesus was born, for there was strong opposition in the early church to the pagan custom of celebrating birthdays." Until it said: "Perhaps the reason the Western Church chose December 25 is that the Romans celebrated the pagan sun god's festival on that day."

The Christmas tree is pagan, exchanging gifts is pagan, every part of Christmas is pagan. We have turned it into Christian rituals, and it is good to have a time to celebrate Christ, but the truth is that it is all pagan rituals. And I will put for you later, meaning in the description of this video and in the comments, I will put for you, if Allah wills, the comments so that you can see for yourself.

Views of Priests on Imitating Other Nations

And the American priest David Seebach has a clip titled: "Should Christians celebrate the New Year?" In which he mentions many texts from your book, my Christian neighbor, which you call the Bible. These texts forbid imitating other nations in their customs, just as it is mentioned in the book of Jeremiah, chapter ten: "Thus says the Lord: Do not learn the way of the nations," until he said: "For the customs of the nations are vain."

This priest David Seebach calls upon the sons of his religion not to imitate people in their customs. So do you expect me, my Christian neighbor, to celebrate with you a pagan holiday or to congratulate you on this holiday that is strange to your religion in the first place?

You might say: "No, this was at the beginning, and what do we want with the beginning? We now do not celebrate this day as pagan, but as the birthday of Christ." But I see it as something more dangerous for you, and I am afraid for you because of it, because I have mercy on you and wish you well and care about you, so I am afraid that you will die upon shirk (associating partners with Allah).

Mercy and Guidance in Islam

I have mercy on you because my role model, the Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him, said: "The example of me and the people is like that of a man who lit a fire, and when it illuminated what was around him, the insects and animals that fall into the fire fall into it, so he pulls them out and they overcome him and fall into it again, so I save you from the fire while they fall into it."

The Prophet, peace be upon him, is the one who said: "The merciful will be shown mercy by the Most Merciful. Show mercy to those on the earth, and the One in the heaven will show mercy to you." To those on the earth in general. So I am afraid for you, and I have mercy on you, and I cannot deceive you. If I saw your house on fire and the fire coming towards you and your children, I would not say to you "Merry Christmas," but I would try to save you from the fire.

Love for Prophet Isa (Jesus) in Islam

As a Muslim, I love the Prophet of Allah, Isa (Jesus), peace be upon him, and consider myself closer to him than you, as our Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him, said: "I am the closest of people to Isa." Do you know why? Because according to the Quran that I believe in, and Jesus said: "O Children of Israel." So I address you with the same speech as Isa, peace be upon him.

I am afraid for you of the wrath of Allah, who said: "And they say, 'The Most Merciful has taken a son.' You have done an atrocious thing. The heavens almost rupture therefrom and the earth splits open and the mountains collapse in devastation, that they ascribe to the Most Merciful a son."

Truthfulness and Honesty in Dealings

As a strong Muslim proud of my religion, you should not expect me to congratulate you on this holiday or participate with you in it and expose myself to the wrath of Allah and betray you instead of saving you, just to appear socially integrated and not appear isolated, strict, accused of backwardness, sectarianism, fanaticism, and this empty talk. No, my truthfulness with you, my honesty, and my concern for your well-being are more important than all this, and I am not ready to laugh at you so as not to hurt your feelings. We have a proverb that says: "May Allah have mercy on those who wept for me and may Allah not have mercy on those who laughed at me." I will not laugh at you because your feelings matter to me, yes, your feelings matter to me, but saving you from the wrath of Allah matters to me more.

Good Dealings with Non-Muslims in Islam

Well, O Muslims, does not your book say to you: "Allah does not forbid you from those who do not fight you because of religion and do not expel you from your homes - that you deal kindly and justly with them. Indeed, Allah loves the just." Yes, and for that reason, I am good to you. If you are sick, I visit you. If you need money, I give you and support you. If a relative of yours dies, I console you with legal words. If you have a social occasion, I give you a gift. If you graduate, get married, or rejoice in a non-religious social occasion, I congratulate you with legal words.

My religion commands me to be just with you in financial dealings and all dealings: "And when you judge between people, judge with justice." My religion commands me to be trustworthy and secure with you so that you trust me with your blood, wealth, and honor, so I do not betray you, deceive you, or violate your sanctities. The Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him, said: "The believers are those whom people trust with their blood and wealth," and this is a sound hadith. The believers are those whom people trust with their blood and wealth thus in general. My religion advises me to fulfill my covenants with you if you are a relative, and to strive to take your right and support you if you are oppressed, even if the oppressor is a Muslim, even if the oppressor is a Muslim, yes, because my religion is the religion of truth and it goes with the truth wherever it goes.

