Celebrating the Holy Prophet's birthday

[Brother Andrew]

As-Salamu Alaykum

to put it very simply in regards to celebrating the Prophet's birthday, it is a bidah hasanat a beautiful Bidah.

Some Muslims seem to despair the Mercy of Allah when it comes to this joyous occasion by saying that the people who celebrate the birth of the Holy Prophet (pbuh) are for the fire because they have done a bidah and every bidah is in the fire.

the question is ....is Allah the cruel God or the Rahman?

If we love our Messenger who happens to be Allah's beloved and we celebrate mawlid in thanks to Allah for His great bounty He has bestowed on us will Allah chuck us in the fire.

Some narrow minded people make Allah seem to be a cruel God ready to send wrath upon us at every point.

when Muhmmad was born, the slave girl Thuwaibah [r] informed her master Abu Lahab who was the Prophet's uncle but he never embraced Islam, unfortunately he died a kafir but upon hearing about Muhammads birth he became so happy he set his slave girl free by pointing the index finger and telling her she is free, but yet every monday that very same finger norishes him and gives him relieve while he is in the hell fire.

so the point is if a Kafir is rewarded for being happy at the birth of the Holy Prophet then how much more would a Muslim be rewarded for being happy and celebrating the birth of the Holy Prophet .

If one is not happy that the Prophet was born then im sorry to say but they are a kafir.

Ibn taymiyya says says in his fatawa Majma:

And similary what some people innovate by analogy with the Christians who celebrate the birth of Jesus, or out of the love for the Prophet and to exalt him, and may Allah reward them for this love and for this effort, not on the fact that it is an innovation... to celebrate and to honour the birth of the Holy Prophet and to take it as an honoured season, as some of the people are doing, is good and in it there is a great reward, because of their good intentions in honouring the Prophet .

[from the collected fatwas, majam Fatwa Ibn Taymiyya, Vol 23, p. 133]

Allah is a loving God and the only God and Muhammad is His BELOVED Messenger and anybody who shows sincere love for the Prophet will be in Paradise with the Prophet as we know from a Sahih Hadith in which we will read that a man came up to the Prophet asking about the final hour and the Prophet replyed to him 'what have you prepared for the hour?' and the man said 'nothing except i love Allah and His Messenger' and the Prophet gave him the glad tidings that 'you will be with whom you love'

if anybody wants to disscuss this issue further feel free to do so.

Salam

[Dawud]

salaam to all...

brother muhammad (andrew) its a honour to be with yourself on this forum it has been a very long time since we last spoke or have seen each other, hope everything is going well for yourself inshallah. I pray to Allah tala to keep you in his rahma ameen.

going back to the topic concerning the issue of celebrating the birth of the holy prophet muhammad (saws). this is indeed a great act and for those who practice it there is a great reward therein. many poeple have said that why do you (as in us sunni's) celebrate the birth of the beloved prophet muhammad (saws) on the 12th of rabbi al awwal (which was the actual day when the beloved mustafa (saws) was born? the issue they have raised is that you can celebrate it on any other day but not specificaly on the 12th (this is according to their narrow mind copying the chiristians)?! where is it written to celebrate it on the 12th?

I understand from my knowledge that there is more reward on celebrating it on the exact day than any other day i.e. the date of 12th rabbi al awwal.... and i also believe there is nothing wrong in celebrating on the day itself or any other day or even for the whole month of rabbi al awwal or even so throughout the whole year. Brother andrew, if you could please shed some light into this topic for all the other readers i would be most grateful.

The love of rasoolullah (saws) is necessary for every believing muslim. A great shaykh has expressed that poeple LOVE for only and ONLY 3 reasons.... 1. if the person is beautiful you are obliged to admire him/her because of their bueaty (their appearance/outer beauty) 2. because of the favours they do for you i.e. if they give you gifts or help you everytime to the best of their ability for instance u need money and they help you financially etc....3. because of their inner beauty or u cud say character/interlect, someone who would give you things and never ask for anything in return, someone who comforts you, reassures you in times of need/hardship, somone who is your mentor, teacher, somone who loves you, someone who makes you laugh and smile etc....

