Perspective on Holiday Season

Waleed Basyouni

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In Alhamdulillah, Hamad who want to stay in who want to study who want to start Pharaoh 102 Billahi min Cerulean Pacino min Satya Medina Maja de la ilaha illallah wa

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sallahu wa shadow Allah Allah in La la la sharika wa shawanna Mohammed Abu rasuluh Allahumma salli ala Muhammad wa ala Muhammad. Kamal salata Ibrahim Ibrahim A inika hamidah Majeed Eva de la. opera is due to align His praise and blessings and peace be upon prophet muhammad sallallahu alayhi wa sallam, his family, his companions and all of his followers until the day of judgment. I bear witness that Allah is the only one worthy of worship and Muhammad Sallallahu Sallam his last and final messenger.

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My dear brothers and sisters, these days are holiday days where people take off having a good amount of time in their hand most of the people and children and kids out of the school and not only kids, even adults, you know, and I see some of the college students are ready with us in this hot bath. Which makes me happy to see them and makes me happy to feel that people have kind of break in their life. Also a lot of good discounts. People go to the mall people go for shopping. In general the environment since we're living in a in a Christian country, dominating it by Christian faith. You'll see it's a it's a it's like the same amount of joy and happiness that you see in a Muslim country

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when you are in the time of read. People happy celebrating and so forth. I'm saying this because it's important to realize this which is obvious, but when you know that your children, your family, everybody around you see everybody's happy and celebrating mood. It will be so important for us with your children in your family, not to be in turn off mood. And to be always not in a grumpy mood. You always make sure that this is also days where the field the connected to the family, to the Father to the mother a time where they can spend time together. I don't want for a second for a second that anyone ever will think you know what I wish i'm not i wish i hobby this I have that you still can

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spend a good time with your family during these days as the days where we can come together. I always believe since I moved to America, we have a we're blessed community that we will celebrate our ends and we get off and other Institue and other people's or other faith communities get advantage of it as well.

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There is no harm at all for taking advantage of the you know of the chance that you have if you want to go shopping you want to go get advantage of the all what's going on these days. And Lima Malika rahima Hello to Ana once was asked about the Christians celeb celebrations and AIDS holidays so you know American Idol can eyes that he said that Muslim will go to their celebrations and where they gather. So they will purchase or sell clothes, food, goods and items taking care of that you taking advantage of that social interaction. And he said Would that be fine that Eman Malik Rahim Allah said it is fine as long as they don't enter their churches any they don't go celebrate with them in

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a religious form. Also mohana ohana bin Yahya, one of the students of Lima Mohammed Rahim Allah, he said in a sham or his from from Syria, he said in the na totalboat where they are you will ashba who yeah definitely will be hidden dasara he told him about certain solid holidays and celebrations that the Christian in Sham celebrate and he said they bring like animals and bring food and things people celebrate and having fun and the market that became like a big big days. And he said Would it be okay for the Muslim to participate? Go eat and basically eat in these markets and and bring goods and purchase good. He said as long as they don't enter the churches. It is okay.

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These holidays are mainly we have to sit with the Christmas then you have the new year. And from a pure Islamic perspective, we differentiate between the Christmas and the New Year in certain areas and they are similar and other areas where the main issue for making a distinguish between the Christmas the Christmas and the new year. And keep that in mind that Christmas is that a religious holiday? is a religious holiday related to Christmas.

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belief.

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And there is no doubt that it is a religious holiday. Even though some scholars today and some student of knowledge today, try to reframe that holiday or this occasion, by saying it's became a culture more than just a religious celebration. And I agree it is part of the culture. But cultures are made of multiple things, how cultures developed, any culture, how it's developed, it's developed from many different items and elements that would make the culture. So no doubt that the Western culture today, part of what contribute to making it is that a logistic believer the faith that Western people in the West believe in and dominated by Christianity, and no doubt that this whole

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concept of Christmas, it is about Jesus, the birth of Jesus.

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That's why it is actually the word Christmas, if you look at the root of that word, where the broad word Christmas came from, it's the Christ mass. And after that these two words, basically joined together to make a new word, which is Christmas.

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And you might ask, why Christmas in the 25th of December, if it's a religious, if it's about the day of Jesus's birth, or the birth of Jesus, the birthday of Jesus, we know that he was not born on the 25th of December.

