Christmas for Muslim Reverts

Aaaahhh Christmas - it comes up time and again.

There is alot to talk about Christmas, since it is really the hype of the year. I am not here to analyse or comment too much on the festivity, since for many many and many many years that I was living in Europe, I learned alot about Christmas - the good, the bad and the ugly. The last two I learned from people who did not practice Christianity but were all out there to have a jolly good time doing everything but good.

I think due to the bad and the ugly, not everyone finds Christmas as the time of the year to reflect and find solace.

I know another group of people who may find Christmas a little difficult. Muslim reverts who were formally followers of the Christian faith. It takes baby steps for many reverts to help their families come to terms with their reversion. It's not easy - some parents are far more accepting than others, while others shun their children away. There are those though who accept but would like to share the holiday cheer with their family, including family members who have reverted to Islam.

I suspect it is difficult "losing" a child to a different faith and I also suspect that it is difficult for new reverts to not visit their parents during Christmas. Parents hold special status in Islam, regardless of their religious beliefs: Keep their company with kindness in this world, and follow the path of him who turns to Me. Then unto Me will you return, and I shall tell you what you did. (Luqman: 15)

If you feel you are in this position and are not quite sure how to handle Christmas invitations from family, there are several fatwa found on Islam Online that will help guide you. Visit their fatwa bank.

The consensus among scholars is that you are allowed (and in fact, encouraged) to visit your parents and partake in feasts and even the exchanging of gifts. However, please steer away from any forms of worship that compromise Islamic principles. In fact you should also avoid anything else that would deter your steadfastness in faith, such as alcohol and free mingling with other guests who are not your Mahram.

Simple enough, insha'Allah. We try our best to make the best out of every situation and Allah Ta'ala provides us felxibility to live in this world - provided we do not transgress His guidelines.

And We have recommended to man his parents; his mother bore him in weakness upon weakness, and his weaning was in two years. Thank Me and your two parents. To Me is the return. But if they try to force you to associate with Me that of which you have no knowledge, then obey them not. (Luqman: 13).

What's in Mama's Milk?

An American OBGYN met with an Egyptian OBGYN. He was facing a predicament. Two mothers had given birth to two babies - one a baby girl and the other a baby boy. Both mothers were under the impression that the baby boy belonged to them.

This happened long before the exitence of DNA determination and the American doctor felt he was at a dead-end in resolving this dispute.

The Egyptian doctor recommended that he consult a wise man in Eqypt, an ulema. The two doctors described the situation to the ulema.

The ulema replied, "test both mothers' breast milk and you will find a difference in their constituents."

The American doctor upon returning home, did as what he was requested. What he found in both mothers' breastmilk was shocking.

One mother had double the nutrients of the other mother. For every unit of protein of one mother, the other had 2. For every unit of minerals in the same mother, the other had 2.

He quickly reported this findings back to his Egyptian comrade. The Egyptian OBGYN consulted the ulema once again.

The ulema then relayed, "the mother with double the nutrients in her milk, is the mother to the baby boy."

As men inherit double than women, under normal circumstances reflects that men need the extra portion. Under inheritance law, men are provided with double of his female counterparts because family, including his wife, children, parents, sisters and sometimes even aunts, are dependants on a man's earnings. A woman enjoys financial freedom over her money, property and inheritance.

Accordingly, men need more than women, when it comes to earning and inheritance. The same way, baby boys need more than baby girls when growing up. Ask any mother and she will agree that her son drinks more, eats more, is more active, than her daughters. Boys and girls are different and through our physical observation, this is apparent. Boys are generally bigger and stronger than girls - and though they mature slower and take time to catch up physically, at the end of puberty - men are still physically bigger and stronger. They just need that extra more nutrients.

My family doctor had told me that story during a sick visit to the clinic. My son was ill for the first time. She asked what he drank, and I said Mama's Milk.

She says there has been no research done on breast milk to validate the story, but through her observation and experience, many more baby boys, as compared to baby girls - who are formula-fed - fall sick. Obviously formula milk is not identical to Mama's Milk - they are deficient in several nutrients - but imagine that baby boys do not receive the constituents they would need as compared to their sisters if they are not breastfed.

This is just a thought. Allah know best. After all, He provides Mama's Milk to both baby boys and girls.