Participate in Celebrating or Attending Celebrations of Other Religious Holidays (Christmas Together and the Like)

– A religious holiday is the main symbol of a religion.

– Usually there are special worship ritual activities in it to glorify it

– For a Muslim, participating in other religious celebrations is forbidden, namely haram. Based on the following postulates:

1. Ibn Abbas Radhiallahu ‘Anhu narrated that Quraish idolatrous figures such as Walid bin Mughirah, ‘Ash bin Wail, Aswad bin Abdul Muttalib, and Umayyah bin Khalaf, came to the Prophet ﷺ. They said:

“O Muhammad, come here, we will worship what you worship, you also worship what we worship, then we share with each other in our affairs if there is goodness. We join your religious activities so that we can take part in them and you also participate in our religious activities so that you can be part of them.”

Then Allah Ta’ala revealed the verse:

Say (Prophet Muhammad), “O disbelievers, I will not worship
what do you worship? You are also not a worshiper of what I worship. I didn’t do it either
ever be a devotee of what you worship. You haven’t
What devotee do I worship? For you your religion and for me my religion.” (AlKafirun/109: 1-6)

(Imam Al Qurthubi, Jami’ Li Ahkamil Quran, verse 20, p. 225)

This incident emphasizes the prohibition on believers from participating in all religious activities and worship of other religions even if they promise to participate in Muslim worship. If a Muslim follows it, then he has mixed within himself various kinds of worship of various religions (syncretism).

2. Attending other religious holidays as well as attending false testimony – Az Zuur

Allah Ta’ala says:

And those who do not bear false witness, and if they go through it with empty talk, then they go through it honorably.

“People who do not bear false witness, and when they meet (people) who do immoral deeds, they (only) protect their honor.” (Al-Furqan (25): 72)

This verse tells of the prophet’s friends who moved away from Az Zuur.
Ibnu Abbas explained the meaning of “Az Zuur” namely: A’yadul Musyrikin (holidays of the polytheists).

(Imam As Suyuthi, Ad Durul Mantsur, vol. 6, p. 282)

Ibn Zaid said:

What they say to their gods and glorify them is a lie

Al-Zur is what they say about their congregation, as well as their glorification of them. (Imam Ibn Jarir Ath Tabari, Jami’ al Bayan, vol. 17, p. 522)

3. The Prophet ﷺ forbade Muslims from participating in celebrating non-Islamic holidays, and replaced them with Eid al-Adha and Eid al-Fitr.

Anas bin Malik Radhiallahu ‘Anhu said:

Rasulullah SAW came to Medina and they had two days to play. He asked, “What are these two days?” They said, “We used to play that long.” Pre-Islamic period, and the Prophet SAW said, “Indeed, Allah has given you in exchange for them something better than them, namely the Eid al-Adha and the Eid Al-Fitr.”

Rasulullah ﷺ arrived in Medina. The residents have two days to play. The Prophet ﷺ asked, “What are those two days?”

They said, “We used to play around on those two days during the ignorance.”

So the Prophet ﷺ said, “Indeed, Allah has replaced for you something better than the two, namely: the Eid al-Adha holiday and the Eid al-Fitr holiday.” (HR. Abu Daud, no. 1134, authentic)

In another hadith, the two days mentioned are Nairuz and Mihrajan, namely two polytheist holidays in Medina during the Jahiliyah era.

4. The Indonesian Ulema Council (MUI) on March 7 1981 (during the Buya Hamka era) issued a fatwa prohibiting
participate in Christmas Together for Muslims.

The fatwa decided three points, namely:

– Christmas celebrations in Indonesia even though the aim is to celebrate and honor the Prophet Isa ‘Alaihissalam
but it cannot be separated from religious issues;

– Participating in Christmas ceremonies together for Muslims is haram; And

– So that Muslims do not fall into doubt
and Allah Ta’ala’s prohibition, it is recommended that they not take part in Christmas activities.

Fatwa of the Four Schools

1.HANAFI

Imam Ibn Nujaim

Abu Hafs Al-Kabir (may Allah have mercy on him) said: If someone worships God Almighty for fifty years, then comes on the day of Nowruz and offers eggs to some idolaters with the intention of glorifying that day, then he has disbelieved and his work is useless.