All the points mentioned above are somhow related to rasoolullah (saws)... rasoolullah (saws) was, is and shall always remain beautiful from the outside. Their beauty was vast that even Hazrat Ali (ra) has said that there has been nobody before him (saws) so beautiful or after him. Subhanallah, rasoolullah (saws) was described as the shining moon on the 14th night, they used to glow like tha moon on the 14h night. their body was created to perfection, their hair was dark and beautiful like the clear night. When rasoolullah (saws) used to walk on the streets poeple could tell which way the messenger of Allah (saws) has gone? how? because from their blessed body mubarak a special scent was noticable that the sahaba (even the pious wifes (ra) ) could smell from the blessed body of rasoolullah (saws). Rasoolullah (saws) has stated that the prophet yusuf(as) had been given half of the beauty! Then logically Muhammad (saws) is the king, leader, sultaan, imaam of all the messengers, prophets and apostles of Allah (swt). So what is the beauty of rasoolullah (saws), that the women in the time of yusuf(as) cut their hands/fingers when seeing the husn(beauty) of yusuf (as).... but on seeing the husn (beauty) of mustafa (saws) the companions gave away their heads (in battles), arms, fingers, legs, feet and eyes...subhanallah.... mustafa (saws) was he, that poeple gave their hearts to him subhanallah(meaning they sacrificed their entire life for his love)rasoolullah (saws) was so purified that not even a fly would sit on them (as flies sit on or around filthy places).... so how can anybody not LOVE mustafa(saws) as he was the most beatiful and he still is the most beautiful out of all the entire creation........

point number 2, that you love somone for the favours they do for you i.e. exchanging gifts... then on this account you HAVE TO AND MUST LOVE mustafa (saws) because when they came to this earth, they came as a MERCY for the entire creation, as stated in surah ambiyya 21 v. 127 : " And We have not sent you but as a mercy to the worlds". so the coming of mustafa (saws) is a favour and a mercy from Allah. Rasoolullah (saws) prays for you, he loves you unconditionally, he loves you even more than your own parents, he prays for your well being even today, your deeds are presented infront of rasolullah (saws) every monday and if they are good he (saws) praises Allah (swt) and if they are bad deeds and not good then he (saws) prays for your forgivness. it is he rasoolullah (saws) who shall intercede for you on the day of reckoning, he (saws) is the one deeply sorrowed when you are in greif and pain, it is he (saws) who stood up all night praying for his ummah (YOU), it is he (saws) till his last purified breath said " oh Allah forgive my ummah"..... So it is compulsory for each muslim to acknowledge these facts that rasoolullah (saws) gives you so much without asking for anything in return except that you follow him and worship Allah alone,he (saws) does so much for you and you cant even be happy to celebrate the blessed birth of rasoolullah (saws) even after so many favours?!?!?! then do you not think what is the purpose of your life if there is no rasoolullah (saws).......

My last point was that you love someone for their inner beauty/character... then once again on this occasion there is NO reason for you not to love rasoolullah (saws) because the quran clearly explains the status of rasoolullah (saws) in surah qalam v 4 : "And thou (standest) on an exalted standard of character" And in other readings it also says " And lo! thou art of a tremendous nature " And " And most surely you conform (yourself) to sublime morality ".... rasoolullah (saws) character was 110% without doubt the best ever. in surah touba v 128 it states : " Certainly a Messenger has come to you from among yourselves; grievous to him is your falling into distress, excessively solicitous respecting you (full of concern for you); to the believers (he is) compassionate"... subahanallah... rasoolullah (saws) was great in all departments i.e. as a father, a husband, a friend, a companion, a helper, a leader, a great thinker, a great philosopher, a great commander, a great general, a great scientist, a great adviser etc... you get the picture im trying to portray... the quran says it clearly surah al ahzab v21 "Certainly you have in the Messenger of Allah an excellent exemplar for him who hopes in Allah and the latter day and remembers Allah much"......

