To a Muslim living in the West, the Christmas Holiday period is one of the most stressful times because of the differences in our attitudes towards holidays and celebrations from the status quo there.
The fundamental issue for Muslims everywhere is whether or not to celebrate Christmas. Their Christian colleagues may stress the secular aspects of the holiday and the need to comply with social customs in order to advance in society there. Many times I have been told to forget Christmas as a religious holiday and just consider it as a social occasion. Especially in the United States, failure to participate in business Christmas parties, makes oneself an object of ostracism. One needs to climb the social ladder to optimize one’s chances for promotion, etc. and it is difficult to resist the pressure to conform.
Christmas and its Origins:
Many Christians do not realize that much of the celebration of Christmas is actually of pagan origin. When the date of Christmas was set by the Christian priests to fall in December, it was done at least in part to compete with ancient pagan festivals that occurred about the same time. The Romans celebrated the Feast of the Invincible Sun on December 25. The early church fathers elected to celebrate the birth of Jesus (peace be upon him) on this date, although there was no particular reason to choose this date. In fact, many Christian scholars believe that Jesus (peace be upon him) was actually born in summer. This is consistent with the Quranic account of Jesus’ birth, because there is specific mention of ripe dates falling on Mary (peace be upon her), in Sura Maryam, verse 25. It seems the early church elders redefined some of the pagan celebrations in Christian terms, rationalizing them as a celebration of some aspect of their dogma on the life of Jesus (peace be upon him). Nowadays, few may remember the reasons for the various customs that they practice.
Unfortunately, many Westerners feel that we Muslims should celebrate Christmas. They cite the example of many other non-Christians doing so, including many Jews, Hindus, etc. who join the merrymaking. They find it frustrating that many of us Muslims will not comply. It is regretful that they do not apply the same standard to themselves. They don’t expect us to pressure them to celebrate our holidays nor do we Muslims put such pressure on them. After all, we Muslims must follow the Quranic verse 2:256: “Let there be no compulsion in religion.” In fact I recently heard from some who consider it an insult that we won’t celebrate it. However, I ask them. “Did Jesus (peace be upon him) or any of the other prophets celebrate their birthdays?” On what authority do they do it now?
Of course, there is also the problem of the children. They are bombarded with numerous advertisements for the toys and are essentially brainwashed so that they should expect something “under the tree” on Christmas Day.
Coping with the pressure:
To us Muslims, each and every thing we do is part of our worship of the One, Supreme God - nothing is excluded. We do not make any distinction between the secular and the religious.
Strictly speaking, for Muslims there are only two holidays, the two Eids. Namely, Eid-ul Fitr - the festival of fast-breaking immediately after the end of Ramadan - and Eid- ul-Adha - the festival of sacrifice during the major pilgrimage time. They do not celebrate birthdays (despite all the Western conventions to the contrary) - not even the birth of any of the prophets (peace be upon them all), including Muhammad (peace be blessings be upon him).
Thus, we as Muslims cannot condone nor should we participate in those practices. It is not out of disrespect to Christian colleagues that this is done; rather, it is out of respect and love for Jesus (peace be upon him) and Mary (peace be upon her) and Allah Himself that we must refuse!
What we should really celebrate are the praises of Allah, Who is free of all imperfections, as stated in the Quran: “Therefore be patient with what they say, and celebrate (constantly) the praises of your Lord before the rising of the sun, and before its setting; yea, celebrate them for part of the hours of the night, and at the sides of the day: so that you may have (spiritual) joy. Nor strain your eyes in longing for the things We have given for enjoyment to parties of them, the splendor of the life of this world, through which We test them: but the provision of your Lord is better and more enduring.” [Sura Ta-Ha (20): verses 130 - 131].
[Compiled from " 'Tis The Season: The Muslim Perspective On Christmas " by Zeyd Ali Merenkov, M.D.]
Note:
You may also visit the following link to read Dr. Muzzammil Siddiqi’s views on this issue: http://www.islam-online.net/completesearch/english/FatwaDisplay.asp?hFatwaID=8895
“Allah (swt) does not look at your body and face; rather He looks at your heart” [at-Tirmidhi]