Giving Christmas presents

duca888

New Member
Salam Alaycom,

This is the first year I am missing Christmas since I converted in the summer. Last Eid my family gave me a present after Ramadan. Is it ok for me to give them presents for their holiday, aka Christmas?
 

Faisal_01

Art is my Expression
AS,

uh I dont really see the problem in it. In my opinion I believe tis perfectly fine. I mean technically Christmas is the celebration of the birth of Jesus(pbuh) and Muslims believe in him so really there isnt a problem in the holiday. I think you cant just pray and stuff like most Christians do and such. As far as gifts go, I think you should. I mean Quaran teaches us to respect all religions and since they gave you gifts for Eid and they arent Muslims, its only fair you return the favor. I dont think thats really a matter of religion, its a matter of courtesy.

WS
:salah:
 

dianek

Junior Member
AS,

uh I dont really see the problem in it. In my opinion I believe tis perfectly fine. I mean technically Christmas is the celebration of the birth of Jesus(pbuh) and Muslims believe in him so really there isnt a problem in the holiday. I think you cant just pray and stuff like most Christians do and such. As far as gifts go, I think you should. I mean Quaran teaches us to respect all religions and since they gave you gifts for Eid and they arent Muslims, its only fair you return the favor. I dont think thats really a matter of religion, its a matter of courtesy.

WS
:salah:

I like your response.........I am christian but my husband and kids are muslims....my husband doesn't like for us to go and the kids get toys, but he never complains about me buying gifts for my family or having dinner with them....just wants to keep them from buying our kids gifts, guess to keep them from getting used to or looking forward to Christmas. But kids are kids and Christmas is everywhere....can't hide from it here. And I agree, I think it is respectful. Though you are likely to get posts saying that as muslim you are not to acknowledge the holiday since we don't know specifically know the date christ was born......HOWEVER, I don't think christmas day was meant to be the ACTUAL day, just a memorial to the day that is unknown....and you celebrate the prophet Muhammeds (pbuh) birthday right? What is the difference?
 

happy 2 b muslim

Junior Member
Erm if we go back it has got nothing to do with the birth of jesus if we look back it was a celebration of the Roman pagan which they believed that the sun god was diein out where they collected ever green tree, Hence the christmas tree. Also there are a sect of christian that dont particapate with christmas knowning its not jesus birth day. The giving of present i leave that for someone smarter But your not allowed to wish a merry christmas reason being is because this is a pagan thing and for you to wish the best is a sin because it goes agaisnt the belief of a muslim. Also for one to say i my view is mot allow as you need evidience But sis/bro look into it you can listern to the passion of jesus by abdur raheem green on youtube he explain it.

Also to remember the hadith that the prophet said in a sahih sound hadith
be oppsite of the disbelieves Plz forgive if i was disrespectful as i didnt mean to be and as for you question hope you get all your answers as mine was poorly informative.


:salam2: by your sis hanna:hijabi:
 

Mohsin

abdu'Allah
Hi Diane

Hi,

Diane you wrote,
and you celebrate the prophet Muhammeds (pbuh) birthday right? What is the difference?
So I am just telling you that we Muslims dont celebrate prophet Muhammad's (SAW) birthday.
 

Mohsin

abdu'Allah
No worries sis,

It is ok sister, I didnt want you to appologise as you were not aware rather I should thank you for being understanding.

Take care,
God bless you :)
 

Faisal_01

Art is my Expression
Erm if we go back it has got nothing to do with the birth of jesus if we look back it was a celebration of the Roman pagan which they believed that the sun god was diein out where they collected ever green tree, Hence the christmas tree. Also there are a sect of christian that dont particapate with christmas knowning its not jesus birth day. The giving of present i leave that for someone smarter But your not allowed to wish a merry christmas reason being is because this is a pagan thing and for you to wish the best is a sin because it goes agaisnt the belief of a muslim. Also for one to say i my view is mot allow as you need evidience But sis/bro look into it you can listern to the passion of jesus by abdur raheem green on youtube he explain it.

Also to remember the hadith that the prophet said in a sahih sound hadith
be oppsite of the disbelieves Plz forgive if i was disrespectful as i didnt mean to be and as for you question hope you get all your answers as mine was poorly informative.