All my 3 points have been made clear and emphasized that rasoolullah (saws) was NOT like any ordinary man (like myself - astaghfirullah) he (saws) was far above that. So the celabrating of his (saws) birth should be more or less compulsory upon the beliver because if you truely love him (saws) then how can you not be thankful to Allah (swt) for sending us the mercy for the entire creation. If it wasnt for him (saws) then most definately we would not be here today! if it wasnt for him (saws) surely most definately we would be punished on the spot or furthermore destryed by Allahs wrath just like the previous nations due to the acts and sins we commit today.

with this i pray for you all out there that May Allah increase the love in our hearts for rasoolullah (saws) and qualify us to see him (saws) in our dreams and to qualify us to go and visit him in his blessed city medina tayyiba and to qualify us to be in his pious company on the day of qiyamaah...ameen....please forgive me if i have said anything to offend or hurt anyone, this was not my intention. Allah bless you all...

masalaam

Muhammad Dawud

[Brother Andrew]

As-Salamu Alaykum Brother Dawud,

welcome to the forum and thanks for your reply, you made a few points that were very touching al hamdu Lillah.

it's true... we can't confine being happy that our Prophet was born to one day of the year, but what we have to question is why did Allah make a year?

we did create the moon to keep date? we celebrate Eids and most of all the Hajj as outlined in the Qur'an (2:189)

Allah has created a system for us to keep date, we have been given knowledge of the day the Prophet was born but yet it would be more towards the sunnah to celebrate it every monday as the Hadith about Abu Jahl being norished in the hell fire indicates that he is given nourishment every monday in which was the day he let his slavegirl free due to his happyness of hearing of the birth of his blessed nephew.

Also the Prophet fasted every monday and when asked why he did so he replyed i was born on this day.

its commendable to celebrate the favours of Allah as much as possible and if somebody doesnt believe that Muhammad Mustafaa was was not a favour from our Lord then i seriously question their state of Iman.

the arguement may be how should we celebrate, i have to admit that i dont sit in pakistani masjids at the time of mawlid no more due to their shouting ....even when they are happy they shout and for a new convert that is scary.

I dont like it when the pakistanis all in a group do the takbeer ALLLLLLLAAAAAAAHHHU AKKKBARR, infact it is quite disturbing and you wont see this in the actions of the Holy Prophet and the Sahaba.

You know what its like at Jamia, do they consider the neighbours when they do all this takbeering? im not saying there is anything wrong with takbeer but it would be appreciated if it was done in a much more humble manner.

but other than that i see that they are happy that the Prophet was born and Allah is happy at that.

Changing the subject a little to focus on the takbeer once again , i heard a Hadith where the Prophet and his Sahaba were going for battle and one Sahaba shouts Allahu Akbar and the Prophet told him to quiet down because God can hear him no matter what.

It is known that towards the end of time that Muslims will conquer constantinople with takbeer, no sword no nothing just a takbeer - saying God is the greatest - how they will do that we have yet to see.

but back to the subject of mawid, the methods of celebrating mawlid are numerous and are not pigeonholed to one way, we just have to watch out for deviancy as always.

Its kind of sad when a brother tells you 'yeh but on mawlid deviant Muslims drink alchohol and dance' but yet these same brothers that drink and dance will find the very same excuse to drink and dance on both Eids so why condemn one and not the other? Mawlid can not be blamed for deviancy.

wasalams

may Allah bless us and guide us to goodness in every aspect ameeeen.

