WHAT IS THE ISLAMIC LEGAL RULING OF CELEBRATING THE CHRISTMAS AND THE NEW YEAR’S DAY, AND WISHING THE NON-MUSLIMS A MERRY FEAST FOR THESE TWO FEASTS?

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.