MUSLIM AT A CHRISTMAS PARTY
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It's okay Invalid no harm here. No hostility, we are brothers handshake
I don't mind being corrected either if I am wrong. There is actually a person who always looks out for me when I get irritable in this forum, I hope she won't stop looking after me ;DFrom my experience I have never celebrated Eid.
But I see your point, if I go as far as not celebrating Eid, entering a sectarian Mosque I have no business contemplating celebrating a pagan holiday with my family.I also do not utter dead man names in my salat unless a I am reciting from the Quran.
Which actually brings out an interesting point.
Why judge sectarians on the basis they utter the prophets' names, while if you were reciting surahs from the Quran during salat you will eventually do the same?I think although there is a difference between what sectarians say in their prayer and what Christains say.
Christians are imploring Isa for blessings, protection, thanking him etcetera.
While Muslims are mentioning Muhammad's name, they revere him as their messenger perhaps a bit too much and are by so doing idolizing. Still it is not a direct worship as Christians.
God gave anyone authority to any people to worship or idolize any one but Himself.We have to remember there is only one universal deen al Islam Adam, Nuh, Ibrahim, Ishmael, Isaac, Yaqub, Yusef, Musa, Harun, The prophets, Isa, Muhammad and all their followers and believrs through out time hav been adherent to this same deen Al Islam. They were all muslimina in the literal sense.
This same deen never advocates parroting dead people's names.
Depending on what you are implying by parroting and whether it is in the context of prayer and etcetera.Peace
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Assalamu Alaikum, brother!
I'm new here, but would like to chime in if it isn't considered intrusive.
Allah (swt) guides whom He wills. It sounds like He has already given you the clarity you need on this matter. It sounds like the situation is making you uncomfortable. I would go ahead and consider that guidance from my Creator.
Now, me personally - I celebrate Christmas. Then again, to ME, it has nothing to do with the birth of Jesus (pbuh). It is about presents, eating too much, not going to work, and acting like my relatives don't annoy me LOL.
I do not consider Christmas a Christian holiday, I consider it an AMERICAN holiday and I am an American so..... I celebrate it. However, if it made me feel the way it seems to be making YOU feel, I would not.
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Peace All.
The questions I would personally ask are
1-Am i breaking any of GOD S commandments? ( The ones that are clear as of now)
2- Am I uncomfortable/not my thing... i.e not honest with myself/compromising for the sake of pleasing others?
3- Is there anything wrong being with other people( family friends) and sharing a meal and chatting /getting together /enjoying each other company/playing few games/etc?
Weigh up the situation and if everyone around you are clear about your position and you are comfortable socialising without compromising your deen/beliefs/...,then what is wrong with it?
Of course ,with family,one has to balance the relationship right and keep the love going as long as they are not hindering you from your beleifs.. It may also be an opportunity for you to "preach" to your nearest and dearest ?
My opinion only
GOD bless.
Peace. -
From my experience I have never celebrated Eid.
But I see your point, if I go as far as not celebrating Eid, entering a sectarian Mosque I have no business contemplating celebrating a pagan holiday with my family.I was raised in a Muslim household and have been celebrating Eid with them since I was born. The first thing I heard when I was born was Muhammad and Allah. My father chanted the Azaan into my right ear. "The younger you get them, the better" as they say. Brainwashing is most effective the younger the child is but that didn't work on me.
Which actually brings out an interesting point.
Why judge sectarians on the basis they utter the prophets' names, while if you were reciting surahs from the Quran during salat you will eventually do the same?You asked a very good question. A question many so called Quranists are too afraid of contemplating.
If salat is to Allah alone and nobody but Allah can be mentioned during salat, it makes no sense to chant the names and stories of dead people right? Clearly Quran cannot be used for salat because salat is between you and your Creator. A direct connection. There are no intermediaries. No sticks, stones, angels or humans. Just you and your Creator. It's a unique and special moment.Using Quran while performing physical movements is quite silly. You're meant to read Quran. It is a piece of knowledge from the Source of Knowledge. Like receiving a text message with important instructions and you then turn the message into a song. How stupid does that sound? You're meant to read it, ponder and reflect on the message, not sing it while performing robotic physical movements .
I think although there is a difference between what sectarians say in their prayer and what Christains say.
Christians are imploring Isa for blessings, protection, thanking him etcetera.
While Muslims are mentioning Muhammad's name, they revere him as their messenger perhaps a bit too much and are by so doing idolizing. Still it is not a direct worship as Christians.
