can Muslims wish others a Merry Christmas?

December 19, 2020

The Hanbalis & Merry Christmas: To Greet or Not To Greet?

Q. Is it true that Imam Ahmad b. Hanbal and classical Hanbali scholars allowed Muslims to offer Christmas greeting to Christians? Based on this, a few fatwas today now allow us to wish our Christian friends, family or colleagues a Merry Christmas. Is this correct? A. I’ll address the issue of whether Hanbali jurists allowed offering Christmas greetings Continue reading

contemporary concerns, correctives & clarifications, fiqh & usul al-fiqh, hanbali fiqh, theology

Bin Bayyah’s fatwa on Christmas greetings, Can a Muslim take part in Christmas parties and celebrations?, can Muslims wish others a Merry Christmas?, Hanbalis forbid Christmas greetings, Islamic ruling on giving Christmas greetings, the Hanbali view on offering Christmas greetings, what does the shari’a say about offering Christmas greetings?

About Me

My name is Surkheel Sharif (aka Abu Aaliyah). Born and raised in London, England, I began my more formal, but gradual studies of the Islamic sciences around the late 1980s (just a few years after having quit my degree in Astrophysics). I also gained an MA in Islamic Studies from Birkbeck College, University of London, in 2009.

I’ve translated a few Islamic works from Arabic into English; one of them, a short text on Muslim spirituality, called The Exquisite Pearl (2000). I have also authored a few books, including: More Fish Please & the Earth’s Complaint (2011); Fussing Over the 15th of Sha’ban & the Golden Rule of Differing (2011); A Muslim’s Guide to Modernity (2025); and Salafism Reconsidered (forthcoming)

I am the founder and current Director of the Jawziyyah Institute (est. 1999): a non-profit organisation dedicated to cultivating an Islam true to its time-honoured tradition, relevant to its current context, and of benefit to wider society.

can Muslims wish others a Merry Christmas?

The Hanbalis & Merry Christmas: To Greet or Not To Greet?