The ruling on celebrating the festivals of the Christians and congratulating them on them.
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The Shaykh : And more insidious than that is that some Muslims celebrate the New Year of the Christian calendar, exalting it and honoring it. It is associated with a religious occasion for the Christians, which is what? The birth of Jesus, Isa ibn Maryam (peace and blessings be upon him). So celebrating the New Year of the Christian calendar in connection with the occasion of the birth of Jesus involves rejoicing in religious rites. And rejoicing in the rites of disbelief, if the one who rejoices in them is saved from disbelief, is as Ibn al-Qayyim (may Allah have mercy on him) said in his book *Ahkam Ahl al-Dhimmah*: "It is more severe than his rejoicing in drinking intoxicants and worshipping the cross". So the matter is serious, my brothers. It is forbidden for a person to celebrate the birthday if he is a Muslim, and it is forbidden for him to congratulate them on this festival if he is a Muslim, and it is forbidden for him to return their congratulations if they congratulate him on it, if he is a Muslim. Glory be to Allah! Do we congratulate them on a festival they consider one of their religious rites? And is this anything but approval of disbelief? But most of those who congratulate them do not intend to exalt their religion or their rites, but rather they intend what? Social courtesy. And this is wrong.
If he says: I am being socially courteous with them because they are socially courteous with me, congratulating me on 'Id al-Fitr and 'Id al-Adha.
We say: Praise be to Allah, if they congratulate us on 'Id al-Adha and 'Id al-Fitr, they have congratulated us on a lawful festival that Allah established for the servants. And it was supposed for them to have 'Id al-Adha and 'Id al-Fitr as their festival, because it is obligatory for them to submit to Islam. But if we congratulate them on the birthday, we are congratulating them on a festival that Allah did not establish as a festival. So this Christian festival has no basis in history and no basis in the Shari'ah. So Isa ibn Maryam did not command them to establish this festival. So it is either something they introduced, or it is something they introduced into the Shari'ah of Jesus as a religious innovation and misguidance, or it is a lawful prescribed matter in the Shari'ah of Isa (peace and blessings be upon him) but it was abrogated by the Islamic Shari'ah. So it has no basis under any consideration, because if we say it is from the innovations of the Christians and not from their Shari'ah, then it is misguidance, and if we say it is from their Shari'ah, then it is abrogated. And worshipping Allah the Exalted with an abrogated religion is misguidance. So it is misguidance under any consideration. And if it is misguidance, how is it fitting for me, while I am a Muslim, to congratulate them on it? And I have answered the point that they congratulate us on our festival and we do not congratulate them on theirs, by saying that our festival is lawful by the command of Allah Mighty and Majestic. And their festival is not lawful, because it is either fabricated in their Shari'ah or abrogated by our Shari'ah, so it has no basis under any consideration.
If he says: I am being socially courteous with them because they are socially courteous with me, congratulating me on 'Id al-Fitr and 'Id al-Adha.
We say: Praise be to Allah, if they congratulate us on 'Id al-Adha and 'Id al-Fitr, they have congratulated us on a lawful festival that Allah established for the servants. And it was supposed for them to have 'Id al-Adha and 'Id al-Fitr as their festival, because it is obligatory for them to submit to Islam. But if we congratulate them on the birthday, we are congratulating them on a festival that Allah did not establish as a festival. So this Christian festival has no basis in history and no basis in the Shari'ah. So Isa ibn Maryam did not command them to establish this festival. So it is either something they introduced, or it is something they introduced into the Shari'ah of Jesus as a religious innovation and misguidance, or it is a lawful prescribed matter in the Shari'ah of Isa (peace and blessings be upon him) but it was abrogated by the Islamic Shari'ah. So it has no basis under any consideration, because if we say it is from the innovations of the Christians and not from their Shari'ah, then it is misguidance, and if we say it is from their Shari'ah, then it is abrogated. And worshipping Allah the Exalted with an abrogated religion is misguidance. So it is misguidance under any consideration. And if it is misguidance, how is it fitting for me, while I am a Muslim, to congratulate them on it? And I have answered the point that they congratulate us on our festival and we do not congratulate them on theirs, by saying that our festival is lawful by the command of Allah Mighty and Majestic. And their festival is not lawful, because it is either fabricated in their Shari'ah or abrogated by our Shari'ah, so it has no basis under any consideration.