The Birth of Jesus: What the Bible and Quran Reveal

A Date That Was Never Mentioned

Millions around the world celebrate December 25th as the birth of Jesus (as). Yet, neither the Bible nor the Qur’an mentions this date. The Gospel of Luke provides a clue that contradicts a winter birth. It states, “And in the same region there were shepherds out in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night” (Luke 2:8). No shepherd would be outdoors at night in December in the northern hemisphere. The winters are too cold, and the fields are bare. This simple observation reveals that Jesus could not have been born in winter.

The Quran’s Hint: Fresh Dates in Summer

The Qur’an provides its own hint about the timing. When Maryam (as) was in the pains of labour, a voice called to her, “And shake the trunk of the palm tree towards you, it will drop fresh, ripe dates upon you” (Q 19:25). Fresh dates ripen in the summer, not in December. The Qur’an thus points to a birth in the warmer months. The Bible and the Qur’an, despite their many differences, agree on this point: Jesus was not born on December 25th.

The Pagan Origins of Christmas

How then did December 25th become the date? The answer lies in Roman history. In 274 CE, the Roman Emperor established December 25th as the feast day for the birth of Sol Invictus, the Unconquered Sun God. When Constantine embraced Christianity in the 4th century, the Church adopted this popular pagan holiday and renamed it as the birth of Jesus. The goal was to offset the pagan festival with a Christian one. As one Christian source admits, “The Church established it quite consciously as an attempt to defeat the false religion of heathens.”

Not All Christians Celebrate December 25th

Not all Christians accepted this change. Eastern Orthodox Christians, including the Armenian Church, continued to celebrate the birth of Jesus on January 6th. The Jehovah’s Witnesses reject Christmas entirely, recognising it as a pagan custom. For the first four centuries of Christian history, there was no separate feast of Christmas. It was celebrated together with Epiphany on January 6th. The December 25th date was a later innovation, adopted nearly 400 years after Jesus.

A Lesson About Honesty in Faith

The story of Christmas teaches us an important lesson. When we mix truth with falsehood, we distort the message of the prophets. Jesus (as) came to call people to worship Allah alone. He did not command his followers to celebrate a pagan holiday. As Muslims, we honour Jesus by following his true message, not by adopting customs he never practiced. The Qur’an warns, “Say nothing about Allah except the truth” (Q 4:171). May we always seek the truth, even when it challenges popular traditions.

Haj Firas Naji