A Muslim Convert Once Before

بِسۡمِ ٱللهِ ٱلرَّحۡمَـٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ   The Prophet ( s.a.w. ) said, “I am the best of people in kinship to Jesus, son of Mary, both in this world and in the Hereafter.   There is no prophet between myself and him.   The prophets are the sons of many wives, their mothers are different, but their religion is the same.”   He also said, “Those of you who reach Jesus, son of Mary, give him the greeting of peace from me.”

بِسۡمِ ٱللهِ ٱلرَّحۡمَـٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ Imam Abu Hamid Muhammad ibn Muhammad al-Ghazali ( r.a. ), recorded, from earlier Aramaic texts, that to Jesus ( a.s. ), son of Mary ( a.s. ), was of those who were specially favoured.   Among the proofs of it is this, that he called down peace upon himself, for he said, “Peace be on me the day I was born and the day I shall die, and the day I shall be Raised up alive.”   And this was because of His peace of mind and His loving-kindness toward men.   سُوۡرَةُ مَریَم وَٱلسَّلَـٰمُ عَلَىَّ يَوۡمَ وُلِدتُّ وَيَوۡمَ أَمُوتُ وَيَوۡمَ أُبۡعَثُ حَيًّ۬ا (٣٣)   “So, Peace is on me, the day I was born, the day that I die, and the day that I shall be Raised up to life (again)”! (Surah Maryam:33)   But as for John ( a.s. ), the son of Zachariah ( a.s. ), he took the place of awe and fear toward Allah ( s.w.t. ), and did not utter these words until after they were repeated to him by his Creator Who Says, “Peace be upon him the...

بِسۡمِ ٱللهِ ٱلرَّحۡمَـٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ   The Prophet ( s.a.w. ) said, “The devil touches each son of Adam on the day his mother gives birth to him, except for Mary and her son.”   In another narration, it is reported that the Prophet ( s.a.w. ) said, “The devil strikes all the children of Adam, with his finger on their side, when they are born, except Jesus, the son of Mary.   He tried to strike but struck a barrier.”   In another narration, it is reported that he said, “No child, from the children of Adam, is born that is not touched by the devil at birth, and so, he begins to cry from the touch of the devil except Mary, and her son.”   In another narration, it is reported that he said, “Every person that is born inherits the stroke of the devil.   Each child of Adam receives this strike except Mary, and her son, because, when her mother gave birth to her, she supplicated, ‘I seek Refuge with You for me and my descendant, from the exiled devil.’ ...

بِسۡمِ ٱللهِ ٱلرَّحۡمَـٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ The Prophet ( s.a.w. ) said, “The first Messenger was Adam, and the last Muhammad.  The first prophet to the Children of Israel was Moses, and the last, Jesus.   The first to write with a pen was Idris.”

بِسۡمِ ٱللهِ ٱلرَّحۡمَـٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ Imam Abu Hamid Muhammad ibn Muhammad al-Ghazali ( r.a. ), recorded, from earlier Aramaic texts, that when Jesus ( a.s. ), son of Mary ( a.s. ) was born, the devils came to Iblis saying, “The heads of all the statues are turned upside down!”   Iblis said, “This is an important happening - wait!”   Then he flew to both sides of the Earth and found nothing except that Jesus ( a.s. ) had been born, and that the angels surrounded him.   Then he returned to the devils, saying, “A prophet was born yesterday.   There is no female who became pregnant and gave birth without my attendance except this Mary.   Be disappointed that the statues will not be worshipped after this night, but come now to the son of Adam and mislead him through his habit of haste and carefree feelings.”

بِسۡمِ ٱللهِ ٱلرَّحۡمَـٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ   The following is my answer to a Quora question: “ Why do Muslims not celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ ( a.s. )? ”   It is impossible to generalise what Muslims do and do not do, when there are over a billion people who claim adherence to some form of Islam.   Many Muslims do not celebrate Christmas because it is not part of their culture, nor is it explicitly mentioned as celebrated anywhere in the Qur’an or the example of the Prophet ( s.a.w. ).   However, personally, I do celebrate Christmas.   It is part of my cultural tradition as a convert from Catholicism.   It is part of my Portuguese heritage.   I see no incongruency with this.   Since Muslims celebrate the birth of the Prophet Muhammad ( s.a.w. ), the Mawlid , I see no reason why cannot celebrate the birth of another prophet.   Christmas is a time of giving, and festive joy.   Being a Muslim does not preclude me from that.

بِسۡمِ ٱللهِ ٱلرَّحۡمَـٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ   The following is my answer to a Quora question: “ As a Muslim, do you enjoy Christmas? ”   Yes.   We have a tree and decorations as well.   I converted to Islam.   My evolution of theological position does not equate with the absolute rejection of my prior Catholic heritage and culture.   It is an evolution of beliefs.   To me, Christmas is the celebration of the birth of Jesus ( a.s. ), prophet of Islam, and one of the major figures of our sirah .   I do not suffer from this spiritual inadequacy that precludes me from enjoying the festivities and the values of giving and charity, which is not exclusive to Islam.

