BISMILLAH IR RAHMAN IR RAHEEM We Want A Christmas Tree! With an appendix for parents and teachers Based on authentic Islamic understanding by (Anne) Khadeijah A. Darwish Copyright © 1984-2013 Allah.com Muhammad.com Mosque.com. All rights reserved. Free give away not for sale or resale We Want a Christmas Tree! Abraham and Sarah were twins. Their family had migrated to the UK earlier on that year. Everything was very different from the town in which they had grown up where markets bustled with traders calling out what they had to sell, and the smell of spices filled the air, as sweet potatoes baked over an open range. There were no longer fresh vegetable and fruit markets where villagers brought the produce they had grown into town on trucks, carts or bikes. Now, there were supermarkets with their bright lights, shopping carts and prepackaged fruit and vegetables. They looked nice, but somehow they didn't taste the same as those back home. Back home Sarah and Abraham always knew when it was time to say their prayers, because at the corner of nearly every street was a mosque and the call to prayer would ring throughout the city like an echo when the time for prayer arrived. Now, it was easy to forget it was time for prayer, because there were no mosques that called to remind them. The twins, Abraham and Sarah, were surprised to find that school was also different in England. Back home, boys and girls went to separate schools, but here, they were in the same class in the same school. It was very strange and they felt shy, but at least they had each other. After a little while they started to settle in well and made some friends, but they missed their grand parents, uncles, aunts, and cousins back home. It was the end of November. The children had just recovered from chickenpox. They had not been out of the house for two weeks or so. First Sarah caught it and then Abraham. But now they were better and the doctor told them they could go back to school. Winter had come early, and their mother had made a nice warm fire in the living room and the logs of wood crackled away as the flames danced their way up the chimney. The twins were tired of watching television and were looking out of the window at the cars going by -- everything looked so cold outside! Then, suddenly, little white snow-flakes started to flutter down from the gray sky above -- they had never seen snow before and called excitedly for their mother to come and see. It wasn't long before everything outside was covered in white. The street lights flickered, magic filled the air as the snow sparkled and glistened like tiny diamonds falling from the sky and the trees and bushes all took on funny shapes. Sarah and Abraham wanted to go outside and play in the snow, but it was getting late and their mother told them they must wait until tomorrow, after all, she reminded them they had only just got over chickenpox! Abraham was the first to wake up the next morning. He rushed to the window to see if the snow was still there. It was! He ran into Sarah's room and woke her up to tell her the good news. She was very excited and together they looked out of the window at a new world cloaked in white. The snow had stopped falling, everywhere looked so beautiful, and the winter's sun made everything sparkle -- it all looked very inviting! Just then their mother called, "Sarah, Abraham have you said your Fajr prayer yet?" With all the excitement they had quite forgotten, so they quickly made ablution and prayed. When they came downstairs their breakfast was ready on the table, and they ate it up in record time. They wanted to go out and play in the snow -- but they knew they had to go to school, but, there was a little time. Their mother gave them their packed lunches and told them to put them in their school bags. They were so anxious to go outside in the snow that their mother did not have to tell them to put their coats and boots on -- they were ready in no time! Their mother told them that she would drive them to school that day instead of catching the school bus. Just then the telephone rang and their mother answered. She seemed to be talking for such a long time, and the children could not wait to go outside. Abraham opened the front door and peered out and a gust of icy wind made their noses twitch. "Come on Sarah" said Abraham, "we'll wait for Mum outside!" And as they walked down the garden path they felt the snow scrunch beneath their feet with a squeaky kind of sound. Abraham picked up a handful of snow. He made it into a ball and threw it at Sarah -- it hit her right on top of her hat and bits of icy cold snow melted and slipped down onto her nose. This was fun, they thought as they started throwing snowballs at each other. All too soon, the front door opened, and their mother with their school bags in hand, called to them to go to the car and wait there. They ran over to the snow-covered car and scraped the snow away from the front and back windows with their gloves. It was a good thing they had waterproof gloves, but even so their hands got very cold. They had just finished removing the snow from the windows when their mother came, opened the car doors and told the children to knock their boots together to get rid of the snow before getting in. Then the children got into the back of the car but they hadn't had time to scrape the snow away from the side windows so it looked just as if they were in a house made of snow. Mother got out, and brushed the side windows clear and they were ready to go. The warm breath of the children soon made crystals form on the inside of the windows -- this had never happened to them before. Not long after the car was nice and warm and the crystals melted and the children reached school on time. They kissed their mother, said, "As-Salamu alaykum" and went inside. The school bell rang and the children settled down to work. Time just flew by and it was nearly time to go home when Mrs. Short, their teacher, told them that tomorrow they would decorate the classroom ready for Christmas. This was a new word for the children, they had never heard it before so they asked their friends what it meant. Jane, Sarah's friend told her that Christmas was the time she liked most; everyone made their houses look pretty with paper chains, tinsel, lights and a Christmas tree. There were parties and everyone got presents. Jane was surprised that Sarah had never heard of Christmas, but Sarah told her that although she had never heard of Christmas they had something like it back home called Eid, which is the time they celebrate the end of the fast of Ramadan and that there was another Eid to celebrate the end of the pilgrimage to Mecca. In the meantime, Abraham went to Mrs. Short and told her that he did not understand what Christmas was, so Mrs. Short told him that it was the day they celebrated Jesus' birthday. It sounded good Abraham and he wondered why