01-07-2005, 01:54 AM
Assalamu alaikum everyone,
Anya, I don't think rock was referring to christmas when he talked about sharing in non-muslim celebrations, because he mentioned that he thought it was not forbidden only if the celebration did not contradict our belief. But I just wanted to point out that when it comes to new years, it's not just that we dont have the same year, thats not the reason not to celebrate it. The reason is that the celebration has pagan origins, and also the manner in which it is celebrated is haram. Any holiday that has a set day of the year, such as easter, christmas, new years, probably has pagan origins because the pagans followed the seasons of the year in their worshipping long before the gregorian calendar came into use.
Some good things to celebrate are things like the birth of a baby, or a wedding, though only one celebration at the time of the event is appropriate, not yearly celebrations on that date. So it is no problem to congratulate someone on their wedding, whether muslim or not, but as anya expressed and I feel the same way, to even acknowledge the christian/western holidays by returning a happy new years or a merry christmas, to me its like saying that I recognize the validity of the occasion, which of course I do not. it is not something I take lightly.