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Bismillah ir-Rahman ir-Rahim
Should we celebrate Mawlid
(The Prophet’s (s) birthday)?
Yes we should celebrate it every year
And every month and every week
And every hour and every moment.
Dr. `Isa al-Mani` al-Humayri, Department of Awqaaf, Dubai
Office of Religious Endowments and Islamic Affairs, Dubai
Administration of Ifta’ and Research
[Arabic text follows]
We find nowadays publications filled with lies and deception which mislead many
Muslims into thinking negatively about the honorable Mawlid of the Prophet.
These publications claim that to celebrate the Mawlid is an act of innovation
that goes against Islam. This is far from the truth, and it is therefore
necessary for those who can speak clearly to help clarify and reverse the doubts
surrounding this most blessed day. It is with this humble intention that I
present the following proofs in support of celebrating our beloved Prophet’s
birthday.
The Prophet said, “He who innovates something in this matter of ours that is not
of it will have it rejected.” He also said, “Beware of innovations, for every
innovation (kul bida`) is misguidance.”
Those opposed to Mawlid cite this saying and hold that the word every (kul) is a
term of generalization, including all types of innovations, with no exception,
and that therefore, celebrating Mawlid is misguidance. By daring to say that,
they accuse the scholars of Islam of innovation. At the top of the list of those
they have accused, then, is our Master `Umar (Allah be pleased with him). Those
in opposition to Mawlid quickly reply to this, “But we did not mean the
Companions of the Prophet Muhammad.”
It follows, then, that the meaning of every (kul) cannot be taken in its general
sense. Therefore, although the Prophet may not have said to celebrate his
blessed birthday, it is nonetheless not innovation to do so. For, as the
following examples show, there were many actions and practices instituted by his
close followers after his time that are not deemed innovation.
Compiling the Qu’ran.
(From a Prophetic saying related by Zaid Ibn Thabit.(Allah be pleased with him))
“The Prophet died and the Qu’ran had not been compiled anywhere. `Umar (Allah be
pleased with him) suggested to Abu Bakr (Allah be pleased with him) to compile
the Qu’ran in one book. When a large number of Companions were killed in the
battle of Yamama, Abu Bakr wondered, “How could we do something that the Prophet
did not do?’ `Umar said, “By Allah, it is good.’ `Umar persisted in asking Abu
Bakr until Allah expanded his chest for it (Allah made him agree and accept
these suggestions) and he sent for Zaid Ibn Thabit and assigned him to compile
the Qu’ran.” Zaid said, “By Allah if they had asked me to move a mountain, it
would not have been more difficult than to compile the Qur’an.” He also said,
“How could you do something that the Prophet did not do?” Abu Bakr said, “It is
good, and `Umar kept coming back to me until Allah expanded my chest for the
matter.” The saying is narrated in Sahih Al Bukhari.
The Maqam of Ibrahim (as) in relation to the Ka’ba.
(Al Bayhaqi narrated with a strong chain of narrators from Aisha.) “The Maqam
during the time of the Prophet and Abu Bakr was attached to the House, then `Umar
moved it back.” Al Hafiz Ibn Hajar said in Al Fath, “The Companions did not
oppose `Umar, neither did those who came after them, thus it became unanimous
agreement.” He was the first to build the enclosure (maqsura) on it, which still
exists today.
Adding the first call to prayer on Friday.
(From Sahih Al Bukhari, from Al Sa’ib bin Yazid.) “During the time of the
Prophet (s), Abu Bakr (Allah be pleased with him) and `Umar (Allah be pleased
with him), the call to Friday prayer used to occur when the Imam sat on the
pulpit. When it was Othman’s (Allah be pleased with him) time, he added the
third call (considered third in relation to the first adhan and the iqama. But
it is named first because it proceeds the call to the Friday prayer.)”
Salutations on the Prophet composed and taught by our Master `Ali (Allah be
pleased with him).
The salutations have been mentioned by Sa’id bin Mansoor and Ibn Jareer in
Tahzeeb al Aathar, and by Ibn Abi Assim and Ya’qoob bin Shaiba in Akhbar `Ali
and by Al Tabarani and others from Salamah Al Kindi.
The addition to the tashahhud by Ibn Mas’ud.
After “wa rahmatullahi wa barakatu,” and the Mercy of Allah and Blessings, he
used to say, “assalamu `alayna min Rabbina,” peace upon us from our Lord.
Narrated by Al Tabarani in Al Kabir, and the narrators are those of the sound
transmitters, as it has been mentioned in Majma’ Al Zawa’id.
The addition to the tashahhud by Abdullah Ibn `Umar.
