The People Will Be Upon Goodness As Long As The Sunnah Is Apparent Amongst Them

Ash-Shaykh 'Abdus-Salaam Ash-Shuway'ir, may Allaah preserve him

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All praises belong to Allāh, and may peace and blessings be upon the Messenger of Allāh. To proceed:

I see that many of the posts criticising what occurs during the 'Riyadh Season' are not primarily aimed at condemning wrongdoing but rather appear to target and defame the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, the land of the Two Holy sites—may Allāh preserve it and all Muslim lands.

While it is true that certain wrongdoing may occur, as is the case in any land, they are often magnified, and some aim to incite unrest in the country, seeking to draw it into the same turmoil that has affected other Muslim nations under the guise of rejecting wrongdoing and removing oppression. These revolts, claimed by their advocates to denounce corruption and eliminate injustice, have instead led to widespread rejection, evil, and extensive corruption.

As someone recently acquainted with this blessed land—I entered for ’Umrah and visited Riyadh, Abha, Khamis Mushait, Makkah, Jeddah, Taif, Bisha, and Rijal Almaa—I observed much good in the people, a clear adherence to the principles of Aqeedah, Tawheed, prayer, and modesty. However, this good is often concealed while the negatives are publicised, contrary to the objectives of the Shari’ah.

That said, wrongdoing must indeed be condemned, but it should be done in a manner free from greater harm and without aiding the forces of corruption or its perpetrators. Such condemnation can only succeed by adhering strictly to the Shari’ah and returning to the guidance of scholars. It is astonishing that some turn to scholars for rulings on trivial matters yet fail to consult them on critical issues like these. Seek guidance from our esteemed scholars such as Sheikh Al-Fawzan, Sheikh Al-Hajuri, and others—may Allāh preserve them. Refer to the fatwas of reliable scholars.

The transgressions that are so magnified in Saudi Arabia 🇸🇦 exist elsewhere in even greater prevalence and notoriety, yet they do not face the same scrutiny or the so-called zeal for reform.

Condemn wrongdoing and beware of violations. Who prevents you from denouncing music, free-mixing, or corruption? However, do not align yourself with those of the Ikhwani, Sururi, Rafidhi, or secularist ideologies, nor those living in lands of disbelief and corruption who hypocritically criticise transgressions they themselves indulge in more severely.

I ask Allāh to guide the leaders of the Muslims, rectify their lands, elevate His religion, and make His word supreme. May He protect us from trials, both apparent and hidden. Allāh is the ultimate guide to what is correct.

Abu Muhammad Az-Zu‘kari
15 Jumada Al-Awwal 1446

Be Kind To Your Wives🌹| Sheikh Muqbil ibn Hadi rahimahullah

https://t.me/masjidsahabah

بســـم الله الرحمن الرحيم

CHALLENGES OF PARENTING
& THE AIM OF HOMESCHOOLING 📝

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🎙️Abu Ishaq Muhammad

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📆DATE: Saturday 21st December 2024
🕐TIME: 5:00PM-8:00PM (Doors open at 4:45pm)
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Open to Brothers & Sisters (segregated)

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"I Decided To Forego Marriage Due To My Financial Struggles & My Pursuit Of Knowledge."

Al-Mufti 'Abdul-'Azeez Aal Ash-Shaykh, may Allaah preserve him

Join the telegram channel: t.me/FruitsOfKnowledge

وعليكم السلام ورحمة الله وبركاته

▪️ If an animal—whether edible, such as chicken or beef, or not, such as swine—is slaughtered in an improper manner, it is classified as māytah (carrion).

▪️It is prohibited for humans to eat such meat, and it is not permissible to feed it to EDIBLE animals.

▪️It is, however, permissible to feed such meat to NON-EDIBLE animals, such as cats and dogs.