they had not heard of it back home, after all everyone there knew about Prophet Jesus. The next day, Mrs. Short arrived at school carrying two large boxes. Abraham rushed to open the door for her, she thanked him and went into the classroom and put the boxes on her desk. The school bell rang and the children settled down in their places. Mrs. Short opened the first box and took out lots of pretty things and the children set about pinning the decorations around the classroom, yes, it looked just like Eid back home! Now that they had finished decorating the classroom Mrs. Short told the children she had a surprise for them, but she had to go out to her car to fetch it. She told the children that they had to be good and left Abraham in charge of the class. A few minutes later, Mrs. Short returned with a tree. That's funny thought Sarah, I thought Mrs. Short was going to get a nice surprise, why had she brought a tree into the classroom? Abraham looked surprised as well while the rest of the class cried out, "Oh look, a Christmas Tree!" The twins could not understand what all the excitement was about -- it was funny to have a tree inside! Mrs. Short placed the tree firmly on a stand. Then she went back to her desk, opened the other box and took out some tiny lights, brightly colored balls, ornaments, and more tinsel. The children decorated the tree and Mrs. Short arranged the tiny lights on its branches. Once they had finished decorating it, Mrs. Short switched on the tiny lights. The little lights, in all their colors flashed on and off and everyone clapped. Abraham and Sarah just stood and stared at the tree, it was the first time they had ever seen a tree decorated like this and it looked so beautiful. That afternoon on the way home from school, Sarah and Abraham could not stop talking about the Christmas tree and decided they were going to ask their parents if they could have one. The school bus slowed down outside their house, and the children got off and turned to wave to their friends on the bus as they ran up the path, kicking the snow up into the air as they went. Mother was waiting for them at the door, but the children forgot to say "As-Salamu alaykum", all they could think about was the Christmas tree. "Mummy, mummy," they cried, "can we have a Christmas Tree. We've got one in our classroom at school, it looks so pretty, please Mummy, please?" "Calm down, calm down!" said mother, "come in and take off your coats, have your tea, and we will talk about it when daddy comes home." The children ate their tea then did their homework. They had just finished their homework when they heard the sound of a car in the driveway -- daddy was home! The children rushed to the doorway and waited for their father. Soon they heard his footsteps coming nearer so they opened the door but as they rushed to give him a big kiss and hug they knocked his brief case out of his hand. "As-Salamu alaykum" their father said, "what's all this?" Both children started to speak at the same time and their father could not understand a word they were saying. "Just a minute, let me take my coat off and warm up." He took his coat off and hung it up and Sarah raced to bring him a pair of nice warm slippers to put on. "Now children, tell me one at a time what you were saying." Abraham said, "Oh daddy, today we put up decorations in our classroom, and Mrs. Short brought a Christmas tree and we decorated it with lights and lots of pretty things -- can we have a Christmas tree, please daddy, please!" Their father sat himself down in the chair near the fire and told them, "Children, when we came to England, we noticed that lots of things were different from back home. We are Muslims and Christmas is a Christian celebration and we don't celebrate it." "But daddy!" Abraham protested, "its the birthday of Prophet Jesus, why can't we celebrate it and have a Christmas tree?" "No, Abraham, Christians say it is the birthday of Prophet Jesus, but it is not." "But daddy, Mrs. Short at school said it is!!" said Abraham. "Well, I am afraid she is wrong this time." Sarah and Abraham were very upset they wanted a Christmas tree more than anything. Sarah started to cry, Abraham forgot his manners and started shouting. In fact they were so naughty they were sent to bed early and they didn't even say their prayers! As their mother tucked them into bed she reminded them of the lovely time they had at Eid, but this did not help, they could not understand why their father would not let them have a Christmas tree with little lights that flashed on and off. At last they dropped off to sleep, but as Abraham slept he sobbed. Suddenly, Abraham's bedroom was full of light. Abraham sat up in bed, rubbed his eyes, blinked and stared. There, sitting in the corner of the room on his prayer mat was something, or someone very, very unusual. "Who are you, what are you, go away or else I will scream!" said the bewildered Abraham. "Oh, I'm sorry, I didn't mean to startled you. I am a jinn, you have heard about my kind in the Koran," he replied. "Do you remember the story of Prophet Sulayman and the jinn who brought the throne of the Queen of Sheba to him?" asked the jinn. "Yes," replied Abraham, "Well, my great-great-great, I can't remember how many greats, but one of my great-grandfathers was there!" "Really," blurted Abraham, "That's really awesome," said Abraham, "but, what are you doing in my bedroom?" The jinn smiled with a smile that spread from ear to ear. "I was on my way to the Sahara desert, when I popped down your chimney to warm up, and overheard you and your father talking about Christmas, I also heard all the fuss you were making. I know it's hard for children to understand about Christmas, especially as people make it look so nice. That is why I decided it was my duty to tell you children two stories," said the jinn. "Go and tell Sarah to come here and I will tell them to you." Abraham went to Sarah's bedroom and woke her up -- she was still upset but when Abraham told her about the jinn she was very excited, she had never seen a jinn before. She jumped out of bed, put on her dressing gown, and together the children crept quietly back to Abraham's bedroom. As the children peered around the bedroom door they saw the jinn still sitting on the prayer mat and as he looked up he gave them one of his big smiles that stretched from ear to ear. "As-Salamu alaykum," said the jinn. "Wa laykum as-Salaam," replied the children. Although Sarah was excited, she was also a little bit shy. The jinn told the children that his name was Arafat ibn Jabel Arafat which means Arafat, the son of the Mount of Arafat. He told them that he had been given that name, because like his father he had been born not far from Mount Arafat, however, because he had grown to be rather big, his friends called him Jabel. Sarah asked, "Is that the mountain people go to on pilgrimage?" "Yes," said Jabel, "I am glad