Holiday Myths- The Truth About Holidays

The Truth About Holidays

Opening Greetings

In the name of Allah, the Beneficent, the Merciful, I begin with the greeting words of Paradise. (السَّلَامُ عَلَيْكُمْ وَرَحْمَةُ اللهِ - As-salamu alaykum wa rahmatullahi). And we want to extend special greetings and hopes of peace and understanding to our non-Muslim friends who are gathered here tonight.

Those who may be passing through the hallway. Those who may look in the window. Wherever you are, we also greet you with the greeting words of peace.

The Importance of Cultural Understanding

It is so important for the people of America and the West to begin to understand the cultures of the world. And places such as the University of Miami represent a gathering point. It represents an area where students come from different parts of the planet.

Where people are able to share information. Where now with advanced technology, we are able to access information from different parts of the planet and to bring it together. And where we are able to do investigations.

To try to find out that which is true and that which is false. Also, another one of the great blessings of this technology is that we are able to sift through data and to find out that information that is causing confusion. And sometimes historical documentation or what has come to us as historical documentation is actually more based upon the opinion of the person who wrote the book as opposed to actual fact.

Also, unfortunately, people are influenced by their religions, by the country they live in, or by their culture. And so with the bringing together of information, we are able to look closer at primary documentation. To try to understand what is the actual source of the phenomena.

The Problem of Stereotyping

And then we can sift away the other opinions and the other bits of information that were brought together as though they were the actual fact. And so tonight we are looking at culture. We are looking at the culture of people in America and Canada and the western countries and how this affects people throughout the planet.

And we want to do this in the light of this concept of stereotyping. Because this concept of stereotyping has had a very difficult or critical effect upon the cultures of the people who lived here in the Americas over 500 years ago or more. The native population.

Also African-American people. People of all different nationalities have found themselves at one point and another being stereotyped. For some reason, based upon the changes going on in the international arena, politically and economically, for some reason the Muslim world, Muslims today are being targeted.

Hollywood's Role in Stereotyping Muslims

And even Hollywood itself is taking on a role, an aggressive role in dealing with the name Muslim or the name Islam. When I was growing up in America here, the bad guys were usually Japanese, Germans and Russians in the 70s and the 80s. And of course the native people, that's a given.

They were always portrayed as being the bad guys in the movies. So the cowboys and the military people had to rescue the free world from the danger. Today we find that the bad guys usually are Spanish drug cartels, Afro-American gangs, Jamaican posse.

But today the most sinister character that you could bring to the screen is the Arab terrorist. He seizes his hostages and he will not release his hostages unless his comrades are released from the prison. And so then the forces of good, quote-unquote good, go into action.

And we have found in the past few years coming out of Hollywood, that even people like Chuck Norris in Delta Force, Arnold Schwarzenegger, the big muscles, and Steven Seagal with a little ponytail on his head. And all types of people are now chasing this new terrorist, this new phenomenon, this evil force, evil empire, seeking to destroy the world.

The Dangerous Precedent of The Siege

Recently, unfortunately, we have heard of the coming of another movie called The Siege. And in this movie, which will be starring Bruce Willis and Denzel Washington and others, it is portraying germ warfare, chemical warfare in New York City.

And so the FBI and the CIA and the American military are dispatched to try to deal with the new terror. They put their heads together. And unfortunately, the movie shows soldiers coming in, breaking into masjids, houses of worship of Muslims, and dragging out women with scarves on, taking people from their worship. And Muslims are being portrayed now as this dangerous international force.

What is setting a new precedent in this case is that, from what we understand, these Muslims are put into concentration camps in America. This is a very serious issue. For those who have understanding of World War II, understand that when the United States government declared war on the Japanese and the powers with Hitler, anybody who was from that nationality, who was considered to be a threat to the internal security of the country, could be put into jail. And Japanese-Americans, Japanese-Canadians, even though they may have been loyal to the government, were put into concentration camps.

Also, those of us who lived during the 60s, when the rioting went on, after Martin Luther King had been killed and cities were being burned, also realized that there were concentrations set up for African-Americans, that if the riots got out of control, there was a plan that has come forward now, and all of the nationalist organizations were broken apart, infiltrated, the leaders were killed and sent into exile, and there was a specific plot that if the African-American population became too volatile and out of control, that they, or at least the more negative, volatile elements within their population, could be put into concentration camps in America.

The Reality of Islam: An International Phenomenon

So the fact that these concentration camps existed, and the fact now that Bruce Willis, after fighting against aliens and meteors and comets and fighting everybody and saving America, now wants to save America against the Muslims. This is the furthest thing from reality.

Because the reality is, Muslims are not a tiny group of people trying to destroy the world. This is a complete stereotype. Muslims make up 23.1% of the earth's population. This is not a tiny cult in the Middle East. This is an international phenomenon.

There are over 60 million Muslims in China. Over 70 million Muslims in the former Soviet states. Millions of Muslims in Europe. It is the majority religion on the African continent. And Islam is probably the fastest growing religion here in the Americas. There are millions of Muslims throughout the world.

And for those who used to think that Islam was a racial religion, in the sense that it was the religion of Africa and Asia, we found out in the Chechen struggle that the Chechen people, the people of Chechnya, who resisted the Soviet government, are pure Caucasian people.

They live on the foot of the Caucasoid mountains. And so those ancient or those old outdated anthropological terminologies, how they used to categorize us, even here in the University of Miami, as being Negroid, Caucasoid, Mongoloid, and so forth and so on. This is outdated.

But still, if you go by those terminologies, which don't really make sense, there are Muslims who are Caucasian people who led one of the strongest resistance to oppression of the 20th century. And so therefore, this is not a racial religion, this is not a cult-based religion, this is an international phenomenon.