Abu Hafs Al-Kabir said: If a Muslim who has been worshiping Allah for the last 50 years comes on the Day of Nairuz (the feast of the Magi) and gives eggs as a gift to some polytheists with the aim of glorifying the holiday, then he is an infidel and his deeds are forfeited. (Imam Ibn Nujaim, Al Bahr Al Raiq, vol.8, p.555)

2. MALIKI

Imam Ibn Al Hajj

Don’t you see that Muslims are not allowed to sell to Christians anything useful for their Eid al-Fitr, be it meat, food, clothes, or lend animals, or suffer the consequences of their religion? Because that is a form of glorifying their polytheism and helping them in their disbelief, and the sultan should have prohibited Muslims from doing that. That’s what Malik and others said. I don’t know anyone who would disagree with that.

Don’t you know that it is not halal for Muslims to buy things for Christians to benefit their holidays, whether in the form of meat, clothes; do not lend vehicles and do not help with anything from their religion because that includes glorifying their shirk and helping their disbelief. And the authorities should prohibit Muslims from doing that. This is the opinion of Malik and others. I don’t know any different opinions.

(Imam Ibnul Hajj, Al Madkhal, vol. 2, p. 47)

3. Shafi’i

Imam Ibn Hajar Al Haitami

Whoever agrees with the disbelievers on his festival, and whoever catches snakes, and who goes to Hell, and who says to a non-Muslim, O Haji, and whoever congratulates him on his holiday, then he will be punished.

Dita’zir (punish) people who resemble (imitate) infidels on the Eid al-Fitr holiday, people who hold snakes, people who enter fire, people who say “Hajj” to dhimmi infidels, and people who wish happy holidays (of other religions).

(Tuhfatul Muhtaj fi Syarhil Minhaj, vol. 9, p. 181)

He also said:

Then I saw that some of our imams later mentioned something that was in line with what I mentioned, and he said: Among the worst innovations was the Muslim Christian’s approval of their festivals by imitating their food, giving them gifts, and receiving their gifts in it, and most of the people were concerned about that, the Egyptians, and the Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, said: Whoever imitates a people, he is among them.

I saw some of our imams who were muta’akhirin (later generations) expressed the same opinion as me, then he said: One of the worst heresies is the imitation (imitation) of Muslims to Christians on their holidays by doing tasyabbuh (imitating), namely with food, giving gifts, and receiving gifts on that day.

Most people who do that are Mishriyun (Egyptians). The Prophet ﷺ said: “Whoever resembles a people, then he belongs to their group.”

(Al Fatawa Al Fiqhiyah Al Kubra, verse 4, pp. 238-239)

4. BACK

Imam Al Buhuti

(It is forbidden to congratulate, entertain, or visit them.) Because for them it is a glorification that resembles peace. (And it is permissible to visit him) that is, to visit a dhimmi (if he is expected to convert to Islam and be presented to him and the Sheikh and others who choose him) in accordance with what was narrated by Anas, “that the Prophet – may God bless him and grant him peace – returned a Jew and offered him Islam, so he converted to Islam and came out saying: Praise be to God who saved him through me from… Hell” narrated by Al-Bukhari and therefore is one of the noble morals.

It is forbidden to say tahni’ah (congratulations), ta’ziyah (pilgrimage for the dead), yidah (visiting the sick) to non-Muslims because the intention to glorify them is the same as (saying) greetings. However, he may visit the sick dhimmi infidel if he is expected to become a Muslim and should invite him to convert to Islam. Because, in the hadith narrated by Bukhari, the Prophet ﷺ once visited a Jew and invited him to convert to Islam and the Jew converted to Islam and said, “Thank God, Allah has saved me from hell.” And because visiting sick people is a noble act. (Kasysyaaf Al Qinaa’, volume 1, p. 131)

Meaning of Tolerance

Tolerance is an attitude of mutual respect for followers of other religions with their beliefs and activities. Do not disturb. They also do the same thing to Muslims.

However, mixing in celebrations and worship of other religions is not tolerance, but syncretic behavior. In the morning he prays at dawn, at 10 o’clock he goes to mass, in the afternoon he goes to the temple, then he thinks this is cool and he’s personally tolerant. This is cheating.

Allah Ta’ala says:

Say, “Shall we tell you about people who lose their deeds, people who are misguided in their efforts in this worldly life even though they think that they are all right?”

Say: “Shall We tell you about those who suffer the greatest loss from their actions?” These are people who have gone astray in their actions in this worldly life, even though they thought that they had done the best they could. (QS. Al Kahf: 103-104)

God bless

Wa Shallallahu ‘ala Nabiyyina Muhammadin wa ‘Ala Aalihi wa Shahbihi wa Sallam

✍ Farid Nu’man Hasan

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