بِسۡمِ ٱللهِ ٱلرَّحۡمَـٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ The following is my answer to a Quora question: “ Can Muslim children celebrate Christmas? ”   I do.   Christmas is, to me, the celebration of the birth of a major prophet of Islam.   As a convert, it is very much part of my culture and upbringing, and I am not leaving that simply because I changed my religion.   I changed my theology; I am not interested in adhering to the cultural notions of Arabs, Malays or others.

بِسۡمِ ٱللهِ ٱلرَّحۡمَـٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ   There is a reason why the birth of Christ ( a.s. ) is set on the 25 th December, and the Annunciation on the 25 th March.   This is based on the belief in the Integral doctrine, or the integral age.   Integralism is the belief, common in ancient Judaism, that prophets died on the same day that they were born, or the day they were conceived.   This has been carried over to Islam, in the birth and death of the Prophet Muhammad ( s.a.w. ).   Thus, the prophets were said to have lived entire years.   “Integral” is derived from the Latin “integer”, meaning “whole”.   It was the belief of many of the early Christian that Jesus ( a.s. ) was crucified on 25 th March.   Based on integralism, that would mean he was either conceived or born on the 25 th March.   The consensus then was that it was the conception, because that was what the angel Gabriel announced:   Luke 1:26-38 26 When the sixth m...

بِسۡمِ ٱللهِ ٱلرَّحۡمَـٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ It is this time of the year that I am reminded that as a convert to Islam, I am of Portuguese Catholic heritage.  Christmas is very much part of my heritage and my culture.  I see no harm in having the Christmas tree, no issues with the visits, the food, the exchange of presents and greetings.  I am not in need of Muslims telling me this or that is haram , or shirk , or of pagan origins.  I ignore them and move on.  The world is full of voices, and noise.  We discern which is which, and listen to the voices, and shut out the noise.   If people are looking for genuine dialogue, however, I point out my reasons: that everything is halal unless there is proof that it is haram in fiqh al-mu’amalah , and that the mere performance of one haram act does not make the entirety of something haram .  If we go by that logic, some go to the mosque to look at girls and steal.  Should we ban mosques then?  Som...

بِسۡمِ ٱللهِ ٱلرَّحۡمَـٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ In this season of Christmas, we should not allow some Muslims to convince us that it is haram to receive gifts from our non-Muslim family and friends.  That is not the sunnah .  There are many ahadits that demonstrate that the Prophet ( s.a.w. ) accepted gifts from non-Muslims.  These ahadits are swahih .   For example, it is recorded that the Prophet ( s.a.w. ) sent Sayyidina Hathib ibn Abu Balta’ah ( r.a. ) to the Christian ruler of Alexandria with a message for him, and the Patriarch accepted the letter, honoured Sayyidina Hathib ( r.a. ), and made his stay comfortable.  The Patriarch then sent him back with a garment for the Prophet ( s.a.w. ), a mule with its saddle, and two slave girls as gifts.  One slave girl was Sayyidatina Umm Ibrahim Mariyah bint Sham’un al-Qibthiyyah ( r.a. ), and the other one, the Prophet ( s.a.w. ) gave as a gift to Sayyidina Jahm ibn Qays al-‘Abdari ( r.a. ).  The slave girls ...

بِسۡمِ ٱللهِ ٱلرَّحۡمَـٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ Brother Marquis Dawkins posted this, on The Sharing Group, on the 10 th April 2014: “A question about Jesus ( a.s. ) in regard to Islam.   Since the majority of us believe he was taken up to Heaven without being crucified or tasting death at all, what do people say he is doing there or his state?   Is he in a sort of cryogenic status where his body and mind are merely preserved until the end?   Is he fully alive as he was here on Earth, his age and physical state preserved?   Is he something else altogether?   And if so, what is his purpose until the end of days?   Is he merely serving God?   Is he answering the prayers of those who call on him?   I just think it is an interesting thought.   I know the Christian position on him after his ascension, but not the Islamic one.   Your thoughts?”   Brother Terence Helikaon Nunis : Wa ‘Alaykum as-Salaam ,   We know that Jesus ( a.s. ) is wi...

بِسۡمِ ٱللهِ ٱلرَّحۡمَـٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ   The following are some points about the birth of Jesus ( a.s. ), from a Biblical perspective, with some commentary by me.   Firstly, the four gospels do not all record the same events as each other.   This is the same for every point of Jesus’ ( a.s. ) life.   One pertinent point is that there is way too much information to fit into a single book about Jesus ( a.s. ).   Even the author of the Gospel according to John acknowledged as such, and he said:   John 21:25 25 There is much else besides that Jesus did; if all of it were put in writing, I do not think the world itself would contain the books which would have to be written.   25 ἔστιν δὲ καὶ ἄλλα πολλὰ ἃ ἐποίησεν ὁ Ἰησοῦς ἅτινα ἐὰν γράφηται καθ' ἕν οὐδ' αὐτὸν οἶμαι τὸν κόσμον χωρῆσαι τὰ γραφόμενα βιβλία.   25 Sunt autem et alia multa quæ fecit Jesus: quæ si scribantur per singula, nec ipsum arbitror mundum capere posse eos, qui scribendi ...