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Most of Christians theology and we'll agree on that will tell you, yes, no Christian theology or most of the theology and will agree that Jesus wasn't born in the 25th of December. Why, because as we have in the Quran, they have also in the Bible, the story of Mary when she delivered Jesus, that she basically needed a date. So the date was

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ready to be collected, and the date will never be ready during December. It has to be in the summer. And that story, it is exists in the Bible, and it's exist in the Quran. So the No, it never wasn't in the winter season. It must be was in the summer. That's why a lot of Christian believe he was born in July. Also, you'll see some other theology and believe that

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Christmas should have been in March. And in Egypt, for example, until today, they don't celebrate it in 25th.

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of December, orthodox in general celebrate Christmas and January 7. But the reason for this theology to make Christmas on the 25th it is because the want, if, if I can say that Kristen, is a Roman festival, that known at that time in the 25th of December, that it is was the celebrated by the Roman Emperor, and the Roman culture that time it called the festival off the God of the sun. And the say that because the sun in the winter come to bring war, many you can imagine all this Roman believes in these many different gods. So at that time, there were christianizing, the Romans and transferring them to Christianity. So in order for them to appeal to them, they said, since this is

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the biggest God that the Romans recognize, because it's the sun, we have the Son of God. So the four somehow these decide to make that as a Christian celebration as well, so they can get the Romans to celebrate it as well, through centuries and hundreds of years, it became part of the tradition. So what is our position from it as Muslim and you see clearly it is has a religious roots and it it is basic by though what I just said it's one of the theories about why they celebrate Christmas in the 25th of December, and one of the

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only the most respected theory I come across.

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So why what our position is Muslim from Christmas. Number one, we don't recognize Christmas as a religious celebrations or holiday for us Absolutely not. Because of that religious roots that related to the Christmas as recognize Jesus as Son of God, and he born to free the humanity from the sense that they inherently carried on this. This belief is something that we don't believe in it as Muslims.

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So that's number one. Number two, we do not

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oppose our view of not celebrating Christmas over Christians. So one of the things that you hear these days in the media, oh, Muslim offended by seeing Christmas or I get offended of some side hobby, Christmas or hobby, or hobby that I never just like I get offended if I hear or I see

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Someone have a Christmas celebrations, or have a Christmas tree in their stores, or their shops as they get offended as Muslim. And that's something very weird. I don't know where they got that, from that we get offended by that. I don't get offended by seeing a Christian celebrating his own religion. That doesn't doesn't offend me. It's like seeing anyone practicing whatever religion that they have, I get offended if I don't get offended if I see Christians have his own cross or carrying his own cross every day, I don't get offended if I see a Jew who wears the harmonica or though the hat I don't get offended by that, claiming that the Muslims get offended by that. And now we have to

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change the culture to do holiday instead of Christmas. You know, what if you want to do that for a secular reason, and I think the one who pushing this agenda or not the Muslim, it is the far left liberal and the country who want to strip any religious identity from the society. And that's basically the whole entire discussion. I think putting the Muslims in the middle is not a true is not the right way, is not a fair way of portraying the discussion. And you can imagine just throwing Muslim in the middle. It is for a very cheap political game. So you can make every Christians feel offended by every Muslim exists in the world. Exactly. similar to this. What do we have today in the

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country, one of the biggest discussion in the country we have is what about guns, about the rules controlling guns, when it was looking into one of the

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Christians, right wing Christians, universities called freedom in Virginia,

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established by a very racist, right wing, even though he's very famous, Jerry Falwell, and his son, leading the university today, he was talking about how the country should arm themselves and have license and all this kind of, and this is Obama is wanting to strip us from our rights, our constitutional right of having guns, all this good discussion, then all of the sudden, so the hobbies, he threw the Muslims in the middle under the bus, he said, so when Muslim come to your gathering with an arm, you can have your gun to defend yourself. That's a very nasty way of putting it. Because this year, we have over 300 300 urban shooting in America.

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Two of them only done by circle Muslims,

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two or three,

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while the rest of them are done by your own people, or mostly by your own people, the last person who's speaking, so to put the Muslim in the middle of what he call, choosing the circumstances just to make Muslim hate and by the public, and to make them always look negative. So anyway, so I just want to make sure that this also it is something clear.

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As for us as well, we cannot be taking part of any celebrations has to do with the Christmas.