He added the basmalah at the beginning of the tashahhud. He also added to the
talbia, “labbaika wa sa’daika wal khayru bi yadayka wal raghba’u ilayika wal `amalu”
This is mentioned in Bukhari, Muslim, et al.
These are some of the developments instituted by the Prophet’s Companions, the
scholars, and the honorable members of his nation, which did not exist during
the time of the Prophet, and which they deemed good. Are they, then, misguided
and guilty of bad innovation?
As for the claim that there is no such thing in religion as good innovation,
here are some sayings of the brilliant scholars of Islam belying this claim.
Imam Nawawi said in Sahih Muslim (6-21)
“The Prophet’s saying every innovation is a general-particular and it is a
reference to most innovations. The linguists say, “Innovation is any act done
without a previous pattern, and it is of five different kinds.’“ Imam Nawawi
also said in Tahzeeb al Asma’ wal Sifaat, “Innovation in religious law is to
originate anything which did not exist during the time of the Prophet, and it is
divided into good and bad.” He also said, “Al-muhdathat (pl. for muhdatha) is to
originate something that has no roots in religious law. In the tradition of
religious law it is called innovation, and if it has an origin within the
religious law, then it is not innovation. Innovation in religious law is
disagreeable, unlike in the language where everything that has been originated
without a previous pattern is called innovation regardless of whether it is good
or bad.”
Shaykh Ibn Hajar Al Asqalani, the commentator on Al Bukhari, said,
“Anything that did not exist during the Prophet’s time is called innovation, but
some are good while others are not.”
Abu Na’eem,narrated from Ibrahim Al Junaid, said, “I heard Ash-Shafi’i saying,
“Innovation is of two types; praiseworthy innovation and blameworthy innovation,
and anything that disagrees with the Sunnah is blameworthy.’“
Imam Albayhaqinarrated in Manaqib Ash-Shafi’i that Ash-Shafi’i said,
“Innovations are of two types: that which contradicts the Qu’ran, the Sunnah, or
unanimous agreement of the Muslims is a innovation of deception, while a good
innovation does not contradict any of these things.”
Al `Izz bin Abdussalam said, at the end of his book, Al Qawa’id,
“Innovation is divided into obligatory, forbidden, recommended, disagreeable and
permissible, and the way to know which is which is to match it against the
religious law.”
Clearly we see from the opinions of these righteous scholars, that to define
innovations in worship as wholly negative without exception is ignorant. For
these pious knowers, among them Imam Nawawi and Ash-Shafi’i, declared that
innovations could be divided into good and bad, based on their compliance or
deviance with religious law.
Moreover, the following Prophetic saying is known even to common Muslims, let
alone scholars: “He who inaugurates a good practice (sunnatun hasana) in Islam
earns the reward of it, and of all who perform it after him, without diminishing
their own rewards in the least.” Therefore it is permissible for a Muslim to
originate a good practice, even if the Prophet didn’t do it, for the sake of
doing good and cultivating the reward. The meaning of inaugurate a good practice
(sanna sunnatun hasana) is to establish a practice through personal reasoning (ijtihad)
and derivation (istinbat) from the rules of religious law or its general texts.
The actions of the Prophet’s Companions and the generation following them which
we have stated above is the strongest evidence.
The ones prejudiced against celebrating the Prophet’s birthday have paved the
way for their falsehood by deceiving the less-learned among the Muslims. The
prejudiced ones claim that Ibn Kathir writes in his Al Bidaya wal Nihaya
(11-172) that the Fatimide-Obaidite state, which descends from the Jew,
Obaidillah Bin Maimoon Al Kaddah, ruler of Egypt from 357-567 A.H., innovated
the celebration of a number of days, among them, the celebration of the
Prophet’s birthday. This treacherous lie is a grave insult to the scholarship of
Ibn Kathir and the scholarship of all Islam. For in truth, Ibn Kathir writes
about the Prophet’s birthday in Al bidaya wal nihaya [13-136] “The victorious
king Abu Sa’id Kawkaburi, was one of the generous, distinguished masters, and
the glorious kings; he left good impressions and used to observe the honorable
Mawlid by having a great celebration. Moreover, he was chivalrous, brave, wise,
a scholar, and just.” Ibn Kathir continues, “And he used to spend three hundred
thousand Dinars on the Mawlid.” In support, Imam Al Dhahabi writes of Abu Sa’id
Kawkaburi, in Siyar A’laam al nubala’ [22-336] “He was humble, righteous, and
loved religious learned men and scholars of Prophetic saying.”
Following are some sayings of the rightly guided Imams regarding the Mawlid.