Imam An-Nawawi raḥimahullāh stated:
«وله إطعام العسل المتنجس للنحل، والميتة للكلاب والطيور الصائدة وغيرها، وإطعام الطعام المتنجس للدواب»
"It is permissible to feed impure honey to bees, carrion to dogs, hunting birds, and other such animals, and impure food to animals." [Al-Majmū’ (4/448)]

▪️Despite that, the sale or purchase of such prohibited items is not permissible, as proven by the hadith of Jābir (may Allāh be pleased with him), in which the Messenger of Allāh ﷺ said:
((إنَّ اللهَ ورسولَه حرَّم بيعَ الخمرِ والميتةِ والخنزيرِ والأصنامِ))
“Indeed, Allāh and His Messenger have prohibited the sale of alcohol, carrion, swine, and idols.” [Al-Bukhari and Muslim]

Furthermore, Ibn ’Abbās (may Allāh be pleased with him) narrated that the Prophet ﷺ said:
((إنَّ اللهَ إذا حرَّمَ شيئًا حرَّمَ ثمنَهُ))
“When Allāh prohibits something, He also prohibits its price.” [Ahmad and Abu Dawood]

بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم

Christmas is a festival of major Shirk where Christians worship 'Ēsā who they call Jesus. They make him into a God and elevate him far above Allāh, Who sent him.

The name "Christmas" linguistically, is made up of two words, "Christ", which comes from the Greek word, "Kristos" meaning "annointed" and "Mass". This Mass is
a ceremony resembling cannibalism which they perform regularly in their churches, especially now at Christmas time.

A priest lifts up a cup of wine and says, "The blood of Jesus, shed for our sins." and then drinks from it before passing it around the congregation, until they all take a sip of this wine, now called the blood of 'Eesaa (which came out of his body when he was crucified).

Then the priest takes some bread, lifts it up, and says, "The body of Jesus, broken for us." He breaks the bread, eats from it, then everyone else takes a bite of 'Ēsā's broken body, killed for them and swallows it down.

Christians in their distorted and evil 'Aqīdah, say that 'Ēsā was the sacrificial lamb sent by Allāh, (and he was also Allāh Himself) who came to earth in the form of a human to be slain for them and his blood cleanses them from all their sins and they now go to heaven because 'Ēsā (or God accordingto them) died on the cross for them!

ولا حولى ولا قوة إلا بالله!
There is no power not might except with Allāh!

Allāh ﷻ said:
{وَقَوْلِهِمْ إِنَّا قَتَلْنَا ٱلْمَسِيحَ عِيسَى ٱبْنَ مَرْيَمَ رَسُولَ ٱللهِ وَمَا قَتَلُوهُ وَمَا صَلَبُوهُ}
"And because of what they said in boasting, "We killed 'Ēsā, the Maseeh, son of Maryam." But they neither killed him or crucified him."' [An Nisā' 4:157]

As we well know, the Jews came to arrest 'Ēsā but Allāh rose him up into heaven before they could reach him and they captured another man, thinking him to be 'Ēsā and crucified him instead.

Was 'Ēsā born on the 25th December?

Nobody knows exactly when he was born. Many Christian scholars come to the conclusion that he took birth in the spring time which agrees with a song or carol they sing with the wording, "When shepherds watched their flocks by night..." One of their Christmas fables tells them that some shepherds received a divine message that 'Ēsā had been born on earth and this was while they were keeping awake out in the fields at night, guarding their sheep. However, if 'Ēsā had really been born in December, which is winter time, these shepherds would have been at home keeping warm in their beds and their sheep would have been in their pens, huddled together to keep warm in the winter nights.

So why did they make
25th December to be his birthday?

25th of this month, falls close to the shortest day of the year, 21st December. When the early Christian missionaries came to Britain and Northern Europe, they found people worshipping at this time of the year as they were looking forward to the coming of longer and soon to be warmer days. So to trick the pagan people living then into worshipping 'Ēsā instead of the coming of a change in seasons, they put 'Ēsā's birthday at that time. People also worshipped evergreen trees and see how they now have Christmas trees in their homes, places of work, shops etc.

