Greeting Christians on the occasion of their festivals.Dought clear - ,

What is the ruling on greeting Christians on the occasion of their
festivals by saying Kul sanah wa antum tayyibeen (roughly equivalent
to "many happy returns"), wishingthem well and hoping that they will
be good, i.e., that they will not annoy us with regard to our
religion, and not with the aim of congratulating them on their shirk,
as some shaykhs think?.
Praise be to Allaah.
What is forbidden with regard to congratulatingthe Christians on the
occasion of their festivals is expressing joyto them, being overly
polite and showing approval of their actions, even if that is only
expressed outwardly without feeling it inwardly.
The prohibition concerns those who show any kind of participation or
approval, such as giving gifts, verbal greetings, taking time off
work, making food, going to places of leisure, and other customs of
celebration. Having any intention other than what is said (when
congratulating them) does not make it permissible. The outward
appearance of these actions is sufficientto say that it is prohibited.
It is well known that most of those who take a lenient attitude
towards such matters donot intend to join the Christians in their
shirk; rather what motivates them in some cases is showing politeness,
and in other cases it is shyness, but politeness with regard to
falsehoodis not permissible; ratherwhat is required is to denounce the
evil and strive to change it.
Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyah (may Allah have mercy on him) said in
Majmoo' al-Fataawa (2/488):
It is not permissible for the Muslims to imitate them in any way that
is unique to their festivals, whether it be food, clothes, bathing,
lightingfires or refraining from usual work or worship, and so on. And
it is not permissible to give a feast or to exchange gifts or to sell
things thathelp them to celebrate their festivals, or to let children
and others play the games that are played on their festivals, or to
adorn oneself or put up decorations.
In general, (Muslims) are not allowed to single outthe festivals of
the kuffaar for any of these rituals or customs. Rather the day of
their festivals is just an ordinary day for the Muslims, and they
shouldnot single it out for any activity that is part of what the
kuffaar do on these days.
As for what the Muslims do deliberately, that wasregarded as makrooh
bya number of the earlier and later generations. Asfor singling out
(such days) for the things mentioned above, there is no dispute
concerningthat among the scholars;in fact some of the scholars are of
the view that the one who does these things is a kaafir, because it
involves venerating the symbols of kufr. And some of them said that
the one who slaughters a sheep on the day of their festival, it is as
if he slaughtered a pig.
'Abdullah ibn 'Amr ibn al-'Aas said: The one who follows the tradition
of non-Muslimsand observes their Nawrooz and Mahrajaan(festivals), and
imitates them until he dies like that, will be gathered with them on
the Day of Resurrection.
Ameer al-Mu'mineen 'Umar ibn al-Khattaab, the Sahaabah and all
theimams of the Muslims stipulated that they should not celebrate
their festivals openly in the lands of the Muslims; rather they should
do that privately in their houses.
One of the early generations said concerning the verse in which Allah,
may He be exalted, says (interpretation of the meaning): "And those
who do not witness falsehood" [al-Furqaan 25:72]: (This refers to) the
festivals of the kuffaar; if that has to do with witnessing them, and
not actually doing anything, then how about doing things that are
unique to those festivals? It was narratedfrom the Prophet (blessings
and peace of Allah be upon him) in al-Musnad and as-Sunan that he
said: "Whoever imitates a people is one of them." According to another
version he said: "He is not one of us who imitates others." This is
ajayyid isnaad. If this is the case with regard to imitating them, and
if this has to do with customs, then how about imitating them in
matters that are more serious than that? The majority of imams regard
it as makrooh, either in the sense of it being prohibited or in the
sense of it being discouraged, to eat meatthat they slaughter at the
time of their festivalsand sacrifices, and they include that under the
heading of that which is sacrificed for something other than Allah and
thatwhich has been sacrificed on stone altars(for idols). Similarly
they also forbade helping them in their festivals bygiving gifts or
selling to them, and they said: It is not permissible for the Muslims
to sell to the Christians anything for the purpose of their festivals,
whether that be meat, blood or garments; they should not hire out any
mounts to them or help them with any of their religious affairs,
becausethat comes under the heading of venerating their shirk and
helping them in their kufr. Thosein positions of authority should
forbid the Muslims to do that, because Allah, may He beexalted, says
(interpretation of the meaning): "Help you oneanother in Al-Birr and
At-Taqwa (virtue, righteousness and piety); but do not help one
another in sin and transgression"[al-Maa'idah 5:2]. Moreover, it is
not permissible for the Muslim to help them in drinking alcohol by
pressing the juice and soon, so how about helping in that which is one
of the symbols of kufr?! If it is not permissible for him to help them
himself, then how about if he is the one who is actually doing that?!
End quote.
In several answers on our website we have discussed this matter and
explained the reason for the prohibition.

