Sermon Title: Celebrating Christmas: A False Claim and a Psychological Defeat
Elements of the Sermon:
- The Muslims’ belief in Jesus Christ (peace be upon him).
- The prohibition of celebrating or participating in the Christmas celebrations and similar religious festivals or congratulating the celebrators.
- The defeated mindset and its relevant impact.
- The difference between religious tolerance and the compromise of religion.
- The virtue of the Muslim nation and the duty of promoting Islam.
Praise be to Allah, The One and Only God who has no partners, The Eternal Refuge, who neither begets nor was He begotten, and there is none like unto Him! I bear witness that none is worthy of worship except Allah, alone with no partners or co-equals and none is comparable to Him. I also bear witness that Muhammad (ﷺ) is His servant and messenger. May Allah exalt and send peace to the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ), his family, and his companions.
To proceed:
O servants of Allah, fear Him as He should be feared, and be mindful of Him and bear in mind that whoever is mindful of Him as due, He grants him a relief from every worry and a way out from every distress.
Dear Muslim brothers:
The Prophet (ﷺ) said: “Allah, The Almighty, said: ‘The son of Adam tells a lie about Me and he has no right to do so and he insults Me and has no right to do so. His lie about Me is his claim that I will not resurrect him as I created him for nothing; the initial creation is easier for Me than resurrecting him again (and both are easy for Me). He insults Me by his saying that Allah has begotten a son, while I am The One, The Eternal Refuge, Who begets not nor was He begotten, and there is none like unto Me.” [Al-Bukhārī]
One of the most heinous lies that people has fabricated about Allah, the Lord of the Worlds, is claiming that He has a son! It is an insult against Allah, The Almighty, and a false accusation that implies attributing imperfection and “need” to Him, whereas He stands in no need of His creation, Glory be to Him. Allah said:
قَالُوا اتَّخَذَ اللَّهُ وَلَدًا سُبْحَانَهُ هُوَ الْغَنِيُّ لَهُ مَا فِي السَّمَاوَاتِ وَمَا فِي الْأَرْضِ إِنْ عِنْدَكُمْ مِنْ سُلْطَانٍ بِهَذَا أَتَقُولُونَ عَلَى اللَّهِ مَا لَا تَعْلَمُونَ
“They have said, " Allah has taken a son." Exalted is He; He is the [one] Free of need. To Him belongs whatever is in the heavens and whatever is in the earth. You have no authority for this [claim]. Do you say about Allah that which you do not know?” (Quran 10:68)
This heinous lie almost caused the heavens to crack, the earth to split open, and the mountains to collapse given its ugliness and atrocity. Allah said:
وَقَالُوا اتَّخَذَ الرَّحْمَنُ وَلَدًا * لَقَدْ جِئْتُمْ شَيْئًا إِدًّا * تَكَادُ السَّمَاوَاتُ يَتَفَطَّرْنَ مِنْهُ وَتَنْشَقُّ الْأَرْضُ وَتَخِرُّ الْجِبَالُ هَدًّا * أَنْ دَعَوْا لِلرَّحْمَنِ وَلَدًا * وَمَا يَنْبَغِي لِلرَّحْمَنِ أَنْ يَتَّخِذَ وَلَدًا * إِنْ كُلُّ مَنْ فِي السَّمَاوَاتِ وَالْأَرْضِ إِلَّا آتِي الرَّحْمَنِ عَبْدًا
“And they say, "The Most Merciful has taken [for Himself] 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 attribute to the Most Merciful a son. * And it is not appropriate for the Most Merciful that He should take a son. * There is no one in the heavens and earth but that he comes to the Most Merciful as a servant.” (Quran 19:88-93)
Despite the gravity of this act, millions of disbelievers celebrate the birth of Christ, known as the Christmas, on the twenty-fifth of December every year.
Although this religious festival is held by the misguided disbelievers (Christians), our hearts bleed to see large numbers of Muslims partaking in the celebration of that heinous lie about Allah!
