Why I Give Gifts Outside Of Christmas

DawudWalid 2 Comments

There is confusion among Muslims living in The West regarding limits of how we should engage the broader society during their religious holidays such as Christmas where there are parties and gift giving.  Indeed, this issue can be even more problematic for those Muslims, who have Christian family members.  Let me elaborate on why I don’t give my Christian family members gifts during the Christmas season.

Before going on further, there is no doubt that keeping close relations with family and neighbors, who are not Muslim is must, and giving gifts is praiseworthy in Islam.

Prophet Muhammad (Prayers & Peace be upon him & his family) said, “The best of you are you who are best to his family.”

Also, he (Prayers & Peace be upon him & his family) said, “He is not a Muslim who stays full while his neighbor is hungry.”

And he (Prayers & Peace be upon him & his family) said, “Give gifts, and you will love each other.”

Treating ones’ family and neighbors well and with the best of manners is an Islamic value irrespective of their religions.  Accepting kindness shown by people outside of the Islamic faith is also an Islamic value.  Indeed, Prophet Muhammad (Prayers & Peace be upon him and his family) accepted gifts from people, who were not Muslim.  Similarly, Ali ibn Abi Talib (Blessings be upon him) even accepted a gift given to him on the Zoroastrian holiday of Nayrouz (Nowruz).  Like everything within Islam, however, there are limits and wisdom behind staying within certain parameters.

There are no authentic narrations, which state the Prophet (Prayers & Peace be upon him & his family) and the righteous Muslims among the earliest generations ever gave gifts to people of other religious on their holy days.  Among the varying schools of thought, scholars have ruled that accepting gifts of people who are not Muslims is acceptable including on their holidays, excluding eating from the meat of people who are not Jews or Christians.  However, varying scholars of different schools have stated that giving gifts to people of other religions on their holidays is despicable (makruh) as noted in the Maliki book At-Taaj wal Ikleel or is forbidden (haraam) as noted in the Hanbali book Al-Iqnaa’.

The reason is based upon a narration attributed to Prophet Muhammad (Prayers & Peace be upon him and his family), which says “Whoever imitates a people is one of them.”  Hence, scholars have stated that to be involved in the festivities of others’ holy days including gift giving is a type of affirmation that their celebrations are based in correctness of religious creed.  Religious holy days such as Christmas, which have religious significance for people who are not Muslims should not be hindered nor insulted by Muslims; however, religious holidays should not be celebrated that are outside of the path (shari’ah) given to Prophet Muhammad (Prayers & Peace be upon him & his family.)

Even in the case of the Day of ‘Aashoora, in which the majority of Muslims take as a day of fasting in which it is believed that the Children of Israel were saved from Pharaoh, that day was reportedly legislated by the Prophet (Prayers & Peace be upon him & his family) as a holy day.  He (Prayers & Peace be upon him) did not legislate December 25th, a day which Jesus (Peace be upon him) wasn’t born in and a day which has roots in pagan worship, as a special day despite the Islamic belief in the immaculate conceptions of Jesus (Peace be upon him.)

Prophet Muhammad (Prayers & peace be upon him & his family) clearly said, “Leave what makes you doubt for what does not make you doubt.” He (Prayers & Peace be upon him and his family) also said, ““He who innovates something in this matter of ours that is not of it will have it rejected.”

Thus, I accept gifts from my Christian family and friends based upon the Sunnah, but I give them gifts during other times of the year outside of Christmas, primarily during ‘Eid Al-Fitr and ‘Eid Al-Adha.

And Allah knows best.

DawudWalid

Dawud Walid is currently the Executive Director of the Michigan chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR-MI), which is a chapter of America's largest advocacy and civil liberties organization for American Muslims and is a member of the Michigan Muslim Community Council (MMCC) Imams Committee. Walid has been interviewed and quoted in approximately 150 media outlets ranging from the New York Times, Wall St Journal, National Public Radio, CNN, BBC, FOX News and Al-Jazeera. Furthermore, Walid was a political blogger for the Detroit News from January 2014 to January 2016, has had essays published in the 2012 book All-American: 45 American Men on Being Muslim, the 2014 book Qur'an in Conversation and was quoted as an expert in 13 additional books and academic dissertations. He was also a featured character in the 2013 HBO documentary "The Education of Mohammad Hussein." Walid has lectured at over 50 institutions of higher learning about Islam, interfaith dialogue and social justice including at Harvard University, DePaul University and the University of the Virgin Islands - St. Thomas and St. Croix campuses as well as spoken at the 2008 and 2011 Congressional Black Caucus Conventions alongside prominent speakers such as the Rev. Jesse Jackson and Congressman Keith Ellison. In 2008, Walid delivered the closing benediction at the historic 52nd Michigan Electoral College in the Michigan State Senate chambers and gave the Baccalaureate speech for graduates of the prestigious Cranbrook-Kingswood Academy located in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan. Walid was also a featured speaker at the 2009 and 2010 Malian Peace and Tolerance Conferences at the University of Bamako in Mali, West Africa. He has also given testimony at hearings and briefings in front of Michigan state legislators and U.S. congressional representatives, including speaking before members of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus in Washington, D.C. Walid has studied under qualified scholars the disciplines of Arabic grammar and morphology, foundations of Islamic jurisprudence, sciences of the exegesis of the Qur’an, and Islamic history during the era of Prophet Muhammad through the governments of the first 5 caliphs. He previously served as an imam at Masjid Wali Muhammad in Detroit and the Bosnian American Islamic Center in Hamtramck, Michigan, and continues to deliver sermons and lectures at Islamic centers across the United States and Canada. Walid was a 2011 - 2012 fellow of the University of Southern California (USC) American Muslim Civil Leadership Institute (AMCLI) and a 2014 - 2015 fellow of the Wayne State Law School Detroit Action Equity Lab (DEAL). Walid served in the United States Navy under honorable conditions earning two United States Navy & Marine Corp Achievement medals while deployed abroad. He has also received awards of recognition from the city councils of Detroit and Hamtramck and from the Mayor of Lansing as well as a number of other religious and community organizations.

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2 Comments

  1. Curious, are u saying it is forbidden to celebrate holidays which the Prophet Mohammad did not celebrate? Or makrouh? Or what.. Cuz Eid Al-Adha is a holiday that is from something brought down by Prophet Abraham.. So what’s wrong with observing holidays from each of our Prophets? Or at least commemorating in the monumentous occassions that lead to the completion of Islam by Prophet Mohammad?

  2. The Qur’an & Prophet Muhammad (SAAS) command us to make Hajj, so it is not an option. There is no such proof that Prophet Muhammad (SAAS) legislated or encouraged us to make any of the prophet’s birthdays into a type of ‘Eid.

    We don’t even known when Musa or ‘Isa where really born anyway.

    Therefore, your mentioning of Hajj is not analogous.

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