Attending A Christmas Celebration With Our Relatives

Abdur-Raheem McCarthy

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Channel: Abdur-Raheem McCarthy

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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.

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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

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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.

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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

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brothers and sisters,

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when it comes to being a new Muslim,

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

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

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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,

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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

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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

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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