And the people of the past also worshipped stars, angels and jinn, so you see how Christians now put stars on top of their Christmas trees, or an angel or a fairey (jinn). All these things are symbols of polytheism and disbelief.

Another trick Christian missionaries used to get people to worship 'Ēsā as well as his mother Maryam who they call Mary, was to paint or draw a halo which is a coloured circular ring behind the heads of whoever they wanted worshipped. The pagan people they were preaching to, used to worship the sun, so to get them to worship 'Ēsā or saints or Maryam (who the Catholics call the Mother of God!!), they painted these yellow halos around their heads.

(Many old paintings that hang in art galleries and can be found in older Christian churches or cathedrals, clearly show these bright yellow or gold or orange circles or halos behind the heads of 'Ēsā, Maryam and other their saints, they worship). If you look on Christmas cards today which they send one another you may still see these halos or circles around the head of pictures of 'Ēsā or Maryam.

'Ēsā always made it clear why he came to earth, which was to call the people of his time to worship Allāh alone.

When he was a babe in the arms of his mother, he spoke to the Jews, saying,

﴿إِنِّى عَبْدُ ٱللهِ ءَاتَىٰنِىَ ٱلْكِتَٰبَ وَجَعَلَنِى نَبِيًّا﴾
"Truly I am a slave of Allāh. He has given me a scripture and made me a Prophet."

He said:
﴿وَإِنَّ ٱللهَ رَبِّى وَرَبُّكُمْ فَٱعْبُدُوهُۚ هَٰذَا صِرَٰطٌ مُّسْتَقِيمٌ﴾
"And verily Allāh is my Lord and your Lord. So worship Him Alone. That is the Straight and Correct Path." [Maryam 19:30, 36]

Christians ignore what is obvious, that 'Ēsā was only a prophet and that his mother was only a devout, chaste and saintly woman and instead carry on in veneration and glorification of him and his mother, instead of making all these things for Allāh alone.

At this time of the year, Christians will hang mistletoe, a special leaf from a tree, under doorways or other places and an ancient pagan rite teaches them that they should kiss anyone they find under it. Another excuse for indecency and immorality at this time of the year.

They also hang wreaths or circular arrangements of holly leaves and their red berries on the outside doorways of their homes. These leaves have sharp pointed ends like thorns and along with the red holly berries, represent to them the crown of thorns supposedly placed on 'Ēsā's head when he was captured and tortured before he was crucified. The red berries symbolise the blood that flowed from his head. (The blood they say came from God's head, when He appeared in the form of 'Ēsā, to redeem them from their sins!)

لا حول ولا قوة إلا الله!
There is no power or might except with Allāh!

You will find they sometimes bake cakes in the shape of a log of wood, called the Yule Log. This is another leftover from pagan rites or rituals that took place at this time of the year for those polytheists living in Northern Europe and Britain.

Is it permissible to celebrate the birthday of one of Allāh's Prophets and Messengers?

Even if 25th December was really the birthday of 'Ēsā, it's still not permissible for anyone to make that day a day of celebration or 'Eid. If that was allowed, the noble Companions of Muhammad ﷺ would have been the first of people to make his birthday a day of enjoyment, and of eating and drinking. Neither did Muhammad ﷺ allow this nor did any of the righteous believers from the past celebrate the birthdays of their Prophets. Christians invented this foolishness and disobedience themselves, along with all the other evils they perform now; the worst of them being Shirk with Allāh.

This time of the year between Christmas and New Year's Day witnesses the highest incidents of hit and run driving. More people get killed or seriously injured by drunken drivers who hit them in their cars and then take off.

Drunkenness, drug taking, homosexuality, fornication, these are all part of their merriment and enjoyment in this season.

As Muslims we are not allowed to reply to Christians or anyone else when they say to us "Merry Christmas!" or "Happy Christmas!" or "Happy New Year!"

