Regarding Wishing Happy Christmas/ Happy New Year

[MUSLIM WOMAN]

 

Asking someone if they enjoyed their Christmas

 

Q: I have an aunt that asked if we had a nice Christmas. I don't believe what she had said. Is this permissible? If not, what is the sin or punishment for this act?



A: We are commanded to refrain from emulating the kuffaar as well as adopting their ways. Nabi Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam said من تشبه بقوم فهو منهم (the one who emulates a people will be counted from amongst them (in the sight of Allah Ta’aala)).

 Hence, it is not permissible for Muslims to congratulate non Muslims at the time of their religious festivals by saying "merry Christmas, happy Christmas, or happy diwali, etc" nor is it permissible for a believer to ask anyone whether they had enjoyed their Christmas as this results in one expressing happiness and pleasure upon the kufr practices of the kuffaar and their religious celebrations. 


If one had uttered such a word, then one should sincerely repent to Allah Ta'ala for committing this sin and make a firm resolve that one will not repeat this in the future. 


For further details refer tohttp://muftionline.co.za/node/6343

And Allah Ta'ala (الله تعالى) knows best.

عن ابن عمر قال قال رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم من تشبه بقوم فهو منهم.  (سنن أبي داود رقم 4033)

من تشبه بقوم أي من شبه نفسه بالكفار مثلا في اللباس وغيره أو بالفساق أو الفجار أو بأهل التصوف والصلحاء الأبرار فهو منهم أي في الإثم والخير. (مرقاة شرح مشكاة 4/431).

يكفر بوضع قلنسوة المجوس على رأسه على الصحيح إلا لضرورة دفع الحر والبرد وبشد الزنار في وسطه إلا إذا فعل ذلك خديعة في الحرب وطليعة للمسلمين وبقوله المجوس خير مما أنا فيه يعني فعله ... وبخروجه إلى نيروز المجوس لموافقته معهم فيما يفعلون في ذلك اليوم وبشرائه يوم النيروز شيئا لم يكن يشتريه قبل ذلك تعظيما للنيروز لا للأكل والشرب وبإهدائه ذلك اليوم للمشركين ولو بيضة تعظيما لذلك لا بإجابة دعوة مجوسي حلق رأس ولده وبتحسين أمر الكفار اتفاقا حتى قالوا لو قال ترك الكلام عند أكل الطعام حسن من المجوس أو ترك المضاجعة حالة الحيض منهم حسن فهو كافر كذا في البحر الرائق. (الفتاوى الهندية 2/276)

عن عمرو بن الحارث ، أن رجلا دعا عبد الله بن مسعود إلى وليمة ، فلما جاء ليدخل سمع لهوا ، فلم يدخل ، فقال : ما لك رجعت ؟ قال : إني سمعت رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم يقول : من كثر سواد قوم فهو منهم ، ومن رضي عمل قوم كان شريكا في عملهم. (إتحاف الخيرة المهرة رقم 3297)

Answered by:

Mufti Zakaria Makada

Checked & Approved:

Mufti Ebrahim Salejee (Isipingo Beach)

[ummtaalib]

Wishing Merry Christmas

Hanafi Fiqh > Askmufti.co.za

 

Q: Is it permissible to wish others “Merry Christmas” or “Happy New Year”?

A: Your query refers. It is not permissible to wish non-Muslims Merry Christmas, because such a greeting is a religious greeting and we Muslims are not allowed to adopt any custom or style of their religion. The hadith also prohibits greeting in a non-Muslim way.

Saying ‘happy new year’ is makrooh, not totally haraam because this is not a religious term. But it is better to avoid even this. In place of both types of greetings, we can merely say to them: “we wish you well over the festive season” or “greetings for the festive season” and when saying this have this intention in the heart that you are making dua of guidance for them. Wishing them well is actually wishing that Allah guide them to Islam

And Allah Ta’ala knows best

Mufti Siraj Desai

[ummtaalib]

Regarding Christmas/Diwali

Hanafi Fiqh > Askimam.org

 

Question

Assalamualaikum i would like to know whether there is a ruling regarding wishing Christians well over christmas and Hindus well over diwali? i have read some where that this is forbidden as you are confirming their faith. So can we wish them well..or is it haraam?

 

Answer

It is not permissible to wish non-Muslims during their festivals.

 

The non-Muslims display acts of Kufr during their festivals. To wish them in their festivals is a sign of complacency to Kufr.

and Allah Ta’ala Knows Best

 

Mufti Ebrahim Desai
FATWA DEPT.

Source

[ummtaalib]

“Happy New Year!”

 

Pre-Historic Calendar

 

The New Year is one of the oldest festivals of the world, dating back to the pre historic era. The New Year History itself forms an extensive area of study. The history of New Year has undergone a series of changes over the ages to achieve its global form. The urge of celebrating New Year as a vibrant festivity emerged at the dawn of civilization.

At present, New Year is celebrated on January 1 and it had been an essential part of the cultural and traditional practices of the different communities inhabiting the world. The wide spread acceptance of January 1 as the New Year is confined only within the past four hundred years. Therefore, this is the principal reason that the New Year traditions vary from country to country.

The earliest instance of New Year is found in Mesopotamian culture. It was about 2000 BC, when the people of Babylon used to observe New Year celebrations on the day of the Vernal Equinox that is during the middle of March. It was the Romans, who recognized March 1, 153 B.C as New Year Day in their calendar. Prior to that March 25, the date of the vernal equinox, was celebrated as their New Year's Day. And this was considered to be the beginning of New Year by most Christian European countries during the early medieval era.