you know about it. Come and sit down by me and I will tell you two stories." "The first story," said Jabel "is about Christmas celebrations and the decorations you have been talking about and making at school. I know you have been wondering why Muslims don't celebrate Christmas even though we love Prophet Jesus, peace be upon him. Well, I am going to tell you the reason why we don't celebrate it, and how the idea of Christmas and its celebrations all started. You are going to be quite surprised with what you are going to hear!" "It all started a very long time ago, way before the time of Prophet Muhammad, praise and peace be upon him, and many years after Allah had taken Prophet Jesus, peace be upon him, to the heavens. At that time, Constantine was Emperor of Roman. He became so famous that a city in Turkey was named after him, it was called Constantinople, but today it has been renamed Istanbul. When Constantine became Emperor of Rome many people envied him because they wanted to be the Emperor, and so there were always uprisings somewhere in the Roman Empire. Most Romans were pagans. They worshiped lots of false gods carved out of wood or stone. Some of these gods, the Romans said, had sons and daughters. Other Romans, like Constantine, worshiped the sun or even the moon." "That's silly," said Sarah, "didn't they realize that the statues were useless and made by people like themselves?" "You're right Sarah, you're a bright young lady!" said Jabel. "To get back to the story, Constantinople was full of temples to those pagan gods. There were lots of very big statues everywhere but like I said, the god Constantine worshiped was the sun and on December, 25th each year there were special celebrations in honor of its birth. However, not all the people living in the Roman Empire were pagans, there were two other groups, people who refused to worship the pagan gods. One group followed the true teachings of Prophet Jesus, peace be upon him, and worshiped One God and knew another prophet would be sent later on. Those people were called Nazarenes, because Prophet Jesus was born in the town of Nazareth - in the Koran, Allah refers to them as 'Nasara'" "Oh, I know," said Abraham, "they were waiting for Prophet Muhammad, praise and peace be upon him." "Yes, that's right Abraham," said Jabel. Jabel continued, "the other group who claimed that they also followed Prophet Jesus were called Christians but in reality they followed a man named Paul who never met Prophet Jesus. He taught his followers the good manners Jesus taught, but he also taught something Jesus never claimed and said that the father of Jesus was God. May Allah forgive me for repeating this, it is a terrible thing to say" said Jabel. You see, when Paul first went to Rome and Greece he had difficulty preaching. The Greeks, like the Romans worshipped three gods, joined them together and said they worshiped one god, so Paul had an idea, if he referred to Prophet Jesus as being the son of God and then added the holy spirit there would be three gods in one, and this would make his preaching easier for the people to accept. His plan worked and people started to listen, but he made a very big mistake, because we know Prophet Jesus always taught that Allah is the One and only God and does not have a son, or a partner, nor is their anything like Him. Constantine was a very confused man he imagined that perhaps one day the true followers of Prophet Jesus might become a threat to his power. As for the other group, the Christians, they could be tolerated, because like I said before, their idea of three gods in one was similar to the pagan religions of Rome. However, there were more followers of Prophet Jesus than Paul at that time. "Why did Constantine think the Nazarenes would be a threat to his power?" asked Abraham. "Well, like I mentioned, their number was growing and he was afraid and worried that they might rise up against him -- there had already been twelve emperors in recent years and on average each one ruled for just three years -- all of them died in a mysterious manner. But, neither the Nazarenes nor the followers of Paul had anything to do with these mysterious deaths, they were peaceful people, but Constantine felt he could not leave anything to chance. The Emperors had been murdered by greedy Romans, some of whom wanted to become the next Emperor and needless to say Constantine wanted to be the Emperor of Rome for a very long time!" Jabel continued, "The Nazarenes were people who obeyed Allah and didn't much care about the Emperor, all they wanted to do was worship their Creator in peace. Emperors of Rome before Constantine had trouble accepting both of the parties and would throw them to hungry lions just because they refused to worship the pagan gods of Rome." Oh, how cruel!" exclaimed Sarah. "Yes," said Jabel, "those emperors were not nice people at all." "However, Constantine had noticed that both Christians and Nazarenes had a very good social system, a system that stood the chance of uniting the rebellious citizens of Rome and the Roman Empire. He had noticed these people were not selfish, they loved and cared for one another and were always ready to lend a hand to others when it was needed, and these were desirable qualities he wanted to establish in his own unstable society. However, although the Christians were not as many as the Nazarenes he found them to be the most attractive to his cause because, like I said, the Romans worshipped three gods in one and this would be easier for the Romans to accept and less likely to cause an upset." "Now Constantine, who was still a pagan, suddenly declared a change of heart, he announced he was no longer a pagan and had converted. However, he was a devious man and now claimed it was his intention to unite both the Christians and Nazarenes into one group that shared the same belief. So he sent letters to each of the leading Christian and Nazarene religious authorities of the day inviting them to attend a conference at Nicea where they could debate with one another and resolve their differences. His letters ordered each of the religious authorities to bring all their religious books with them and said that once the matter had been decided their religious books would be made into one book, a scripture, which would then be followed. The most influential religious authority who taught the true teachings of Prophet Jesus was a man named Arius. He was a very good man and knew the teachings of Prophet Jesus very well. He and his fellow clergy welcomed Constantine’s proposal and journeyed from far and wide to attend the great council over which the Emperor, Constantine announced he himself would preside. "What do you mean by preside?" asked Sarah. "Preside means being the chairman, the one who has the final decision." "Arius wasn't too happy about Constantine presiding over the council as he knew he did not know much about