Islam: The Religion of Tawheed

And the most important aspect about being a Muslim is not wearing certain clothing, it's not eating certain food, or speaking any language in particular. Islam is the religion of Tawheed, which means the religion of the belief in one God.

And we are taught that this belief in one God was shared by people throughout the planet from the beginning of time. And we are taught that the Prophet Muhammad ibn Abdullah, peace and blessings be upon him, was the seal of a long line of prophets and messengers who came to every nation and every tribe.

- And we have sent to every nation a messenger, that they would worship Allah, they would worship the Creator, and they would stay away from false gods.

And so we find that monotheism is not the property of any particular group, but it is the property of the whole of humanity. Those who have had the opportunity to travel have found that monotheism has been shared by people in all countries of all different languages.

Monotheism Across Cultures

I had the opportunity to travel in many countries, and I questioned the historians and those people who were keeping the culture, the local culture. And I found that even in China, the concept Shang Ti in Mandarin Chinese refers to the one God. That even the ancient Vedas, within Hinduism there is a belief in one God, because Hinduism itself is not one particular belief. In that there is even monotheism in the early scriptures.

In Africa, there were many different nations who had the belief in one God. One of the pharaohs of Egypt, Akhenaten, Akhenaton, whose wife was Nefertiti. You probably heard of her before. They say she was the first woman to be wearing cosmetics. This is in one of the ancient kingdoms in Egypt itself.

History tells us that Akhenaten was struggling against the myriad of gods, the variety of gods in ancient Egypt. And he spoke about the power of Atun, the power behind the sun. Not to worship Ra, the sun god, but to worship the power behind the sun.

The Psalms of Akhenaten

In the Psalms of Akhenaten, there is very long Psalms, and one of the sections reads as follows. It's speaking about the Creator. And it says how legion or how varied are your works that are hidden from the face of men.

O sole God, who is like no other, you made the earth according to your will, alone. Men, cattle and all beasts, everything on earth that walks upon feet, everything that flies with its wings, foreign lands, Syria, Kush, and the land of Egypt. And you set every man in his place and supplied his needs.

Everyone has his provisions and his allotted lifespan. Their tongues are diverse in speech, and their appearance likewise. Their skins are different, for you have differentiated the peoples.

This sounds very much like Surah Al-Hujurat. This is like a chapter in the Quran. And you will find this in all the scriptures of monotheism. We are not sure that Akhenaten was a prophet, but we can see within his writings that monotheism was alive and well at that time in ancient Egypt.

Monotheism in Traditional African Religions

In other parts of Africa, you will find like in the case of the San people of southern Africa, who are sometimes called the Bushmen. The San people are intensely sensitive to a governing life force, an invisible all-present omnipotent power beyond the comprehension of people. And to this force is attributed all creation and all manifestations of nature.

The Akan people who live in Ghana, one of their sayings is, God is He who knows or sees all. This is one of their sayings. The Burundi people, who are living in Burundi also have a strong belief in the one God. It is part of the Bantu or Entu cosmic concept that looks at all the cosmic forces emanating from one point.

The Xhosa people of southern Africa, they have a word, Qamata. When they use Qamata, it means Allah or God is the greatest. And they use this concept in their religion and in many of their ceremonies. The Ashanti people say, no one shows a child the supreme being. In other words, the child knows naturally about the supreme being.

And so you find that in these traditional religions, contrary to what is taught in many religion courses, in the traditional religions, if you go back to the root, you will find the concept of monotheism. Ancient Egypt is probably one of the best documented areas of the ancient kingdoms before Christ.

The Truth About Religious History

And you find that the further back you go, that the more the people were involved in Tawhid, in monotheism. Contrary to what is taught. What is taught in many religion courses is that people first worshipped material things, and then later on, Semitic people from the Middle East taught the belief in one God.

And so the religions of monotheism, Judaism, Christianity and Islam were developed, and then monotheism spread throughout the world. The Quran itself is contradicting this concept. As it says:

- And we have sent to every nation, not to the Semitic people only, but we have sent to every nation the belief in one God.

Monotheism in the Americas

In the Americas, there is a strong belief in one God. And we find the Cherokee nation, and the wolf clan in particular, whose oral traditions are still available to those who are able to access these traditions. Dr. Robert Crane, a former advisor to the President of the United States, and a part Cherokee, was able to go to these oral traditions of the wolf clan.

In it, he found that when they would begin traditionally their prayer, they would begin it by saying, (يا الله - Ya Allah). Now he was a Muslim, or he is a Muslim, and for many years, people used to think that this was maybe a Hebrew saying, a Semitic saying. It is Semitic, but it is Arabic. And the Cherokee people looked to the east.

The Cherokee people recognized there were people coming across the ocean long before Columbus. They used to have dwellings in America with over 100,000 people, three-story buildings. We don't understand this about the Americas.

The Story of Maryam (Mary)

And it was speaking about رطب جني )Quran 19:25). It was speaking about a type of rutub, or a type of dates.

And those who know, who have lived in the desert area know, that when the dates become ripe, when you start to see the color of the dates change, because dates are not brown, you know. Dates are originally red, and they're yellow, they're other colors. But they turn brown. It's at the height of the heat that the dates become ripe. And so it's at that time that she gave birth to عيسى عليه السلام.

So from different points of view, different historical points of view, and different religions, we understand that عيسى عليه السلام was not born during the winter season. He was born in the warm weather.

Who Was Really Born on December 25th?

So who was it that was born in the winter season? Who is that character now? Let us become detectives, and try to find out the answer to this problem.