At that time there were only ten calendar months beginning from March. The relevance of this fact can still be seen in the names of some months, which were set according to their respective sequences in the calendar. As in the calendar of the present time, the months from September to December are placed as the ninth, tenth, eleventh and twelfth months respectively, previously they were positioned as the seventh, eighth, ninth and the tenth months. In Latin, 'Septem' means, seven, 'Octo' means, eight, 'Novem' means, ninth and 'Decem' means ten.

 

New Year

 

The Israeli term for New Year’s night celebrations, “Sylvester,” was the name of the “Saint” and the Roman Pope who reigned during the Council of Nicaea (325 C.E.).  The year before the Council of Nicaea convened, Sylvester convinced Constantine to prohibit Jews from living in Jerusalem.  At the Council of Nicaea, Sylvester arranged for the passage of a host of viciously anti-Semitic legislation.  All Catholic “Saints” are awarded a day on which Christians celebrate and pay tribute to that Saint’s memory.  December 31 is Saint Sylvester Day - hence celebrations on the night of December 31 are dedicated to Sylvester’s memory.

It was in the Gregorian calendar established by Pope Gregory XII that the New Year was firmly positioned on January 1. It was readily accepted by the Catholics and then by the Protestants and soon became a holiday recognized by the entire world slowly and steadily.[1]

 

Advice:

 

It is apparent from the history of New Year that it is traced back to the beliefs of the pagans and their gods and Christian motivations. A muslim is sensitive to his Iman. He is averse to anything that is contrary to his Iman. Celebrating New Year of the Gregorian calendar has its roots in shirk and Christianity. It is therefore not permissible for a muslim to celebrate New Year or wish others Happy New Year. Furthermore, it is a norm for people to celebrate the end of the year and welcome the New Year through music, dancing wining etc. It does not behold a muslim to be in such an environment especially when celebrating New Year has its roots in kufr and shirk. For us as muslims, we are in the month of Safar, the second month of the lunar calendar 1433H. The 31^st of December or the 1^st of January is just another day of our lives. We should guard and protect ourselves from the influences of kufr, shirk and sins.

 

 

And Allah Ta’āla Knows Best

Mawlana Abdul Hannan Nizami,
Student Darul Iftaa
USA

Checked and Approved by,
Mufti Ebrahim Desai.
www.daruliftaa.net

[1] http://www.infoplease.com/spot/newyearhistory.html

http://www.theholidayspot.com/newyear/history.htm

http://www.123newyear.com/history/

http://www.goalsguy.com/events/n_facts.html

 

 

 

قَالَ - رَحِمَهُ اللَّهُ - (وَالْإِعْطَاءُ بِاسْمِ النَّيْرُوزِ وَالْمِهْرَجَانِ لَا يَجُوزُ) أَيْ الْهَدَايَا بِاسْمِ هَذَيْنِ الْيَوْمَيْنِ حَرَامٌ بَلْ كُفْرٌ، وَقَالَ أَبُو حَفْصٍ الْكَبِيرُ - رَحِمَهُ اللَّهُ - لَوْ أَنَّ رَجُلًا عَبَدَ اللَّهَ خَمْسِينَ سَنَةً ثُمَّ جَاءَ يَوْمُ النَّيْرُوزِ، وَأَهْدَى لِبَعْضِ الْمُشْرِكِينَ بَيْضَةً يُرِيدُ بِهِ تَعْظِيمَ ذَلِكَ الْيَوْمِ فَقَدْ كَفَرَ، وَحَبِطَ عَمَلُهُ، وَقَالَ صَاحِبُ الْجَامِعِ الْأَصْغَرِ إذَا أَهْدَى يَوْمَ النَّيْرُوزِ إلَى مُسْلِمٍ آخَرَ، وَلَمْ يُرِدْ بِهِ التَّعْظِيمَ لِذَلِكَ الْيَوْمِ، وَلَكِنْ مَا اعْتَادَهُ بَعْضُ النَّاسِ لَا يَكْفُرُ، وَلَكِنْ يَنْبَغِي لَهُ أَنْ لَا يَفْعَلَ ذَلِكَ فِي ذَلِكَ الْيَوْمِ خَاصَّةً، وَيَفْعَلُهُ قَبْلَهُ أَوْ بَعْدَهُ كَيْ لَا يَكُونَ تَشَبُّهًا بِأُولَئِكَ الْقَوْمِ، وَقَدْ قَالَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ - صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ - «مَنْ تَشَبَّهَ بِقَوْمٍ فَهُوَ مِنْهُمْ» ، وَقَالَ فِي الْجَامِعِ الْأَصْغَرِ رَجُلٌ اشْتَرَى يَوْمَ النَّيْرُوزِ شَيْئًا لَمْ يَكُنْ يَشْتَرِيهِ قَبْلَ ذَلِكَ إنْ أَرَادَ بِهِ تَعْظِيمَ ذَلِكَ الْيَوْمِ كَمَا يُعَظِّمُهُ الْمُشْرِكُونَ كَفَرَ، وَإِنْ أَرَادَ الْأَكْلَ وَالشُّرْبَ وَالتَّنَعُّمَ لَا يَكْفُرُ. (تبيين الحقائق ج 6 ص 228)

 

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