411. Is It Permissible To Accept Gifts From Non Muslims

By Asma Bint Shameem

It’s permissible to accept gifts from non Muslims on the occasion of their religious festivals but with *conditions*.

The scholars said:

“It is *permissible* for you to accept the gift from your Christian neighbor on the day of their festival, subject to the following conditions: 

1. This gift should not be meat that has been slaughtered for the festival. 

2. It should not be something that may be used to help in imitating them on the day of their festival, such as candles, eggs, palm leaves etc. 

3. You should explain to your children the belief in al-wala’ wa’l-bara’ (loyalty and friendship vs. disavowal and enmity), lest a love of this festival or a fondness for the giver be instilled in their hearts. 

4. The gift should be accepted with the aim of *softening* her heart and calling her to Islaam, not with friendship and love. 

If the gift is something that it is not permissible to accept, then the refusal to accept it should be accompanied by an explanation of why it is being refused, such as saying, “We only refused your gift because it is *meat* that was slaughtered for the festival, and it is not permissible for us to eat it, or these things are only accepted by those who are taking part in the celebrations, and we do not celebrate this festival, because it is not part of our religion, and it involves beliefs that we do not believe in” and so on, which is a starting point for calling them to Islaam and explaining the danger of the kufr that they follow.”

(Islamqa Fatwa # 85108)

And Allaah knows best