Imam Al Suyuti,from Alhawi lil fatawi, wrote a special chapter entitled “The
Good Intention in Commemorating the Mawlid,” at the beginning of which he said,
“There is a question being asked about commemorating the Mawlid of the Prophet
in the month of Rabi’ Al Awal: what is the religious legal ruling in this
regard, is it good or bad? Does the one who celebrates get rewarded or not?” The
answer according to me is as follows: To commemorate the Mawlid, which is
basically gathering people together, reciting parts of the Qu’ran, narrating
stories about the Prophet’s birth and the signs that accompanied it, then
serving food, and afterwards, departing, is one of the good innovations; and the
one who practices it gets rewarded, because it involves venerating the status of
the Prophet and expressing joy for his honorable birth.
Ibn Taymiyyasaid in his book Iqtida’ Al Sirat Al Mustaqeem (pg. 266)
“Likewise, what some people have innovated, in competition with the Christians
in celebrating the birth of Jesus, or out of love and veneration of the Prophet⦣128;?¦±uot;
and he continues “⦣128;?´¨at the predecessors didn’t do, even though there is
a reason for it, and there is nothing against it.” This is a saying of someone
who set fanaticism aside and sought to please Allah and his Prophet. As far as
we are concerned, we commemorate the Mawlid for no other reason but what Ibn
Taymiya said, “Out of love and veneration of the Prophet.” May Allah reward us
according to this love and effort, and may Allah bless the one who said, “Let
alone what the Christians claim about their Prophet, and you may praise Muhammad
in any way you want and attribute to his essence all honors and to his status
all greatness, for his merit has no limits that any expression by any speaker
might reach.”
In the same source previously mentioned, Al Suyuti said,
“Someone asked Ibn Hajar about commemorating the Mawlid. Ibn Hajar answered,
“Basically, commemorating the Mawlid is an innovation that has not been
transmitted by the righteous Muslims of the first three centuries. However, it
involves good things and their opposites, therefore, whoever looks for the good
and avoids the opposites then it is a good innovation.’ It occurred to me (Al
Suyuti) to trace it to its established origin, which has been confirmed in the
two authentic books: Al Sahihain. When the Prophet arrived in Medina he found
that the Jews fast the day of Aashura; when he inquired about it they said,
“This is the day when Allah drowned the Pharaoh and saved Moses, therefore we
fast it to show our gratitude to Allah.’ From this we can conclude that thanks
are being given to Allah on a specific day for sending bounty or preventing
indignity or harm.” Al Suyuti then commented, “What bounty is greater than the
bounty of the coming of this Prophet, the Prophet of Mercy, on that day?”
“This is regarding the basis of Mawlid. As for the activities, there should be
only the things that express thankfulness to Allah, such as what has been
previously mentioned: reciting Qu’ran, eating food, giving charity, reciting
poetry praising the Prophet or on piety which moves hearts and drives them to do
good and work for the Hereafter.”
These are the derivations that those opposed to Mawlid call false conclusions
and invalid analogies.
Imam Mohammed bin Abu Bakr Abdullah Al Qaisi Al Dimashqi.
Jami’ Al Athar fi Mawlid, Al Nabiy Al Mukhtar, Al lafz al ra’iq fi Mawlid khayr
al khala’iq, and Mawlid al sadi fi Mawlid Al Hadi,
Imam Al `Iraqi.
Al Mawlid al heni fi al Mawlid al sani.
Mulla `Ali Al Qari.
Al Mawlid Al rawi fil Mawlid al Nabawi.
Imam Ibn Dahiya.
Al Tanweer fi Mawlid Al basheer Al Nadheer.
Imam Shamsu Din bin Nasir Al Dimashqi.
Mawlid al Sadi fi Mawlid Al Hadi. He is the one who said about the Prophet’s
estranged uncle, Abu Lahab, “This unbeliever who has been dispraised, “perish
his hands” [111: 1], will stay in Hell forever. Yet, every Monday his torment is
being reduced because of his joy at the birth of the Prophet.” How much mercy
can a servant expect who spends all his life joyous about the Prophet and dies
believing in the Oneness of Allah?
Imam Shamsu Din Ibn Al Jazri.
Al Nashr fil Qira’at Al `Ashr, `Urf Al Ta’reef bil Mawlid al shareef.
Imam Ibn Al Jawzi
Imam Ibn Al Jawzi said about the honorable Mawlid, “It is security throughout
the year, and glad tidings that all wishes and desires will be fulfilled.”