The Prophet (ﷺ) said: “I am the closest of all people to Jesus, the son of Mary, in the worldly life and the Hereafter.” People asked: “How so, O Messenger of Allah? He (ﷺ) explained: “The Prophets of Allah are brothers in faith; their mothers are different, but their religion is one. (I am the closest brother to him;) There is no Prophet between us.” [Al-Bukhārī and Muslim]
In fact, Prophet Muhammad (ﷺ) was closer to Prophet Jesus, the son of Mary (peace be upon him), than those disbelievers who fabricate lies about Allah and Prophet Jesus, claiming that he was “God” or the “son of God”.
Indeed, Prophet Jesus (peace be upon him) was the servant of Allah and His messenger, and his first words when Allah made him miraculously speak in the cradle were related in the verses that read:
فَأَشَارَتْ إِلَيْهِ قَالُوا كَيْفَ نُكَلِّمُ مَنْ كَانَ فِي الْمَهْدِ صَبِيًّا * قَالَ إِنِّي عَبْدُ اللَّهِ آتَانِيَ الْكِتَابَ وَجَعَلَنِي نَبِيًّا * وَجَعَلَنِي مُبَارَكًا أَيْنَ مَا كُنْتُ وَأَوْصَانِي بِالصَّلَاةِ وَالزَّكَاةِ مَا دُمْتُ حَيًّا * وَبَرًّا بِوَالِدَتِي وَلَمْ يَجْعَلْنِي جَبَّارًا شَقِيًّا * وَالسَّلَامُ عَلَيَّ يَوْمَ وُلِدْتُ وَيَوْمَ أَمُوتُ وَيَوْمَ أُبْعَثُ حَيًّا * ذَلِكَ عِيسَى ابْنُ مَرْيَمَ قَوْلَ الْحَقِّ الَّذِي فِيهِ يَمْتَرُونَ * مَا كَانَ لِلَّهِ أَنْ يَتَّخِذَ مِنْ وَلَدٍ سُبْحَانَهُ إِذَا قَضَى أَمْرًا فَإِنَّمَا يَقُولُ لَهُ كُنْ فَيَكُونُ * وَإِنَّ اللَّهَ رَبِّي وَرَبُّكُمْ فَاعْبُدُوهُ هَذَا صِرَاطٌ مُسْتَقِيمٌ
“So she pointed to him. They said, "How can we speak to one who is in the cradle a child?" * [Jesus] said, "Indeed, I am the servant of Allah. He has given me the Scripture and made me a prophet. *And He has made me blessed wherever I am and has enjoined upon me prayer and zakah as long as I remain alive * And [made me] dutiful to my mother, and He has not made me a wretched tyrant. * And peace is on me the day I was born and the day I will die and the day I am raised alive." * That is Jesus, the son of Mary - the word of truth about which they are in dispute. * It is not [befitting] for Allah to take a son; exalted is He! When He decrees an affair, He only says to it, "Be," and it is. * [Jesus said], "And indeed, Allah is my Lord and your Lord, so worship Him. That is a straight path."” (Quran 19:29-36)
A believer may not give false statements or promote falsehood. What falsehood is graver and viler than claiming that Allah has a son? Verily, Allah is far above what the lying wrongdoers say about Him!
He says about the qualities of His devout servants:
وَالَّذِينَ لَا يَشْهَدُونَ الزُّورَ وَإِذَا مَرُّوا بِاللَّغْوِ مَرُّوا كِرَامًا
“And [they are] those who do not testify to falsehood, and when they pass near ill speech, they pass by with dignity.” (Quran 25:72)
Ibn Sirīn and a group of the Tābi‘ūn (followers) interpreted the word falsehood in this verse as to mean witnessing the religious festivals of the non-Muslims!
There are many collectively contiguous texts narrated by the Companions that warn against partaking in the celebration of all the disbelievers’ religious festivals. The Muslim scholars unanimously agreed on the prohibition of congratulating non-Muslims on their religious festivals or participating in their celebrations.
