Jumu'ah Khutbah - Shaykh Hafeezullah Khan

Opening

In the name of Allah, we praise Him, we ask His help, we ask His forgiveness, we believe in Him, and we put our trust in Him. And we seek refuge in Allah from the evil of our souls and from the evil of our deeds. Whomsoever Allah guides, none can misguide him, and whosoever He misguides, none can guide him.

I bear witness that there is no god but Allah, alone, with no partner. And I bear witness that our Master and Protector is Muhammad, His servant and Messenger.

As for what follows: the best hadith is the Book of Allah. And the best guidance is the guidance of Muhammad, peace and blessings be upon him. And the worst of things are its innovations. And every innovation is an invention, and every invention is a misguidance, and every misguidance is in the Fire.

Introduction: Every Nation Has Its Own Celebration

Every nation has their own Eid, and this is our Eid. This means that every nation, according to their beliefs and rituals, celebrates their Eid, expressing their happiness and enjoyment. And in this month, we are seeing the preparations for Christmas celebration.

Everyone — small or big, rich or poor — they participate in it, which according to their belief is to mark the birth of Isa, peace and blessings be upon him, on the 25th of December. Yes, they can do whatever they wish, but at the moment, the issue is that as the Muslim community has become an essential part of the West, and we see our neighbours, our colleagues, our business partners and students celebrating this festival with great joy, we as Muslims want to have a strong interaction with the wider community. So, with this in mind, can we participate in these religious festivals or not? Does Islam allow this? And if we don't participate, will this send a wrong message to other communities? These are the questions that we need to know the answers to, and this will be my topic today, inshallah.

The Islamic Ruling on Participating in Non-Muslim Religious Festivals

Dear brothers, there is no doubt that participation in the celebrations of non-Muslim religious festivals is not allowed in Islam. Because when we join in these festivals, we are supporting their beliefs and aqeedah behind these festivals.

For example, the Christians believe that on the 25th of December, Isa, peace be upon him — not only Isa, peace and blessings be upon him — but the son of God was born. So if we take part in these festivals, then indirectly we are supporting this belief. Can any Muslim say that Isa, peace and blessings be upon him, was the son of God? We can't even imagine this.

Still, if someone says that we just want to join others in their festivals to make them happy, exchange gifts, and even decorate their homes with Christmas trees, then this is against the Islamic teachings. Because these things gradually damage our aqeedah. This is why Islam forbids us from taking part in such religious festivals.

As Allah says in Surah Al-Ma'idah:

"Help one another in righteousness and piety, but do not help one another in sin and transgression." This means that every Muslim should help the other in righteousness and goodness, but not assist anyone in something that is sinful and something that spreads evil.

The Prophet's Guidance on Festivals

When the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, came to Medina, the local people used to celebrate two special festivals. The Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, said to them that Allah has given us two days better than these celebrations — and they are Eid al-Fitr and Eid al-Adha. This means that we should only celebrate Eid al-Fitr and Eid al-Adha as an Eid, and not take part in any other religious festivals of others. And whatever is connected with their religion or their specific customs, we should not imitate that — otherwise, after some time, it will become a part of our deen.

As Prophet Muhammad, peace and blessings be upon him, said:

"Whoever imitates any other people in their actions is considered to be one of them." (Sunan Abu Dawud, Hadith 4031)

And in another hadith, Prophet Muhammad, peace and blessings be upon him, even forbids us from going — with the intention of doing worship — to a place where the mushrikeen celebrate or used to celebrate their religious festivals. In a hadith from Abu Dawud, he said that a man vowed to sacrifice some camels in a place called Bawwana. So he came to Muhammad, peace and blessings be upon him, and said, "I vowed to sacrifice some camels in Bawwana."

The Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, asked him, "Were there any idols of Jahiliyyah — the pre-Islamic time of ignorance — that were worshipped?" He said no. Then the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, asked him, "Were any of their festivals held there?" He said no. Then Muhammad, peace and blessings be upon him, said, "You can fulfill your vow. For there is no fulfillment of a vow that involves disobedience to Allah." (Sunan Abu Dawud, Hadith 3313)

In this hadith, Prophet Muhammad, peace and blessings be upon him, did not allow even the sacrifice of animals at a place where mushrikeen slaughter their animals or they held their festivals. Also, it means that if a Muslim today goes to a shrine where feasts are being served in the name of other than Allah, and he goes there to serve food purely in the name of Allah, then still that will not be allowed. Or even to sacrifice an animal there in the name of Allah will not be allowed.

How Shirk and Bid'ah Enter the Muslim Community

Dear brothers and sisters, participating in other religious festivals is not a simple matter. Do you know how various acts of shirk and bid'ah have spread into the Muslim society? One of the main reasons for this is mixing with other religious celebrations. We can see many religious rituals which we adopted from non-Muslims and today they have become a part of our deen.

Our forefathers from the Indian subcontinent adopted many practices, rituals, and customs from the idol worshippers of that area. For example, when someone passes away, his children or relatives arrange a feast on the 10th or 40th day of his death, and then every year they do that — which is called Barsi or Khatam. Where did this come from? This came from the idol worshippers, because this is a practice which is well known amongst them.

Likewise, there is the issue of Milad, which we see Muslims celebrating — the birth of Prophet Muhammad, peace and blessings be upon him. This Milad is an action which is not mentioned in the Quran, nor in the Sunnah, nor from any of the companions. So how did this start? No doubt, this is also a result of imitating others. Just like Christmas was started 500 years after Isa, peace and blessings be upon him, so we also started to celebrate the birth of Prophet Muhammad, peace and blessings be upon him, 500 years after his death.

And then we also copy their decorations, we start cutting the cake and feast and other things. The things which the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, has forbidden us to do, we are doing exactly those things nowadays. We associate Muhammad, peace and blessings be upon him, with attributes of Allah — those which are specifically for Allah alone — and we place Muhammad, peace and blessings be upon him, on the same level as Allah. This is what brought shirk into the previous nations, and hence they faced the wrath of Allah.

The Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, warned us about these things. As he said:

"Do not exaggerate in praising me as the Christians praise the son of Maryam. I am only a slave, so call me the slave of Allah and His Messenger." (Sahih al-Bukhari, Hadith 3445)

The Danger of Imitating Non-Muslims in Religious Celebrations Today

Unfortunately, some of us are committing such mistakes by imitating other religions, and this is increasing day by day. For example, there are Muslims — yes, there are Muslims — who decorate their homes in these days, exchanging Christmas cards, saying "Merry Christmas," allowing their children to take part in Christmas activities, holding dinner parties in their houses for different families, giving gifts by the so-called "Secret Santa" to their children. Obviously, all these actions are against Islamic teachings because they are an imitation of non-Muslims in the religion. And this imitation is very dangerous, because if we are just copying them today, then the next generation will make this celebration a part of their deen.

Some people say that Christmas has nothing to do with Christianity anymore and it is done as a business, so what's wrong with celebrating it? It doesn't matter, brothers, how worldly the festival becomes — most people still hold the belief that this is part of their religion. That is why they visit the church on Christmas Day and strengthen their belief by celebrating Christmas.

One can say: if non-Muslims can join us in our celebration, they join us on our Eid, they join us in our Ramadan and Iftar, so why can't we join them in their festivals? Remember that as Muslims, our aqeedah is based on the oneness of Allah, on tawhid. And the non-Muslims' belief is based on shirk. Therefore, if someone who does shirk — who associates others with Allah in worship — joins us in our festivals, it will not affect their aqeedah because it is already wrong. But if we join them, it can damage our aqeedah, which is based on tawhid, which is based on the oneness of Allah.

And some people do it just to be friendly towards them, or because they are too shy to refuse, or for business reasons. Whereas this kind of thinking is totally compromising our deen with the non-Muslims, which is totally forbidden. If we compromise in our beliefs, in our actions, then we will lose our identity and the identity of our forthcoming generations. We shouldn't take this issue lightly.