[Brother Andrew]

Salams , Dawud if you could introduce yourself at the welcome forum that is found in the community chinwag forum i would be greatful ...set the trend for others to do the same

Jazak Allah

[Brother Andrew]

The following are quoted from Sayyid Muhammad ibn ‘Alawi al-Maliki’s commentary on this issue from his book on Mawlid titled Hawl al-Ihtifal bi Dhikra al-Mawlid al-Nabawi al-Sharif (“Regarding the Celebration of the Prophet’s Birthday”) which was translated and cited in Shaykh Hisham Kabbani’s Encyclopedia of Islamic Doctrine (3:45-48):

Some of those who forbid standing for the Prophet, sall-Allahu `alayhi wa sallam, do so be­cause of what they imagine people to believe when standing and invok­ing blessings on him: namely, that the Prophet, sall-Allahu `alayhi wa sallam, is actually present in person at that time. However, this is not the reason why the people stand and no-one claims this except those who actually object to standing. Rather, those who stand are only expressing happiness and love, and they are overflowing with respect and dedication at the mention of the Prophet, sall-Allahu `alayhi wa sallam, in the august assembly of those who remember him. They stand to attention because of their awe before the light that dawns upon creation for the one whose fame Allah Most High has exalted high. They stand as a sign of thankfulness for the immense mercy bestowed on creation in the person of the Prophet Muhammad , sall-Allahu `alayhi wa sallam, .

At the same time it is impermissible to object to the freedom of the soul in Barzakh to travel wherever it pleases by Divine permission, according to the sayings reported by Ibn al-Qayyim in his book Kitab al-Ruh (p. 144) whereby Salman al-Farisi said: “The souls of the believers are in an isthmus of land from where they go wherever they wish,” and Imam Malik said: “I have heard (balaghanî) that the soul is set free and goes wherever it wishes.”[23]

Standing or dancing out of joy for the Prophet, sall-Allahu `alayhi wa sallam, , or for what is connected to him or proceeds from him, has clear proofs in the Sunna.

Here the Shaykh lists a long list of the well-known authentic proof-texts to that effect. Then he concludes:

There is no doubt that such singing, dancing, reciting of poetry, and banging the drum was for joy at being with the Prophet, sall-Allahu `alayhi wa sallam, , nor did he con­demn or frown upon such displays in any way whatsoever. These are com­mon displays of happiness and lawful merriment, and similarly to stand up at the mention of the birth of the Prophet, sall-Allahu `alayhi wa sallam, is an ordinary act that shows love and gladness symbolizing the joy of creation: it does not constitute worship, nor law, nor Sunna! That is why the savant al-Barzanji (d.1103) said in his famous poem of Mawlid:

wa qad sanna ahlu al-‘ilmi wa al-fadli wa al-tuqâ

qiyâman ‘alâ al-aqdâmi ma‘a husni im‘âni

bi tashkhîsi dhâti al-mustafâ wa huwa hâdirun

bi ay maqâmin fîhi yudhkaru bal dânî

Meaning: “It is the usage of the excellent people of knowledge and piety to stand on their feet in the best demeanor // acting as if the Prophet, sall-Allahu `alayhi wa sallam, were actually present every time they mention him and even visualizing him coming to them.”

Observe that he spoke well when he said, “acting as if he were present and visualizing him,” that is, strongly calling to mind his gra­cious form and qualities so as to increase and perfect the motions of their hearts and bodies towards respecting and loving him, as the nar­rations show. This is a delicate matter from which are shut out those in whose hearts Allah did not place mercy. And Allah knows best.”[24]

Among those who wrote poetry mentioning standing at the mention of the Prophet, sall-Allahu `alayhi wa sallam, are the hadith master Abu Musa al-Asbahani (d. 581) who recited:

qiyâmî wa al-‘azîzi ilayka haqqun

wa tarku al-haqqi mâ lâ yastaqîmu

fa hal ahadun lahu ‘aqlun wa lubbun wa ma‘rifa

yarâka fa lâ yaqûmu?