God gave anyone authority to any people to worship or idolize any one but Himself.Idol worship is relative to the person. Christians do not consider themselves idol worshipers and neither do Muslims. They both have their own definition of idol worship. Because these two religions are in direct competition, their idea of idol worship is aimed at each other. Islam's idea of idol worship directly condemns Christianity but don't consider their own idol worship actual idol worship. Sugar-coated polytheism is the best way to describe Islam. An extremely deceptive but simple method of making its followers commit idol worship while being completely unaware of it whereas the idol worship in Christianity is much more obvious.
This is what the inventors of Islam(Bukhari &Co) had in mind. They learnt from the mistakes Christianity, Judaism and Zoroastrianism made in deceiving their followers. They added these religions together, hijacked Quran and there was the religion of Islam. It became so successful it lead 1.7+ billion poor souls into mental bondage.
The very Quran this religion hijacked says otherwise.
" you cannot guide whomever you love, but The GOD guides whomever He wants and knows best those who seek guidance." (2856)
"And if you obey most of those in the earth, they will lead you astray from The GOD's way; they follow but conjecture and they only lie."(6116)Islam is clearly not a minority. It is the second largest religion in the world after Christianity. It has over 1.7 billion followers and counting.
We have to remember there is only one universal deen al Islam Adam, Nuh, Ibrahim, Ishmael, Isaac, Yaqub, Yusef, Musa, Harun, The prophets, Isa, Muhammad and all their followers and believrs through out time hav been adherent to this same deen Al Islam. They were all muslimina in the literal sense.
The decreed system of the Creator is universal. It has no revisions or expiry dates. Throughout human history, the same message was given to these human messengers. Quran is not the last message. It is the same message sent over and over again.
This same deen never advocates parroting dead people's names.
Depending on what you are implying by parroting and whether it is in the context of prayer and etcetera.The decreed system of the Creator is not about idolizing humans or bowing and prostrating to a stone cube, a human creation. Only religion advocates such materialistic and pagan behaviour.
Peace
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I believe you should do what you wish to. I don't think it is against the Quran to participate in christmas parties, because Christmas is a mainly cultural celebration, untied and disembodied from it's religious roots, despite what the Catholics would have you think. The Quran makes no prohibition against one's particular culture, and in fact encourages multiculturalism (4913).
As long as you're not going against the principles of God during such events (such as partaking in the drinking of alcohol), I see no problems with it. It is only a sign that you belong to that particular society. After all, you wouldn't split from a society that has disbelievers in it, would you?
But then again, that is only my opinion. God knows best.
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Is it appropriate for a Muslim to be at a Christmas party?
I ask this same question to myself every holiday, as my family prepares to celebrate "Jesus birthday"
They always tempt to join them, by saying that no one is celebrating Jesus and that it is just a time the family chooses to get together.
I reply that they could pick a different date.
I have made it very clear to my relatives that I am a Muslim and I simply do not celebrate Christmas?
They sing Christmas songs which idolize Saint Nick, Jesus and reindeers.
They drink alcohol and eat pork.
They pray over the food in Jesus name (I cannot eat anything that's been dedicated to any other than Allah)Even if thy did not do any of those things I feel like because I am aware of the intent and purpose of the holiday I would be facilitating or supporting such transgression.
Are my concerns unsound?
Should I be more open to these types of functions.
Or should we all seek to be humble and content in our homes like the Quran says?
I love my family but I do not want to be around them while they are wronging themselves
Am I exaggerating?
What are your views on participating in pagan celebrations?
Christmas is more than pagan, it has been so impregnated with Sun and Saturn (esoteric name for Satan) worship elements that it is basically a satanic celebration. Druidism, Wiccan, Scandinavian pantheon gods, Luciferan Satanism etc. - elements of all these cults' tenets and more are all clearly recognizable in the Christmas celebration.
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Christmas is more than pagan, it has been so impregnated with Sun and Saturn (esoteric name for Satan) worship elements that it is basically a satanic celebration. Druidism, Wiccan, Scandinavian pantheon gods, Luciferan Satanism etc. - elements of all these cults' tenets and more are all clearly recognizable in the Christmas celebration.
The hajj ritual and the celebration of its ending known as Eid Al-adha is no better if not worse. Mecca is filled with pagan elements.
http//i.imgur.com/lN0zncy.jpg
http//i.imgur.com/eB3GmoO.jpg" Pagan elements associated with the Kaba in Mecca.