Number one, you have to understand, this concept of Saturn, the concept of Bacchus, when they are portrayed by the different artists who drew pictures of them, or the sculptures, they're usually portrayed as a heavy set man with a white beard. And when in the Sistine Chapel, Michelangelo drew his picture, you could see the long flowing beard, and there are actually pictures of this man on a sled, being drawn by snakes with wings. Snakes with wings.

Snakes do not normally fly. But in this case, the snakes have wings, and the heavy set man is on his sled, being drawn by these flying animals. Sound familiar to you now, doesn't it? He's being drawn by the flying animals. He's performing miracles. He's coming out on December 25th, which is not the birthday of عيسى عليه السلام has nothing to do with Christianity.

It is the time of the Bacchanalia, and the Saturnalia, and he is representing riotous fun, drunken reverie. And so what happens on Christmas, the Christmas season, especially in America, people today are not even thinking about عیسی علیه السلام. They're not even thinking about Jesus. They're looking how they can get drunk.

On Christmas, what is going on? In the Caribbean and many parts, if they offer you a Christmas pudding, or Christmas pie, or Christmas drink, watch out. Because it's probably laced with rum or wine. That's the spirit of the season.

The Church's Ban on Christmas

Now this riotous occasion that was going on, went so far, that the Christian church banned it. And the Church of England, according to historical sources, actually banned it all the way to 1647. It was prohibited in England to celebrate Christmas. Because they saw Christmas as being a pagan holiday.

This is an official position taken by the Christian church, the Church of England were known at that time as Puritans. What happened was, an individual was superimposed. A name was superimposed. We hear about the name of St. Nicholas. St. Nicholas.

Now, according to some historical reports, St. Nicholas was a Christian bishop who lived in the 4th century in Asia Minor, which is now known as Turkey. He was a very thin man, very austere, used to spend his time in prayer and fasting. And he loved children. And he spent his time dealing with children. And because of this now, his name, some believe, was imposed upon that day. And St. Nicholas or St. Nick comes into that position as being the main man of the day.

The Demon of the North

There's another concept, which is even deeper than that. And that is, that St. Nicholas himself is actually coming from the ancient writings of Beowulf. And in these writings, which are done in the Scandinavian region, we find the name Nick or Nickel or Nicker.

He was known as a demon. The demon of the north. He was known as the evil spirit of the north. The name of Odin. The evil principal. And so, in Germany and in many of the northern countries, the people actually looked upon this so-called St. Nick as being an evil force.

And they would tell their children in the winter time, don't go outside, because if you do, Nicholas will come along, Nickel will come along, he'll capture you, put you in his bag and take you away. And so they used it as a negative concept.

In Isaiah, in what is left of the Bible, in 14:13, the devil is known as the prince of darkness. And it is an understanding that his throne, the seat of his power is in the north. Somewhere in the north is the seat of power of this evil.

And so the Germans also, when they depicted this Nicholas or this Pelznickel, as they would say Pelznickel in German, it means a furry devil. When they depicted him, they depicted him as a man with red fur. He had red fur coat. And his base was in the north. And he was the essence of evil.

And the church of England till 1647 took the position that this celebration could not go on. So what we are actually seeing is that the Christmas occasion was actually the time of evil. It was the time of the belief in the Saturnalia and the Bacchanalia. And because of this, they shifted the occasion to New Year's Eve. They shifted all of their feelings and their merriment and their evil to New Year's Eve.

The Reality of Modern Christmas

Now before we go to that, looking back at Christmas, what is happening now in Christmas season? I don't know what goes on in Miami. But in the northern cities, on Christmas occasion, they put lights around and Santa Claus parades. Do you have a Santa Claus parade here? They have Santa Claus parades and Saint Nicholas is outside and he's in the streets and everybody's talking about Saint Nicholas.

And the poor children are taught that Saint Nicholas is gonna come down your chimney. Most people don't have chimneys in Miami anyway. But a 350 pound man is gonna come down your chimney and bring you presents and keep his clothes white and red and go to all of the homes in the area and put presents in your stockings and put presents under your tree and then fly back out into space.

And the poor father who sweat and toiled all year to get you the presents, gets no credit for the present given to the child. Saint Nicholas comes down the chimney, gives you this present, flies off into the night. And many of us were raised believing in this.

Some of us would sneak into the night and look and see our father putting the present under the tree. We knew what he was doing anyway. But you went along with it and the people say, well, you know, it's Christmas.

Don't you like to have fun? You want to stop the children from having fun? What kind of people are you? But what are you teaching the children? You are using the name of Jesus, using the name of عيسى عليه السلام and you are using a figure who historically is the devil. The devil himself. They are using his figure.

And he has now taken over the Christmas season. Christmas now to most people means materialism. You have to buy presents for your cousins and your friends, and you got to buy about 34 presents.

And you find that most American people are in debt for 6 months after Christmas. Now, where is Jesus? You get drunk, you fight, you lose all your money, the stores raise their prices. عيسى عليه السلام is described as a very humble person.

Most of the time he didn't wear shoes, only one or two changes of clothing. A very simple person eating very simple food, fasting most of the time. You see what is going on? There are two streams now, a stream of polytheism, a stream of monotheism, and now the polytheism, the materialism is overtaking the monotheism, and standing in the way, and taking over our society.

Muslims and the Christmas Tree

And some foolish Muslims coming along from outside, in their country say, well I just want to be an American, I want a tree too. So I said, one of the brothers said he had a Christmas tree in his house, he came for. I said, brother, do you know what the tree stands for? He said, no.

Okay, I'll get a palm tree with dates. I'll make it halal. A halal Christmas tree. But brother, you have to understand what it means. You have to understand what it means.

Number one, the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم when he spoke about رقية, تمائم, تولة, he said all of these things are shirk. That if you hang amulets thinking that this تعویذ or this amulet is gonna protect you from something, then you are actually giving power to the creation of Allah and taking it away from the Creator.

