Muslims believe that Allah (Alah in the older version of the
Christian Bibles and Eli/Eloi - as referred to in all of the current
Bibles), is the only True God and that Jesus is His Messenger. Christians
however take Jesus, may the peace and blessing of Allah be upon him,
as Son of God or God Himself instead of Allah though you would find more
categorical references, in their Bibles, that agree with the Muslim concept
of Jesus (Peace be upon him) than those supporting their ideas of Jesus.
Examples of such references are:
"Men of Israel, listen to this: Jesus of Nazareth was a
man accredited by God to you by miracles, wonders and signs, which God did
among you through him, as you yourselves know". Acts 2:22.
"For the very work that Father (the Creator) has given
me to finish, and which I (Jesus) am doing, testifies that the Father (the
Creator) has sent me....You have never heard His Voice nor seen His
Form". John 5:36-37.
"By myself I (Jesus) can do nothing: I judge only as I
hear and my judgment is just, for I seek not to please myself but Him
(Allah) who Sent me". John 5:30.
"After the people saw the miraculous sign that Jesus
did, they began to say, Surely this is Prophet who is come into this
world". John 6:14.
"He (Jesus) answered, I was sent ONLY to the lost sheep
of Israel (i.e. not to the non-Jewish nations; the Gentiles)". Matthew
15:24
"I (Jesus) tell you the truth (no mystery and no myth),
whoever hears my word and believes Him Who Sent me, has eternal life and
will not be condemned (i.e. anyone who believes in Allah, the Only True God
and in Jesus only as His Servant, His Prophet and His last Messenger from of
the House of Israel would have attained true Salvation), he has crossed over
from death to life". John 5:24.
"The God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, the God of our
fathers, has glorified His servant Jesus (i.e. by choosing him from amongst
the people to be Prophet and Messenger to the lost sheep of the house of
Israel)" Acts 3:13.
Allah says in the Holy Qur'an:
"... and the Christians say the Messiah is the son of
Allah. Such are the baseless things they utter with their tongues, following
the footstep of the former unbelievers"... Qur'an 9:30.
Since
the fourth century Christians have been adopting ideas found in pagan
beliefs and practices. Maybe the most important of these is the belief that
there are three Godheads; the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit (which
they call the Holy Trinity). This belief is comparable to beliefs found in
previous religions such as:
? Hindu Triad (Trinity): Brahma (the creator god),
Vishnu (the preserver god) and Shiva (the god of destruction). Modern Hindus
take Krishna the son of Divachi, the virgin, as Vishnu incarnate. Krishna is
the savior, who, as a sacrifice for their sin, had to suffer. He was
crucified, died and then was raised from death.
? Egyptian gods: Ra (sun - god and chief diety), Osiris
(god of death), Isis (wife of Osisris, goddess of nature and the mother of
god) and Horus (the son of Osiris and god of light).
? Babylon gods: Baal (the sun god), Samiramis (the
virgin mother) and the Nimrod (the divine-son).
? Buddhist
gods: Guatama (the holy spirit), Maya (the virgin mother) and Buddha,
the son (who was conceived when Maya was filled by the holy spirit) and who
is the savior who died and was raised from death.
? Greek/Roman gods: Zeus / Jupiter (king of gods),
Artes/Diana (the goddess of birth) and Mithra (the god of light).
Some
Christian scholars of theology believe that the worship of Isis and Diana
was transferred to Mary (Peace be upon her). In the fourth century chapels
and churches began to be built over the tomb of martyrs and the church
suggested that they were in a special position to hear petitions and present
them to God! Each day of the year was dedicated to a saint or martyr and
prayers were made in his name on that day!
This
teaching is in direct conflict with Galatians 3:20, which reads: But a
go-between is not needed when only one is involved; and God is One." And
Exodus 20:5, which reads: "Do not bow down to any idol or worship it,
because I am your LORD and your GOD I tolerate no rivals.
And
you know that his kind of belief is a serious form of Shirk (associating
partners with Allah) and blasphemous (Kufr) of the highest degree.
Allah says in the Holy Qur'an:
"Most certainly they committed blasphemy, who said, 'Allah
is one of three.' Whereas there is no deity other than the One Deity" ...
"The Messiah son of Mary was no more than a Messenger; many other Messengers
had already passed away before him. His mother was a righteous woman and
they both ate food. See how We make clear to them the signs (leading to
Reality) and see how they are perverted. Say to them 'Do you worship instead
of Allah that which has no power to harm you nor benefit you? In fact, Allah
is He who hears everyone and knows everything.' Say 'O people of the Book,
do not trespass the bounds of your religion, and do not follow the will of
those who themselves went astray from before
and led
astray many others and stayed away from the Right
Way".
Qur'an 5:73, 75-77.
Questions & Answers
Question 1: What is the hukm (ruling of Islam) during
greeting Christians for Christmas?
Answers: Greeting
Christians during Christmas or any other religious occasions is considered
by Muslim scholars to be haraam (unlawful and sinful) because it is a sign
of approval and acceptance of their belief and practices.
Allah says in the Holy Qur'an:
"If you blaspheme (disbelieve/reject or deny Allah's
favor upon you), Allah does not need you but He does not accept
(approve/like) blasphemy for his servants". Qur'an 39:7.
