بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم

 

Friday Sermon

 

HAZRAT AMIR’UL MOMENEEN MUHYI-UD-DIN

AL KHALIFATULLAH

 

Munir Ahmad Azim

 

 

24 December 2010

 

(17 Muharram 1432 Hijri)

 

(Summary of Friday Sermon)

 

After having greeted everybody with the Salutations of Peace, the Messiah (Massih’ullah) read the Tashahhud, Taouz and Surah Al Fatiha and then he said:

 

The month of December, especially in Mauritius like we all know, is a month of temptation, a month filled with festive ambiances and activities. Wherever you go, you see each person occupied in his own way. Being Muslims, it would be right if I put before you our view on the temptations which surround us in this month.

 

1. A Muslim must know that the month of December does not mean anything to us, for December as a month is not according to the Islamic Calendar prescribed for us by Allah the Almighty. We are presently in the month of Muharram, the first month of the Islamic Calendar 1432, and thus we must not associate us with others who are celebrating Christmas and New Year in the last days of December. We must not copy them and blindly follow them in these unislamic teachings.

 

2. In the month of December, most precisely the 25 December – and now that today is the 24 December – the ambiance of Christmas is everywhere whereby people are buying gifts and toys for their children, Christmas trees with their decorations and installing it in their homes and where man, wife and children roam the streets till late at night and with the majority attending to the midnight mass (in the Church). All these are an insult to Islam whereby they say that Jesus (Prophet Issa) is being resurrected and according to the Christians, they are in the opinion that Jesus was born on a 25 December and thus, this day has become a public holiday where nowadays nearly all people celebrate Christmas and wishing other Merry Christmas and on this occasion, preparing good food and consuming alcoholic drinks.

 

A Muslim does not celebrate Christmas, for the Holy Prophet (peace be upon him) forbade us to celebrate the birthday of Issa (on him be peace). And a Muslim does not have the right to place a Christmas tree in his house and fooling his children, making them believe in the existence of Santa Claus who shall bring for them toys. All these are a bunch of lies and falsehood. It is forbidden for a Muslim to participate in these kinds of parties where Santa Claus and Christmas is associated to them.

 

We, Muslims, must make our children understand this well that Christmas is not our festival, and thus toys or other gifts are not to be bought for them on this occasion. Muslim parents must not buy gifts for their children on this day and thus making their children believe that all these are permissible in Islam. A Muslim parent may have this thought: “What harm is there if I buy toys for my child, be it on the 24 or 25 December, for all the other children are receiving toys to play with and my child will have to see them play and be sad about it?” This in fact is one of the trials of a Muslim, to see if whether he loves Allah and His Prophet more than these non-islamic innovations, or whether he will seize this opportunity to makes a good lesson to his children and inculcate into them the good values of Islam and what Islam preaching. Moreover, it is also a good opportunity for Muslims to pass on the message of Islam to those people who are celebrating Christmas.

 

Muslims must understand this well; buying a toy to give to your child is not a sin, but on Christmas day it becomes a sin because the non-believers are celebrating a festival which is against the commandments of Allah and the practices of His Prophet (peace be upon him) and you are participating in these festivities like them. Christmas is not a Muslim festival. The only festivals which Allah the Almighty has rendered legal are the Eid-ul-Fitr and Eid-ul-Adha. It is for the occasion of these festivals, especially for Eid-ul-Fitr that permission has been given to buy good clothes, gifts and toys for your children and also to make exchange of gifts; not Christmas or Christian New Year whereby toys are bought, Christmas trees with their decorations are installed in houses, where there is wastage of money in the buying of firecrackers, whereby Muslims disregard the importance of the obligatory prayers, recitation of the Holy Quran and remembering Allah, and instead they act like the non-believers and merry like them. Amusing themselves just as if there is no difference with these non-believers and themselves. It is unfortunate to see Muslims following the customs of non-believers and celebrating like they celebrate. On the contrary, it is us Muslims who should be a model for other religions to follow and not the other way round. It is us who should have showed them the teachings of Islam.