Ruling on celebrating successes or the return of one who has been away, if that is at the same time as Christmas,Dought clear - ,

Is it permissible to hold celebrations during the Christmas season,
but the intention behind thecelebration does not have anything to do
with Christmas at all; rather it just happens to be around the same
time?.
Praise be to Allaah.
There is nothing wrong with celebrating happy occasions such as
marriage, the birth of a child, the return of one who was away,
passing exams, getting a job andother regular matters, on condition
that that is done at the time it happens and is not repeated, because
if it is repeated it becomes an eid or festival, and it is not
prescribed for us Muslims to celebrate any festival other than Eid
al-Fitr, Eid al-Adha and Jumu'ah. It is not prescribed to celebrate
every year one's birthday or wedding anniversary or graduation from
university and the like.
It does not matter if the permissible celebrations happen at the time
of Christmas, because they have to do with the event which is the
reason for the celebration, and should be done when that event occurs.
Shaykh Ibn 'Uthaymeen (may Allah have mercy on him) was asked about
having parties when completing the Qur'aan or on happy occasions such
as passing exams or returning from a trip. Is this regarded as
extravagance? I hope you can give a detailed answer concerning this.
May Allah reward you with good.
He replied:
There is nothing wrong with having parties when one who has beenaway
returns or when a student passes exams or when someone gets married
and the like, because people do that, not with the intention
ofworship, and it never occurs to them that they are doing this in
order to draw close to Allah. Rather they do that to express joy and
happiness for the blessings that Allah has bestowed upon them of
achieving what they wanted. There is nothing wrong with these parties;
rather what there is concern about is that people maybe extravagant in
these parties, either by preparing too much food which is often more
than is necessary; or by inviting too many people, so they invite
hundreds of people to that celebration. Otherwise the basic principle
is that there is nothing wrong with celebrating happy occasions, but
that is notdone as an act of worship or seeking to draw close to
Allah, rather they are done to express joy and happiness. And Allah
knows best.
End quote from Fataawa Noor 'ala al-Darb.
It says in his Majmoo' Fataawa (9/376): The ruling on celebrating
children's birthdays:
It should be noted that everything that is taken as an "eid" and
repeatedevery week or every year, and is not prescribed in Islam, is
aninnovation (bid'ah). The evidence for that is that the Lawgiver
prescribed the 'aqeeqah for the newborn, and did not prescribe
anything after that. Taking these "eids" that are repeated every week
or every year means that they are likening them to Islamic festivals.
This is haraam and it is not permissible. There are no festivals in
Islam apart from the three prescribed festivals: Eid al-Fitr, Eid
al-Adha and the weekly "eid", which is Friday (Jumu'ah).
This does not come under the heading of customs and traditions,
because it is repeated. Hence when the Prophet(blessings and peace of
Allah be upon him) cameto Madeenah and found that the Ansaar had two
festivals which they usedto celebrate, he said: "Allah has given you
something better than them instead of them: Eid al-Adha and Eid
al-Fitr", even though these were part of their customs.

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And Allah Knows the Best!

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Published by :->
M NajimudeeN Bsc- INDIA

