Can I celebrate non-Muslim holidays?

Your first holiday season as a Muslim can bring mixed feelings. You love your family, and you remember what these days meant to you growing up. At the same time, you want to be true to your new faith. Both feelings are good, and you do not have to choose between your faith and your family. This lesson explains what the majority of scholars teach about the religious holidays of other faiths, why, and how to keep your family close.

What the majority of scholars say

The majority of scholars hold that a Muslim does not celebrate or take part in the religious festivals of other faiths, such as Christmas or Easter. Many scholars describe this as a point of agreement. In practice, it means not joining:

• the worship or religious rituals of the day, such as a church service;

• the celebration itself, such as the holiday party or festive meal held for the occasion, its decorations, or exchanging gifts for the festival.

Some contemporary scholars are more lenient about the social side of these days. This lesson follows the majority view.

Why: Allah gave you your own festivals

A religious festival is one of the clearest signs of a faith. When the Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him, came to Madinah, the people there had two days of play and celebration from the time before Islam. Anas ibn Malik, may Allah be pleased with him, reported that the Prophet told them:

Allah has substituted for them something better than them, the day of sacrifice and the day of the breaking of the fast

Sunan Abi Dawud 1134 (sahih)

These two days are Eid al-Adha (the festival of the sacrifice) and Eid al-Fitr (the festival that ends Ramadan). Eid means a festival that returns every year. Stepping back from another faith's festival is not a rejection of your family. It is making room for the celebrations Allah chose for you, and you can share their joy with your family too.

Kindness to your family stays

Islam does not ask you to pull away from your parents. Allah speaks about parents who even push their child to worship others besides Him, and He still commands kindness toward them:

But if they endeavor to make you associate with Me that of which you have no knowledge, do not obey them but accompany them in [this] world with appropriate kindness and follow the way of those who turn back to Me [in repentance]. Then to Me will be your return, and I will inform you about what you used to do.

Quran 31:15 (translation of the meaning)

So you do not follow them in what goes against your faith, but you keep treating them well. Allah also says about people of other faiths who live in peace with you:

Allah does not forbid you from those who do not fight you because of religion and do not expel you from your homes.

Quran 60:8 (translation of the meaning)

The verse continues: being kind and fair to them is welcome, because Allah loves those who act justly. When the mother of Asma bint Abi Bakr, may Allah be pleased with her, came to visit her while still not Muslim, Asma asked the Prophet whether she should keep ties with her. He answered:

Yes, keep ties with your mother.

Sahih al-Bukhari 2620 and Sahih Muslim 1003 (agreed upon), translation of the meaning

Ideas for the holiday season

If your situation is especially hard, for example you live with family who strongly insist, speak to a local imam. Scholars take real hardship into account.

Next, you will learn what to say when someone wishes you a happy holiday, and warm words you can use instead.

Scholars hold more than one view on this question. This lesson presents the view held by the majority of scholars. If you are unsure what applies to you, ask a trusted scholar or the imam at your local masjid.