Meaning: “I swear by the All-Powerful that my standing for you [O Prophet] is right and true and to leave truth and right is to embrace error. // I ask: can anyone possessed of a mind and a heart and knowledge, upon seeing you, not stand up?”

Imam al-Nawawi mentioned it in his famous fatwa titled al-Tarkhis fi al-Ikram bi al-Qiyam li Dhawi al-Fadl wa al-Maziyya min Ahl al-Islam ‘ala Jihat al-Birr wa al-Tawqir wa al-Ihtiram la ‘ala Jihat al-Riya’ wa al-I‘zam (“The Permissibility of Honoring, by Standing up, Those Who Possess Ex­cellence and Distinction among the People of Islam: in the Spirit of Piety, Reverence, and Respect, not in the Spirit of Display and Aggrandize­ment”).[25]

Another poet to recommend standing for the Prophet, sall-Allahu `alayhi wa sallam, was Yahya ibn Yusuf ibn Yahya al-Sarsari (588-656). Al-Dhahabi described him in glowing terms in Tarikh al-Islam:

The erudite Shaykh, the ascetic, Jamal al-Din Abu Zakari­yya al-Sarsari al-Baghdadi al-Hanbali al-Darir, the philologist, man of letters, poet, and author of the Prophetic panegyrics that are known East and West…. He kept company with Shaykh ‘ Ali ibn Idris , the companion of Shaykh ‘Abd al-Qadir [al-Gilani]. He heard from a num­ber of narrators and narrated hadith…. We heard that when the Tatars came to him – and he was blind – he stabbed one of them with his walking-stick and killed him then was killed as a shahîd.

Al-Dhahabi goes on to quote a panegyric of thirty-five verses in each of which al-Sarsari used all of the Arabic alphabet.[26] Al-Dhahabi’s student, Ibn al-Subki, narrated in his Tabaqat al-Shafi‘iyya al-Kubra about his father, Shaykh al-Islam al-Taqi al-Subki:

One time he attended a khatma in the Umawi Mosque, the judges and eminent people of the region before him as he sat in the mihrâb of the Sahaba. The reciter declaimed al-Sarsari’s Prophetic pa­ne­gyric be­ginning, qalîlun li-mad-hil-Mustafâ-l-khattu bidh-dhahabi (“Too slight for the praise of the Elect One is gold calligraphy”). When he reached the line wa’an yanhada-l-ashrâfu ‘inda samâ‘ihi (“And that the elite stand when they hear of him”), emotion overcame the Shaykh and Imam [my father] so that he sprang to his feet and stood due to that state. The people considered they all had to stand also, which they did, and an ex­cellent moment ensued.[27]

The conclusion of those endowed with sense is that the presence of the Noble Rûhâniyya of the Prophet, sall-Allahu `alayhi wa sallam, at pious gatherings and with whatever select individuals of the Umma Allah Most High wishes, is a ghaybî matter which is outside the province of anyone other than the Lawgiver to declare po­si­tively impossible. In actuality, mass-transmitted (mutawâtir) testimony proves beyond doubt that such presence is a re­ality. Its modality is unknown while its description is a matter of spiritual experience (dhawq) we pray to be granted. If not, we ask to receive that share of adab that will ensure proper custody of the tongue lest we slip and fall into error that will cause us shame tomorrow, in his venerable presence, sall-Allahu `alayhi wa sallam, . And Allah knows best.

Notes
[23]Here the Shaykh acknowledges that although the Noble Presence is not the reason why people stand up, yet there is no impediment to its possibility anyway.

[24]Al-Maliki, Manhaj al-Salaf, as translated in the Encyclopedia of Islamic Doctrine ( 3:45 -48) with slight changes.

[25]Al-Nawawi, al-Tarkhis (p. 94).

[26]Al-Dhahabi, Tarikh al-Islam (Yrs 651-660:303-306 #339).

[27]Ibn al-Subki, Tabaqat al-Shafi‘iyya al-Kubra (10:208)

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