the religion as he had only recently converted. However, Arius knew he had the truth on his side. He was a convincing speaker and felt the truth he was about to present would be very clear and simple for all to understand and that through it he would unite and guide the followers of Paul. The day of the great council arrived. The religious authorities came with their books and sat down before Constantine, the Great Emperor of Rome. There were more Nazarenes at the council meeting than Christians, and when Arius spoke it was clear his evidence could not be argued against. He argued that if as the Christians claimed, the father of Jesus was God then there had been a time when Jesus did not exist, whereas God, the Creator of all things had always existed. Quite simply, Jesus was only a very, very special creation of God and His prophet, but not His son, or His partner. He also pointed out that the Christian scriptures were for the most part the words of Paul and his followers, and not those given to Prophet Jesus by his Creator. The debate continued and the Christians continued to claim that because Jesus had been born without an earthly father, his father must be God. Arius told them it was not so rather it was a very great miracle. He reminded the conference that neither Adam nor Eve had either a mother or a father and that their creation was also miraculous, but the Christians did not want to accept his argument. Arius also told them that Prophet Jesus, as I am sure you have read in the Koran did not die on the cross, because Allah saved him and took him to the heavens as he was praying and that the person who was crucified was in fact the person who betrayed him who had been transformed by Allah to look like Jesus! "Wow, isn't that something Sarah!" said Abraham. Now all of this bothered Constantine, he had hoped that the followers of Paul would win the day, but now he realized it wasn't going to turn out like that, however, he was too clever to show his true feelings. It was time for Constantine to fall back on another plan had devised just in case things did not go in his favor. He ordered all the religious authorities to leave their scriptures on top of the conference table and told them he would let God decide overnight, which were the authentic scriptures to be followed." What does authentic mean?" asked Abraham, "It means real, genuine" said Jabel. Constantine told them that he, himself, would ask God to remove the false teachings from the table and that the books remaining on the table the following morning would be from then onward the divinely chosen official scriptures which they would follow. Then he ordered his guards to take the clergy to their rooms and lock them in. That night, Constantine ordered his guards to gather all the scriptures that spoke of the Oneness of Allah and burn them, and to make sure that the only scriptures remaining were those of the Paul and his followers. Needless to say, the guards were much too afraid to disobey Constantine and so they carried out the order. The next morning when the religious authorities gathered, the fear of the Nazarenes was realized. None of their scriptures were left on the table! Arius protested and accused Constantine of deceit, but it was no good -- the damage had been done." "Didn't they have other real scriptures, like we have real copies of the Koran?" asked Sarah. "Oh, Sarah, there were a few, but you see in those days everything had to be written down by hand, and that took a very long time, so you can see there weren't many of them," said Jabel." "Arius and the rest of the Nazarenes left the conference in disgust. However, Constantine realized they knew their scriptures very well and that he could not allow them to return home where they would continue to preach, so he arranged to have them all murdered. He also decreed that anyone found in possession of the Gospel of Jesus would be put to death and their copy of the gospel burned! Meanwhile, back at the conference, a creed was drawn up by the followers of Paul." "What's a creed," asked Abraham. "A creed is something that you bear witness too," answered Jabel, "Oh, I understand," said Abraham, "It is like our shahadah 'I bear witness that there is no god except Allah, and Muhammad is His Prophet.'" "In a way," replied Jabel, "but, you must remember they did not believe in One God. By the way, the creed the followers of Paul devised that day still form part of the Christian prayers in church each Sunday, it is called the Nicene Creed." "What you have told us is very interesting Jabel, but what has this got to do with Christmas?" asked Abraham. "Well, from that time onwards, Constantine declared that Christians should celebrate the birth of Jesus on the same day the pagan Romans celebrated the birth of the sun god, the most popular god of the Roman Empire and that day was on December 25th, which Christians, now call Christmas day." "Oh, I would hate Prophet Jesus to be part of that," said Sarah. "Has it been like this ever since Constantine?" asked Abraham. "No, things changed, but they didn't get any better, I'll tell you about that in a minute." Constantine was anxious to find anything to support his new religion. One day he heard someone claim that the tomb of Prophet Jesus had been found so he ordered a church be built over it, but of course we know it was not true because Jesus did not die and because he did not die he could not be buried. Well my young friends, since that time many churches have been built over that tomb." "Why were many churches built over that tomb?" asked Sarah, "Good question, my young friend. Each of the churches was destroyed by either fire or earthquakes!" "Oh, boy" said Abraham, "If Jesus had died and it had been his tomb then Allah would have protected it wouldn't he!" "Yes" replied Jabel. Constantine continued to rule the Roman Empire for a long time, and the life of a Christian, the followers of Paul, became much easier. Just before Constantine died, his sister who had become a follower of Prophet Jesus but had kept it secret, tried to convince him he was wrong, but the damage was done. As time passed the great Empire of Rome fell, it became more corrupt than ever and it just got too big to control! As for the Christians, they traveled across Europe preaching the doctrine Paul had taught, many of them were people trying to do good and they did good, but their belief was wrong. However, they too had problems preaching their religion and so they adopted some of the pagan rituals they came across in Europe into Christianity to ease their preaching." "How do you mean?" asked Sarah. "A good question," replied Jabel. "Well, there are many, but let's just take one example, an example which seems to attract you." "In a part of the United Kingdom called Wales, there were pagans called Druids. Each year in December when the days were short and the nights were long they