As a Muslim proud of my religion, I am good to you, my Christian neighbor, and I am better to you than the son of your religion. Note that I do all this to draw near to Allah the Exalted, not out of hypocrisy, worldly interests, or for national unity, because national unity has no paradise that I work for nor a fire that I flee from, but I do it to draw near to Allah who commanded me with all this and made paradise and fire for it.

And my greatest joy, my Christian neighbor, is when I convince you to enter Islam, just as I rejoiced when one of the sons of the land of the Christians in my house embraced Islam after discussions, kindness, and good treatment, and praise be to Allah. As for congratulating you on the birthday of the Lord as you see, it is either that I participate in what I see as shirk or that I do not mean what I say but rather lie to you and deceive you. No, I do not lie nor do I deceive.

Criticism of the Views of Those Who Permit Congratulating

Well, those who say among the scholars that this congratulation is from righteousness, O Muslims, no, the speech of these scholars is invalid. And we do not have in Islam a priesthood or religious men who change what Allah has commanded. The Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him, to whom the verse was revealed: "And deal justly with them," and the companions and scholars of Muslims throughout the centuries understood the verse and acted upon it. None of them understood that your congratulating what you see as the birthday of the Lord is from righteousness.

The Ideological Distinction of the Muslim

Alright, a Muslim cannot celebrate with you while intending to celebrate Prophet Isa (Jesus) and that I celebrate Isa as Lord? Of course not. My religion commands me to be an independent, influential person, not influenced: "You are the best nation brought forth to people." We, as Muslims, must be a role model for nations to follow us in truth, not follow them, and this is an honor and dignity of Islam.

The Prophet, peace be upon him, said: "Every nation has its own festival." Every nation has its own festival, as in al-Bukhari and Muslim. Look at the composition: "Every nation has its own festival," similar to the composition of Allah's saying: "For each of you, We have appointed a law and a way," and His saying: "And for every direction he faces, there is a direction to which he turns." Just as we have our qibla, our sharia, and our way, we have our festivals.

Alright, Muslim, why don't we celebrate with the intention that this is just a new year and we do not mean any religious beliefs by it? The Muslim is distinguished by his personality and appearance even in ordinary matters. Al-Bukhari and Muslim narrated that the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him, said: "The Jews and Christians do not dye their hair, so oppose them," meaning dye the gray hair. This is despite the fact that gray hair is a natural thing, so what about celebrations that have ideological roots?

This distinction is not arrogance, but Islam wants Muslims to be a standard measure and a spotless model for nations, so that no matter how much the nature of people goes astray and no matter how much their customs change and they are influenced by ignorance, Muslims remain, with their purity and distinction, a beacon for nations that lights their way.

Another Christian Source on the Origin of Christmas

Before I conclude, I want to mention to you, my Christian friend, another text that shows you the truth about the holiday you celebrate. The book "The Virgin Birth and the Divine Appearance" by the monk Father Athanasius al-Maqari says: "In the early days of the church, there was no specific day determined to celebrate the birth of our Lord Jesus Christ. The scholar Origen objects to celebrating birthdays as they are, in his opinion, a pagan custom. He says: Only two in the Holy Scriptures celebrated their birthdays, the first was Pharaoh in which the baker's head was cut off, and the second was Herod in which the head of John the Baptist was cut off. He said: Whoever has apostolic piety does not celebrate his birthday because in this he resembles tyrants and pagans." Until he says: "Based on all the above, it becomes impossible to determine a specific date for the birth of Jesus."

Invitation to a Common Word

Finally, my Christian friend, say: "Say, 'My Lord has guided me to a straight path, a righteous religion, the creed of Abraham the upright, and he was not of the polytheists.'" For I invite you to a common word that will bring you to monotheism, because I hope that just as we were neighbors in this world, we will be neighbors in paradise. "Say, 'O People of the Book, come to a common word between us and you: that we worship none but Allah and associate nothing with Him, and take not some of us as lords besides Allah.' But if they turn away, say, 'Bear witness that we are Muslims.'"

May Allah guide you and guide the Muslim children who flatter you at your expense and at the expense of your hereafter. And peace be upon those who follow the guidance.