Just this morning I had posted a greeting on Facebook: “To all my friends who celebrate Christmas, have a happy Christmas Eve and a Merry, Merry Christmas.” Whereas I didn’t specify, the post was intended for my Christian friends. But now, after listening to Imam Feisal’s Jumma Khutba (Friday sermon), I am glad I didn’t say ‘my Christian friends.’ Because Imam Feisal’s response to the question was: a resounding YES.
Yes, Muslims should celebrate Christmas.
Whereas Imam Feisal’s eloquence is beyond my ability to do justice to his words, allow me to attempt to share my takeaway.
So why is it o.k. for Muslims to celebrate Christmas?
For starters, Allah commands us to do so, in the Quran.
Christmas—as we all know—is about celebrating the birth of Jesus Christ. True, it has become more of a cultural and national holiday than a religious one: we hear more greetings of Happy Holidays than Merry Christmas, but its essence lies in the celebration of Jesus’ birth.
In the Quran, in the chapter of Mary (Maryam), God tells us the story of Jesus’ birth. Angel Gabriel approaches Mary and gives her the news of a baby boy:
“[The angel] answered: I am but a messenger of thy Sustainer, [who says] ‘I shall bestow upon thee the gift of a son endowed with purity.’”
Said she: “How can I have a son when no man has ever touched me? – for, never have I been a loose woman!”
[The angel] answered: “Thus it is; [but] thy Sustainer says, “This is easy for Me; and [thou shalt have a son,] so that We might make him a symbol unto mankind and an act of grace from Us.” And it was a thing decreed [by God].
And in time she conceived him, and then she withdrew with him to a far-off place.”
Quran: 19:19-22
The story in the Quran continues: Mary’s labor pains, God providing her with the fruit of the palm tree, and God asking her to abstain from speech. When she returns to her people and they accuse her of being unchaste, she points to the baby, who speaks from the cradle.
[But] he said: Behold, I am a servant of God. He has vouchsafed unto me revelation and made me a prophet, And made me blessed wherever I may be; and He has enjoined upon me prayer and charity as long as I live. And [has endowed me with] piety towards my mother; and He has not made me haughtier or bereft of grace. Quran 19: 30-32
As evident in these verses, we are commanded to believe in the miracle of Jesus’ birth and embrace him as our prophet. In several other passages of the Quran, Allah lists Jesus as one of the prophets; commands us to believe in what He revealed to Moses and Jesus; and urges us not to distinguish between the prophets.
The apostle, and the believers with him, believer in what has been bestowed upon him from on high by his Sustainer: they all believe in God, and His angels, and His revelations, and His apostles, making no distinction between any of His apostles…” Quran: 2:285
So, if we celebrate Prophet Muhammad’s birthday every year on the 12th day of Rabi-ul-Awwal (Muslim calendar), there is no reason why we shouldn’t honor Jesus and celebrate his birthday, particularly if we are not to differentiate between the prophets,
God also states in the Quran that He has ordained for us the same religion which He enjoined upon Ibrahim, and Moses and Jesus:
In matters of faith, He has ordained for you that which He had enjoined upon Noah – and into which We gave thee [O Muhammad] insight through revelation – as well as that which We had enjoined upon Abraham, and Moses, and Jesus: Steadfastly uphold the [true] faith, and do not break up your unity therein… Quran: 42:13
Jesus is therefore, our prophet as well. Our, as in Muslims.
One more point: For those who challenge that celebrating Christmas is contrary to the Quran, consider what Jesus said when he spoke from the cradle:
“Hence, peace was upon me on the day when I was born, and [will be upon me] on the day of my death, and on the day when I shall be raised to life [again]!” Quran: 19:33
And what God says about John the Baptist:
“Hence, [God’s] peace was upon him on the day when he was born, and on the day of his death, and will be [upon him] on the day when he shall be raised to life [again]. Quran: 19:15
God is sending peace upon John the Baptist! How profound is that!
My takeaway: When the Quran implicitly invokes peace on the messengers on the day they are born, the day they die, and the day they will be raised to life; I too should honor the prophets. I could do that in many ways, including celebrating the day of their birth. That, as Imam Feisal said, would be a God-centric approach.
Would I be ‘christian-izing’ my religion if I went that route? Not so, according to the example set by Prophet Muhammad. When he learned that the Jews fasted on Ashura (10th day) to commemorate Moses’ exodus from Egypt, he also started fasting on that day. To this day, Muslims fast on Ashura in the month of Muharram.
Back to Christmas. It’s tomorrow. Now, some scholars and historians believe that December 25th is not likely to have been the actual day of Jesus’ birth, but that doesn’t matter. Don’t we celebrate our birthdays not on the precise date, but on the closest weekend? It’s the thought that counts; the idea that this is an expression of love. Christians decided to celebrate it on the shortest day of the year (in the Northern hemisphere), and so be it. It’s not the date that is important, but the importance of the life we are celebrating.
So on Christmas, we share with Christians this day of Jesus’s birth.
Wishing you a very Merry Christmas.
Based on Jumma Khutba by Imam Feisal A. Rauf, Cordoba House, delivered on Christmas Eve, 2021.
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