would worship their pagan gods by tying apples and other gifts onto the branches of a tree. The Germans did something similar, but they used a fir tree which you know as a Christmas Tree. To the pagans, fir trees were also a sign that winter would end and warmth of spring would once more return to the earth so they would decorate the trees with lots of different trinkets, masks, pray and hold a party around it. When these people accepted Christianity, they continued with this pagan ritual but renamed it, and so it became part of the Christmas celebrations. The Germans invented another story which has been passed down right up until this day. The story was that on Christmas Eve -- that's the night they claim was the night before Prophet Jesus was born -- his mother, Lady Mary, and the angels fly over the countryside, so, they place a candle in their windows to guide them and leave some food for them on a table, rather like the pagan tree offerings in the old days. Of course, the Germans weren't the only ones to invent stories, each country has their own the Spanish have a similar story." "Oh, I'm upset," said Sarah. "Prophet Jesus was such a good, pure person how could they do even think of even connecting him to those pagan things!" "Well, I guess they just did not think what they were doing," replied Jabel, "so now you know why your parents don't want you to have a Christmas tree." "Well, now that I understand the origins of a Christmas tree I don't want one, do you Sarah?" asked Abraham. "No, I agree with you!" said Sarah. "Before I go," said Jabel, "I am going to tell you the second story which is the real story about the birth of Prophet Jesus, peace be upon him. Perhaps tomorrow, or the next day you might like to read it for yourself in the Holy Koran. Hannah and Imran were very pious Jews. They had been married for a long time but had no children. Then, one day Hannah decided to ask Allah to let her have a child and promised Him that if she had a child she would dedicate it to His service. Allah in His Mercy accepted Hannah's prayer and she became pregnant. However, before Hannah gave birth, her husband died, so he never saw the child he longed for. It was because of Hannah's promise that she thought the baby would be a boy, because only boys were permitted to serve in the Temple of Jerusalem. You can imagine her surprise when she gave birth to a little girl and said, 'Lord, I have given birth to her, a female ... and I have called her Mary, protect her and all her descendants from satan, the accursed one.' Once again Allah accepted her supplication and as Mary grew up she became a very good, little girl who worshipped Allah a lot. In fact, she was so well mannered and pious that when it was time for her mother to take her to the Temple to fulfill her promise to Allah, the High Priests could not believe their eyes and each became very anxious to take charge of her! Zachariah, who was a Prophet and one of the High Priests of the Temple, told the other priests that he had more right to be Mary's guardian because his wife was Mary's aunt therefore he was related to her. The other High Priests protested, so it was agreed that they would go down to the river Jordan and cast straws into it, and whosoever’s straw floated upright would be Mary's guardian. Upon reaching the river Jordan each cast their straw into the water and much to Prophet Zachariah's great happiness his was the only one to float upright. The matter was decided, Mary's new guardian was her uncle, Prophet Zachariah who hastily built a special room upstairs in the Temple for her. No one was permitted to enter the room except Zachariah. Mary was very happy there and spent her time worshiping and thanking Allah. At meal times Zachariah would take food to her, but on many occasions, much to his surprise, he would find that she had already been given fruit -- not just seasonal fruit, but fruit which grew out of season. When he asked her where it came from she replied, 'It is from Allah, truly, Allah provides whomsoever He will without reckoning.' Zachariah was so happy with his niece that it made him think. He thought about Hannah and how despite her age, she had supplicated to Allah for a child and that He had heard her prayer and given her this lovely child. He realized that Allah is indeed capable of giving a child even when would-be parents are old, and he did not have any, so he supplicated to Allah, and Angel Gabriel came to him with news saying, 'Allah gives you glad tidings of John, who shall confirm the Word of Allah. He shall be a master and chaste, a Prophet and from the righteous.' Zachariah asked to be given a sign of this wonderful news, so Gabriel told him that his sign would be that he would not speak to people except by signs for three days. Before Gabriel left he instructed Zachariah to remember Allah at all times and to exalt Him in the evening and at dawn, and some time later, Zachariah became a father and named his son John. In the meantime, Mary was growing in piety more and more each day. Then, one day Angel Gabriel, the Spirit of Purity, was sent to her in the likeness of a man and when she saw him she was very afraid. Gabriel told her not to be afraid because he had been sent to her from Allah. He told her, 'Allah gives you glad tidings of a Word from Him, whose name is Messiah, Jesus, the son of Mary. He shall be honored in this world and in the next, and he shall be among those who are close. He shall speak to people in his cradle and when he is aged, and shall be righteous.' Mary was surprised and asked, 'Lord, how can I bear a child when no human has touched me?' He replied, 'Such is the Will of Allah, He creates whom He will, when He decrees a thing, He only says, "Be" and it is.' Gabriel told Mary that her son, Jesus, would be given his own Book from Allah, the Gospel of Jesus, and that he would be taught wisdom and the Torah. Then he breathed into Mary and she conceived. The months went by and it was nearing the time for Jesus to be born. One day, Mary left her room in the Temple and when she reached a date palm tree she felt a sudden pain and knew that it would not be long until she gave birth. Mary was anxious and said, 'Oh, would that I had died before this and become a thing forgotten!' Just then, a voice called from below her and comforted her saying, 'Do not sorrow, your Lord has provided a rivulet below you, and shake the trunk of this palm-tree it will drop fresh ripe dates upon you. Therefore, eat, drink and be comforted. If you meet any mortal say to him, 'I have vowed a fast to the Merciful and will not speak with anyone today.'" And so it was that the baby Jesus was born. Mary made her way to her people carrying her precious baby son. When her people saw her and the baby they were shocked and exclaimed, 'O Mary, you have done a monstrous thing. O sister of Aaron, your father was never a man of evil, nor was your