Innovations in Religion and Worship, - Dought & clear, - * Celebrating the Mawlid is a legitimate act of worship according to those who regard it as mustahabb

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M NajimudeeN - INDIA
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I know that bid‘ah (innovation) refers to anything that has been introduced to Islam by way of worship. As that is the case, why do we describe the Mawlid as bid‘ah when it is merely a simple celebration that has nothing to do with worship? Of course some people quote as evidence the fact that the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) prescribed for us only two Eids, and no celebration on any days other than these two. Here I want to repeat myself and explain that celebrating the Mawlid is only an ordinary celebration that is free of any rituals of worship, and in that regard it is just like celebrating any other birthday.
Praise be to Allah.
Celebrating the Mawlid (Prophet’s Birthday) is not only an ordinary celebration that has nothing to do with worship; rather for those who observe this custom it is a religious festival that is done as a means of drawing closer to Allah.
This may be explained by noting the following points:
Firstly:
Those who celebrate this occasion and participate in it do that out of love for the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him), and loving Allah and His Messenger are among the greatest acts of worship and signs of faith. So whatever is done for that purpose is undoubtedly done by way of worship and seeking to draw closer to Allah.
Based on that, we may note that the Companions of the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) had a greater love and respect for him, and were more aware of his rights, than those who came after them, so whatever did not constitute part of the religion for them does not constitute part of the religion for those who come after them.
It was this principle that ‘Abdullah ibn Mas‘ood (may Allah be pleased with him) quoted to the people of the halaqah who had gathered to remember Allah in the mosque, and were all counting their dhikr with pebbles. He said to them: By the one in Whose hand is my soul, you are either following a path that is more guided than the path of Muhammad (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) or you have opened the door to misguidance!
They said: By Allah, O Abu ‘Abd ar-Rahmaan, our intention was nothing but good.
He said: And how many people who aimed for good never attained it!
Narrated by ad-Daarimi in hisSunan(210).
Secondly:
If a celebration is held every year, that makes it an eid or festival, and festivals are religious symbols. Hence you find the People of the Book regarding their festivals as holy and celebrating them.
Shaykh Naasir al-‘Aql (may Allah preserve him) said:
Festivals come under the heading of religious symbols and rituals, like facing towards a particular direction in worship, prayer and fasting; they are not mere customs. This is why the issue of resembling and imitating the disbelievers in them is so serious. Similarly, introducing festivals that were not prescribed by Allah is tantamount to ruling by something other than that which Allah has revealed, speaking of Allah without knowledge, fabricating lies against Him and introducing innovations into His religion.
End quote fromMuqaddimat Iqtida’ as-Siraat al-Mustaqeem(p. 58)
Thirdly:
Abu Dawood (1134) narrated that Anas (may Allah be pleased with him) said: When the Messenger of Allah (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) came to Madinah, they had two days on which they would play. He said: “What are these two days?” They said: We used to play on these days during the Jaahiliyyah. The Messenger of Allah (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) said: “Verily Allah has replaced them for you with something better than them: the day of (Eid) al-Adha and the day of (Eid) al-Fitr.” Classed as saheeh by al-Albaani inSaheeh Sunan Abi Dawood.
If merely celebrating a festival was a matter of custom, and had nothing to do with worship or imitating the disbelievers, then the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) would have left them to their play and entertainment, because there is nothing wrong with playing, or permissible entertainment and fun.
But as the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) told them not to celebrate the occasion of a festival by way of playing, although it does not seem that it was singled out for any act intended to draw closer to Allah or any act of worship, then how about those who do that by way of seeking to draw closer to Allah or by way of worship? The Messenger of Allah (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) said: “Whoever introduces into this matter of ours something that is not part of it, it will be rejected.” Narrated by al-Bukhaari (2697) and Muslim (1718).
And Allah knows best.
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Innovations in Religion and Worship, - Dought & clear, - * The bid‘ah (innovation) ofen couraging billions of salawaat upon the Messenger of Allah on the occasion of the Mawlid (Prophet’s Birthday)