These greetings are not to be responded to. We are not allowed to join in their celebrations or congratulate them or give them gifts or presents at this time of the year. Nor are we allowed to accept presents from them or accept invitations to eat with them. Nor can we take gifts of the special foods they eat during this festival of theirs. From them are mince pies, Christmas cakes, Christmas puddings, and walnuts, almonds, Brazil nuts are all from the foods they especially take at Christmas time.

Even if some of these things are halaal, accepting and eating them is part of celebrating with them. We are ordered to oppose and be different from the disbelievers in all their customs, manners and social interactions.

As our prophet Muhammad ﷺ
said: "Whoever imitates a people, then he is from them."

Imitating Christians, Jews and others is from the major sins, so it's imperative that we Muslims stay far away from resembling Christians in what they are doing at this time of the year.

This includes the second big celebration they have following Christmas; New Year's Day.

We Muslims follow the Hijriah calendar not the Christian calendar. Our first month of each year is Muharram, not January. With that said, we do not take the first day of Muharram to be a day of celebration.

Muslims have to stay far away from the disbelievers festivities of drinking, partying, eating and joining together for parties on this, their New Year's Day.

Composed by one in need of his Lord's forgiveness and mercy,
Aboo Daawood Ismaa'eel ibn George Gauron Al Injileezee

🔊 ANNOUNCEMENT

Following the recent conference on Parenting and Homeschooling, there has been significant interest, along with various requests and suggestions from different sources. We are committed to taking this initiative seriously and aim to establish an online Islamic school until Allah allows us to develop a physical one. As this is a community-driven project, we would like to gather all your ideas and suggestions before proceeding further.

Contact ⤵️
madrasatuna@outlook.com

بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم

Christmas is a festival of major Shirk where Christians worship 'Ēsā who they call Jesus. They make him into a God and elevate him far above Allāh, Who sent him.

The name "Christmas" linguistically, is made up of two words, "Christ", which comes from the Greek word, "Kristos" meaning "annointed" and "Mass". This Mass is
a ceremony resembling cannibalism which they perform regularly in their churches, especially now at Christmas time.

A priest lifts up a cup of wine and says, "The blood of Jesus, shed for our sins." and then drinks from it before passing it around the congregation, until they all take a sip of this wine, now called the blood of 'Eesaa (which came out of his body when he was crucified).

Then the priest takes some bread, lifts it up, and says, "The body of Jesus, broken for us." He breaks the bread, eats from it, then everyone else takes a bite of 'Ēsā's broken body, killed for them and swallows it down.

Christians in their distorted and evil 'Aqīdah, say that 'Ēsā was the sacrificial lamb sent by Allāh, (and he was also Allāh Himself) who came to earth in the form of a human to be slain for them and his blood cleanses them from all their sins and they now go to heaven because 'Ēsā (or God accordingto them) died on the cross for them!

ولا حولى ولا قوة إلا بالله!
There is no power not might except with Allāh!

Allāh ﷻ said:
{وَقَوْلِهِمْ إِنَّا قَتَلْنَا ٱلْمَسِيحَ عِيسَى ٱبْنَ مَرْيَمَ رَسُولَ ٱللهِ وَمَا قَتَلُوهُ وَمَا صَلَبُوهُ}
"And because of what they said in boasting, "We killed 'Ēsā, the Maseeh, son of Maryam." But they neither killed him or crucified him."' [An Nisā' 4:157]

As we well know, the Jews came to arrest 'Ēsā but Allāh rose him up into heaven before they could reach him and they captured another man, thinking him to be 'Ēsā and crucified him instead.

Was 'Ēsā born on the 25th December?

Nobody knows exactly when he was born. Many Christian scholars come to the conclusion that he took birth in the spring time which agrees with a song or carol they sing with the wording, "When shepherds watched their flocks by night..." One of their Christmas fables tells them that some shepherds received a divine message that 'Ēsā had been born on earth and this was while they were keeping awake out in the fields at night, guarding their sheep. However, if 'Ēsā had really been born in December, which is winter time, these shepherds would have been at home keeping warm in their beds and their sheep would have been in their pens, huddled together to keep warm in the winter nights.