mother unchaste.' So she pointed to her baby as she had been told, but they asked, 'How can we speak with a baby in a cradle?' Then Jesus spoke saying, 'I am the worshipper of Allah. He has given me the Book and made me a Prophet. He made me blessed wherever I go, and He has ordered me to pray and give alms as long as I live. He has made me kind to my mother; He has not made me arrogant, unprosperous. Peace be upon me the day I was born and on the day I die; and on the day when I shall be raised up alive.' Jesus grew in knowledge and wisdom and received from Allah His Book, the Gospel of Jesus." "Oh, I didn't know Prophet Jesus had his own Book," said Sarah. "Yes, he did my young friend, but later on it was lost." "There are lots and lots of stories about Prophet Jesus in the Koran, and we know that all of them are true because Allah has promised to protect the Arabic Holy Koran so that no one can ever change His Word." "Aren't we lucky to know the real story," exclaimed Sarah. "Yes," replied Abraham, "you know in a funny way, I am so glad we made such a fuss about wanting a Christmas tree, because, we would never have got to know Jabel and the real meaning of Christmas and the Christmas Tree. Thank you Jabel, I wish you would be our friend and come and live with us!" "Oh, my dear young friends, that's very nice of you, and I have really enjoyed being with you, but its too cold for me here and I must be on my way to the desert, you know we jinn like to be nice, hot because we were created from fire. I guess you don't want a Christmas tree after all now!" said Jabel. Sarah and Abraham answered at the same time "Oh, no Jabel, even though it might look pretty." "Well that's good to hear," said Jabel "now its time for you to go to sleep and for me to be on my way." "Jabel, please come back again some time, you know so much and its fun learning from you," said Sarah and Abraham. "Very well, my young friends, when I'm passing by next time, I will pop in - as-salamu alaykum." Within a flash Jabel was gone and Sarah and Abraham went back to bed. The next morning, when Sarah and Abraham got up, they said their prayers and went downstairs for breakfast. When they got downstairs, their father had not yet left for work and mother was setting the table. They ran up to their parents, said, "As-Salamu alaykum" and gave them both a big hug and apologized for being so rude the night before. Then, they smiled at one another and much to their parent's surprise told them they didn't want a Christmas tree after all! Their parents could not believe their ears after all the fuss last night and so the children told them all about Jabel's visit which really amazed their parents -- they had never seen a jinn! "Well," said their father, "I am glad you understand why we don't celebrate Christmas, but I have a good idea. To some good people this is a season where they go out and feed the poor and give them useful gifts, such as clothing to keep them warm. Prophet Muhammad, praise and peace be upon him, encouraged us to give to the poor, so this weekend we can go shopping and buy some food and gifts to give to those in need. There are some little booklets in the mosque about Islam, I will ask Shaykh Ahmad after the Jummah prayer if I can have some and when we wrap our gifts up we can pop one in with each gift." "Oh, that's a great idea," said Abraham and Sarah together, "we can't wait for Saturday!" THE END Incidental note: Khadeijah, the author of this story converted to Islam many years ago. She loves Prophet Jesus and wanted to know what happened to his teachings, because she knew he would never tell a lie. With this in mind she started out to discover what actually happened, and how his teaching became so distorted, and this is how "We Want A Christmas Tree" came to be written. She asks Allah to protect our children from all the attractions of Christmas as she knows from her own background just how tempting these attractions are, especially to children. Each Christmas season, Khadeijah asks Allah to send His sechina, comfort to Prophet Jesus and Lady Mary, because she feels it must be very upsetting for Jesus and Mary to see the truth being replaced with falsehoods. On 11th Shaban 1430, (August 2nd, 2009) Khadeijah had a vision. She saw Prophet Jesus when he was a baby being cradled in his mother's arms. She greeted him saying, "As-salamu alaykym", and he responded to her saying, "Wa laykum as-salam". Allah knows the truth of the matter, but Khadeijah wonders whether her vision took place on the actual birthday of Prophet Jesus, because we are told in the Koran that Jesus spoke when he was a baby. By the way Prophet Jesus had the most beautiful dark brown eyes! Al Hamdulillah. APPENDIX www.Allah.com The story "We Want a Christmas Tree" has been simplified for our youngsters to help them cope with the attractions of the Christmas season. For our adult readers we have prepared the following fact sheet to acquaint them of the subtle differences between the Nazarenes (Nasara – Arabic transliterature) and Christians. WHO ARE THE NAZARENES AND WHO ARE THE CHRISTIANS Mistranslation: The Arabic word used in the Koran to define those who followed Prophet Jesus, peace upon him, is 'Nasara' meaning 'Nazarenes', and not, as generally accept and commonly translated 'Christians'. The Nazarenes: Prophet Jesus was from the village of Nazareth, and called "The Nazarene". Like Jesus, his followers became known as "Nazarenes". After his ascent to the heavens at the time of his betrayal his disciples established a seat of learning at a place in the desert called Qumran. A Sect of Judaism: The Nazarenes did not consider themselves followers of a new religion rather they considered themselves to be reformed Jews. They also considered themselves to be "the lost sheep of Israel" of whom Jesus spoke and for whom he was sent as a guide and a prophet to shepherd the sincere Jews back to the true, original teachings of the Mosaic law which had over the years been corrupted by people seeking worldly advantages and gain and who did not fear their Creator. A Nazarene priest was called a Rabbi. Paul: How, may you ask, did the word "Christians" come to replace the word "Nazarenes"? The word "Christian" is traced directly to Paul who was a Roman citizen, and is a word derived from the Latin (Roman) word 'Christus' and the Greek word 'Christos', both of which mean 'anointed'. Who was Paul you might ask? Paul was not a pure bred Jew, his blood was mixed. To achieve a position of rank within the orthodox Jewish authorities it was essential that one must be of pure Jewish descent and Paul was not. Paul was ambitious and yearned to be accepted into the elite Jewish circles so he worked zealously for a prominent Jewish rabbi for many years. Eventually, an opportunity for advancement presented itself but Paul, much to his disappointment, was passed over in favor of a pure bred, but less