Imam Abu Shama
Imam Abu Shama (Imam Nawawi’s shaykh) in his book Al ba’ith ala Inkar Al bida`
wal hawadith (pg.23) said, “One of the best innovations in our time is what is
being done every year on the Prophet’s birthday, such as giving charity, doing
good deeds, displaying ornaments, and expressing joy, for that expresses the
feelings of love and veneration for him in the hearts of those who are
celebrating, and also, shows thankfulness to Allah for His bounty by sending His
Messenger, the one who has been sent as a Mercy to the worlds.”
Imam Al Shihab Al Qastalani
Imam Al Shihab Al Qastalani (Al Bukhari’s commentator) in his book Al mawahib Al
Ladunniya (1-148) said, “May Allah have mercy on the one who turns the nights of
the month of the Prophet’s birth into festivities in order to decrease the
suffering of those whose hearts are filled with disease and sickness.”
There are others who wrote and spoke about Mawlid, such as Imam Al Sakhawi, Imam
Wajihu Din bin `Ali bin al Dayba’ al Shaybani al Zubaidi, and many more, which
we will not mention due to the limited space available. From these many
evidences, it should be clear by now that celebrating the Mawlid is highly
commendable and allowed. Surely we cannot simply shrug off as heretics the
scholars and dignitaries of this nation who approved the commemoration of the
Mawlid and wrote countless books on the subject. Are all these scholars, to whom
the whole world is indebted for the beneficial books they have written on
Prophetic sayings, jurisprudence, commentaries, and other sorts of knowledge,
among the indecent who commit sins and evil? Are they, as those opposed to
Mawlid claim, imitating the Christians in celebrating the birth of Jesus? Are
they claiming that the Prophet did not convey to the nation what they should do?
We leave answers to these questions up to you.
And yet we must continue to examine the errors which those opposed to Mawlid
utter. They say “If celebrating the Mawlid is from the religion, then the
Prophet would have made it clear to the nation, or would have done it in his
lifetime, or it would have been done by the Companions.” No one can say that the
Prophet did not do it out of his humbleness, for this is speaking evil of him,
so they cannot use this argument.
Furthermore, that the Prophet and his Companions did not do a certain thing does
not mean they made that thing prohibited. The proof is in the Prophet’s saying,
“Whoever establishes, in Islam, a good practice...” cited earlier. This is the
strongest evidence that gives encouragement to innovate whatever practices have
foundations in religious law, even if the Prophet and his Companions did not do
them. Al Shafi’i said, “Anything that has a foundation in religious law is not
an innovation even if the Companions did not do it, because their refraining
from doing it might have been for a certain excuse they had at the time, or they
left it for something better, or perhaps not all of them knew about it.”
Therefore, whoever prohibits anything based on the concept that the Prophet did
not do it, his claim has no proof and must be rejected.
Thus we say to the rejecters of Mawlid: based on the rule you have attempted to
found, that is, that whoever does anything that the Prophet or his Companions
did not do is committing innovation, it would follow that the Prophet did not
complete the religion for his nation, and that the Prophet did not convey to the
nation what they should do. No one says this or believes this except a heretic
defecting from the religion of Allah. To the doubters of Mawlid we declare,
“Based on what you say, we convict you.” For you have innovated in the basics of
worship a large number of things that the Prophet did not do⦣128;⦣128;??nor
did his Companions, the Generation after the Companions, or the Generation after
them. For instance:
· Congregating people behind one Imam to pray Salat al Tahajjud after Salat Al
Tarawih, in the two Holy Mosques and other mosques.
· Reciting the Prayer of Completion of the Qu’ran in Salat al Tarawih and also
in Salat al Tahajjud.
· Designating the 27th night of Ramadan to complete reading the entire Qu’ran in
the two Holy Mosques.
· A caller saying, after Salat al Tarawih, in the Qiyam prayer, “May Allah
reward you.”
· Founding organizations which did not exist in the time of the Prophet, such as
Islamic universities, societies for committing the Qu’ran to memory, and offices
for missionary work, and committees for enjoining good and forbidding evil. We
are not objecting to these things, since they are forms of good innovation. We
merely list these innovations to point out that those who oppose Mawlid clearly
contradict their own rule stating that anything that neither the Prophet nor his
Companions did is innovation. And since they claim that all innovation is bad,
they themselves are guilty.
Yet another claim they make is to say that those who commemorate the Mawlid are
mostly indecent and immoral. This is a vulgar statement and it only reflects the
character of the one saying it. Are all the distinguished scholars that we have
mentioned, from the point of view of those opposed to Mawlid, indecent and
immoral? We won’t be surprised if this is what they believe. This is a most
serious slander. We say, as the poet said, “When Allah wants to spread a virtue
that has been hidden, He would let a tongue of an envious person know about it.”
