Dawood and the Days of the Disbelievers

Ask our children:

1. Which are the special days for Muslims?
2. Can a Muslim celebrate Christmas, New Years, Diwali, Halloween and other non-Muslim special days?

Now tell them the story:

There was once a boy named Dawood who went to school in the morning, and madrasah in the afternoon. Dawood loved madrasah, and respected his Moulana very much. Whenever Dawood had any question about Islam, he would go to his Moulana and ask him the question. Moulana would then patiently explain the answer to him so that he understood what a Muslim should do to make Allah Ta‘ala happy.

One day, when Dawood came to madrasah, he had a question. He went to Moulana and asked, “Moulana, what is Christmas?” When Moulana heard the question, Moulana asked him, “Why are you asking this question, Dawood?” Dawood replied, “Moulana, in school, the teachers say that Christmas is the day when Jesus was born. They have a holiday on this day, they give each other presents and they have a Christmas tree! When I go grocery shopping with my father, I sometimes see Christmas trees in the shops! Moulana, tell me, can a Muslim also give presents on Christmas day?”

After Dawood had asked his question, Moulana called the whole class together and said, “The Christians call Nabi Isa (‘alaihis salaam) Jesus and regard him to be the son of God. We call him Nabi Isa (‘alaihis salaam), and regard him to be a great Nabi of Allah Ta‘ala – not the son of God. We believe that Allah Ta‘ala does not have any parents or children, and Allah Ta‘ala is not like the Creation. Though we regard Nabi Isa (‘alaihis salaam) to be a great Nabi of Allah Ta‘ala, we do not follow him – rather we follow Nabi Muhammed (sallallahu ‘alaihi wasallam) who is the leader of all the Ambiyaa and the greatest and most beloved of Allah Ta‘ala’s creation.

“As for Christmas, then this is a special day and celebration of the Christians. As Muslims, we have our own special days to celebrate. Among these are the two days of Eid. When Rasulullah (sallallahu ‘alaihi wasallam) performed hijrah and came to Madinah Munawwarah, then he found that the people had two days that they would celebrate. These two days were such that the disbelievers would celebrate them.

“Rasulullah (sallallahu ‘alaihi wasallam) did not want the Sahaabah (radhiyallahu ‘anhum) and the ummah to celebrate these days. Rasulullah (sallallahu ‘alaihi wasallam) said, ‘Allah Ta‘ala has given you, in place of these two days, another two days that are better – the day of Eidul Adh-ha and the day of Eidul Fitr.’ Therefore, we, as Muslims, should always honour the days of Eid by making more ibaadah on these days, as these days are the celebration of the Muslims.

“Apart from the two days of Eid, Allah Ta‘ala has also blessed us with the day of Jumu’ah and made it an Eid for the Muslims. This Day of Jumu’ah is so great and important that it is even greater than the Days of Eid! That is why Rasulullah (sallallahu ‘alaihi wasallam) said in the Hadith, “The leader of all days is the day of Jumu’ah, and it is even greater than Eidul Adh-ha and Eidul Fitr.” How kind is Allah Ta‘ala that he has given us this great day not once in a year but once every week!

“We Muslims must only follow the way of Islam and the Sunnah of Rasulullah (sallallahu ‘alaihi wasallam) – we must never follow the ways of the Christians, Jews, Hindus or people of any other religion. We must not celebrate Christmas, we must not have a Christmas tree, we must not give Christmas presents, and we must not say ‘Merry Christmas’ to anyone.

“When we look at the lives of Rasulullah (sallallahu ‘alaihi wasallam) and the Sahaabah (radhiyallahu ‘anhum), we see that they did not celebrate birthdays. That is why Muslims do not celebrate birthdays, because celebrating birthdays is the way of the disbelievers.”

When the children heard what Moulana explained, then a small boy named Haroon asked, “Moulana! What about New Years? On New Year’s eve, we like to take a drive to see the fireworks! We sit in the car and admire the different colours, shapes and patterns of the fireworks!” Moulana replied, “New Years is also a celebration of the disbelievers. Rasulullah (sallallahu ‘alaihi wasallam) and the Sahaabah (radhiyallahu ‘anhum) did not do these types of things, and Rasulullah (sallallahu ‘alaihi wasallam) did not like us to follow the ways of the disbelievers. If we have true love for Rasulullah (sallallahu ‘alaihi wasallam) and his blessed Sunnah, then we should not follow them and we must stay far away from their celebrations.

“At all times, we must only love Islam and the Sunnah. The Hadith teaches us that if we love the ways of the disbelievers, and we like their celebrations, then on the Day of Qiyaamah, we will be raised with these same disbelievers! Imagine how bad and evil that will be!  If we celebrate Christmas and New Years, then on the Day of Qiyaamah, instead of being with Rasulullah (sallallahu ‘alaihi wasallam) and the Sahaabah (radhiyallahu ‘anhum), we might be with the non-Muslims who are going to Jahannum!”

Finally, another child asked, “Moulana, what about Halloween and Diwali?” Moulana said, “Halloween is also a celebration of the disbelievers, and Diwali is a celebration of the Hindus who worship idols. A Muslim must stay far away from all these celebrations of the disbelievers. If a Muslim celebrates these special days of the disbelievers, and likes it in his heart and respects it, he might even lose his Imaan!”

Then Moulana told them a story. Moulana said, “Before Hazrat Safiyyah (radhiyallahu ‘anha) accepted Islam, she was a Jew. After she accepted Islam, Allah Ta‘ala blessed her so much that she was honoured to be married to Rasulullah (sallallahu ‘alaihi wasallam) and become one of his respected wives.

“One day, a certain person came to Hazrat Umar (radhiyallahu ‘anhu), during the time when he was the ruler, and told him that Hazrat Safiyyah (radhiyallahu ‘anha) loved the day of Saturday. When Hazrat Umar (radhiyallahu ‘anhu) heard this, he became worried and concerned, because a Muslim should love the day of Friday – which is the special day of the Muslims known as the Day of Jumu’ah. A Muslim should not like the day of Saturday.

“However, Hazrat Umar (radhiyallahu ‘anhu) also knew that before he believes this information, he must first find out whether it is true or not, because Islam teaches us that before we blame someone for something, we must make sure that the information is correct.

“Therefore, Hazrat Umar (radhiyallahu ‘anhu) asked Hazrat Safiyyah (radhiyallahu ‘anha) whether it was true. Hazrat Safiyyah (radhiyallahu ‘anha) explained that it was NOT true, and she said that from the time she had accepted Islam, she only loved the Day of Friday, and she did not have any love for Saturday or any of the special days of the disbelievers.”

When Moulana finished mentioning this story, Dawood said, “Moulana, now I understand. We Muslims must only follow the way of Rasulullah (sallallahu ‘alaihi wasallam) and the Sahaabah (radhiyallahu ‘anhum) and must only love Islam and the way of the Sunnah. We must not celebrate the special days of the disbelievers.”

Moulana was very happy when he heard this and said, “Exactly! Alhamdulillah! Remember, so long as you follow the Sunnah of Rasulullah (sallallahu ‘alaihi wasallam), Allah Ta‘ala will continue to bless you, but if you leave his Sunnah and follow the ways of the disbelievers, then you will lose the special help and mercy of Allah Ta‘ala.”

Lessons:

1. The special days of a Muslim are the day of Jumu’ah and the days of the two Eids.
2. Muslims must not celebrate Christmas, New Years, Diwali, Halloween and other non-Muslim special days.
3. When we hear anything bad about any person, then we must not believe it and accept it until we find out and make sure that it is true.