qualified Jew. Paul knew now that no matter how hard he worked there was no hope for self-advancement in these circles so he abandoned his position to look elsewhere. Paul, who was also a Roman citizen, now sort employment with the Romans and was accepted. His task was to do what until now both Rome and the Jews failed to do – destroy the teachings and followers of Prophet Jesus, peace be upon him. Qumran: As we mentioned before, the followers of Jesus were called Nazarenes and had established their seat of worship and learning in Qumran (the place in which the Dead Sea Scrolls were found). Their leader, James, was a major disciple of Prophet Jesus and on account of his piety and just nature was called "James, the Just". James and his fellow Nazarenes or Nazarites as they were also known, followed the teachings entrusted to them by Prophet Jesus and did not deviate. To become a Nazarene rabbi, a Nazarene was obliged to study for at least three years and pass an examination upon the completion of one's studies. Paul's Conversion: Paul claimed his conversion on his way to Damascus. Paul's Agenda: The Dead Sea Scrolls relate that some time after Paul's experience on the road to Damascus - when he claimed his conversion - he went to Qumran. However, when one analyses the events that were to follow in the coming years it is clear that Paul had his own agenda which was to impregnate the pure teachings of Jesus with those of his own and form his own religion. Paul meets James the Just: The Dead Sea Scrolls also narrate that initially, Paul was made welcome at Qumran but James, who had heard, first hand, the teachings of Jesus was quick to realize Paul's deviations. Soon a heated argument between the two ensued with the result that after just fifteen days after his arrival Paul left the community and therefore could by no means lay claim to the rank and title of a Nazarene rabbi. The Warning – The Unscrupulous Liar: In the Qumran scrolls a warning was recorded by Peter, a major disciple of Prophet Jesus, saying: "Wherefore observe with the greatest caution that you believe no teacher unless he brings from Jerusalem the testimonial of James." It is evident Paul did not have such a testimonial. It is also worth noting that in the scrolls, the disciples refer to Paul as "The unscrupulous liar". Neither of these devoted followers of Prophet Jesus would have uttered these devastating words lightly or without reason, as they feared the wrath of their Creator. The Birth of Christianity: When Paul started his own innovative style of preaching he and his followers did not call themselves Nazarenes or Jews, rather they adopted a new title "Christians". One should be aware that Prophet Jesus had been given the prophethood by his Creator and also his own Gospel which, unfortunately no longer exists. Paul was neither given the prophethood nor a gospel. Paul's invention of the Christian religion incorporated the moral aspects taught by Prophet Jesus and this made his preaching attractive but to this he added the concept of the trinity – three gods in one, and this made his preaching so much more acceptable as the pagans of Rome and Greece who already worshipped a god who had either a son or a daughter and so forth. Paul deliberately abandoned the spiritual message of Prophet Jesus, which was that of Judaism in its purest form - the worship of One God who has no sons, daughters or partners. Paul Exposed by his own words: To promote and attract people to Christianity and of course to himself, Paul openly admits in the Bible, 1 Corinthians, 9-20-25. 'I made myself a Jew to the Jews …I made myself all things to all men … That is how I run intent on winning; that is how I fight, not beating the air.' His own words endorse Peter and James' statement that Paul was indeed "The Unscrupulous Liar" who would do or say anything to attract followers. Opposition to Paul's Teachings: In the Bible, chapter Galations, it is recorded that the Nazarenes journeyed to where Paul preached to disclaim his authority and contradict his teachings. Many listened to the Nazarenes and in Galations 1 verses 6-9 the angered Paul declares to his congregation, 'I am astonished that you are so quickly deserting the one who called you by the grace of Christ and are turning to a different gospel – which is no gospel at all. Evidently some people are throwing you into confusion and are trying to pervert the gospel of Christ….. As we had already said, so now I say again: If anybody is preaching to you gospel other than what you accepted from me, let him be eternally condemned!' or, in another edition of the Bible, 'If anyone is preaching to you a gospel contrary to that which you have received, let him be accursed!' The New Testament versus the Authenticity of the Holy Koran: Examine the New Testament of the Bible – the book of the Christians. You will find it is, for the most part, the work and actions of Paul and his followers. No mention is made of the Gospel given to Prophet Jesus. Until recently, the fact that the first books in the New Testament, i.e. Matthew, Mark, Luke and John were not written by the actual disciples of Prophet Jesus, remained unknown to the man-in-the-street, the books were in fact written by people who just bore the same names of his disciples and neither knew nor met him. However, with the advancement of technology Biblical scholars now openly acknowledge the fact that these gospels cannot be attributed to the disciples of Jesus. The Arabic Koran given to Prophet Muhammad, praise and peace be upon him, is the unaltered, unchanged, unchangeable Word of the Creator who tells us in the Koran, 'It is We who sent down the Koran, and We watch over it.' (Ch.15:9) And Allah does not lie. The Arabic Koran will never be subject to tampering. How do we know the Arabic Koran is the same as it was when it was first written down? The first copies of the Koran ever to be written down still exist and at the time of the Prophet's death, thousands and thousands knew the entire Koran by heart and ever since its revelation it has been meticulously transmitted from one generation to the next. The Final Onslaught to the Teachings of Prophet Jesus: Approximately three hundred years had now passed and Constantine, who was now Emperor of Rome faced many problems. Constantine, was shrewd, he observed that those who claimed to follow the teachings of Jesus were excellent, law abiding citizens. Within their society there was love and care for one another and they were always prepared to lend a helping hand wherever needed. The only objection to them was that they refused to offer sacrifices to the gods of Rome, and because of this many, under previous emperors, had been put to death. It was to Constantine's political advantage to adopt and befriend those who claimed to follow Jesus. His observation convinced him that these law-abiding citizens had already started to succeed