Every December, a question quietly stirs in the hearts of Muslims living in the West: if we love and honour Jesus (peace be upon him) as one of the mightiest Messengers of God — a belief required of every Muslim without exception — why don’t we celebrate Christmas? The answer lies not in indifference toward Jesus, but in a sincere commitment to following his actual teachings, tracing the true origins of Christmas honestly through history and scripture, and holding firm to the pure monotheism that every prophet from Abraham to Moses to Jesus to Muhammad (peace be upon them all) consistently proclaimed. In a thought-provoking episode of The Deen Show, Dr. Seil walks through the historical, scriptural, and theological evidence that exposes Christmas — and the figure of Santa Claus — as later human inventions, and invites both Muslims and non-Muslims to reflect on what Jesus himself actually called all of humanity to do.
December 25th Has No Biblical or Historical Basis in Jesus’s Birth
“Neither the mention of the 25th of December is there in the Bible, nor did the disciples celebrate on the 25th of December.” — Encyclopaedia Britannica
According to Encyclopaedia Britannica — one of the most authoritative secular references available — there is not a single mention of December 25th as the birth date of Jesus Christ anywhere in the Bible, and none of the early disciples ever observed or celebrated it. The date was adopted centuries later as Christianity expanded into the Roman, Greek, and Egyptian worlds, gradually absorbing existing pagan winter solstice traditions. Long before Christmas existed, the Persian and Roman deity Mithra, the Roman god Bacchus, and the Greek figure Hercules — all venerated as divine sons of God or spiritual mediators — were already celebrated as being born on December 25th. As pagan empires converted to Christianity, they carried their festivals with them, grafting deep-rooted traditions onto the new faith. The biblical account itself argues against a winter birth: Luke 2:4–8 records shepherds tending their flocks in open fields on the night Jesus was born — a practice incompatible with the near-freezing temperatures of late December in Bethlehem. The theological contradiction runs even deeper: if Jesus were God, as mainstream Christianity asserts, then celebrating his “birth” undermines the very concept of divinity, since God — by every classical definition — is eternal, self-existent, without beginning or end. A God who is born on a calendar date is not the God that reason, scripture, or faith has ever truly described.
- The Bible contains no reference to December 25th as the birth date of Jesus — confirmed by Encyclopaedia Britannica
- Early disciples never celebrated Christmas; the date was incorporated from pre-existing pagan traditions
- Mithra, Bacchus, and Hercules — pagan figures from Persian, Roman, and Greek religion — were all celebrated as born on December 25th, centuries before Jesus
- Shepherds tending flocks at night (Luke 2:8) is inconsistent with the freezing temperatures of late December in the Bethlehem region
- Claiming God was “born” on a specific date contradicts the universal theological attribute of God’s eternal, uncreated nature
Santa Claus, the Christmas Tree, and What the Bible Actually Warns Against
The figure of Santa Claus traces back to Saint Nicholas of Denmark, a bishop who lived approximately 300 years after Jesus and was known for giving gifts to children. When he died on December 6th, his followers began commemorating that date annually with gift-giving — until Queen Victoria relocated the observance to Christmas Eve, permanently fusing it with the December 25th celebration. What began as a benign remembrance of a generous man has evolved into something theologically serious: Santa Claus is now attributed with omniscience (knowing who is “naughty or nice” among billions of people), omnipresence (visiting every home in a single night), and the power to grant requests and reward behaviour — attributes that belong exclusively to God alone. When children are taught to direct their wishes to Santa, fear his judgment, and trust in his gifts, the focus shifts from the Creator to a created human being — precisely the pattern of associating partners with God that every prophet throughout history was sent to correct. The Christmas tree carries an equally striking scriptural warning: the Book of Jeremiah, chapter 10, verses 3 and 4 — from within the Bible’s own Old Testament — explicitly condemns the practice of cutting a tree from the forest, bringing it home, and decorating it, calling such customs worthless. This is not an obscure or marginal passage; it is a direct divine prohibition sitting inside the very scripture that Christmas-celebrating Christians revere, yet it is almost never discussed during the festive season. Not good intentions alone — but knowledge, sincerity, and conformity to God’s guidance — is what makes any act of worship truly acceptable.
- Santa Claus originates from Saint Nicholas of Denmark (died December 6th), moved to December 24th by Queen Victoria
- Attributes assigned to Santa — omniscience, omnipresence, wish-granting — belong exclusively to God; teaching children otherwise subtly displaces God-consciousness
- Jeremiah 10:3–4 (Old Testament) explicitly condemns cutting a tree from the forest, bringing it home, and decorating it
- Jesus (peace be upon him) never commanded his followers to celebrate his birth, put up trees, or treat him as an object of worship
- Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him), described in Quran 33:21 as the best example to follow, never celebrated his own birthday — and neither did any of the prophets before him
- Good intentions do not validate acts of worship — every spiritual practice must align with the guidance of God and His prophets to be accepted
The First Commandment and the Faith That Jesus Himself Practised
“Hear O Israel, the Lord our God, He is one Lord. Worship Him with all your heart, with all your mind, and with all your soul.” — Jesus Christ (peace be upon him), Gospel of Mark 12:29
When asked which of the 613 Jewish commandments was the greatest, Jesus gave an answer that was unambiguous, uncompromising, and deeply familiar to every Muslim: not “believe in me as God,” not “celebrate my birth,” but a direct reaffirmation of the pure monotheism proclaimed by Moses — worship the one God, with your whole heart, mind, and soul. The Quran confirms this message in chapter 3, verse 51, where Jesus says: “Verily, Allah is my Lord and your Lord, so worship Him — that is the straight path.” From Adam to Abraham, from Moses to Jesus to Muhammad (peace be upon them all), the message of every prophet has been singular, unbroken, and clear: submit to the one Creator, and worship nothing and no one alongside Him. The great scholar Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyah warned that imitating the religious festivals of other faiths signals silent approval of the beliefs those festivals contain — and for a Muslim, wishing others a “Merry Christmas” or joining in the celebration inadvertently endorses the theological claims embedded within it: the divinity of Jesus, the doctrine of the Trinity, and the concept of God having a literal son. These are not minor theological footnotes; in the Quran, the oneness of God — tawheed — is the very foundation of faith and the axis around which all of Islamic spirituality, guidance, and purpose revolves. Islam is not simply a faith about Jesus; as Dr. Seil compellingly put it, Islam is the faith of Jesus — the very same path of complete submission to the one God that Jesus walked, taught, and embodied throughout his noble life. This season, let the Muslim response be one of warm, confident love for our neighbours, a willingness to share the true and beautiful message of Jesus with wisdom and care, and an unwavering loyalty to the one God that Jesus himself called all of humanity to worship — “the Creator, and not the creation.”