So why did they make
25th December to be his birthday?

25th of this month, falls close to the shortest day of the year, 21st December. When the early Christian missionaries came to Britain and Northern Europe, they found people worshipping at this time of the year as they were looking forward to the coming of longer and soon to be warmer days. So to trick the pagan people living then into worshipping 'Ēsā instead of the coming of a change in seasons, they put 'Ēsā's birthday at that time. People also worshipped evergreen trees and see how they now have Christmas trees in their homes, places of work, shops etc.

And the people of the past also worshipped stars, angels and jinn, so you see how Christians now put stars on top of their Christmas trees, or an angel or a fairey (jinn). All these things are symbols of polytheism and disbelief.

Another trick Christian missionaries used to get people to worship 'Ēsā as well as his mother Maryam who they call Mary, was to paint or draw a halo which is a coloured circular ring behind the heads of whoever they wanted worshipped. The pagan people they were preaching to, used to worship the sun, so to get them to worship 'Ēsā or saints or Maryam (who the Catholics call the Mother of God!!), they painted these yellow halos around their heads.

(Many old paintings that hang in art galleries and can be found in older Christian churches or cathedrals, clearly show these bright yellow or gold or orange circles or halos behind the heads of 'Ēsā, Maryam and other their saints, they worship). If you look on Christmas cards today which they send one another you may still see these halos or circles around the head of pictures of 'Ēsā or Maryam.

'Ēsā always made it clear why he came to earth, which was to call the people of his time to worship Allāh alone.

When he was a babe in the arms of his mother, he spoke to the Jews, saying,

﴿إِنِّى عَبْدُ ٱللهِ ءَاتَىٰنِىَ ٱلْكِتَٰبَ وَجَعَلَنِى نَبِيًّا﴾
"Truly I am a slave of Allāh. He has given me a scripture and made me a Prophet."

He said:
﴿وَإِنَّ ٱللهَ رَبِّى وَرَبُّكُمْ فَٱعْبُدُوهُۚ هَٰذَا صِرَٰطٌ مُّسْتَقِيمٌ﴾
"And verily Allāh is my Lord and your Lord. So worship Him Alone. That is the Straight and Correct Path." [Maryam 19:30, 36]

Christians ignore what is obvious, that 'Ēsā was only a prophet and that his mother was only a devout, chaste and saintly woman and instead carry on in veneration and glorification of him and his mother, instead of making all these things for Allāh alone.

At this time of the year, Christians will hang mistletoe, a special leaf from a tree, under doorways or other places and an ancient pagan rite teaches them that they should kiss anyone they find under it. Another excuse for indecency and immorality at this time of the year.

They also hang wreaths or circular arrangements of holly leaves and their red berries on the outside doorways of their homes. These leaves have sharp pointed ends like thorns and along with the red holly berries, represent to them the crown of thorns supposedly placed on 'Ēsā's head when he was captured and tortured before he was crucified. The red berries symbolise the blood that flowed from his head. (The blood they say came from God's head, when He appeared in the form of 'Ēsā, to redeem them from their sins!)

لا حول ولا قوة إلا الله!
There is no power or might except with Allāh!

You will find they sometimes bake cakes in the shape of a log of wood, called the Yule Log. This is another leftover from pagan rites or rituals that took place at this time of the year for those polytheists living in Northern Europe and Britain.

Is it permissible to celebrate the birthday of one of Allāh's Prophets and Messengers?

Even if 25th December was really the birthday of 'Ēsā, it's still not permissible for anyone to make that day a day of celebration or 'Eid. If that was allowed, the noble Companions of Muhammad ﷺ would have been the first of people to make his birthday a day of enjoyment, and of eating and drinking. Neither did Muhammad ﷺ allow this nor did any of the righteous believers from the past celebrate the birthdays of their Prophets. Christians invented this foolishness and disobedience themselves, along with all the other evils they perform now; the worst of them being Shirk with Allāh.