Instead, we should try on these types of occasions to teach ourselves and our children about Isa, peace and blessings be upon him — about his life, about his message — so that our children can hold firmly to the correct belief of Islam. Otherwise, dear brothers and sisters, if the situation continues like this and we are bringing other religious festivals into our lives and into our homes, then our forthcoming generation — which is already entangled in many unbelievable fitnahs in their manners and character — will lose their aqeedah due to our negligence. And a time will come when they will not differentiate between the masjid and other places of worship.

We have examples of Muslims — such as in Bosnia and other places — where people had lost their link with the deen. And what happened? Their mosques remained, but without any worshippers. There were no differences in the lifestyle of those communities and other communities. They gave up their religious identity.

Our aqeedah is first in our recognition, and there should be no compromise in it. Likewise, our worship, matters of haram and halal — they are all part of our identity. Our existence is in maintaining these.

The Islamic Status of Isa and Maryam

Dear brothers and sisters, the purpose of what I have mentioned earlier is to clarify the Islamic rulings about participating in non-Islamic religious festivals. It doesn't mean that we have anything against those who celebrate Christmas, or that we don't want to integrate with the wider community. This is not our purpose. Nor does it mean that we don't believe in Isa and Maryam. Rather, as Muslims, we give a very high status to Isa and to Maryam.

It may come as a surprise to many to learn that Isa is mentioned in the Quran over 36 times. And there is a whole chapter in the Quran named Maryam — Surah Maryam. She is the only woman mentioned by name in the Holy Book.

Allah says about Maryam in Surah Ali Imran, verse 42:

"O Maryam, verily Allah has chosen you, purified you, and chosen you above the women of all of mankind."

In a hadith from Sahih al-Bukhari, the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, said:

"I am the closest to Isa, son of Maryam, in this world and in the hereafter." (Sahih al-Bukhari, Hadith 3442)

And Prophet Muhammad, peace and blessings be upon him, also said in a Sahih hadith from al-Tabarani that among the women who will enter Jannah, there are four highly ranked women:

• Khadija bint Khuwailid, may Allah be pleased with her
• Fatima bint Muhammad, may Allah be pleased with her
• Maryam, daughter of Imran, may Allah be pleased with her
• Asiya bint Muzahim, may Allah be pleased with her — the wife of Pharaoh

So as a Muslim, our Iman is not complete until we believe in all the Prophets of Allah who came before Muhammad, peace and blessings be upon him. So not only do we believe in Isa, we also have great love for him and believe him to be one of the greatest Prophets and Messengers of Allah. We believe in his miraculous birth and believe that Allah gifted him — as a miracle — the ability to bring the dead back to life, heal the leper, and bring sight back to the blind.

So it is totally wrong thinking that Muslims are not allowed to have dealings and links with non-Muslims, or that we don't like to mix with followers of other religions.

Islam's Teaching on Relations with Non-Muslims

Dear brothers, Islam is based on creating unity among the whole of mankind on the basis of humanity. As Allah says in Surah Al-Hujurat:

"O mankind, We have created you from a male and female and made you into nations and tribes so that you may know one another." This means that Islam does not discriminate between communities on the basis of color, race, or background.

The Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, not only ordered his ummah to integrate with others on the basis of humanity, but until his last moment, he had good links, trade dealings, and contacts with the Jews, the Christians, and other non-Muslims.

Examples from the Prophet's Life

In a hadith from Sahih al-Bukhari, Aisha, may Allah be pleased with her, said that before Muhammad, peace and blessings be upon him, passed away, his armor had been given to a Jewish moneylender as a surety to take grains from him. He could have borrowed from one of the companions and no one would have refused. But he wanted to set an example that we need to stay connected with the wider community and we can have different kinds of dealings. (Sahih al-Bukhari, Hadith 2916)

In another hadith from Sahih al-Bukhari, there was a young Jewish man who used to come to the Prophet's, peace and blessings be upon him, house to serve him. And once he became ill and Muhammad, peace and blessings be upon him, went especially to his house to visit him. And when he saw that he might not survive, Muhammad, peace and blessings be upon him, offered him to accept Islam. The boy looked at his father, and his father told him to obey Muhammad, peace and blessings be upon him, and he recited the shahada. And soon after, he passed away.

The Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, left his home after a while and his eyes had tears. And he was saying:

"All praise be to Allah who saved him from the fire of hell because of me." (Sahih al-Bukhari, Hadith 1356)

At that time, dear brothers, Muhammad, peace and blessings be upon him, had sole authority over the whole of Medina. And the person was a servant of Prophet Muhammad, peace and blessings be upon him. And still, he went to see him. Can we imagine any ruler today doing the same? And this hadith also tells us that it is a sunnah of the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, to visit the sick even if they are non-Muslims. And unfortunately we are lacking in this sunnah.

Another example: in a hadith from Sahih al-Bukhari, a funeral was passing by the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, and he stood up. A companion said, "This is the funeral of a Jew." The Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, replied, "Was he not a human?" (Sahih al-Bukhari, Hadith 1312) These were the teachings of the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, which he taught the companions — how we should respect other communities.

And because of these teachings of Islam, Muslims have kept very good links with non-Muslim communities. Especially in the Muslim lands, they have lived side by side with non-Muslims in a peaceful and loving atmosphere for over a thousand years. This can still be seen throughout the world today.

Allah has mentioned the nature of the relationship between Muslims and non-Muslims in Surah Al-Mumtahinah, verse 8:

"Allah does not forbid you to deal justly and kindly with those who fought not against you on account of religion, nor drove you out of your homes. Verily, Allah loves those who deal with equity."

And the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, was not only kind and good with non-Muslims at normal times — he was even good and kind with them at times when it was difficult to be tolerant and patient with them. For example, at the time of war, and with the sinful and the oppressors, and with those who tried to degrade and disrespect him. We know the time of the conquest of Makkah and of Ta'if — how the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, behaved with the mushrikeen of Makkah and Ta'if who had tortured him and the Muslims for the whole 13 years.

The Rights of Neighbours

And the link of Muslims with non-Muslims becomes even clearer when we look at the rights of neighbours that Islam teaches us about. As Allah mentioned in Surah An-Nisa, verse 36 about having good manners with others — among them our parents, relatives, orphans, and the needy — but also mentioned specifically our neighbours:

In this verse, the people that Allah commands us to have good manners with are not only the Muslims, but also the non-Muslims, and also our neighbours.

The Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, said:

"By Allah, he is not a believer! By Allah, he is not a believer! By Allah, he is not a believer!" The companions asked, "Who is not a believer, O Messenger of Allah?" He replied, "The one whose neighbour is not safe from his harm." (Sahih al-Bukhari, Hadith 6016; Sahih Muslim, Hadith 46)

So it is a part of our iman to look after our neighbours, regardless of whether they are Muslims or not. And if our non-Muslim neighbour is struggling financially, you can help them from your sadaqah. And if you see that they are taking interest in the deen, then you can also help them from your sadaqah to soften their heart.

Likewise, another way to have links with non-Muslims is that if someone you know passes away, you should visit the relatives to offer condolences. However, you cannot make du'a for their forgiveness. Instead, you can say that may Allah make things easy for them.

Examples of Permitted Interaction with Non-Muslims

The best examples of integration with non-Muslims are that Allah has made halal for us the sacrificed meat of the People of the Book, provided it has been slaughtered in the Islamic way — as they too have been taught the same manner in their books. Likewise, Allah has allowed us to marry women from the People of the Book, provided they are decent women and safeguard their chastity.

Conclusion

These are some examples which show that Islam does not stop us from having good relations with non-Muslims — rather, it increases them. So we should try not to limit ourselves within a small circle. We should increase our links through our good manners and characters, as long as they don't affect our iman and they don't affect our aqeedah.