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Files of your life

In that place between wakefulness and dreams, I found myself in a
room. There were no distinguishing features save for the onewall
covered with small indexcard files. They were like the ones in
libraries that list titles byauthor or subject in alphabetical order.
But these files, which stretched from floor to ceiling and seemingly
endlessly in either direction, had very different headings. As I drew
near the wall of files, the first to catch myattention was one that
read "People I Have Liked". I opened it and began flipping through the
cards. I quickly shut it, shocked to realize that I recognized the
names written on each one.
And then without being told, I knew exactly where I was.
This lifeless room with its small files was a crudecatalog system for
my life. Here were written the actions of my every moment, big and
small, in a detail my memory couldn't match. A sense of wonder and
curiosity,coupled with horror, stirred within me as I began randomly
opening files and exploring their content. Some brought joy and sweet
memories; others a sense of shame and regret so intense that I would
look over my shoulder to see if anyone was watching.
A file named "Friends" was next to one marked"Friends I Have
Betrayed". The titles ranged from the mundane to the outrightweird.
"Books I Have Read", "Lies I Have Told","Comfort I Have Given","Jokes
I Have Laughed At". Some were almost hilarious in their exactness:
"Things I've Yelled at My Brothers." Others I couldn't laugh at:
"Things I Have Done in My Anger", "Things I Have Muttered Under My
Breath at My Parents". I never ceased to be surprised by the contents.
Often there were many more cards than I expected. Sometimes fewer than
I hoped.
I was overwhelmed by the sheer volume of the life I had lived. Could
it be possible that I had the time in my 30 years to write each of
these thousands or even millions of cards? But each card confirmed
thistruth. Each was written in my own handwriting. Each signed with my
signature.
When I pulled out the file marked "Songs I Have Listened To", I
realized the files grew tocontain their contents. The cards were
packed tightly, and yet after twoor three yards, I hadn't found the
end of the file.I shut it, shamed, not so much by the quality of
music, but more by the vast amount of time I knew that file
represented.
When I came to a file marked "Lustful Thoughts", I felt a chill run
through my body. I pulled the file out only an inch, not willing to
test its size, and drew out a card. I shuddered at its detailed
content. I felt sick to think that such a moment had been recorded.
An almost animal rage broke on me. One thought dominated my mind: "No
one must eversee these cards! No one must ever see this room! I have
to destroy them!" In an insane frenzy I yanked the file out. Its size
didn't matter now. I had to empty it and burnthe cards. But as I took
itat one end and began pounding it on the floor,I could not dislodge a
single card. I became desperate and pulled out a card, only to find
itas strong as steel when I tried to tear it. Defeated and utterly
helpless, I returned the file to its slot. Leaning my forehead against
the wall, I let out a long, self-pitying sigh.
And then I saw it.
The title bore "People that I Have Taught AboutAllah". The handle was
brighter than those around it, newer, almostunused. I pulled on its
handle and a small box not more than three inches long fell into my
hands. I could count the cards it contained on one hand.
And then the tears came.I began to weep. Sobs sodeep that the hurt
started in my stomach and shook through me. Ifell on my knees and
cried. I cried out of shame, from the overwhelming shame of it all.
The rows of file shelves swirled in my tear-filled eyes. No one must
ever, ever know of this room.
I must lock it up and hide the key.

Islamic Stories - , Standing firm in salat after being hit by arrows

Four years after the Hijrah [emigration of thefollowers of Islam from
Makkah to Medinah], in the city of Medinah, the Muslims were still in
danger due to the Jewish tribe, the Banu an-Nadir, who broke their
contract with the Prophet Muhammad [PBUH=May Allah bless him and grant
him peace].
Then the community received news that sometribes from the desert of
Najd were about to attack. So, the Prophet of Islam [PBUH] raised over
four hundred Muslims in order to prevent them from attacking.
Arriving at Najd, they found that only women were present in the
houses; the men had taken refuge in the hills.
Some of the Nadj tribes regrouped and preparedthemselves for the
fight. The time of 'Asr [the afternoon prayer] came, and the Muslims
divided in two, as it was revealed, and each group prayed after the
other. The ennemy, seeing the discipline among Muslims felt uneasiness
and fear. They did not attack. So, the Muslims went back to Medinah.
The Prophet of Allah [PBUH] asked:
"Who will be our guard tonight?" Two men immediatly rose: Abbad ibn
Bishr and Ammar ibnYasir. Abbad saw that Ammar was tired and asked
him: "What part ofthe night do you wish tosleep, the first or the
second?" "The first part,"said Ammar.
The night was serene. Everything seemed peaceful. Abbad decidedto
spend the night in Ibadah [acts of worship] while his companion was
asleep, and began reciting the Qur'an. Abbad soon stood and faced the
Qiblah in orderto perform Salaat [voluntary prayer]. He began reciting
Surah al-Kahf of one hundred and ten verses which explains the virtues
of faith, truth and patience and the passing of time.
While he was absorbed in recitation and in thought, an ennemy came
from the mountains of Najd and saw him vulnerable. The man drew his
bow and thew an arrow towards Abbad. Calmly, Abbad pulled the arrow
out and continued his meditation. The ennemy shot a second, then a
third arrow. Abbad pulled them out one by one, and finished his
recitation. Weak and in pain, at last, he stretchedout his right hand
during his prostration and awoke his companion Ammar."Glory be to
Allah! Why didn't you wake me up when the first arrow reached you?"
"Reciting the verses of the Qur'an filled me with such wonders that I
felt repugnance to cut it short. I would have preferred death rather
than stopping right in the middle of it." Abbad did not die this day;
he died as a shahid [a martyr], at the battle of Yamamah. He fought so
vehemently that his wounds made him almost not recognizable.He was a
true believer.

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And Allah Knows the Best!

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Published by :->
M NajimudeeN Bsc- INDIA

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