If you think that by making some spells, going to a magician and asking them to put a spell on someone, you want to get married. So you go to the ساحر and say, put a spell on Ali, I want to marry him. Put a spell on Zaynab. What kind of marriage are you gonna have if you go to the magician?

And so the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم named all of these things, the superstitions, the amulets, all of these type of things are the other stream which goes away from monotheism, from the belief in one God, and takes you into another religion. And so when the Church of England imposed this harsh penalty upon people who practice Christmas, they moved it to New Year's Eve.

New Year's Eve and Hogmanay

Now New Year's Eve, historically in the north, was known as Hogmanay. Originally the New Year for the Romans was March 1st. That was the New Year, not January 1st.

So all of you who are on January 1st, where was I on January 1st? You're waiting for the light to go up in Times Square. The reality is, the Romans, for the Romans, March 1st was the beginning of the year. And when you look at the number 7, in Latin, you find September.

So September was the 7th month, October, November, December. And so you find that the Latin words for these last months, October, November, December, 8, 9 and 10. So these weren't the last months of the year. It was 8, 9 and 10.

And so what actually happened was, when they imposed the New Year on January, it is for the ancient God, or their so-called God, called Janus. The two-faced God. Two faces. Who shows you one face, and behind it is another face. The master hypocrite.

And so this is what is going on at this occasion. And we find now, that on January 1st, right on that evening, December 31st, when it changes, you find people are usually drinking, they're involved in some sexual activity at that time. The whole concept of Jesus and monotheism is lost. It is the other religion.

Valentine's Day: The Lupercalia

What is also interesting for us to remember, is that after January, in February, that somewhere around the middle of February, there was a celebration that was known by the ancient Romans as the Lupercalia. And the Lupercalia was a ceremony, and Luper means wolf.

And they depicted a wolf chasing a little girl. And so they had a ceremony. I'm not making this up by the way, right? You can look this up. If you don't believe me, go to the encyclopedia right after we're finished. A children's encyclopedia. Look up Valentine's Day, Easter, Christmas, and Halloween, and you'll find everything I'm talking about.

You want to go deeper into it, go on the internet. Okay, and look up the pagan roots of all of these holidays. And so, the Lupercalia was the celebration of the wolf.

And the authorities there would gather together young people, and they would put their names into a box, men and women, and they would take out the names, and whoever was your partner, whatever name you pick was your partner for the day, and all types of sexual activity went on during that day. They were totally out of control. That is the Lupercalia. That's what it really means, okay?

Saint Valentine

Now, around February 14th, around 270 AD of the Christian era, a bishop by the name of Valentine, he was trying to work with the Roman soldiers, because the Roman emperor had imposed upon his soldiers that anybody who joined the army could not get married. Because if you got married, you're thinking about your wife all the time, you're a useless soldier.

But the soldiers wanted to get married, so Saint Valentine worked with them, and he was captured by the Roman emperor, he was imprisoned, and he was beheaded. And so a legend formed around Saint Valentine's day. In one case, it said he even helped a blind young girl. He was trying to help her get married.

And so she wrote a note, and it was found in his jail cell to my Valentine. And so from that date, somebody making that compromise brought together the two streams. And so now you have Valentine's day.

So on that occasion, and it's in the school system, if Muslims are sending their children to school, you got a problem on Valentine's day. Because they make them do Valentine's cards. In some cases it becomes mandatory in some classes.

Now they even have in Canada, I don't know about here, you can buy a Valentine's day card, somebody will come and sing, or somebody will bring food, and they make it very lavish. And so what happens is young people are forced together on that occasion.

And for those who are part of the monotheistic tradition, who understand that the relationship between men and women should be done in a sacred way within marriage, and not in a loose way before marriage. And we see what is happening in the society itself. We see what has happened to the standards, even in the White House. So we understand what is going on in the society.

That's because people have lost their limits, the حدود, the limits have been broken up. And so those who are maintaining the limits in the monotheistic religions, and those people of consciousness, recognize that Valentine's day is really part of a pagan holiday, where people are carrying out the so-called wishes of Venus, or Aphrodite, their little son called Cupid. And he shoots you with an arrow.

Islamic View on Marriage

You know that story? He shoots you with an arrow and you fall hopelessly in love. And some Muslims say, I wanna get married, I'm in love. You're in love? What is love, man? There is (كفاءة - kafa'ah). In fiqh there is (كفاءة - kafa'ah) suitability. Yes, there should be an attraction between husband and wife.

But the Prophet peace be upon him spoke about the beauty, about wealth, about genealogy, right? And about deen. And he said, marry people for their religion, for their deen, their taqwa. That is the basis of the marriage. And so, Saint Valentine's day is another time that we have to take a stand.

And we will have a question and answer period at the end, but the position we are taking is, the young people should have nothing to do with Valentine's day. You have to step out of that completely.

Muslims and Christmas Gifts

In Christmas, another problem faces us. What do you do? Do you give presents? Do you take presents? What do you do? Are you involved? One of the greatest benefits after my belief in Allah, in accepting Islam, was when Christmas season came, and as a Muslim, we don't give any gifts. And Christmas even came, we said, alhamdulillah. At that time, we have another way of expressing ourselves during that season.

And so, Muslims should not be involved. In some cases, if the person is your neighbor or somebody and they give you a gift, the Prophet, peace be upon him, accepted gifts. So it is possible to accept a gift, as long as you're not involved in the ritualistic parts of the occasion.

But if you want to give a gift, give it at another time during the year. So they understand that we have other things. We have our Eid. We have other times. Invite them for food during the Eid al-Adha. Give them something at that time. Give sadaqa at different points in time.

