Just Obey Allah's Rules....

As salaamu alaikum. Indeed, all glory and praise is due to Allah. We
glorify and praise Him and we ask Him for help and forgiveness. In
Allah we seek refuge from the evil of ourselves and from our wrong
doings. He whom Allah guides shall not be misguided, and he whom Allah
misguides shall never be guided.

When we look at humanity, we see that every society has some type of
celebration. These celebrations are festive occasions where the
members of the community come together to rejoice and remember an
important part of their history. Allah says in Surah Al- Hajj, ayah
34: To every people we have appointed rites that they must observe.
When looking at authentic hadith, we find that we have only three
celebrations, Jumu'ah, Eid al-Fitr, and Eid al-Adha.

Islam is so complete that it teaches us how to celebrate these days to
receive the reward of Allah for being faithful servants. The Eid salat
is different than the daily salat, as the Eid salat consists of two
rak'at. The first rak'ah has seven takbirat and the second rak'ah has
five takbirat. In addition, the khutbah follows the salat; whereas,
the Jumu'ah salat has the khutbah followed by two rak'at with one
takbir for each of the rak'ah.

The Eid should be a time of celebrating with family and friends,
giving thanks to Allah for all the blessings He has given and will
give us. However, we must be careful not to celebrate in a manner that
is not pleasing to Allah. Yes, it is a time to be happy but we do not
want to bring the wrath of Allah upon us by indulging in acts of
disobedience, such as the intermingling of men and women, improper
clothing, dancing and listening to music in a haraam manner.

Allah has blessed us with a pure religion and He says: This day, I
have perfected your religion for you, completed My favor upon you, and
have chosen for you Islam as your religion. For some, this
completeness is not enough and they contradict Allah and His Messenger
by getting involved in celebrations that are cultural, secular, and of
other religions. One such celebration that has elements of all three
is Christmas.

Some Muslims claim that Christmas is cultural and secular and does not
go against the teachings of Islam, as it is a time of sharing and
caring for humanity. The concepts of sharing and caring are noble, and
part of Islam. However, these concepts are to be done constantly
throughout the year, not on December 26th, January 6th, or January
7th, the three dates used for Christmas by the various Churches. When
we perform these acts of sharing and caring, they become acts of
worship to Allah, as long as they are done in accordance to Islam.

Some Muslims claim that Christmas is just the celebration of Isa's
birth, and since he is a prophet of Islam, celebrating his birth is
praiseworthy. First of all, December 25th is a known pagan holiday. It
is the celebration of Mithra, the ancient Persian god of light. It is
also the Roman celebration of the winter solstice. However, more
importantly, it is not legislated in Islam. Our blessed Prophet has
commanded us to be different from the Jews and the Christians; be
different from the disbelievers (Bukhari and Muslim). Also, he told
us: Whoever imitates a people is one of them (Ahmad). The words of the
Prophet are enough for me to stay away from any and every Christmas
celebration.

Do not get me wrong, I love Isa. He is held in honor in this life and
the next. But if we truly love him, let us love him as we have been
taught and not dishonor him by disobeying Allah and His Prophet. For
we know Allah says: If anyone contends with the Messenger after the
Guidance has been plainly conveyed to him, and follows a path other
than that of the believers, We shall leave him in the path he has
chosen, and land him in Hell: What an evil abode! (An Nisa 4:115).

We say we love Allah and His Prophet. Let us show our love by obeying
Allah and His Prophet and not give in to outside pressure or our
desires. Let us make our desires be the pleasure of Allah. If I have
said anything incorrect, know it is from Shaytan and me, and I ask
forgiveness. If I have said anything correct, know it is from Allah
and all praise is due to Him. May Allah increase my good deeds through
this article and admit me into Jennah by His Mercy. Allahuma Ameen.