Those opposed to Mawlid, may Allah guide them, have confused some expressions,
and claim that some religious scholars associate partners with Allah. Take for
example the plea of Imam Al Busiery to Prophet Muhammad, “Oh, most generous of
creation, I have no one to resort to, save You, when the prevailing event takes
place.” They must examine carefully the saying of Imam Al Busiery: inda hulul il
amim, when the prevailing event takes place. What is al Amim? It means that
which prevails over the whole universe, and all of creation, in referring to the
Day of Judgment. Imam Al Busiery is asking intercession from the Prophet on the
Day of Judgment because on that Day we will have no one to resort to, or appeal
to. Imam Al Busiery seeks his intercession to Allah through the Prophet, for
when all other Messengers and Prophets will be saying, “Myself, myself,” the
Prophet will be saying, “I am the one for it, I am for it [the Intercession]” It
becomes even more clear now that the doubts of those opposed to Mawlid are
unfounded, just as their charges of associating partners with Allah are
unfounded. This is due to their blindness, both physical and spiritual.
Another similar example can be found in the well-known saying transmitted by the
distinguished Imam Al Kamal bin Al Hammam Al Hanafi, author of Fath il Qadeer fi
manasik al Farisi, and Sharh al Mukhtar min al sada al ahnaf. When Imam Abu
Hanifa visited Medina, he stood in front of the honorable grave of the Prophet
and said, “O, most honorable of the Two Weighty Ones (humankind and jinn)! O,
treasure of mankind, shower your generosity upon me and please me with your
pleasure. I am aspiring for your generosity, and there is no one for Abu Hanifa
in the world but you.” Again, we must not misinterpret this entreaty, but
realize its true meaning.
Yet another misconception those opposed to Mawlid hold can be seen in their
statements such as these: “What occurs during Mawlid is mixing between men and
women, singing and playing musical instruments, and drinking alcohol.” I myself
know this to be a lie, for I have attended many Mawlids and have not seen any
mixing, and never heard any musical instruments. And as for drunkenness, yes, I
have seen it, but not that of worldly people. We found people intoxicated with
the love of the Prophet, a state surpassing even the agony of death, which we
know overcame our master Bilal at the time of his death. In the midst of this
sweet stupor he was saying, “Tomorrow I shall meet the loved ones, Muhammad and
his Companions.”
To continue, those opposed to Mawlid say, “The day of the Prophet’s birth is the
same day of the week as his death. Therefore, joy on this day is no more
appropriate than sorrow, and if religion is according to one’s opinion, then
this day should be a day of mourning and sorrow.” This kind of lame eloquence,
is
Answered by the Imam Jalal al Din al Suyuti, in Al hawi lil fatawi (pg.193),
“The Prophet’s birth is the greatest bounty, and his death is the greatest
calamity. Religious law urges us to express thankfulness for bounties, and be
patient and remain calm during calamities. Religious law has commanded us to
sacrifice an animal on the birth of a child [and distribute the meat to the
needy], which is an expression of gratitude and happiness with the newborn,
while it did not command us to sacrifice at the time of death. Also, it
prohibited wailing and showing grief. Therefore, the rules of Divine Law
indicate that it is recommended to show joy during the month of the Prophet’s
birth, and not to show sorrow for his death.”
Furthermore, Ibn Rajab, in his book Al lata’if, dispraising the rejecters of
Mawlid based on the above argument, said, “Some designated the day of Aashura as
a funeral ceremony for the murder of Al Hussein. But neither Allah nor His
Prophet commanded that the days of the prophets’ great trials or deaths should
be declared days of mourning, let alone those with lesser rank.”
We conclude this article with a saying of the Prophet, which has been narrated
by Abu Ya’la, from Hudhaifa and about which Ibn Kathir said, “It’s chain of
transmission is good.” Abu Ya’la said, “The Prophet has said, “One of the things
that concerns me about my nation is a man who studied the Qu’ran, and when its
grace started to show on him and he had the appearance of a Muslim, he detached
himself from it, and threw it behind his back, and went after his neighbor with
a sword and accused him of associating partners with Allah.’ I then asked, “Oh,
Prophet of Allah, which one is more guilty of associating partners with Allah,
the accused or the accuser?’ The Prophet said, “It is the accuser.’“
Completed, with all Praises to Allah and salutations and peace be upon our
master Muhammad and the family of Muhammad and his Companions.
Copyright The Muslim Magazine, 1998
source:
http://sunnah.org/ibadaat/mawlid_dubai.htm
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