In the Light of The Holy Bible

Written by Maulana Hafeezud Din 

25th December is a very special day for our Christian friends, like is 1st Ramadhan, 1st Shawaal, etc for Muslims. However, it is quite often doubted by followers of other religions and in some cases Christians too, whether or not the 25th December was in fact the day when Hadhrat ‘Isa (Alay Hissalaam) was born? Let’s read and ponder upon the following analysis on Christmas and, Insha Allah, the truth will become clearer. For a Muslim it is essential that if he celebrates Eid-ul Fitr or Eid-ul Adha he has either Qur’anic evidence or evidence from the Ahadith of the Holy prophet, Hadhrat Muhammad-ur Rasullullaah (Sallallaahu Alayhi Wasallam). Likewise, for a Christian to celebrate Christmas there should be Biblical evidence. The word 'Christmas' does not exist in the Holy Bible. The Bible has sealed lips on the entire feast of Christmas, with one exception, the decoration of a tree. The Holy Bible itself criticizes the decoration of the (Christmas) trees: "The customs of the people are worthless, they cut a tree out of the forest, and a craftsman shapes it with his chisel, they adore it with silver and gold, they fasten it with hammer and nails so it will not totter." (Jeremiah 10-3, 4). Neither the date 25th December nor any other date on Hadhrat ‘Isa (Alay Hissalaam’s) birth mentioned in the Holy Bible. It was not until the year 530 C.E. that a monk called Dionysus Exigus, fixed the date of Hadhrat ‘Isa (Alay Hissalaam’s) birth on December 25th. "He wrongly dated the birth of Christ according to the Roman system (i.e., 754 years after the founding of Rome) as December 25, 753". (Encyclopaedia Britannica, 1998 ed). This date was chosen in keeping with the holidays already indoctrinated into pagan’s beliefs. It is also often said that as Hadhrat ‘Isa (Alay Hissalaam) was born at a time when shepherds were abiding in the fields keeping watch over their flocks by night, Hadhrat ‘Isa (Alay Hissalaam) could not have been born, later than September. This is because, in Palestine - as in the rest of the Middle East at the time - shepherds stayed with their flocks in the fields only from spring to autumn. They brought their sheep in during the winter to protect them from the cold and rain. It is thus unlikely that the shepherds went to Bethlehem in December. As a matter of fact,   the 25th December was celebrated in ancient days as the birthday of the unconquerable SUN god, (variously know as Tammuz, Mithra, Saturn, Adonis or Baal) centuries before Hadhrat ‘Isa (Alay Hissalaam) was born in Bethlehem. (For specific astronomical documentation of the birth date of Hadhrat ‘Isa (Alay Hissalaam), I recommend you read the book titled ‘The Star That Astonished the World’, by Ernest L. Martin. He believes that when all the evidence is considered, it shows that Hadhrat ‘Isa (Alay Hissalaam) was not born in December, but in September of 3 B.C.)

If Hadhrat ‘Isa (Alay Hissalaam) wanted His followers to celebrate Christmas, He would have practiced it Himself and enjoined it on His followers. There is no mention in the entire Bible that any of His followers ever celebrated Hadhrat ‘Isa (Alay Hissalaam’s) birthday like Christians do today.

"The church did not observe a festival for the celebration of the event of Christmas until the 4th century." (Grolier's Encyclopaedia).

Thus, we see that neither the Holy Bible nor Hadhrat ‘Isa (Alay Hissalaam) and His companions say anything about the celebration of Christmas which currently involves fanfare, commercialisation, extravagant spending and devoid of any spiritual relevance.

MAY ALLAH TAA’LA ENABLE US NOT TO LEAVE THE TEACHINGS OF ISLAM! AAMEEN