This time of the year between Christmas and New Year's Day witnesses the highest incidents of hit and run driving. More people get killed or seriously injured by drunken drivers who hit them in their cars and then take off.

Drunkenness, drug taking, homosexuality, fornication, these are all part of their merriment and enjoyment in this season.

As Muslims we are not allowed to reply to Christians or anyone else when they say to us "Merry Christmas!" or "Happy Christmas!" or "Happy New Year!"

These greetings are not to be responded to. We are not allowed to join in their celebrations or congratulate them or give them gifts or presents at this time of the year. Nor are we allowed to accept presents from them or accept invitations to eat with them. Nor can we take gifts of the special foods they eat during this festival of theirs. From them are mince pies, Christmas cakes, Christmas puddings, and walnuts, almonds, Brazil nuts are all from the foods they especially take at Christmas time.

Even if some of these things are halaal, accepting and eating them is part of celebrating with them. We are ordered to oppose and be different from the disbelievers in all their customs, manners and social interactions.

As our prophet Muhammad ﷺ
said: "Whoever imitates a people, then he is from them."

Imitating Christians, Jews and others is from the major sins, so it's imperative that we Muslims stay far away from resembling Christians in what they are doing at this time of the year.

This includes the second big celebration they have following Christmas; New Year's Day.

We Muslims follow the Hijriah calendar not the Christian calendar. Our first month of each year is Muharram, not January. With that said, we do not take the first day of Muharram to be a day of celebration.

Muslims have to stay far away from the disbelievers festivities of drinking, partying, eating and joining together for parties on this, their New Year's Day.

Composed by one in need of his Lord's forgiveness and mercy,
Aboo Daawood Ismaa'eel ibn George Gauron Al Injileezee

بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم

🎉 *Ruling on Joining Celebrations of Disbelievers like Christmas or Halloween and Congratulating Them on Those Occasions* 🎊

It is not permissible to join the Christians in their celebration even if those who claim knowledge join them, because this increases their numbers and is a kind of support to them in sin and transgression.
Allah (Exalted be He) says (what means): 

*وَتَعَاوَنُوا۟ عَلَى ٱلْبِرِّ وَٱلتَّقْوَىٰۖ وَلَا تَعَاوَنُوا۟ عَلَى ٱلْإِثْمِ وَٱلْعُدْوَٰنِۚ*

✨"Help you one another in Al-Birr and At-Taqwâ (virtue, righteousness and piety); but do not help one another in sin and transgression." [Al-Ma'idah, 5:2]

The Permanent Committee for Scholarly Research and Ifta'.

Source https://bit.ly/2ONaEra

Ash-Shaykh al-Uthaymeen, may Allah have mercy upon him, said:

“Congratulating the kufaar for the holiday of Christmas or other than it of their holidays is haraam based upon the consensus of the scholars, as has been quoted by Ibnul Qayyim, may Allah have mercy upon him, in the book ‘Ahkaam Ahlil Dhimmah’,…it is as if he is congratulating him for his prostration to the cross…”

Ash-Shaykh Saalih al-Fawzan, may Allah preserve him said:

“…The Christians innovated this birthday and other than it into their religion, while the Prophet Esaa, alayhi as-salaam, did not legislate for them to celebrate his birthday rather they just merely innovated it…”

A Reply to a Doubt

There are some who claim that if the Christians congratulate the Muslims for their Islamic celebrations then it is upon the Muslims to congratulate them back during their celebrations, which is totally wrong and incorrect because congratulating them upon that is actually congratulating them upon their falsehood, rather Islam calls to opposing the kufaar in that.