The precise alignment of the Black Stone with the winter sunrise is not coincidental. Allat, the main idol of the prophet's people, was a fertility goddess and this is confirmed by archeological evidence from Nabataean sites. As typical of such fertility goddesses their symbols and rituals are related to the sun. In this case, the direction of the winter sunrise marks the location where the sun is "reborn". Now if you take a closer look, you will see that the enclosure of the Black Stone is in the shape of a dilated female vulva and the Black Stone is in the shape of the crown of the head of the newborn baby deity as it is coming out of the vulva.
http//i.imgur.com/TV7mbGq.jpgCome closer yet and you will see that people are kissing the head of the newborn baby deity. Kissing the head is an ancient Arab tradition for asking for forgiveness. So kissing the top of the head of the newborn idol as traditionally done to ask for forgiveness, results in the pagan's sins being wiped out as if he or she was a newborn.
https//ivarfjeld.files.wordpress.com/2010/03/610x-1.jpg?w=500&h=368Hang around for a while and you will observe that people spin seven times around the Black Stone. A pre-quranic manuscript written by Epiphanius in the fourth century CE describes the ritual of spinning seven times as part of the birth festivals of the Nabataean idols Allat and Dhushara around the winter solstice. The number seven was considered sacred in Arab and pagan symbolism in general because of the five sacred planets plus the sun and the moon that the ancients venerated. To this day many people in the Arab world celebrate what is termed in Arabic Subu', which is a traditional festival that takes place on the seventh day after the birth of a newborn and on the seventh day after a pilgrims' return. Like the pagan pilgrimage that we observed and Epiphanius described, as part of the Subu' birth celebrations, people traditionally go around the house seven times while carrying the newborn baby. What about the Safa & Marwa and other sites at Mecca?
?The Safa and Marwa are amongst God?s symbols. So whosoever makes Pilgrimage to the Sanctuary, or is merely passing through, commits no error that he should traverse them. And whoever donates for goodness, then God is Appreciative, Knowledgeable.? (Qur'an 215
The entire story of ?Abraham marrying his slave girl Hajar and then leaving her in the wilderness with Ismail based on the wishes of his wife Sarah? not only has no basis whatsoever in the Book of God, but also conflict greatly with the character of a Prophet who is devoted to God and who would never be pressured by any human into abandoning or harming another person(s). As far as we can ascertain, Abraham was married to one woman, the same woman who gave him Ismail and then, many years later, Isaac. We can also ascertain that Abraham lived near the area of the Temple (Jerusalem) and therefore would not have traveled many thousands of kilometers to carry out such an act of inhumanity.
https//i.ytimg.com/vi/TXWn9--KMzY/hqdefault.jpg
The three pillars inside the cube idol in Mecca represent the three deities, Al-lat , Al-Uzzah and Manaat worshiped by the pagans mentioned in Quran. What is strange about those three pillars is they are not placed an equal distance from one another. They are not there to "strengthen the structure of the kaabah" as Muslims claim.
The Reading(Quran) mentioned Al-lat , Al-Uzzah and Manaat, the three female deities of pagans. Coincidence you say? There is no such thing as coincidence.Read more here http//free-minds.org/where-was-mohammed and http//free-minds.org/forum/index.php?topic=9607891.msg380478#msg380478 "
Islam, the ultimate deception.
I am thankful to my Creator for saving me from this cult. I will continue to seek guidance from the Creator.
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The hajj ritual and the celebration of its ending known as Eid Al-adha is no better if not worse. Mecca is filled with pagan elements.
http//i.imgur.com/lN0zncy.jpg
http//i.imgur.com/eB3GmoO.jpg" Pagan elements associated with the Kaba in Mecca.
The precise alignment of the Black Stone with the winter sunrise is not coincidental. Allat, the main idol of the prophet's people, was a fertility goddess and this is confirmed by archeological evidence from Nabataean sites. As typical of such fertility goddesses their symbols and rituals are related to the sun. In this case, the direction of the winter sunrise marks the location where the sun is "reborn". Now if you take a closer look, you will see that the enclosure of the Black Stone is in the shape of a dilated female vulva and the Black Stone is in the shape of the crown of the head of the newborn baby deity as it is coming out of the vulva.
http//i.imgur.com/TV7mbGq.jpgCome closer yet and you will see that people are kissing the head of the newborn baby deity. Kissing the head is an ancient Arab tradition for asking for forgiveness. So kissing the top of the head of the newborn idol as traditionally done to ask for forgiveness, results in the pagan's sins being wiped out as if he or she was a newborn.
https//ivarfjeld.files.wordpress.com/2010/03/610x-1.jpg?w=500&h=368Hang around for a while and you will observe that people spin seven times around the Black Stone. A pre-quranic manuscript written by Epiphanius in the fourth century CE describes the ritual of spinning seven times as part of the birth festivals of the Nabataean idols Allat and Dhushara around the winter solstice. The number seven was considered sacred in Arab and pagan symbolism in general because of the five sacred planets plus the sun and the moon that the ancients venerated. To this day many people in the Arab world celebrate what is termed in Arabic Subu', which is a traditional festival that takes place on the seventh day after the birth of a newborn and on the seventh day after a pilgrims' return. Like the pagan pilgrimage that we observed and Epiphanius described, as part of the Subu' birth celebrations, people traditionally go around the house seven times while carrying the newborn baby. What about the Safa & Marwa and other sites at Mecca?