‘Umar Ibn al-Khattāb said: “Stay well away from the enemies of Allah during their religious festivals. Do not visit the disbelievers in their places of worship on the day of their religious festivals; the wrath of Allah descends on them.”
‘Abdullāh ibn ‘Amr ibn al-‘Ās said: “Whoever resides in the land of the non-Muslims, celebrates their Nowruz Day (New Year) and their other religious festivals, and imitates them until he dies in that state, will be gathered with them (i.e., as one of them) on the Day of Resurrection!”
Ibn al-Qayyim said: “Congratulating the non-Muslims on the rituals that are peculiar to them is forbidden according to the scholarly consensus, and the same ruling applies to congratulating them on their religious festivals and fasts by saying: ‘Happy festival to you' or 'May you enjoy your festival,' and so on. If the one who says is safe from (falling into) disbelief, it is still forbidden! It is similar to congratulating someone on prostrating to the cross, or even worse than that. It is as grave a sin as congratulating someone for drinking Khamr (intoxicants), or murdering someone, or having illicit sexual relations, and the like of grave sins. Many of those who have no respect for their religion fall into this mistake; they do not realize the gravity and offensiveness of their actions. Whoever congratulates a person on his disobedience to Allah, committing Bid‘ah (religious innovation), or falling into disbelief, imperils himself to the Wrath and Anger of Allah.”
Servants of Allah:
Sadly, the defeated mindset and infatuation with the so-called “civilized” West led many Muslims to compromise the fundamentals of the Islamic creed, and even give up their Islamic identity (in its totality) and pride in their blind imitation of the West in all matters, without distinguishing between the beneficial worldly matters and the religious ones pertaining to their peculiar beliefs and rituals, which is absolutely impermissible for Muslims to imitate, or even approve of by congratulating them and the like.
The Prophet (ﷺ) emphatically warned against imitating the Jews and Christians, and described Muslims who do so as being one of them. Would any Muslim like to be labelled as a Jew or Christian?
The Prophet (ﷺ) said: “Surely, you will follow the (wrong) ways of those nations who were before you, in everything as one arrow resembles another (i.e., completely and literally), so much so that even if they entered a hole of a sand-lizard, you would enter it!” People inquired: “O Messenger of Allah, do you mean the Jews and the Christians?” He (ﷺ) replied: “Who else?” [Al-Bukhārī]
The Prophet (ﷺ) also said: “Whoever imitates a people is one of them.” [Abū Dāwūd]
Allah has perfected His true religion, completed His grace on us, and approved of Islam as the one true religion, enjoining us to adhere to its creed and Sharia. He compensated us with the two ‘Eids, ‘Eid Eid Al-Fitr and ‘Eid Al-Adhā. Muslims are commanded to celebrate only these two ‘Eids and refrain from celebrating the religious festivals of the non-Muslims.
Dear Muslims, beware of celebrating or approving of the religious festivals of the enemies of Allah; you should relish true pride in adhering to your true faith and divinely revealed Sharia. Muslims may not celebrate the Christmas or New Year; they are enjoined to find pride in their adherence to monotheism!
Some misguided preachers have tried to confuse Muslims and deceive them into believing that celebrating or congratulating non-Muslims on such religious festivals that defiantly contravene the very essence of the Islamic creed is a permissible manifestation of the enjoined dutifulness and kindness towards non-Muslims! Rather, it is a reprehensible compromise of our religion and utter misguidance, and constitutes an alteration of the established Islamic principles.
Muslims are enjoined us to disassociate themselves from the disbelief and the disbelievers, treat them with justice, and show kindness to non-belligerent disbelievers provided that they do not neglect the religious duty of upholding the truth nor approve of their falsehood, not to mention celebrating a religious occasion that fundamentally contradicts the doctrine of monotheism, i.e., attributing a son or a partner to Allah in worship, which is unequivocally sinful! Verily, Allah, Glory be to Him, is far above their claims.
