First of all, celebrating the Christmas and the New Year’s Day in the same way the Christian brothers do is not permissible from an Islamic legal point of view, because this is considered a religious occasion that glorifies a certain religion that has been abrogated by the religion of Islām. It is not permissible for a Muslim to celebrate any feast that has a religious background other than the Islamic feasts. Allāh the Almighty says: “Say, “O disbelievers, (1) I do not worship what you worship. (2)” [Qurˀān 109: 1-2], and “And whoever is an ally to them among you – then indeed, he is [one] of them.” [Qurˀān 5: 51]. Therefore, celebrating the religious feasts that belong to other sects is considered to be loyalty to disbelief according to the Four Imāms [Mālik, Abū Ḥanīfah, Ash-Shāfiˁiy, and ˀAḥmad ibn Ḥanbal]. Furthermore, Abū Dawūd narrated from Thābit ibn aḍ-Ḍaḥḥāk that he said: “In the time of the Prophet (P.B.U.H) a man took a vow to slaughter a camel at Buwanah. So, he came to the Prophet (P.B.U.H) and said: I have taken a vow to sacrifice a camel at Buwanah. The Prophet (P.B.U.H) asked: Did the place contain any idol worshipped in pre-Islamic times? They (the people) said: No. He asked: Was any pre-Islamic festival observed there? They replied: No. The Prophet (P.B.U.H) said: Fulfil your vow, for a vow to do an act of disobedience to Allah must not be fulfilled, neither must one do something over which a human being has no control.
Second of all, celebrating one’s birthday is recommended as it includes remembering Allāh’s favors on man for creating him, provided that this celebration should not include legally prohibited things like the prohibited male-female intercommunication, undressing, etc.
This view is supported by the Saying of Allāh the Almighty on behalf of our prophet ˀīsā (P.B.U.H): “And peace is on me the day I was born and the day I will die and the day I am raised alive.” [Qurˀān 19: 33], and what is narrated by Imām Muslim in his Ṣaḥīḥ collection of Ḥadīth from Abī Qatādah al-ˀAnṣāriy that the Messenger of Allāh (P.B.U.H) was asked about his fasting on Monday as he said: “This is the day on which I was born and the day on which I was sent (with the Message of Islam) and the day on which I received revelation.”
This alludes to considering one’s birthday as a favor which entails gratitude. Moreover, the previous Ḥadīth allows celebrating the days of favors in general. Thus, the prophet’s birthday, and the day of receiving revelation and the beginning the prophetic mission are two favors that entail gratitude. Showing high spirits is one thing that completes gratitude towards Allāh’s favors, which is understood from the Saying of Allāh the Almighty: “Say, “In the bounty of Allāh and in His mercy – in that let them rejoice; it is better than what they accumulate.”” [Qurˀān 10: 58]
Nevertheless, making someone feel happy during such occasions is a legally recommended act as it has been narrated from Abū Hurayrah that he said: the Messenger of Allāh (P.B.U.H) was asked: which deed is the best? He replied: “Making your brother believer feel happy, paying out his debt, or feeding him bread.”
If the celebration of these certain occasions falls under an Islamic legal origin such as feeling grateful for Allāh’s favors, reporting them, remembering Allāh’s honored days, and entertaining a believer, thus this celebration takes the ruling of the origin, and it becomes no longer a disliked innovation. This is according to the view of the Jurists [Al-Fuqahāˀ] and the Fundamentalists [Al-ˀUṣuliyyūn] and the Muslim nation concerning the concept of innovation in Islām, including the early Muslim scholars and the late Muslim scholars.
Third of all, the Islamic legal ruling of wishing a merry feast for the New Year’s Day: The Muslim scholars have differed around this issue. The majority of them prohibited it because wishing the Christians a merry feast is affirmation and acknowledgement to their feast. We have already mentioned the reasons for the prohibition of celebrating such occasions in the (first of all) section.
Other scholars allowed wishing them a merry feast for the following reasons:
1. It is a type of the allowed kindness as Allāh the Almighty says: “Allāh does not forbid you from those who do not fight you because of religion and do not expel you from your homes – from being righteous toward them and acting justly toward them.” [Qurˀān 60: 8]
2. The religion of Islām has given permission to men to get married to the women of the Book [Torah or Injīl]. So, how does Islām allow the man to marry a woman of the Book and, at the same time, prohibit him to be kind to her?! Furthermore, the scholars said: the man does not have the Islamic legal permission to prevent her wife, who is one of the people of the Book, from going to the church at any time she likes despite the anti-Islamic prohibitions that happen there. Taking the permission of marriage to the women of the book in consideration makes wishing them a merry feast permissible because the latter is less intense in effect.
3. The legality of the Islamic legal maxim namely, reciprocity of treatment which means reciprocating same or similar behaviors that fall under the scope of the legal rulings of Islām. For instance, if a group of people wishes a merry feast to us for our feasts and expresses their warm feelings towards us, we should treat them in the same manner. Otherwise, we should not.
4. The general Islamic ruling understood from the Saying of Allāh the Almighty: “And when you are greeted with a greeting, greet [in return] with one better than it or [at least] return it [in a like manner].” [Qurˀān 4: 86]. The word a greeting (taḥiyyah) is mentioned in the indefinite form which refers to all kinds of greetings, not a specific kind of greeting because this specification needs a proof to act upon it.
5. Sending greetings to others creates a peaceful atmosphere in the community and spreads the spirit of warm feelings as the Messenger of Allāh (P.B.U.H) said: “Spread greetings among yourselves.” Concerning the League of the Virtuous (Ḥilf al-Fuḍūl) that took place in the pre-Islamic times, in which the Messenger of Allāh (P.B.U.H) took part, the Messenger of Allāh (P.B.U.H) said after he was appointed as a messenger: “I have witnessed with my uncles an alliance in the house of ˁAbdullāh ibn Judˁān, for which I wish I had the red camels. If I am invited to it in Islām, I will respond to it in affirmation.” Significantly, he did not say, like those who prohibit wishing a merry feast to non-Muslims: those are disbelievers, and I shall not observe loyalty with them.
Similarly, the Messenger of Allāh (P.B.U.H) declared the Constitution of Madīnah which is considered the first social constitution that secured equal rights to all the citizens of Madīnah. The two parties of that Constitution were the Jews and the disbelievers as one party and the Muslims as the other party.
To conclude, wishing the non-Muslims a merry feast for their feasts is permissible.
Fatwā issuer: Dr. Khālid Naṣr