?The Safa and Marwa are amongst God?s symbols. So whosoever makes Pilgrimage to the Sanctuary, or is merely passing through, commits no error that he should traverse them. And whoever donates for goodness, then God is Appreciative, Knowledgeable.? (Qur'an 215
The entire story of ?Abraham marrying his slave girl Hajar and then leaving her in the wilderness with Ismail based on the wishes of his wife Sarah? not only has no basis whatsoever in the Book of God, but also conflict greatly with the character of a Prophet who is devoted to God and who would never be pressured by any human into abandoning or harming another person(s). As far as we can ascertain, Abraham was married to one woman, the same woman who gave him Ismail and then, many years later, Isaac. We can also ascertain that Abraham lived near the area of the Temple (Jerusalem) and therefore would not have traveled many thousands of kilometers to carry out such an act of inhumanity.
https//i.ytimg.com/vi/TXWn9--KMzY/hqdefault.jpg
The three pillars inside the cube idol in Mecca represent the three deities, Al-lat , Al-Uzzah and Manaat worshiped by the pagans mentioned in Quran. What is strange about those three pillars is they are not placed an equal distance from one another. They are not there to "strengthen the structure of the kaabah" as Muslims claim.
The Reading(Quran) mentioned Al-lat , Al-Uzzah and Manaat, the three female deities of pagans. Coincidence you say? There is no such thing as coincidence.Read more here http//free-minds.org/where-was-mohammed and http//free-minds.org/forum/index.php?topic=9607891.msg380478#msg380478 "
Islam, the ultimate deception.
I am thankful to my Creator for saving me from this cult. I will continue to seek guidance from the Creator.
Thank you Invalid, but the question is about Christmas.
I am pretty sure by now, we are all aware of the sectarian predicament and shortcomings.
I am honestly glad Allah has guided you away from the falsehood too.
I suppose that if you feel so strongly opposed to your sectarian background, I should feel the same about my sectarian background (Catholicism) -
Peace HP_TECH
Thanks for sharing your thoughts.
I have some kind of the same thoughts every Christmas.But first of all I dont see Christmas as an celebration of Jesus birthday, since it has nothing to do with it.
The ceremonie whatever is an old tradition in the Nordic countries and its a way to come through the dark month. Here in Denmark we call it Jul (wheel) like the whell is turning round and its a celebration that the light is comming back.
But the Christians for some time took that cermonie as their own. Now its like its comming back to the old tradition again.
I cant figure out if thats better or worse..
Anyway my family are now Christian and Muslim. So we dont eat pork and drink wine. Even the most of the Christian side dont do. So we dont have that problem like you have..
If the christians are serious and claim that the ceronie is adopted by them (I did when I thought I was "Christian" myself). its should then be seen as an celebration of the light coming to the world.
Maybe Messiah could be seen as such in Muslim and Christians way. But me myself I wont put any prophet in favor. So for me Christmas/Jul is just a old family tradition to get together to get through the dark period with some extra going on. Nothing religious about I hope and think..Peace.
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The same is true with my family. During Christmas they do not serve pork or at least have alternatives and my brothers are atheists so they do not celebrate it due to Jesus. Only my mother is somehow with faith but not too obsessed with Jesus.
In Sweden we do not even call it Christ-mas but like the previous poster said we call it "Jul". Jul is a very old Nordic tradition from times we believed in "tomte" and "troll". Originally the "tomte" (which Santa Claus is one of) was a hidden creature that did bad things in your home unless you appeased to it.
But today's Christmas (Jul) is just having fun about our old superstition by bringing the strange man of Santa Claus, also known as "tomten" which the young children are often afraid of. The giving of gifts and being overly friendly I think is from that the "tomte" will do bad things if they see unfriendliness within the home. Nowadays we say to children that "tomten" (Santa Claus) will only come if the children have been good.
Originally it had a lot to do with superstition though. People were truly afraid of "tomtar" as well as trolls. It is similar to the belief in Jinns. It is a bit Pagan but not more Pagan that believing in Jinns.
Be safe
Amenuel