Full Lecture Transcript (Cleaned)
Question and Context — 0:00
As for congratulating them this is a much more detailed question I'm gonna summarize it and maybe one day we'll give a longer answer I have given a longer lecture you will find it online but Sir no and let there summarize there is nothing explicit in the Quran or the Sunnah or any of the four Imams or any of the early scholars in this regard one of the earliest scholars to write a treatise or or I should say have a detailed.
Discussion about this is Ibrahim in his famous book a camel edema or the rulings of the people of them and he made a very famous remark there which is now well known and a lot of people quoted in which he very very strongly prohibited congratulating the non-muslims on their days of holy days on their days of celebration and he said a phrase here to congratulate them on their holy days is worse than congratulating them for a major sin like drinking alcohol or like murder so to congratulate them for committing a.
Sin he is saying to congratulate them on their holy day because of their holy day it is a bigger sin than to congratulate them for a sin that they do now by the way because of this people don't read Arabic or don't understand it some neophyte said in a lecture to say Merry Christmas is worse than murder and this is the position in opium he said and nothing could be further from the truth and this guy's video went viral the right took a hold of it and this and that and.
Just you don't understand 50 no sooner ugly then you started giving fatwas this is what happens if you've never said that heaven knows I am said what I had explained and even that is one opinion and I respect that opinion it is a great scholar he has the right to say that but that is one opinion there are other opinions as well and if you look at the Fatah WA of so many modern counsels the European Council.
Core Ruling and Evidence — 2:18
A fatwa and so many they disagree with this fatwa and the reason is very simple see here's the Allah here is the cause when you congratulate somebody for their holy day do you mean to congratulate them for worshiping other than Allah if you do that AIIMS fatwa is at its place if your intention is or if your paradigm is that yes you're worshiping other than Allah yes good mabrook to that congratulations more power to you then obnoxious fatwa is a 110% accurate how can you congratulate somebody for worshiping other than.
Allah but see here's the point when you say congratulatory phrases positive phrases is that what is implied that is the issue of controversy between fim and between many other scholars of our times when you go and you say some generic greeting okay even if you say the phrase Merry Christmas back unto you if he comes into the Merry Christmas and then you say Oh Merry Christmas to you as well even though I'm gonna say we shouldn't say that at the end but I'm saying even if you said it blunt question.
In the context that we live in will anybody understand from you that you are congratulating them for worshiping other than Allah is this the understanding of the phrase no what is the understanding just a greeting and this is the paradigm that so many other ulema of our times by the way you will find very little classical discussion on this only a few and also if this must be said most of these Fattah WA are in the context of a Muslim dominant Islamic land where the dynamics are very different and one.
Needs to ask why would a Muslim land be celebrating Christmas of course you should be ultra strict etc etc none of these Futaba deal with minorities except until modern times so in my humble opinion even to quote even Tamiya copy and paste and apply to America or Europe in itself as a mistake because the fatwa vibin Tamiya is a different context different time different place and even that it is one opinion nonetheless there are a whole host.
Practical Guidance and Caveats — 4:41
Of Adamo in our times who have said that it is permissible to generically greet and I personally say get out of the controversy and do not say the word Merry Christmas this is my personal advice rather when somebody comes and says merry Christmas to you say something generic in response god bless you god bless you generic may Allah bless you with hidayah with Iman with Islam with good health you can make dua for the non-muslim right god bless you okay or something generic of this nature there should be nothing wrong.
With this Allah says in the Quran where the houyi Tomita hey get in for how you the ice enamine huh when somebody comes and greets you greet him back with a better greeting or at least returned the same greeting this is a generic verse so somebody says good morning you say good morning to you as well somebody says good afternoon good afternoon to you as well somebody says Merry Christmas in my humble opinion even though I do not say it is haram by the way I want to be very clear.
Still just to get out of the controversy don't say back Merry Christmas just say may God bless you god bless or happy seasons or something of this nature and conclude this question have one more question now to conclude this question even Abbas said if fit own said to me Raheem ik Allah I would say may Allah have mercy on you as well if around were to make a dua for me I would say back on to may Allah also have mercy on you and he what's wrong if it were a.
Life meaning and he said this to me why can't I respond even to fit on with a similar thing so there's nothing wrong with giving a generic response back and it does not imply any type of servitude to other than Allah subhana WA Ta'ala