A Side Benefit:

Ash-Shaykh Yahya al-Hajooree, may Allah preserve him, said:

“For the Nasaara (i.e. the Christians) is their own calendar; called the christian calendar (i.e. the western calendar), they began the year upon the birthday of the Prophet Esaa, as they claim and they refer to it as the Christian year, while the Persians have their own calendar (i.e. the Jalaali Calendar) and the Roman have their own calendar (i.e. the Julian calendar)…”

Translated By Abu Fajr AbdulFattah حفظه الله 

📚 *Source:*
https://bit.ly/2ELklWQ


✨"﴿وَذَكِّرْ فَإِنَّ الذِّكْرَى تَنفَعُ الْمُؤْمِنِينَ﴾"✨

﴾And remind, for indeed, the reminder benefits the believers.﴿

Poem - "O Worshipers Of Christ"

Al-Imaam Ibnul-Qayyim, may Allaah have mercy upon him

Join the telegram channel: t.me/FruitsOfKnowledge

بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم

Happy New Year?

Ibn al-Qayyim, may Allaah have mercy on him, said in Ahkaam Ahl al-Dhimmah:

"Congratulating the kuffaar on the rituals that belong only to them is haraam by consensus, as is congratulating them on their festivals and fasts by saying ‘A happy festival to you’ or ‘May you enjoy your festival,’ and so on. If the one who says this has been saved from kufr, it is still forbidden. It is like congratulating someone for prostrating to the cross, or even worse than that. It is as great a sin as congratulating someone for drinking wine, or murdering someone, or having illicit sexual relations, and so on. Many of those who have no respect for their religion fall into this error; they do not realize the offensiveness of their actions. Whoever congratulates a person for his disobedience or bid’ah or kufr exposes himself to the wrath and anger of Allaah."

"Congratulating the kuffaar on their religious festivals is haraam to the extent described by Ibn al-Qayyim because it implies that one accepts or approves of their rituals of kufr, even if one would not accept those things for oneself. But the Muslim should not aceept the rituals of kufr or congratulate anyone else for them, because Allaah does not accept any of that at all, as He says (interpretation of the meaning):

'If you disbelieve, then verily, Allaah is not in need of you, He likes not disbelief for His slaves. And if you are grateful (by being believers), He is pleased therewith for you. . .'

[Az-Zumar 39:7]

'. . . This day, I have perfected your religion for you, completed My favour upon you, and have chosen for you Islaam as your religion . . .'

[Al-Maa’idah 5:3]

So congratulating them is forbidden, whether they are one’s colleagues at work or otherwise. If they greet us on the occasion of their festivals, we should not respond, because these are not our festivals, and because they are not festivals which are acceptable to Allaah. These festivals are innovations in their religions, and even those which may have been prescribed formerly have been abrogated by the religion of Islaam, with which Allaah sent Muhammad (salallaahu 'alayhi wa sallam) to the whole of mankind. Allaah says (interpretation of the meaning):

'Whoever seeks a religion other than Islaam, it will never be accepted of him, and in the Hereafter he will be one of the losers.'

[Aal ‘Imraan 3:85]

It is haraam for a Muslim to accept invitations on such occasions, because this is worse than congratulating them as it implies taking part in their celebrations.
Similarly, Muslims are forbidden to imitate the kuffaar by having parties on such occasions, or exchanging gifts, or giving out sweets or food, or taking time off work, etc., because the Prophet (salallaahu 'alayhi wa sallam) said:

'Whoever imitates a people is one of them.'

Shaykh al-Islaam Ibn Taymiyah said in his book Iqtidaa’ al-siraat al-mustaqeem mukhaalifat ashaab al-jaheem:

'Imitating them in some of their festivals implies that one is pleased with their false beliefs and practices, and gives them the hope that they may have the opportunity to humiliate and mislead the weak.'

Whoever does anything of this sort is a sinner, whether he does it out of politeness or to be friendly, or because he is too shy to refuse, or for whatever other reason, because this is hypocrisy in Islaam, and because it makes the kuffaar feel proud of their religion. Allaah is the One Whom we ask to make the Muslims feel proud of their religion, to help them adhere steadfastly to it, and to make them victorious over their enemies, for He is the Strong and Omnipotent."

[Majmoo’ah Fataawa wa Rasaa’il al-Shaykh Ibn ‘Uthaymeen, 3/369]

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