The verses of Allah are crystal clear in commanding the believers to forsake the gatherings of falsehood in which the divine revelations or Sharia are being denied or ridiculed. Allah says:
وَقَدْ نَزَّلَ عَلَيْكُمْ فِي الْكِتَابِ أَنْ إِذَا سَمِعْتُمْ آيَاتِ اللَّهِ يُكْفَرُ بِهَا وَيُسْتَهْزَأُ بِهَا فَلَا تَقْعُدُوا مَعَهُمْ حَتَّى يَخُوضُوا فِي حَدِيثٍ غَيْرِهِ إِنَّكُمْ إِذًا مِثْلُهُمْ إِنَّ اللَّهَ جَامِعُ الْمُنَافِقِينَ وَالْكَافِرِينَ فِي جَهَنَّمَ جَمِيعًا
“And it has already come down to you in the Book that when you hear the verses of Allah [recited], they are denied [by them] and ridiculed; so, do not sit with them until they enter into another conversation. Indeed, you would then be like them. Indeed, Allah will gather the hypocrites and disbelievers in Hell all together.” (Quran 4:140)
May Allah bless me and you with the devotion to the Quran, and help me and you benefit from its verses and wise reminders therein. I seek forgiveness from Allah for me and you; seek His forgiveness. Indeed, He is All-Forgiving and All-Merciful.
Second Sermon
Praise be to Allah as befitting Him, and may He exalt and send peace to His Prophet and His servant. O servants of Allah, fear Him as He should be feared, and be mindful of Him in private and in public.
Servants of Allah:
A Muslim’s real strength lies in his firm adherence to the sound Islamic creed, and the enemies of Islam today have joined forces to target our source of strength. The oppressors from among the Jewish and the Christian “Crusaders” conspired to eradicate Muslims (and demolish the edifice of Islam). How could that peril be overlooked by the wise Muslims and how would not it prompt them to guard the source of his strength, the key to victory, and the means to relish true happiness and pride?!
At the moment, Muslims have a duty to save this corrupt world and usher people from the darkness (of disbelief) to the light (of the faith), from polytheism to monotheism, and from misguidance to true guidance. How much has the world lost due to Muslims’ failure to fulfill this duty? Sadly, people have suffered evil, injustice, and utter misery because they turned away from the belief in Allah, and adherence to the divinely revealed Sharia and way of life. Is it conceivable that we would have the key to our deliverance and that of the entire world (from all these perils), but still settle for sharing their misguidance, injustice, and misery by imitating them and following their disbelief and misguidance? Allah said:
كُنْتُمْ خَيْرَ أُمَّةٍ أُخْرِجَتْ لِلنَّاسِ تَأْمُرُونَ بِالْمَعْرُوفِ وَتَنْهَوْنَ عَنِ الْمُنْكَرِ وَتُؤْمِنُونَ بِاللَّهِ
“You are the best nation produced [as an example] for mankind. You enjoin what is right and forbid what is wrong and believe in Allah.” [Quran 3:110]
We implore Allah to make us among those Muslims (who enjoin good and forbid evil) and bless them with steadfastness in following their example.
Lastly, we ask Allah to exalt and send peace to the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ), who was sent as a mercy for the worlds. O Allah, exalt and send peace to Prophet Muhammad (ﷺ), and to all his family and Companions.
O Allah, save our weak Muslim brothers in Palestine, bless them with Your protection, heal their wounded ones, and accept their martyrs!
O Allah, destroy the Zionist Jews, disperse them, tear them asunder, eradicate them, and cast terror into their hearts and those of their supporters and advocates by Your unchallenged power. O Allah, demonstrate Your might and greatness upon them and show us Your omnipotence. O Allah, guide our leader to what You love and is pleased with, and bless him with righteousness and piety. Our Lord, give us in this worldly life [that which is] good and in the Hereafter [that which is] good and protect us from the punishment of the Hellfire.
O Servants of Allah, remember Allah with much remembrance and glorify Him in the morning and evening. Our final supplication is “All praise be to Allah, Lord of the Worlds.”
