In the Name of Allah, The One True God
It’s not about the chocolate.
It’s not about the bunnies.
It’s not about the eggs.
It’s about the origins.
It’s about principles.
What exactly is Easter?
In short, Easter is a Christian festival with remnants of Pagan traditions. Christians celebrate the alleged crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus, this is the essence of Easter. The holiday has become rather commercial, with increase in sales of confectionary, chocolate and popular toys. (1)
Christians believe in the Trinity (father,son, holy spirit), which essentially means that they direct their worship to God, Jesus and the Holy spirit. So today, Christianity has polytheistic dimensions and is not a faith of complete monotheism.
Easter and Islam
Islam is absolutely Monotheistic. Muslims worship One God alone (Allah), without rivals. The Islamic narrative about prophet Jesus (peace be upon him) is simple. Jesus is not the son of God (as mentioned above, Christianity purports him to be). Muslims believe that God (Allah) is The Supreme Creator of all, The Self-Sufficient Master, He does not have children or a wife, and He does not need these things. It makes perfect sense, we are servants of The One Supreme Master- Allah. We go to Allah for all our needs, we don’t need any intermediaries! We need Allah, but Allah does not need us. That is the truth. And the truth makes sense.
We believe Jesus (‘Eesa) (peace be upon him) was a mighty prophet of God (Allah), born from the virgin Mary, who was pure and chaste. God does not need children. It’s the creation, humans and animals who need children. If God can create Adam without a father and mother, Eve without a mother, than surely it is easy for God to create Jesus without a father. Jesus’ story is mentioned in detail in Chapter 19 of the Qur’an, called ‘Maryam’.
If you remember the Christmas post a few months back and a few other blogs on Islam Explained, you’ll remember that as Muslims, we MUST believe in Jesus in order for our faith to be complete. Jesus never claimed divinity. Rather, Jesus peace be upon him was a messenger and prophet of Allah.
Jesus was not crucified, rather Allah (The One True God) took Jesus up to Him, while he was still alive, and another man was made to resemble Jesus and that man was killed. Jesus will return to earth, under Allah’s command, during the end times to fight the Anti-Christ (The Dajjal).(2)
Conclusion- Why Muslims don’t celebrate Easter
The Islamic narrative on monotheism and beliefs about Jesus are so markedly different to the Christian narrative. Thus, it’s no surprise Muslims do not commemorate a Crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus, as these didn’t happen in the first place!
Incidentally, there are various members of society and other faiths who do not partake in such festivals either, each with their own reasoning.
Be wise and kind, there’s no need to offend or be offended. Let your peers know gently and respectfully, it’s not the diet that makes you turn down their chocolate treats, it’s your freedom of personal choice and more importantly, your religious belief which you must hold onto with integrity, because a Muslim must be truthful, first and foremost to Allah. Being truthful in word and deed is important in Islam.
Islamic monotheism is our focus, we worship Allah alone.
Just as we cannot force others to believe, we cannot be forced to disbelieve.
The truth is apparent, falsehood is apparent. May Allah guide us all to the truth. Amin.
Peace.
Thurrock Muslims
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