CAN I GIVE CHRISTMAS PRESENTS TO MUSLIM FRIENDS?

Of course! Your friends will be happy to receive your gifts. Biscuits and sweets are always welcome, especially if homemade. But avoid sweets with gelatine and remember most mince pies have suet or similar, so check for halal ingredients.

Be aware that your friend might or might not give you a gift in return. A Mahabba member posed this question on the discussion site:

I had a wonderful time of sharing over Christmas with my Muslim friends. I visited one friend who told me that the mosque is saying it is sin to give Christmas presents. This is the first she has heard of this and is very confused. She feels that this could be very divisive. Have you heard of this teaching?

Two people responded:

Response 1 - This may not necessarily be a teaching that you have come across, but for some persuasions in Islam it is a logical conclusion. If you say Christmas is not something that Muhammad celebrated, it is therefore not sunna (accepted practice). Indeed, Wahabi and Deobandi (strict sects within Islam) teach that celebrating birthdays is haram (forbidden). That includes Jesus’ and, sadly, the little girl’s who lives round the corner. However, it was nice that she gave you a present, and often the fun of parties and presents is more powerful than dull doctrine.

Response 2 - Given that Christmas is also a celebration of the incarnation of God in human form on earth, it is a particularly severe heresy in Islam. Therefore, giving Christmas presents is seen as participating in, and affirming, something that is un-Islamic and wrong.