Billie Joe & Adie's awkward Christmas guests.
Title speaks for itself.I guess,doubtlessly,I'm sure everyone regardless of where you are right now,is aware of what the significance of 25th December is right? yes,it's Isaac Newton's birthday! LOL.. kidding,as far as that is true,it is also the day the Christians believe to have been the day their lord Jesus Christ was born.In the Islamic context,Jesus Christ is Prophet Isa Alaihissalam,one of Allah's messengers before Prophet Muhammad SAW whilst the Christians believe that he is the son of God.Christmas is celebrated on the same day each year.Some views also mentioned the fact that Islam and Christianity have a lot in common,except for views on Jesus. However,the differences in belief is NOT what I'm gonna point out in this blog post; Instead,the issue of whether or not it's permissible to wish our Christian friends a merry Christmas.
There has been several clashes in opinion regarding this issue.There have been posts circulating around saying that it's forbidden to even greet your friends,with their arguments supported by the following quote from the holy al-Quran:
"Laakum diinukum waliyadiin.." - surah al-Kafirun,which translates : "Your religion is your own and my religion is my own."
Scholars have agreed that this quote forbids Muslims from being influenced by other religions' practices,but the posts I meant to talk about interprets it as forbidding Muslims to even greet their Christian friends for fear of wrecking our own faith.Then again,is "Merry Christmas" really a declaration of faith the same way the Syahadah is for us Muslims?Varily,according to my Christian friends,it's not.it's only a harmless greeting,like Happy Chinese New Year or Deepavali Valthukel.In fact,even the Christians wished us Selamat Hari Raya or Happy Eid Mubarak,yet I don't see their Christianity being affected in any way at all (they're still Christians),unless of course,they've been interested in Islam all along.In my view,it's quite silly to make tight restrictions without proper logic or base.Didn't our Prophet Muhammad SAW teach us to accept diversity in race and religion? Didn't Allah mention in his Holy books that we must tolerate our differences and live as one in order for the world to prosper?
I speak with evidence from a Quranic verse:
O mankind, We created you from a single pair of a male and a female and made you
into nations and tribes that you may know each other [49:13].
I admit,I am not one who is educated enough to interpret the Holy book,but my faith,and my knowledge is deep enough for me to know that Islam is a religion of tolerance,and by tolerance I mean we must not make our racial and religious differences a barrier that breaks our unity apart.For this,I conclude that I find the argument made by 'those posts' to be invalid.
to my Christian friends,wherever you are,if you're reading this, Merry Christmas and a Happy new year! also,happy Hanukkah to my Jewish friends,and Happy Barmitsvah to the Jehovah's witnesses.
bottomline: to me,a greeting is permissible in Islam,as long as you do not celebrate or join their religious activities.