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I would like to know how acceptable the following way of sending blessings (salawaat) upon the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) is. It is a way of participating in sending blessings upon the Prophet: “Each person gives to his friends and acquaintances a specific number of times that he is to send blessings upon the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him), then he puts the number of friends and acquaintances and family members that he has gathered together here, so that we can collect the numbers of participants on this page. For example, a student goes and knocks on the doors of every house in his neighbourhood, and asks each family to send blessings upon the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) one thousand times or more, and he says to them: I will come back to you in a week’s time so that you can give me the number you reached. Some of them do one thousand, and some of them do more. In this way he managed to collect approximately one and a half million salawaat upon the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him). Another person distributed it to the students in his school, telling each one to send blessings upon the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) five hundred times; by this means he collected three million. And you can write about this matter in discussion boards you participate in, and collect a number of blessings upon the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) from everyone who joins you, and send the number to us here, in a brief e-mail. May Allah bless you all.
Praise be to Allah.
Anyone who knows the Sunnah and its rulings, and has been blessed with its light and smelled the fragrance of sharee‘ah and following the Sunnah will realise that actions such as that mentioned in the question are innovations and misguidance. It is not by such means that the Muslim shows his love for the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him); otherwise, what did Abu Bakr and the Sahaabah do of such actions? What did Sa‘eed ibn al-Musayyab and the Taabi'een do of such things? What did the four imams and other leading scholars do of such things? None of them ever did any such thing, or even came near it.
Yes, Allah, may He be exalted, has instructed us to send blessings upon His Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him), and our Prophet Muhammad (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) also encouraged us to do that, but none of those who truly loved him and sought that great reward for themselves did this, or even came close to it.
Wasting time in making a schedule and distributing it in school or to different houses or on Internet discussion boards – there is no benefit in any of that, and it is a waste of time. In fact it is misguidance from the true religion and is foolishness.
If they truly knew what it means to follow the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him), they could have put all that effort into doing something which is actually useful, such as telling people about the teachings of the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) one how to interact with one’s wife, or how to do wudoo’ and how to pray, or encouraging them to give up riba and to stop staying away from prayer in congregation, and even to stop neglecting prayer altogether, or warning women against flaunting their beauty and going out uncovered, and other things that could have a far-reaching effect in conveying the message of Islam to many groups who are unaware of this guidance and who have gone astray from the right path. But how could the innovator be guided to do these noble actions when he mocks those who truly follow the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) and regards as ignorant those who show their love of the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) in the proper manner as prescribed in Islam.
For more information on the ruling on sending blessings on the Messenger of Allah (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him), please see the answer to question no. 101856
For more information on the meaning of sending blessings and greetings of peace upon him, please see the answer to question no. 69944
These people are committing several innovations, or are committing a multifaceted innovation, such as the following:
1. They have connected this salawat to the occasion of the Mawlid (Prophet’s birthday), which is an innovated festival.
We have previously discussed at length what is wrong with this innovation, in the answers to questions no. 10070, 13810and 70317
2. They have stipulated a specific target number, and have shared that out among themselves and other people, which has not been ordained by Allah, may He be exalted. The Muslim may send blessings upon the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) ten times, as mentioned in the hadeeth quoted in the question – even though there is some difference of opinion as to how sound it is – and he may do more than that, as it is up to him. But he has no right take a dhikr for which a particular number of times has been stipulated and make it unlimited, or to take a dhikr for which no particular number of times has been stipulated, and stipulate a number of times for it based on his own speculation.
Those people deserve the words of ‘Abdullah ibn Mas‘ood (may Allah be pleased with him), that he addressed to their predecessors in innovation: “Count your bad deeds, for I promise you that nothing of your good deeds will be lost.”
Narrated by ad-Daarimi in the Introduction to hisSunan, 304. See also the answer to question no. 11938
3. Sending blessings upon the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) is not one of the adhkaar that is to be recited collectively; rather it is a private dhikr between the individual and his Lord.
Ibn al-Qayyim said:
Although sending blessings upon the Messenger of Allah (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) is one of the best of deeds and one of the most beloved to Allah, may He be exalted, each dhikr has its appropriate time and place, and no other can replace it. They said: Hence it is not prescribed to send blessings upon him when bowing or prostrating, or when rising from bowing.
Jala’ al-fhaam fi Fadl as-Salaah ‘ala Muhammad al-Anaam sall Allahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, 1/424
For further discussion on these two points, please see the answers to questions no. 88102, 82559, 22457and 21902.
What the one who invented this way of sending blessings upon the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) must do is repent from this innovation and refrain from calling people to participate in it. What the one who knows that this is an innovation must do is tell people not to participate in it or to call others to do so, and not to be deceived by the words of the people who promote it.
It is not expected that any wise person would tell them not to send blessings upon the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) in response to the divine command and in the fulfilment of the Prophet’s encouragement to do so. But one cannot draw closer to Allah by means of these innovated kinds of dhikr and so on.
In the answers to which we have referred you will find a detailed discussion of this matter, so please read them carefully. We hope that Allah will make them beneficial and that He will guide the misguided Muslims to follow the Sunnah of His Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him).
And Allah knows best.

