Originally published in the Daily Record
Last week, while talking to my Christian friend Jim, I felt a sense of pride that after presenting a saying of Muhammad — “Paradise lies under the feet of mother” — Jim replied, “Very beautiful message.” Jim replied to have a Merry Christmas, I replied “same to you” (avoiding actually saying “Merry Christmas” in return, and Jim probably noticed it).
And during the Christmas season, while reading the Quranic verse about Mary, “Oh Mary, Allah has chosen thee and purified thee and chosen thee above all women of the time’ (3:43), a thought came to my mind: How would Mary feel about Christmas? While I do not believe Christ was born on Christmas and do not believe he was the son of God, I do believe he was a prophet and dutiful toward his mother. So, I can’t help but think she would be happy to know that people are remembering her son in a loving manner.
And so, next time, when I speak to Jim, after having explained this idea to him, I might reply, “Have a Mary Christmas.”