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It has a religious nature, because Allah Subhana Allah said clearly in the Quran, why am I an amine and mushrikeen? I am not among them, we should again, I don't do like them. I don't act like them and don't celebrate like them. I'm different. So I don't pray to other than a law. I don't recognize any other anyone other than last month, Allah as a God is the only God that we believe in and we will pray for the What about the social interactions, not the religious interactions with a Muslim? What is the limit for Muslim to deal and Christmas when it comes to social interactions, and social interactions? I will put it in two areas number one, greeting. And this a lot of people ask these

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days about the issue of greeting and this common way of greeting it. It's not a new issue. It's an issue that in America, Mahalo to Ana, debated over it. And I wanted to know that that is two opinions among the scholars in regard to the issue of greeting non Muslims and their holidays. Number one, there are before even this disk before the difference of opinion, I want to make establish one point that everybody agree upon, which is if you agreed them and Christmas in a form or awards that shows that you believe in the concept that Jesus Son of God, that's absolutely forbidden. on everybody agree on that. You know, in the old days, they give examples, I couldn't see

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it fit in modern days. Like in the old days, you see the talk about like you tell them May God bless some preserve your religion, may or your religion be victorious or May this he said these kinds of statements are absolutely not for not allowed. So in his statement that shows that you're pleased happy of the COVID or the schoodic that they do it

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It is absolutely forbidden. I couldn't think of anything that we do today as social interaction, if any way when you agreed or you congratulate a Christian persons for their religion, it indicates that you know what I really like the idea that Jesus Son of God, and that words mean, hey, you doing good? You're fine. I couldn't think of anything by just saying happy holiday or Happy Christmas or anything, it doesn't really necessarily means that.

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But still,

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if you said a word in general, some economists said even if your statement, not necessarily clearly saying clearly saying that you support this action, which is you don't agree with from theological point of view, just the greeting in itself give a form of comfort that you confirm what you'd be doing.

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It's when you say Happy days or hobby, a hobby Christmas or something like that, in the sentence Exactly. Like someone telling you I'm going to Vegas and you know, you know what happened in Vegas. So, I mean, not everything happened bad in Vegas, but let's say just as it is the reputation that Vegas has, so let's say someone's telling you, I'm going for gambling, I'm going for this then you tell him Hey, Happy Happy trip and happy time. You nobody's going to drink he's going to forget to go to gamble are going to do all this thing. Then you Tell him I'll be holiday or hobby trip. You know, have a safe trip, have a good trip, have a good time. They said that's exactly like that. So

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when you say Happy holiday and you are saying happy to the action that they do, which is recognize Jesus as the Son of God worshipping Jesus. And that's what he said. It's not all to say. That's the perspective that led many scholars said you cannot read any people who make her religious and religious celebrations with any type of greedy. Other group of scholars said no hold on you taking it too far. Celebrating or saying happy holiday or Happy Christmas or things love that nation to someone who is Christians. You don't really say that because in your mind and your intention to connect the two together. It's like telling them it's off days, you're going to be having time with

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your family. I just wish you to have a good time with your family. I wish time during these two days. I just simply wishing you to have a good and happy time. Has nothing to do with belief has nothing to do with supporting whatever ideas or believe that they have. And they said Allah subhanaw taala said in the Quran, Lionheart kumala anila Deena lemon hokum Allahu Allah Lydian LMU partido COVID-19, credo community article unterberger oho matsudo la in the law of Moses in that our last caller said, Allah does not forbade you from those who do not fight you because of religion and do not expel you from your home from being righteous, good towards them, and acting justly toward them.

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The Saudi said to be nice and good and righteous toward them, to recognize their special days and to say, I wish you a good time, I wish you a happy time, and so forth.

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And they said it's also just unfair because of the greed you endured holiday you greet them their holiday so and when someone greet you with something you greet them better, and return. It's very ironic, if you I don't know if you ever paid attention to this verse. Listen carefully. Maybe some of you never pay paid attention to this point. Lyon how como la de la Vina. This very stark by negation, a lot does not forbade you from those. One might say, what's the difference between saying Allah does not forbid you from doing this? And Allah ordering you to do this and that?

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There is this question a lot didn't say in the verse Hey, Allah ordered you to do to be this and the city does not forbade you from being this and that to them, which is being good and being just why they sent because the natural state, common sense that you should the default roles, that you should be nice and good and fair and nice to everybody.