:salam2: by your sis hanna:hijabi:
Thats part of it, not the whole truth. Christmas holiday to be specific is the birth of christianity to be exact hence the word christ in christmas. The giving of presents is a tradition.

Besides if someone says Merry Christmas to me, I say it back because then it would be like disrespectful to the person if you dont respond. It doesnt mean I'm gonna go and celebrate christmas and believe in it,but its a matter of being courteous.

Thats just my opinion.
 
Hi,

Diane you wrote,

So I am just telling you that we Muslims dont celebrate prophet Muhammad's (SAW) birthday.

we dont?????......i thought we walk like a km in muslim countries when prophet Muhammad pbuh was born....but we dont like give gifts to each other of course
 

dianek

Junior Member
we dont?????......i thought we walk like a km in muslim countries when prophet Muhammad pbuh was born....but we dont like give gifts to each other of course

I didn't say that we didn't the next poster did, then I apologized for miss speaking that you do.....so now ......which is correct?
 

inam1971

Member
Christmas - For Muslims?

:salam2:
thought I'd share this topic
you can read several such discussions on this and other topics on:
Shareislam.com
islamtomorrow.com

written by Sheikh Yusuf Estes,
"Who is Yusuf Estes" [click here]


Written by Editor: ShareIslam.com
Thursday, 07 December 2006
What is this - Christmas?
The word Christmas comes from the words Cristes maesse, or "Christ's Mass." Christmas is the celebration of the birth of Jesus for members of the Christian religion. Most historians peg the first celebration of Christmas to Rome in 336 A.D.
Muslims Celebrating Christmas - Is This Possible?

While you may find this strange, we have received letters asking about the permissibility of allowing Muslim children and adults to join along Christians in celebrating Christmas; giving gifts, decorating their homes, lighting candles, putting up Christmas trees and lights and greeting each other with "Merry Christmas."
No candles? * No Christmas tree * No sleigh? * No reindeer? * No mistletoe? * No bells? * No elves? * No stockings by the chimney? * No Christmas Carols * & NO SANTA CLAUS?

Let us consider some important facts about this occassion and what it really means:

Christmas - For Muslims??
By A Loving Muslim brother

I was a Christain for many years, and I used to get really upset when people took the "Christ" out of Christmas, and I could not imagine why people would let all of this gross commercialism overwhelm the remembrance of the birth of Christ Jesus. So, it came as a great surprise, in my little world, to learn this was from the Solstice celebration, and had been going on for hundreds of years before the time of Jesus. Also, we find no evidence Jesus was even born in the month of Decemeber (and in fact, it becomes obvious from close study of the Bilbe he was not even born in the year claimed to be 2,006 years ago.

Let's consider some very important evidence about the event called "Christmas":

No proof for his birth in December - nor for exactly 2006 years ago for that matter. New Testament claims he was born during the reign of King Herod. He was already dead 6 years before.

No proof for Christmas trees - actually, the Bible (Jerimiah 10) forbids the act of cutting down trees or holly or anything and then taking it into the house and decorating it up.

Nothing about Santa Claus except a bishop who attended the Council of Nicea in 325 A. D. named, Saint Nicholas who was generous with money and used it to help a man get his two older daughters married off by throwing a bag of silver into their open window for their dowry (women paid men - the opposite of the dowry system of Islam), thus earning himself the title of St. Nick.

There can be no absolute proof of the particulars and details surrounding all of the many factors coming together in Rome in 325 A.D. (after Christ's birth), in order to establish with certainty, Jesus Christ was born on December 25, as mentioned.

Solstice Celebrations:

From Babylon to Rome, for thousands of years, virtually every culture has had some sort of celebration for the solstice. The winter solstice is the darkest, shortest day of the year, and since it marks the time at which the glorious light returns, the solstice has long been an occasion for great celebration and rejoicing.

On the surface, the solstice celebration is often a rejoicing of the return of the sun with the promise of the greening of the earth and the warming of the days. But on a deeper spiritual level, the solstice celebration honors the birth and rebirth of the glorious Holy Light which guides and sustains all of creation, the One Light that illuminates every heart and promises new growth, the warmth of loving-kindness and the brilliance of illumination to all of mankind.