As a
true Muslim you would not do what displeases Allah and would not approve of
shirk or kufr or give any sign of approval for any of its practices.
Therefore you must not congratulate Christians for Christmas or any
religious occasions. You must refrain from facilitating or selling any goods
or services intended for such use.
Allah says in the Qur'an:
"Cooperate in what is good and pious and do not
cooperate in what is sinful and wicked fear Allah for Allah is severe in
retribution". Qur'an 5:2
Question 2: How do we reply to them when they greet us with
Christmas greetings?
Answers: It is not
clear why a Christian would greet a Non-Christian for Christmas when in fact
they know that person does not believe in Christianity itself. On one hand
it may be an act of ignorance and on the other it may be an attempt to
undermine your feelings and to force their ideology on you. Allah says in
the Holy Qur'an: Many of the People of the Book desire to turn you anyhow
back to unbelief. They wish this out of their hearts though the Truth has
become quite clear to them. Qur'an 2:109.
In either case you should make it clear to them that you do
not believe in Christmas. You may want to tell them that:
Jesus Christ
(the Messiah) was not born in winter and therefore celebrating the 25th of
December as his birthday is wrong to start with especially when the 25th of
December is considered the birthday of Nimrod, Krishna and Mithra who were
mentioned earlier. The Wycliffe Bible Commentary had this to say about Luke
2:11:
The
exact date of Jesus' birth is unknown: The legendary (mythical) date of
December 25 cannot be tracked back further than the fourth century.
Addressing Mary close to the delivery time of Jesus,
Allah says in the Holy Qur'an:
"And,
Shake the trunk of the palm tree, and fresh, ripe dates will fall down upon
you".
Qur'an 19:25.
And it
is a well-known fact that dates do not ripen in winter but in summer, that
is at least in Palestine where Jesus was born.
? The Christmas Tree, which is the most obvious sign of
the celebration, is copied from the pagan practice of the pre-Christian era
of Northern Europe. The people then believed that the evil spirits were
causing the trees to loose their leaves during the fall season and they
observed that the evergreen tree did not loose its leaves like the other
trees. So they concluded that the tree had special power that kept the evil
spirits away. During winter when they were frightened from thunder and
lighting. They cut a branch from an evergreen tree and put it their homes to
keep the evil spirits away. It became popular outside Germany only in the
1840's.
Even the wreaths and lights which decorate their doors and
windows are copied from the sun worshippers. Wreaths are circular shapes of
decoration with a lamp in the center resembling the sun. The Bible says:
" Do not follow the ways of the heathens (pagans)".
Jeremiah 10:2
Some
people may know the pagan origin of these practices and festivals yet they
insist on them just to have "fun" or an excuse for a day off from work.
Allah tells us in the Holy Qur'an:
"Leave those who take their religion to be mere play
and amusement, and are deceived by the life of this world." Qur'an 6:70.
Others
do not really know the background, but because they found their parents
celebrating these occasions and their church blessing them, they follow
their steps without questioning their authority. They may even feel it is
hard to break away.
These people may not realize that they are risking
their own salvation.
Allah says in the Holy Qur'an:
"O People, follow what has been sent to you from your
Lord and do not follow other patrons beside Him." Qur'an 7:3.
Question 3: Is attending this occasion's feast and
celebration's haraam (forbidden)?
Answer: If one attends such feasts
after all that has been said so far, that person has a problem. For if they
do it with acceptance they would be a kaafir (blasphemer). If they attend
just to "be nice" and establish or maintain good relations with the
Christians, they would be committing a serious sin which would bring them
close to kufr itself.
Allah says in the Holy Qur'an:
"O Believers do not take the them as your friends
and allies: they are allies of each other. Whoever of you takes them as
friends and allies, surely he shall be counted amongst them; indeed Allah
won't guide the wrongdoers. You see those whose hearts are diseased (with
hypocrisy) compete to win them. They say: "We fear otherwise, to get
involved in some disaster if we don't." Qur'an 5:51-52.
And Allah says in the Holy Qur'an:
"You will never find any people, who believe in Allah
and the Day of Judgment, that love those who oppose Allah and His
Messenger" Qur'an 58:22.
Of
course you should be honest, fair, kind and friendly with everybody so far
as your beliefs and principles are not compromised. People respect those who
stand for their principles, especially when those principles are based on
high standards of ethics and morals values such as Islam. You should first
and foremost seek the pleasure of your Creator, Cherisher, and Sustainer,
your Lord and God, Allah, and you should distinguish between friends and
foes when dealing with people.
Allah says in the Holy Qur'an:
"Allah does not forbid you to treat kindly and act
equitably towards those who have neither fought you in the matter of
religion nor driven of your homes. Indeed Allah loves the Just. He only
forbids you to take friends those who have fought you in the matter of
religion, and have driven you out of you homes, and cooperated with others
in your expulsion. Those who take them for friends are indeed the
wrongdoers" Qur'an 60:8-9.
And Allah says in the Holy Qur'an:
"O Believers, be steadfast in righteousness and just in
giving witness for the sake of Allah; the enmity of any people should not so
provoke you away from justice. Do justice for it is akin to piety. Fear
Allah (in your affairs); indeed He is fully aware of what you do" Qur'an
5:8.
;)
http://www.alharamain.org/english/articles/greetings-during-christmas.htm