The Spring Solstice and Easter

Now as we go toward the spring season now, we're following their calendar. We find that the spring solstice season comes about. Now this is another very powerful season. In this time, the darkness and the cold are leaving. And now the spring is coming. Light has returned. It is the resurrection of life after death.

And so with the light and the water and the rain, life then becomes, and those trees and plants. In Canada, we lose all of our trees and plants in the winter. You probably don't down here in this region. But up in the north, all the trees lose their leaves except for the evergreen.

And so in that spring season, the spring solstice, in the northern countries, a fertility celebration came about. And the main figure in that fertility celebration was their goddess Astre or Eostre. And according to them, she waved her wand and life came back after death.

And so the symbols of that occasion became rabbits, bunny rabbits, chickens, eggs. You take two rabbits and put them in the backyard and after a couple of days, there's rabbits jumping around everywhere in the back. It's a fertility symbol. And so therefore, this became the symbol.

Now the compromise. The Christians coming in now who want to get benefit from the nature worshipping people, they use that saying, if you can't beat them, join them. So they came along and they joined them. And so now you find Easter. Look at it.

This is supposed to be the time of the death and resurrection of (عِيسَى عَلَيْهِ ٱلسَّلَامُ - ʿĪsā ʿalayhi as-salām). But it is the pagan rite of the resurrection of life after death. And so they imposed this occasion on to the spring season. And you find then both of these celebrations coming about at one time.

The Quran on the Crucifixion

The reality is, and the Muslims understand from the revelation of the Quran that Allah سبحانه وتعالى tells us:

They did not kill him and they did not crucify him, Jesus. But it was made to appear to them that they did. And so they carried out the celebration.

What happens now is that people are involved in a series of rituals around an occasion which never actually came about. People are in shock sometimes. You go ask the regular American or Christian person, what does Easter mean? And they say, well Easter is the time of the resurrection of Jesus. Resurrection from the dead. They don't realize where it actually comes from. The reality is, it is a pagan rite.

And it is based upon that concept of looking at the sun as the main aspect of life. Because the sun again plays a powerful role during that season.

Easter Week Traditions

In Europe also, during that week, you had Palm Sunday, Ash Wednesday, Good Thursday, Good Friday. There's a number of occasions. You can look them up and find them. On Good Thursday, you find many of the people, what they did is, in the north, they wouldn't bathe all winter.

And so when the spring came, they said, now you gotta take a bath. So you take a bath, they literally would go into the stream and take a bath, peel off their clothes, and then put on new clothes for Easter Sunday. And so many people you now see wearing their Easter bonnet, and wearing their Easter suit, and putting on their new clothes, but it is actually a cultural tradition.

Based upon people coming from a terrible cold season, where they were even afraid to take a bath, because of pneumonia and other sicknesses that would hit people who did not have central heating. And so, it flows, it continues to flow, and we begin to understand now, that there are actually two streams.

Halloween: The Day of Samhain

Now going to the fall season, the Celtic people of the north, used to believe that during the fall season, their year began. And actually for the Celtics, their New Year's was November 1st. October 31st was the final day of the year for the Celtic people of the north. And that day was called the day of Samhain.

And this individual was supposed to be their god of the spirits of the dead, of evil again. And according to their belief, the evil spirits would rise to the surface, and would terrorize people on that evening. And on that evening, if you did something wrong to a person, they would come back to get you on that night.

So some people would put on a disguise, so you couldn't recognize them on October 31st, on that evening, and then they would be safe. Also they would burn fires. Now the only thing we find left of that is the jack-o'-lantern, that they would put inside of their window, made from the pumpkin.

What actually happened in Europe, is that the church moved All Saints Day, a day for the saints, they moved it from May 13th to November 1st, in 834 AD. And so what they said was, that the 31st night is All Hallows Evening. All Hallows Evening. Which in America later became known as Halloween. Halloween. And they depict the forces of evil.

The Reality of Halloween Today

What is happening now, is that the children put on disguises, they dress as little devils, little witches as goblins, vampires, anything evil, and they go out, and now with the new American way, they do trick-or-treat. And they come to your house asking for food. Do they do that here in Miami? Trick-or-treat. They knock on your door and they disguise.

And some Muslims, thinking they want to be Americans, or they want to be Canadians, they send their little children, and they're in little disguises. So what are you gonna dress them? A little angel? What are you gonna be? How are you gonna dress and go out there? And so the reality that we recognize, that number one, this is the day of Samhain.

And the Quran tells us :

That the devil is an open enemy to humanity. There is no compromise with the devil. So we don't play around and disguise ourselves. As little devils, little shayateen. We do not disguise ourselves as this. Because it is an open enemy to the people of monotheism.

The Church of Satan

Also there are number of other aspects. What is happening now, as you may know in America, is that there is a new church coming about, which is called the Church of Satan.

And in the 60s in San Francisco, the church was initiated.

And right now in the American army, if you are Jewish and you die, they bring you a rabbi. If you are Muslim, they'll bring you an imam. If you are Christian, they'll bring you a priest or a minister. If you are registered as part of the Church of Satan, they bring you a priest from the Church of Satan.

And he is performing these rites and rituals, calling on the devil to accept his initiate. And so this is growing in this society. And they actually did a couple movies, they did this Rosemary's Baby. Right? They also... The Exorcist. And a number of movies they did to frighten people with evil.

That you'll be so afraid of evil, and they show the priest as bumbling idiots, falling down over their feet, can't do anything, running away from the devil. And the devil is a businessman in his suits. And he has the power of lightning and everything.

So even though the devil dies in the end, you end up being more afraid of the devil than anything else. That's part of the plot, to brainwash people to be afraid of the shaitan.