 

3. One more thing which we see after Christmas, is New Year Eve celebrations which is absolutely against the commandments of our Creator; it is forbidden in Islam to celebrate New Year Eve and staying till late in the night with family and celebrating with barbecue, good food, exploding at midnight such firecrackers which were bought for thousands of rupees to give to the children and to merry with alcoholic drinks saying chin-chin with the light touch of their glasses – all these to welcome the New Year, ignoring to pray late in the night (Tahajjud prayers). On the contrary, you (Muslims) should have taken these opportunities to make special invocations to Allah so that the new year becomes a source of mercy and blessings for each of us (Muslims) and that Allah change for the better our lives so that we direct our orientation towards spirituality more than mundane matters, and we ask Allah to make us become good preachers (to guide other people to the path of Islam) and Insha-Allah, to give the message of Islam to a maximum of people during the course of the year.

 

Muslims must understand this well that New Year Eve celebration is not an act prescribed by the Shariah (the Islamic laws). It is a custom of the infidels prescribed by Satan, not by Allah the Almighty. If a Muslim celebrates the coming New Year like the infidels, this indicates that he will rise among them midst on the Day of Judgement.

 

Our beloved Prophet (peace be upon him) has said: “The one to invite a people, he shall be among them.” (Abu Dawud)

 

Wishing someone or a neighbour “Happy New Year” is not forbidden and is not a sin. On the contrary, it is a wish, a prayer that may God (Allah) keeps him in good health, gives him a long life and prosperity. It is a good way for a Muslim to greet others, but not to go and dance, and take alcoholic drinks with them and do other things which Allah has forbidden him to do. A Muslim is him who obeys Allah in all things He asks him to do and do not approach that which He has forbidden him to do.

 

These are the last weeks of December and in Mauritius (like in other countries also) there are end of year parties, be them thrown by the government or the private sector, or factories (for their employees) and other workplaces. They celebrate end of year parties in hotels and other places where they reunite all their employees to take a snack and drink (mostly alcoholic drinks).

 

Muslim brothers and sisters who are invited to such parties must take precaution with these kinds of parties. Have the fear of Allah only, not creatures or what your boss will tell you if you do not come, or fearing that your friends and colleagues will laugh at you etc. On the contrary, as much as you can, you must avoid such parties, be them Christmas parties or those thrown for New Year. There are in some working place where bosses abuse on their Muslim employees and force them to attend such parties, and despite knowing that Muslims don’t drink (alcoholic drinks), they command that alcoholic drinks be served, for example, whiskey, to their superiors, friends and employees etc.

 

Being a Muslim, if you have a deep love for the Unity of Allah and if you are someone who is devoted to your prayers, remembrance of Allah and Quran recitation, and if you are attached to put into practice the rest of the five pillars of Islam (Fasting, distributing Zakaat etc.), therefore you should not let these kinds of people humiliate you in this way. You should not those who have taken the satanic path belittle you. Do not make your Lord (Allah) angry with you whereby you obey creatures and disobey the Creator when you know very well that which they do are bad (and repugnant).

 

For a true Muslim believer, when he sees such repugnant acts before him, he must leave the place immediately lest Satan, in a jiffy can make him go wayward (deviate from the right path) and when afterwards he shall regret bitterly what he has done.

 

If you have participated in such a party and your boss has given you orders to serve alcoholic drinks to others, you should have refused immediately. A true believer does not have the right to sit in such parties where alcoholic drinks are served, and when indecent words are talked, even if he (the believer) is only drinking a glass of grape juice. These kinds of places have not been made for true Muslims. A true Muslim believer’s place is among those who submit themselves completely to Allah the Almighty and who encourage good and who forbid evils.

 

I end my sermon here today and Insha-Allah, next week, 31 December I shall continue the second part of this sermon. May Allah bless you and send upon us His mercy. Ameen.