Abdur-Raheem McCarthy – Attending A Christmas Celebration With Our Relatives

			Then what about a question that comes in so we have just maybe two more questions, and then we'll
wrap up in Charlottetown of this lecture.
		

			Um, can we attend a Christmas celebration with our relatives in order just to greet them? You know
this question comes time and time again and from revert Muslims from people maybe that some of the
relatives or non Muslims can we just be there just to take part in the family time not the actual
celebration? First of all, we need to realize why they're gathered. It's not because it's the
holidays it's not because it's just
		

			in it's not because it's the holidays people just come in it's family time. The origin of this is
because it's Christmas this is what you have to understand. You always have to go back no matter
what the intention is now while people why people do it now. We can't forget the origin that's very
very important. Check in with a mean was asked for him Hello Tiana. He said that the question said
about a woman who she said I want to become Muslim.
		

			But my family gathering to celebrate Christmas and but I want to I want to gather with my family to
celebrate Christmas. And I want just to greet them to go and greet them with the intention of not of
celebrating or joining in but simply to take the advantage of the opportunity to be with my
relatives when they get together. Is this allowed? The sheikh replied clearly Rahim Allah Tala. No,
it is not permitted. If Allah blesses her with Islam, then her first thing she must do is to
distance herself from the former religion and its festivals, distance herself from the former
religion and its festivals. And I want to remind ourselves of a very important principle, my dear
		

			brothers and sisters,
		

			when it comes to being a new Muslim,
		

			or being a new practicing Muslim, somebody who came back to Islam, who was born Muslim,
		

			the Sahaba of the Allahu anhu, how many of them were born in Islam.
		

			And how many of them were reverts, the majority of the Sahaba were reverts themselves, meaning they
accepted Islam and their family were practicing the pagan celebrations. And the same thing that we
find it so difficult for ourselves to go through, they went through it, and they are the role model
in the example for us. But yet the Sahaba of the Allahu Anhu didn't take part in these celebrations.
In fact, they did what the chef was saying here, they distanced themselves from their former
religion and their festivals because now all of the ties have been cut off with La ilaha illAllah
Muhammad Rasul Allah, this is what is important for us, this is the original for us, is the most
		

			important thing for us is to implement our religion. And like I said, we can be polite, but when it
comes to celebrations from other religions, we're not taking part in it, because this is what we
believe in as a Muslim. And most valuable and most important thing to us is our Islam. Therefore,
that's what we're going to celebrate when it comes to our ease. But other things we're not going to
celebrate. That's what you do. That's your custom. There's nothing we can do to stop you about that.
But we are not going to take part of it. And we don't mean any disrespect. Obviously, I know as a
revert myself, and you know, having to deal with it with reverse all the time. I know this different
		

			families are different, some are more challenging, some is more difficult. Some can be very hostile,
but that doesn't matter. What's good. What we need to do is focus on pleasing Allah subhanaw taala,
you might face some difficulties, you might face some challenges. You say, you know, look, I said, I
love you, mom, but I'm not celebrating Christmas is what I do. Oh, they brainwashed you Oh, you're a
terrorist. Oh, they started attacking a religion. Maybe this year, she says that. Maybe next year,
but three years down the line four years down down the line. She accepts it because at the end your
her son is somebody who's good to her, you obedient to her. She sees that as Islam has actually made
		

			you better at how you treat her. So then it becomes the fact you don't celebrate not that much of a
big deal. And in the end, our main concern like the Sahaba is that Allah is pleased with us, not the
people. And we have the story of Sodom Abu Acosta Radi Allahu Allah as the role model as the as the
example story for us. When his mother, she went on a hunger strike. And he loved his mother very
much. And she said that you're going to be known to be out of it's very important, what they're
known as an eight out of they care what people said about them back in the days, right. So here, she
said, you're going to be known as the killer of his mother called to me, the one who killed his
		

			mother because she said, I'm not going to eat I'm not going to drink into what until you leave your
religion. Till you denounce Islam and you come back to the religion of your forefathers. She went
about three days no food, no drink. She was old anyway. She got very fragile and very weak and she
was about to die. So sad little the Allahu and he said something to her. That's an example for all
of us. And so your multi dimensional Tana,
		

			he told he told her that he loved her and he cared for him. He said if you were to have in your
body, my mother 100 souls, not one soul 100 souls, and they were to come
		

			out in front of me, one after the other meaning you were to die not one time in front of me, but 100
times in front of me, for me to leave my religion, I wouldn't believe I wouldn't leave it. If you
were to die 100 times in front of me for me to leave my religion, I would leave it. So here's the
food, here's the water, it's up to you what you want to do, and at the end, she ate and she drank
and hunting and things were fine after that. This is the stance we need to have as Muslims. We need
to be proud of our religion and know that our religion is more important anything if you want to cut
me off because I'm not going to celebrate Christmas Bismillah hamdulillah that's what you have to
		

			do, but this is what I believe. And hamdulillah Allah makes ways out for us when we fear Allah
subhanho wa Taala and like we said the same time but we're polite. We're nice to our relatives
inshallah. We'll find a way out for us, inshallah. Tada