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And maybe because of their religion, you might think is there is any question here Allah saying no, because these good manners should be with everybody doesn't matter what their religion is, as long as they are people who are friends and people who share with you the life with no aggressions. So this is just an idea of how the other model human law debated over that Allah, Allah order us to say nice things to people in general to make them feel good. You know, it's ironic that in Egypt rapa avenham it which is a companions was walking in one of the streets of Egypt, and he found that a Christian guy interacted with him and he told that Christian person, he told him up Allah hieratic,

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waka Malik, whoa la de Malaga.

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Your Long live mela give you a lot of wealth May Allah subhanaw taala give you a lot of children do you think that companion he said this to the Christian person? He was connecting the two together? May Allah give you a long life so you can make more shirts so you can make Do you think he was thinking that way? Now he just was asking him to have a good time a good life. Same thing a good vacation good holiday, the same concept. You know when even Ambassador the law and it's an amazing they've been a bus and also reported by Buhari for generations, I've been an ambassador they allow answered locata leaf round barakallahu fig, La Jolla horriffic Allahu Akbar, Allahu baddeck it if I

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told him he may Allah bless you, I will tell him Allah bless you do.

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That's what I've been ambassador. So to take that and to push it too far to the extent that would lead a lot of scholars especially in the modern days, don't agree to save for to forbade any form of greeting when it comes to holiday. I think it won't be one of the safest way to say it is distinguish somebody happy holiday, taking consideration that the concept of at the handy greeting people is absolutely going back to the to the customer has nothing It is what's the opposite. In order for you to say this type of greeting is how long in this Okay, just hold on, you need a proof. And I think that what the other group really failed to produce a specific proof to forbade that

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because every other proof is not very explicit, that the use and by the way, there is no consensus. A lot of people quote what am said, I'm saying this because I know you read maybe come across this, and a lot of people listen to this talk, but as well, a lot of people usually have no pay him said there is agreement between the scholars that going and greeting the Christian in their holidays, and celebrating Christmas with them is worse than eating pork worse than drinking alcohol worse than fornication worse than this and that, you know what if no, Khayyam was talking about someone who will say and greet them to recognize that their religion is correct. their belief in Jesus is

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correct. Because that's a data issue is not is worse than LD sins that you mentioned. But not the case that we're dealing here with in America May Allah Spanish Allah subhanahu COVID de

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la

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hamdu Lillah wa salatu salam, Ala Moana Ba Ba Ba,

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the other form of social interaction is Christmas parties and celebrations. It that means going to the churches and being in the masses. And the prayer absolutely is not allowed for us. If it's a family gathering, you have family members who are not Muslims, or non Muslims, and they invite you for it. I think that's allowed and permissible for you to go as long as you don't participate in anything considering our religion has done. The same thing with

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husband and wife, your wife if she is a Christian, and remember, the hammer law said you're not allowed to prevent her from celebrating the Christmas having her own even tree or or whatever practice that she does, it is not up to you to prevent them. And if this is the case, this applies to your employees as well. If you have a company, you have a business and one of them want to have their own celebrations or whatever they do, you give them that right because it is

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they are they have their freedom and their religion and one of the meaning of there shall be no compulsion in religion is to forbid them from practicing it as well.

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In the end, my brother and sisters asked for the celebrating the New Year. Celebrating the new year is not a religious matter, but it makes sure that you don't participate in anything haram or to regulate it in a way that it is not from the way of 100 Islam like you know closing the light and you know dancing and kissing and making wishes and all these things that is not part of the etiquettes of Islam wasting money is not directly related to us as a community but when you hear country spend millions and millions and millions and billions of sometimes if you add them together on celebrating it by fireworks Why do we have our brothers and sisters all over the world could not

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find a place to sleep or to cover their naked body with it became very sad reality today

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and then don't want to say take advantage of the time spend the quality time with your children talk to them about what Christmas what's the eight is what's up need as how was our religion Allah save it for us. No changes happen to take advantage of participating in conferences either locally we have Texas documentation conference coming in December Christmas or outside travel to another state to attend one of the conferences spend time with your family will be my first priority in this

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holidays. My last panel data and final Jacobi Luminato when the Geneva Yakuza do and after our jacobina genome and cofina one a man you know and Gemma at home hope you know not only Bella kena la vida de na lamalfa la vida de de la mer for the last 18 a lot more for the Muslim and non Muslim as well meaning or may not even know what am What are bannerghatta Delphia una Villa Linda de la mano Robin attina for dunya Hassan, Hassan Okinawa but not a la mirada dynafit Natalie I mean when I met Tom in Calgary cavalry and well salam wa sallim ala Nabina, Muhammad Rama Satyam como la

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