Is it haram for Muslims to celebrate Christmas?

Every December, Muslims living among Christians, and Muslims with Christian parents, spouses and grandparents, wonder whether they may join in the season. The stronger view (al-rājiḥ) is that celebrating Christmas with family and neighbors, and wishing them a Merry Christmas, is halal. The Quran loves the one whose birth Christians celebrate, it commands kindness and justice toward people of other faiths, and leading muftis of the Muslim world send Christmas greetings themselves.

What does the Quran say about the birth of Jesus?

The Quran tells the Christmas story in Sūrat Maryam (19:16–34), the only chapter named after a woman. The angel comes to Mary, she withdraws to a far place, and the pangs of birth drive her to the trunk of a palm tree, where Allah gives her fresh dates and a stream of water. The infant Jesus (peace be upon him) then speaks from the cradle and blesses his own birthday: “Peace be upon me the day I was born” (19:33). In Sūrat Āl ʿImrān, the angels announce his coming to his mother:

إِذۡ قَالَتِ ٱلۡمَلَـٰٓئِكَةُ يَٰمَرۡيَمُ إِنَّ ٱللَّهَ يُبَشِّرُكِ بِكَلِمَةٖ مِّنۡهُ ٱسۡمُهُ ٱلۡمَسِيحُ عِيسَى ٱبۡنُ مَرۡيَمَ وَجِيهٗا فِي ٱلدُّنۡيَا وَٱلۡأٓخِرَةِ وَمِنَ ٱلۡمُقَرَّبِينَ

“The angels said: Mary, Allah gives you good news of a Word from Him. His name is the Messiah, Jesus son of Mary, honored in this world and the next, and one of those brought near.”

Quran 3:45

Muslims and Christians differ about who Jesus is. Muslims honor him as a prophet and the Messiah, and Christians worship him as the Son of God. Both rejoice that he was born. Our answer on what Muslims believe about Jesus explains the Muslim understanding in full.

Can Muslims say Merry Christmas?

Yes. The Quran sets the rule for relations with peaceful people of other faiths:

لَّا يَنۡهَىٰكُمُ ٱللَّهُ عَنِ ٱلَّذِينَ لَمۡ يُقَٰتِلُوكُمۡ فِي ٱلدِّينِ وَلَمۡ يُخۡرِجُوكُم مِّن دِيَٰرِكُمۡ أَن تَبَرُّوهُمۡ وَتُقۡسِطُوٓاْ إِلَيۡهِمۡ

“Allah does not forbid you to be good and just to those who have not fought you over religion or driven you from your homes.”

Quran 60:8

The word for “be good to them” (tabarrūhum) comes from birr, the same word the Quran uses for devotion to one’s parents. It also commands believers to answer a greeting with a better one or at least an equal one (Quran 4:86). When a Christian neighbor wishes you a Merry Christmas, answering warmly is following the Quran.

The muftis of Egypt have said so clearly. In 2012 the Grand Mufti, Ali Gomaa, encouraged Muslims to offer Christmas greetings to Christians and described the birth of Jesus as a birth of goodness, peace and mercy for all people. Egypt’s Dar al-Ifta has ruled that congratulating Christians on their feasts, exchanging visits and gifts, is part of good conduct, and it recalls that the Prophet ﷺ accepted gifts from al-Muqawqis, the Christian ruler of Egypt. On Christmas Day 2022, the Grand Imam of al-Azhar, Ahmed al-Tayeb, wished Christians around the world a merry Christmas, and Dar al-Ifta confirmed the next day that such greetings are good neighborliness.

What about the scholars who forbid it?

The scholars differed (ikhtalafa al-ʿulamāʾ). Some classical and modern scholars held that congratulating others on their religious festivals is forbidden, because it may seem to approve beliefs Islam does not share. That view is held sincerely by many. The answer of the scholars who permit it is that a greeting wishes a person joy and peace; it is no statement of creed, and every Christian friend knows that a Muslim who wishes them a Merry Christmas remains a Muslim. The stronger view follows the Quran’s command of birr and the practice of the great Muslim societies where Muslims and Christians have lived side by side for centuries.

How do Muslims share Christmas around the world?

In Egypt, Coptic Christmas on 7 January has been a national holiday since 2003, and many Muslims visit Christian friends and neighbors to greet them. In Lebanon, the Feast of the Annunciation on 25 March, which honors Mary, has been celebrated since 2010 as a national feast shared by Muslims and Christians. In Europe and North America, many Muslims with Christian relatives gather with them for Christmas dinner, as families who love one another do.

How should Muslims with Christian family approach Christmas?

Converts often worry most. Islam asks you to keep the ties of kinship with your parents, whatever their faith (31:15), and to treat neighbors with generosity. The Prophet ﷺ said:

«مَا زَالَ يُوصِينِي جِبْرِيلُ بِالْجَارِ حَتَّى ظَنَنْتُ أَنَّهُ سَيُوَرِّثُهُ»

“Gabriel kept urging me to be good to the neighbor until I thought he would make him an heir.”

Sahih al-Bukhari 6014

Go home for Christmas. Eat with your family, give and receive gifts, sing with your nieces and nephews, and keep your own prayers along the way. If you are invited to a Christmas service, our answer on whether Muslims can go to church explains why you may attend. For the wider question of friendship, see Can Muslims be friends with non-Muslims?, and for the shared faith in one God, Do Muslims and Christians worship the same God?

A closing word

The season gives Muslims a chance to speak of Jesus and Mary with the love the Quran shows them, and to be, for their neighbors, the kind of people the Prophet ﷺ described. May Allah fill your December with warmth, your homes with peace, and your friendships with the mercy that He sent into the world through all His messengers.