It Is Haram To Celebrate Christmas & New Year   

Muharram 20, 1433 A.H, Friday, December 16, 2011

Allah SWT has honored this ummah with Islam, and commanded them to implement it. He has sent down Islam as a unique way of life. A pattern that is different in the matter of its concept and rules, as a system that is perfect and comprehensive that manages all affairs of life. Allah SWT says:

“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…” (QS Ali Imran 3 : 110)

However, since Islam was neglected from the everyday life as a regulatory system, the ummah have been practicing ugly things; the rules of the Kuffaar have been implemented upon this ummah and the concepts of kufr have dominated them. The Western invasion with its foul and abject culture has been successful in marring the dien of Islam and the morals of the ummah, making them have no value. The Western slogans have been adopted by Muslims through the celebrations and festivals of the West. This defective Western culture has been aided by the rulers who devote themselves to separate Islam from life, and carry out the ideological war and plant their ugly concepts, and then force the people to embrace what the West had always wanted, i.e. individuals who are secular.

One of the many cultural concepts imposed by the West upon the Muslims is the celebration of Christmas and new year. We ask Allah SWT to not allow ourselves see one day where the Muslims celebrate the Passover of the Jews (Jewish holidays) and also do celebration of Christmas.

This is really sad and very ironic to see with our own eyes the scenes and heard the news about the massacres, banishments and humiliation of Muslims on Christmas day at the hands of the West, the enemies of Islam all over the world, while some Muslims in this country (Indonesia – ed.) are invited by the Americans and other Christians into their homes to celebrate Christmas and new year. Of course, this should not happen as a shock to us since this ummah has lost their guardian who exercised his affairs with Islam, protected it from the onslaught of the kufr concepts, implemented the rules of his dien and observed them as the commandments of Allah SWT, a special ummah.

O Muslims! It (the Christmas and new year greetings and celebration) is something prohibited by Shari'ah, to take part in the celebrations of the Kuffaar, and to take them as examples in matters of dien (religion). Al-Bukhari narrated from his saheeh through Abu Sa’id Al Khudri RA that Rasulullah SAW said:

“You shall follow the practices of those before you, inch by inch and mile by mile, to the degree that if they enter into the hole of a lizard, you will follow them.” He was asked: “O messenger of Allah, are they the Jews and Christians?” He replied: “Who else?”

In this Hadith, Rasulullah scoffed the people who imitate the Kuffaar, and it is a hujjah (daleel/shar’ie rationale) that celebrating Christmas and new year is haram (repulsive), even only to join them in the Christmas celebration or their other ceremonials. It is also clear that joining in the ceremonial celebration of the Kuffaar means imitating them and Islam rejects it. Rasulullah SAW had warned us to reject it. At-Tirmidzi narrated from Ibnu Umar that Rasulullah SAW said:

“Not from us (Muslims) those who imitate a people, do not imitate the Jews and Christians.”

At-Tabrani narrated from Ibnu Umar and Hudaifah that Rasulullah SAW said:

“Whoever imitates a people is but one of them.”

It is also a part of Shari'ah text that it (celebrating Christmas and new year) is repulsive for Muslims who have had their own feast days, namely the ’Eidul Fitri dan ’Eidul Adha. Al-Baihaqi narrated from his ‘Sunan’ from Anas Bin Malik who said:

“Rasulullah SAW arrived in Madinah at the time when the people of Madinah had two-days in the time of jahiliah (pre-Islam) which they celebrated, then he SAW said: 'I come to you when you have 2 days from the time of jahiliah that you celebrate, and Allah SWT has replaced these two days with two better days: the feast day of Qurban and Fitri.'”

Imam Ahmad narrated from ‘Uqbah Ibnu Amir that Rasulullah SAW said:

“And we have the day of Fitri, the day of Qurban and the day of Tashriq as the big days of ours, the Muslims.”

These texts are presented as a clear hujjah that its is abhorrent for the Muslims to have a celebration apart from what Allah SWT has ordained. Next, it is abhorrent for them (the Muslims) to take part in the celebrations of the Kuffaar, such as being present in their ceremony, it is something abhorrent for example to attend their celebrations, even if they invite. Such way of their ceremony could lead one to harms and their indulgence would be an opportunity for the fasiq people to do the activity of sin, such as consuming alcohol and other haram (unlawful) things. The available mass media are inclined towards these events to air disgusting programs and all kinds of immodesty and depravity. They pollute the minds of people and erode all kinds of good morals, dignity and their purity.

O Muslims! The ummah will continually be pressured under the concepts of the Kuffaar and will continue to be dominated. The mentality of the Muslims will continue to be shaped according to the point of view of the Western people, unless we start throwing out all the Western understandings that are present in ourselves and struggle to establish the Khilafah Rashidah, which will implement the book of Allah SWT and the sunnah of His Rasul SAW, and will overthrow the injustices, tyrannic rulers and depravity that appeared on the Muslims, which later will result in the Kuffaar losing their strength and identity.

Wallahu’alam bis sowab!