The Islamic Position on Begging

The reality is, is that the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم - sallallahu 'alayhi wa sallam) said:

(Bukhari)

That the upper hand is better than the lower hand. What that means is you should be the one who gives, and don't beg. That we should not be begging.

And so to send a Muslim child out to trick-or-treat, is a demeaning, lowering thing. You're asking them to beg people for food. Then they're dressed up as a way that they're not. Then when the candies and things come in the bag, how do you know what it is they actually gave you? Is it halal?

Most of the candies today are made with gelatin, with glycerin. They're made with pork products. We had one person in our area, in the Boston area where I grew up. One person in our area, in our project, he used to sit back and he used to give everybody ex-lax. You know ex-lax? He'll give you chocolate and he puts ex-lax in the thing. And then he goes around and waits the next day to see everybody.

So they can do anything to you, man. You have no control over the situation. You have no control.

The Danger of Halloween

And what is also happening, is that there are some evil wicked minded people, who are attacking children on that night. I don't know about Miami, but in Canada now, they openly say on the television, do not send your children trick-or-treating by themselves. Do not go in darkened streets.

Move as a group. Don't go to a house that you don't know the people on the inside. And there are literally groups of Satanists, who are capturing children and they're performing a rite, sacrificing the child on that evening of Samhain, supposedly to get more spiritual power. It's happening right now.

And so from so many angles, Muslims should have nothing to do with Halloween. And if your children are in school, go to the teacher. Go to the teacher. And make it clear to the teacher, we do not involve our children in these ceremonies.

Even the Jehovah's Witnesses, will go to the teacher and tell them, take my child out of Halloween. They don't even believe in that. Take my child even out of your Christmas. They're not involved in that.

What can happen during these occasions, if you want them to draw pictures of pumpkins, or fall plants, okay. But we don't want to be involved in these confused rituals, that are giving signals from many different angles.

Conclusion: Understanding the Two Streams

And so, in conclusion, we recognize the fact, that the present system, of rituals and holidays in this country, and in the western countries, is a confused hodgepodge of cultural rituals. And it is important for Muslims to have (بصيرة - baseera). That they should have the insight to look through affairs. And do not just blindly follow, the ways of the Christians and the Jews.

The Prophet, peace be upon him, said:

(Bukhari hadith 3456, Muslim hadith 2669)

You will follow them. You will follow the people who came before you, inch by inch, foot by foot. Even if they crawl into the hole of a lizard, you crawl inside there with them.

And then they said, who are these people? Are they the Christians and the Jews? And the Prophet, peace be upon him, said, who else? And so it has come to pass. And you can't Islamicize these occasions. You can't use Arabic names and Islamic symbols, to make it halal. We have to take a stand.

Cherishing Our Own Holidays

And secondly, it is important for Muslims, to cherish their own holidays. When the Eid al-Fitr comes, take the day off. There are some Muslims who go to work on Eid. They go to Eid prayer and they go to work. So what happens to your children? They don't have a chance to relax and enjoy themselves.

Organize an activity. Bring their families together. Eat together. Do things together. Remember Allah سبحانه وتعالى together. Make it a happy occasion for them.

They will remember their Eids. Eid al-Fitr, Eid al-Adha. If they don't, then they get involved in Christmas, in Easter, in Halloween, where even in the Christian tradition now, it is confusing. And many of the Christians now, Seven Day Adventist, Jehovah's Witnesses, and many people are taking a stand. And they're saying, we do not want to follow the pagan religion. So what about those who have been blessed with monotheism?

Call to Action for People of Conscience

And so I want to leave you with these words. And I pray that Allah سبحانه وتعالى would help the younger

Final Message: Return to Tawheed

So I leave you with the thought that people of conscience should take time, study history, go back to the source of the religions, and you'll find that all of the religions are based in tawhid, in the oneness of God. It will take you right back to the source.

And when you think about a Muslim now, realize it's not somebody who's thinking about blowing up the empire state building. That's stereotyping, that's Hollywood. That's Hollywood. Islam is based on peace, submission to the creator. When we meet each other we say (السَّلَامُ عَلَيْكُمْ - as-salamu alaykum) peace be upon you.

And we pray for peace for all people. That's a Hollywood fantasy. And we only hope that they would leave us alone and start chasing the aliens who they believe are their real enemies. And leave our community alone, deal with the aliens, and let us live as human beings together, in peace and in harmony.

I leave you with this, .السلام عليكم ورحمة الله وبركاته

Question and Answer Session

Question About Jesus' Birth

Concerning the questions, one goes as follows, when you said (عيسى عليه السلام - 'Isa 'alayhis-salam) when Jesus was born in the warm weather, could that be warm weather in Jerusalem but winter time and cold weather in northern western countries? Please clarify.

No, that is warm weather everywhere. Because in Palestine itself, it is cold in the winter. Many people don't understand that in many of the desert countries, it actually gets cold. There's a change in the season.

So the people who are living in Palestine and those regions, they know the difference between the heat of the summer and the winter time. It's not cold like the north, obviously here in America. But there is a difference. And the historians, you know, believe that it is, you know, all agree that it was the warm weather. Sometime in

the warm weather, that means the warm season, following the solar calendar, the warm season anywhere in the world.

Question About Thanksgiving

Also, the question concerning the holiday Thanksgiving, there's a number of questions about that. It says, I don't agree with it. However, some of my Muslim relatives practice it. What about Thanksgiving?

Well, there is some discussion of the fact that the native people here in this part of the world did have some gathering that they had at some point during that time. And in the northern countries, during that season, it is the time when the plants are getting ripe and the harvest is there. And so people normally would take time out and thank the creator. They would have some sort of ritual during that time of Thanksgiving.