and influence a sector of the Roman society and this was a most desirable factor to stabilize his crumbling empire. However, there was a problem. There were two groups claiming that they followed Jesus with very different doctrines. One group was lead by a man called Arius who worshipped one God and taught that Jesus was His Prophet. The other group who called themselves Christians claimed that God was three gods in one – which was very similar to the pagan religions of Rome and also Greece. Constantine thought he could unite both the followers of Jesus and the followers of Paul into one religion. He had been a sun worshipping pagan but now announced his conversion and called for a gathering of both parties to meet at a place called Nicea to resolve their differences. Orders were sent to all the leading religious authorities to attend the Conference of Nicea – they were instructed to bring their books with them to support their claims. The head of the followers of Prophet Jesus was a man called Arius. Arius argued, "If the Father (meaning God) begot the son, then he (Jesus) who was begotten had a beginning in existence and from this it follows there was a time when the son did not exist." In other words Arius argued Jesus was the creation of God and not a god-head. God had always existed whereas Jesus had not, Jesus was created. (Ref. The Story of Christianity, by Drs. Collins and Price) Needless to say Arius who was very knowledgeable refused to accept Paul's doctrine of three gods in one – the Trinity. Constantine, who for obvious reasons, favored the theory of three gods in one, realized that the followers of Prophet Jesus and the Christians would never agree, so one evening he ordered the clergy to leave their books on the table and said he would ask God to determine which books were to be followed and all the participants were escorted to their rooms and not allowed the leave it and were told to pray. The following day when Arius returned to the conference table he found all his books and those of his companions were missing, they had been destroyed – and only the books of Paul and his adherents remained. Arius and his companions left the conference immediately only to be murdered as they returned home. The conference continued and soon after the Christian creed was devised. The creed was a complete contradiction to the teachings of Prophet Jesus and endorsed the teachings of Paul. This creed, the Nicene creed, is the creed recited in churches each Sunday to this very day. Constantine and the tomb of Prophet Jesus: Over three hundred years had passed since Prophet Jesus had been taken to the heavens by his Creator, however Constantine believed, according to the teachings of Paul that Jesus had been crucified and then buried. Constantine needed to find as many religious sites in Jerusalem as he could so that he might establish and enhance the validity of his cause with the pagans of Rome. Amongst the "holy sites" Constantine claimed to have found was that of the tomb of Jesus. Over the site Constantine claimed to be the tomb of Prophet Jesus he erected a church. Since that time several churches have been erected on that site. Why several churches you may ask? Each church has either been destroyed by a fire or an earthquake! The tomb of Prophet Muhammad - praise and peace be upon him and upon all the prophets – has been protected by Allah and has never, ever suffered from any kind of disaster. Footnotes: In Bamber Gascoigne's book, "The Christians" he mentions that during his research in the Holy Land he noticed that the crucifix did not appear on any of the tombs of those who had actually followed Prophet Jesus during his life time, rather the sign used to distinguish them was that of a fish, as Prophet Jesus was known as the "Fisher of Men". The crucifix appears only on the tombs of the followers of Paul. If the crucifixion is removed from the Christian doctrine - which is that Paul claimed Jesus was crucified for us so that we might be saved from our sins – is removed, his religion crumbles. Allah tells us in the Koran, "and for their saying, 'We killed the Messiah, Jesus the son of Mary, the Messenger (and Prophet) of Allah.' They did not kill him, nor did they crucify him, but to them, he (the crucified) had been given the look (of Prophet Jesus). Those who differ concerning him (Prophet Jesus) are surely in doubt regarding him, they have no knowledge of him, except the following of supposition, and (it is) a certainty they did not kill him." Ch.4:157. Christians claim that to be saved one must accept and believe that Jesus died for our sins and through him alone we attain redemption. This poses a very big problem. If one can only attain redemption through the blood of Jesus and by accepting him to be your savior – what is the condition of all the prophets and righteous people who preceded him – they neither knew him, nor did they accept him as their savior! As for the verse in the Old Testament of the Bible, in the first chapter Genesis that proclaims God created man in His own image – think about this. In both Aramaic and Hebrew there are no capital letters. Therefore the quotation takes on another light – God, the Creator created man in his own image. It has been said that there are many people who do not got to a mosque/church/ synagogue who lead better and more helpful lives that those who do. The issue is not that of humanitarian, rather the question of faith is the root, everyone stumbles and falls – no one is perfect, but without the correct faith there is no forgiveness no matter how much good you try to do. For those inclined to the thought that supermarket meat is halal, think about it. In the light of the foregoing, set aside, for the sake of argument, the usual objections for the consumption of supermarket meat and ask yourself if the meat of the Christians is halal. Christians worship three gods in one and follow Paul. Christians are not the same as Nazarenes, or as the Koran terms them "The People of the Book." Thank you, please feel free to copy and distribute this appendix. For your free copy of the Holy Koran in contemporary English please download from Allah.com Readings from the Holy Koran concerning, The Conception of Prophet Jesus, peace be upon him, Chapter 3 verse 42 The Birth of Prophet Jesus, peace be upon him, Chapter 3 verses 45 - 49 The Identity of Prophet Jesus, peace be upon him, Chapter 19 verses 23 -34 Chapter 3 verse 59 Chapter 3 verse 84 The Question Allah will ask Jesus, Chapter 3 verses 171 - 172 Prophecies of Jesus and the Miracles given to him, Chapter 5 verse 116 The Plot to Kill Prophet Jesus, peace be upon him, Chapter 3.49 Chapter 5.112 Chapter 3 verse 55 What was the Mission of Prophet Jesus? Chapter 4 verses 157 - 158 Chapter 5 verse 46 Chapter 43 verses 63 – 64 Chapter 61 verse 6 ©1992-2010 All rights reserved. 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