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Innovations in Religion and Worship, - Dought & clear, - * Ruling on celebrating the birthday of the Messenger (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) without any singing or other haraam things

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My question is about celebrating the birthday of the Messenger (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) in Spain. We make use of this occasion to get together and strengthen ties of brotherhood and so that our children can get to know one another and feel proud of their religion, and to protect them from the brainwashing that our children are subjected at the time of their (non-Muslims’) festivals, such as carnivals, Valentine’s Day and so on.
Praise be to Allah.
Firstly:
The biographers differed concerning the date of the birth of the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him), but they are agreed that he died on the twelfth of Rabee‘ al-Awwal, 11 AH. This is the day that is celebrated by the common folk, who call it Mawlid or the birthday of the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him).
For more information on this matter, please see the answer to question no. 125690
Secondly:
There is no such thing in Islam as the so-called “Prophet’s birthday”. Neither the Sahaabah nor the Taabi‘een nor the imams or leading scholars of Islam who came after them acknowledged any such day, let alone celebrated it. Rather this festival was introduced by some innovators among the ignorant baatinis (followers of esoteric sects), then the common folk in many regions followed this innovation.
We have previously explained in detail that celebrating this occasion is a kind of innovation. Please see the answers to questions no. 10070, 13810and 70317.
See also the book by Shaykh Saalih al-Fawzaan (may Allah preserve him) criticising this innovation at the following link (in Arabic):
http://islamqa.i nfo/ar/ref /books/94
Thirdly:
Some of those who love the Sunnah, who have been influenced by what they see of celebrations in their countries, think that they can be safe from falling into innovation by getting together with their families and making special food for this occasion, which they eat together. Some of them gather with their friends and relatives for the same purpose, and others gather with the people to read the biography of the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) or to listen to religious lectures.
Similar to that is your good intention of getting together and instilling a spirit of pride in Islam in western, non-Muslim countries.
But in fact all of these intentions do not make those gatherings of theirs Islamically acceptable; rather they are reprehensible innovations. Indeed, if you are looking for a festival to celebrate, then the two Eids of al-Fitr and al-Adha are the only Eids of the Muslims; if you want any eid apart from that, then in our view Friday is the eid of the week, so gather on that day to offer Jumu‘ah prayer and to instil pride in Islam.
If it is not possible for you to do that, then there are many days in the year, and you can gather on some other occasion, that is not an innovated festival; rather it should be on some permissible occasion, such as a wedding or a gathering for a meal, or an ‘aqeeqah, or to offer congratulations. Any of these may be occasions for doing the things you mention, such as strengthening bonds, getting together and encouraging one another to adhere to Islam.
There follow some fatwas by the scholars concerning the ruling on those who gather with such intentions on that occasion.
1. Imam Abu Hafs Taaj ad-Deen al-Faakihaani (may Allah have mercy on him) said, discussing different types of Mawlids:
(i) When a man organises it at his on expense for his family, friends and children, and in that gathering they do not do any more than eat food; they do not commit any sins. This is what we have described as an abhorrent and reprehensible innovation, because it was not done by any of the early righteous people, who are the fuqaha’ and leading scholars of Islam.
Al-Mawrid fi ‘Aml al-Mawlid, p. 5
2. Ibn al-Haaj al-Maaliki (may Allah have mercy on him) said concerning the ruling on celebrating the Prophet’s birthday without the evils of music, singing and free mixing between men and women:
If it is free of (those evils) and he only makes food and intends it to be for the Mawlid, and he invites others to come and eat, and he avoids everything mentioned above, it is still an innovation just because of the intention, because it is adding something to the religion, and it was not the practice of the earliest generations (the Sahaabah and Taabi‘een), and following the practice of the earliest generations is more appropriate. Rather doing so is a must and nothing should be added that is contrary to their way, because they were the most eager of people to follow the Sunnah of the Messenger of Allah (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) and to venerate him and his Sunnah, and they were pioneers in doing so. But there is no report that any of them ever intended to celebrate the Prophet’s birthday. We are their followers, so we should be content with what they were content with. It is known that we should follow them in terms of knowledge and practice, as Shaykh Imam Abu Taalib al-Makki (may Allah have mercy on him) said in his book.
Al-Madkhil, 2/10
3. And he (may Allah have mercy on him) said:
And some of them are cautious to avoid that – i.e., listening to haraam things – and they do the Mawlid by reading al-Bukhaari and so on instead of that. Even though reading hadeeth in and of itself is one of the greatest acts of worship that bring one closer to Allah, and there is great blessing and much good in it, that only applies on condition that it be done in an appropriate, Islamically acceptable manner, not with the intention of the Mawlid. Do you not see that prayer is one of the greatest means of drawing closer to Allah, may He be exalted, but nevertheless if a person does it at a time other than the time prescribed for it, it is blameworthy and contrary to Islam. If this applies to the prayer, then what you think about other deeds?
Al-Madkhil, 2/25
See also the answer to question no. 117651
To sum up:
It is not permissible for you to gather on that innovatied occasion for the purpose of what you mention of getting together and offering sincere advice. You can achieve these noble aims on some occasions other than this; you have the whole year to organise gatherings on any day. We hope that Allah, may He be exalted, will guide and help you to do good deeds and increase you in guidance.

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