For Muslims, we don't follow any particular ceremonies to actually be following the day as a ceremony itself. Because that would then put us into (بِدْعَة - bid'ah). That would be an innovation. So we don't actually follow the ceremonies itself.

However, you know, thanking the creator, we do that, we try to do that. Every time you eat, you should make du'a, you know, before that. And you should thank Allah (سُبْحَانَهُ وَتَعَالَى - subhanahu wa ta'ala) for giving you the rizq, or giving you the provisions of the food he has provided for you.

And, you know, for the people who are carrying this ceremony out, if somebody attends and the family is just having food, it's not really a ritual. Somebody just comes over to eat food and see the family, there's nothing wrong with that. What we are against is being involved in the ritual things of giving gifts, taking gifts, you know, the trees and whatever. Just going over for a dinner itself, there's nothing really wrong with the dinner itself.

Question About Christmas Colors

It says, during the Christmas season, or during Christmas, could you explain why the complementary colors of red and green are paired together? That's a very good question.

The green probably is standing for the life, evergreen. It's standing for the green of the plants themselves. The red, I know again, the image of Saint Nicholas himself in the German belief, is that Saint Nicholas wore red. He had red clothing on. I'm not sure of the other concepts why they could use red, but the green normally does stand for the green of plant life. It stands for life itself. That's probably why they're using that.

Question About Kwanzaa

Another question is about Kwanzaa. This is a ceremony which is being held in the African-American community. And those who understand our community know this ceremony was actually made by Dr. Karenga, right? I don't want to say Maulana. I don't know how he got this name, Maulana. But anyhow, Dr. Karenga, Ron Karenga.

And those of us who lived in the 60s know him as a pork-chop nationalist who was involved in a form of nationalism. And he had his organization. And those of us who were involved in the struggle, there were some funny things going on in California.

Actually, with Bunchy Carter, if you know what happened with the Panther Party, there were some funny stuff that went on during that time. So, I mean, even to follow his leadership, even in the community itself, many people in the 60s would not follow the leadership of Ron Karenga.

Secondly, Kwanzaa is just a thought. He just brought his thoughts together. And he said, we will mix together, we'll make the lights, and each day we will do a certain thing. And he just, you know, thought up some good principles. And he made a ceremony about it.

So it's not a religion. And it's nothing that we should even have to do, or feel that we have to do. Because it's not African either, by the way. There's no part of Africa they celebrate Kwanzaa. So it's only following Ron Karenga, you know, when you're doing Kwanzaa.

So as a Muslim, we definitely would not be involved in anything to do with Kwanzaa. And, you know, we have better things to do. And we should give Ron Karenga da'wah. And inshaAllah, he should accept Islam.

Question About Sunday and Sabbath

It says, can you please explain the difference between Sunday and the so-called Sabbath day, Saturday. Well, the Sabbath, you have to remember (يَوْمُ السَّبْتِ - yawm as-sabt). This is something with the children of (بَنِي إِسْرَائِيلَ - bani isra'il).

That it is the day (يَوْمُ السَّبْتِ - yawm as-sabt). You can look in Surah Al-Baqarah, the second chapter of the Quran, and different places in the Quran which speaks about (بَنِي إِسْرَائِيلَ - bani isra'il). And at (يَوْمُ السَّبْتِ - yawm as-sabt) that they had to stop work during the day. They had to make their prayers, remember the Creator.

And they were actually tested on the day of the Sabbath, when Allah actually sent fish jumping all in the water, and they weren't supposed to catch the fish. And so they used their mind and their guile in there. And so they put the nets out on Saturday, and then brought the nets in filled with fish on Sunday.

But according to Quran, they were changed into monkeys and pigs. Because of trying to play games on the Creator. But still the reality is, we respect the fact that the followers of Moses, (مُوسَى عَلَيْهِ السَّلَامُ - Musa 'alayhis-salam), that this was a very important occasion. It is the day of Sabbath, and you know, it had great spiritual meaning for the children of Israel.

And there's a difference between that day, they were monotheists. The followers of Moses, (مُوسَى عَلَيْهِ السَّلَامُ - Musa 'alayhis-salam) are monotheistic people. And there's a difference between that day and Sunday. Sunday is the other stream. That's the polytheistic stream of the people who are worshipping the sun. So there's a difference now.

Of course now in our hodgepodge type of culture, we bring everything together. And we're just American. Saturday, Sunday, Monday, or moon day, everything's all together now. And it's secularized now, so nobody

cares about religion anyway. So just thinking about going to work or getting off of work.

Question About Working in Schools

So the question surrounding Thanksgiving, working in a school of young children, as a Muslim, it's my duty not to guide these children in holiday activities, like Halloween, Christmas, Thanksgiving, when it is part of the curriculum, or when I feed children at lunch, and the meal is pork, now what do I do, how do I deal with this?

Okay, this is a very difficult situation, because there are certain rules within the boards of education that you have to follow. But I think, you know, in the Canadian board of education, I believe it's the same here in Miami, you can go to the rules of the board of education, and you'll find that all of the constitutions of the boards protect the religion of all the people who are in the board.

So as a Muslim, if there is something which goes against your religion, then you are not required to do that thing, if it is against your religion. So the best thing to do would be to go to the board of education itself, speak to a higher official, and explain the situation, that the handling of pork, things like that, is against your religion.

They understand that because of kosher-type concepts. And also explain about Halloween and whatnot, that you don't want to be involved in those occasions. Do it in a very sober, dignified way, and inshallah, I believe that they would let you not be involved in that, because they're realizing that this is against your religion.

Question About Birthdays

Now there's another question here, celebrating birthdays itself. Now there's a number of discussions surrounding birthdays. The birthdays were not celebrated in the time of the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم - sallallahu 'alayhi wa sallam). They were not celebrated.