The sun god Mithra (Mithra in Persian, Mitra in Sanskrit) was highly honored and well known across the entire region from India to Rome. In the ancient Vedic hymns of India, Mitra is often invoked together with Varuna so that the two are combined as 'Mitravaruna': Varuna is lord of the cosmic rhythm of the celestial spheres, while Mitra brings forth the light at dawn, which was covered by Varuna.

In the Zoroastrian religion, the sun-god Mithra was highly honored as a major deity, and interestingly, the birth of Mithra is celebrated at the eve of the winter solstice called Shab-e Yalda in Farsi (Persian).

The Romans had a great number of temples dedicated to Mithra, and the winter solstice celebration dedicated to the sun god Mithra was indeed a major event in their lives.

In the ancient world, much of the day to day life was centered on a keen awareness of the sun, the stars and the seasons. For thousands of years, the return of the sun at the time of the winter solstice has been a time of good cheer and great celebration, both secular and spiritual.

Early Christians:

The early Christians did not celebrate the birth of Jesus. The early church fathers Origen (d.255), St. Irenaeus (d. 202), and Tertullian (d. 220) do not include Christmas or its date on their lists of feasts and celebrations.

In fact, nobody really knows when Jesus was born. Church father Clement of Alexandria tells us that certain theologians had claimed to have determined not only the year of the Jesus' birth but also the day; that it took place in the 28th year of Augustus and on the 25th day of Pachon (May 20) (Stromata, I, 21). He also added that others said that he was born on the 24th or 25th of Pharmuthi (April 19 or 20). Another piece of evidence is De Paschae Computus of 243, which states that Jesus was born on March 28.

Many modern scholars, using the details given in the bible, suggest that Jesus' birthday was likely before October or after March. So, although we don't know when Jesus was born, it seems quite unlikely that it was on December 25th.

The Church In Rome:

The early church fathers in Rome were perhaps feeling a bit left out by all the celebrations that were going on at the time of the Solstice. It's all too difficult to control people who are busy celebrating for just any old reason.

It was not at all common in those days to celebrate a person's birthday, but something drastic had to be done to get the church into the celebration. So, in order to eclipse the solstice celebration of the sun god Mithra, in the middle of the 4th century after Jesus' death, the newly converted Emperor Constantine declared December 25th to be the official birthday of Jesus.

Within a few years, the altars of the temples of Mithra had been destroyed and the temples were quickly rededicated to the activities of the church of Rome. Just that suddenly, the winter solstice which was perhaps the greatest celebration known to the ancient world, was transformed into a matter of church doctrine.

In later years, the English gave this celebration the name Cristes mæsse, literally, Christ's mass... and from that we have inherited the word Christmas.

Now...

We see clearly, Christmas as it is celebrated today is not something associated with Judaism or Islam in their original teachings. We must ask the question, "If the prophets of Allah and their people did not engage in such acts of pagan worship, then why should we?"

Our prophet, peace be upon him, ordered us to refrain from following in the footsteps of those who had gone astray before us. He also made sure we understood our celebrations are two; namely: Eid al-Fitr and Eid al-Adha.

Even though some will join in with others to celebrate the beliefs and and practices of non-Muslim activities, we as believers, must not engage in such offensive acts toward our Lord, Allah. He hates that we involve ourselves in practices of worship not ordained by Him and we must avoid such activities at all costs.

We ask Allah to forgive us for our past mistakes and errors and to guide us to do better in the future and grant us from Him, Mercy, Compassion and Forgiveness, ameen.

* Today is December 18, 2006 "Who is Yusuf Estes" [click here]

Last Updated ( Monday, 18 December 2006 )
 

Mohsin

abdu'Allah
Assalamu-alaikum

:salam2:
we dont?????......i thought we walk like a km in muslim countries when prophet Muhammad pbuh was born....but we dont like give gifts to each other of course
Brother it would be very kind of you to first make sure what you are saying and then say it.

Kindly read the following thread and you too sister Diane if you are interested.

Eid-Milaad-un-Nabi
 
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