And actually when you see the concept of the birthday with the candles and the light for each of the birthdays, that more than likely goes back to pagan worship to the fire and the sun god. So therefore it is not actually an Islamic practice to be celebrating birthdays. And it is nothing wrong with knowing when your birthday is.

But we don't have ritualistic practices. It's not within our tradition really to have them.

Question About Hajj

It says, there's a question here, it says, what about the pagan roots of Muslim holidays, like the hajj? Okay, this is a strange question. And I don't know how much the questioner knows about the hajj itself.

But the pilgrimage to Mecca, which is the fifth pillar of the five pillars of Islam, is based upon the Prophet Abraham. The Prophet Abraham, (عليه السلام - 'alayhis-salam) who with one of his wives, he was married to Sarah, and she could not have children, and he took his servant Hagar, or Hajar, as a wife.

And according to our traditions, the three of them went to Mecca, known as Bakkah, and they established the Kaaba, the house of worship. And so, during that time when Abraham, (عليه السلام - 'alayhis-salam) left Hajar in Mecca and went

back to Sarah, who was in the north, and Hajar ran in between two mountains, she was searching for water, it's very hot.

And so the rituals the (مَنَاسِكُ الْحَجِّ - manasik al-hajj) the rituals of the hajj are based upon the actual story of Abraham (عليه السلام - 'alayhis-salam), what he went through. And also the temptation, he was tempted by the shaitan, the devil came to him. And so he stoned the shaitan. So all the rituals during the hajj itself are based upon monotheistic teachings.

The Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him, who saw himself as the continuation of the message of Moses, of Abraham, Moses, Jesus, all of the prophets of monotheism. He confirmed what was brought and through revelation, he gave us the (مَنَاسِكُ الْحَجِّ - manasik al-hajj) or the rituals of hajj, which brought back to life the story of Abraham (عليه السلام - 'alayhis-salam).

And so Muslims come together with all the people of the world, and they recognize their relationship with Abraham, with Moses, with Jesus, with all of the prophets through that pilgrimage itself. The black stone, which in some traditions it is said that it came from Jannah, this was put in, or paradise, it was put in by (إِبْرَاهِيم - Ibrahim) himself.

And there is no worship of the stone itself. Even (عُمَر بْن الْخَطَّاب - 'Umar ibn al-Khattab) one of the sahaba, said to the stone, because the Prophet Muhammad kissed the stone, or he touched the stone, as part of the circumambulation of the Kaaba. And (عُمَر - 'Umar) said you know, you're only a stone. And it's only because I saw the Prophet, or I knew the Prophet peace be upon him did it, that I would even do this.

So there is no worship of the stone itself, and it is not based upon any pagan religions that came before. I think that's a misunderstanding.

Question About Non-Muslim Friends

Also there is a question about, you have some non-Muslim friends, and you go out with them, but you're not doing anything haram. Is this okay? We have associates, and we have people who are very close to us.

And when the Quran is speaking about awliya : (لَا تَتَّخِذُوا الْيَهُودَ وَالنَّصَارَىٰ أَوْلِيَاءَ ۘ بَعْضُهُمْ أَوْلِيَاءُ بَعْضٍ ۚ - lā tattakhiżu l-yahūda wa-l-naṣārā awliyāʾ baʿḍuhum awliyāʾ baʿḍ) (Quran 5:51) - That do not take the Christians, or the Jews, people who believe in other religions, as your awliya. Awliya means your close friends, somebody who you would tell your secrets to, because there is some difference in our understanding.

Because through culture, through people, some of the prophets were not accepted by other believers in their religions. Islam itself accepts Moses, accepts Jesus and Mary, and also accepts Muhammad. May Allah be pleased with them all, and send peace to them all. They're all accepted as prophets of God, and Mary as being a righteous woman.

And they are accepted in the way of their traditions, not as idols, or not as gods to be worshiped. So therefore, because of this crucial difference in belief, we have association. But when it comes to certain aspects that deals

down with the essence of religion, the Quran tells us that you should have this close allegiance, your allegiance,

(الوَلَاءُ وَالبَرَاء - al-wala' wal-bara')

That this allegiance should be for those who are following a similar way of life. One of the great blessings that we are experiencing here in America, is the fact that we are able to rub shoulders with people of different religions and different traditions. And that is good, that is fine.

But it's important to understand that it is not part of American culture, or it's not supposed to be part of the culture, that you melt down your culture, and you become something else. This is not the essence of being an American, or a Canadian. What it means is that there are certain laws, you respect the rights of individuals in the society.

You do not harm them. You live as a civil person in society. But everybody is allowed to have their religious beliefs, and to cherish their beliefs. And nobody's religion should be stereotyped. Everybody has this right, or was supposed to have this right, within this society. If you don't have the right, then something's wrong.

So we cherish this aspect. However, when stereotyping comes in, then name-calling starts, and prejudice begins. That is pre-judgment. Where you see a person, and based on their clothing, and based on their language, you would judge them.

Final Words: Seeking Truth and Understanding

I hope that from tonight, that we can all take these few words, only as the opening of a door, that we all need to do some research. And we all need to try to understand concepts and beliefs, our religions, holidays, everything that we're doing from the source.

Understand where it is. And don't be fooled by a television commercial, by bright lights. Don't be fooled by Santa Claus smiling at you. Don't be fooled by any of those images that are propagated in beautiful ways. Let us go to the roots of the issue, and deal with the truth.

I leave you with these words, and I ask Allah to give you a safe journey home. And may Allah forgive me for any mistakes that I have made.

And peace, mercy, and blessings of Allah be upon you.

May Allah shower His blessings upon our master Muhammad, his family, and all his companions. And our final supplication is that all praise is due to Allah, the Lord of the Worlds.