CELEBRATING THE BIRTH OF THE HOLY PROPHET (ALLAHS BLESSINGS AND PEACE BE UPON HIM AND HIS FAMILY) PART 3 THE IJMAA` OF (`ULAMAA) SCHOLARS ON THE PERMISSIBILITIES OF MAWLID Remembering the Prophets birthday is an act that all well meaning`ulamaa of the Muslim world accept and still accept except those who call themselves Izaalas,Fake ahlus sunnah adherents,ISIS and their Saudi backed lunatics . This means that Allah accepts it, according to the saying of Ibn Mas`ud (ra) related in Imam Ahmads Musnad with a sound chain: Whatever the majority of Muslims see as right, then this is good to Allah, and whatever is seen by the majority of Muslims as wrong, it is wrong to Allah. History of The Celebration of Mawlid: The Quranic scholar al-Naqqash (266-351) mentions the birthplace of the Prophet(saww) as a place where du`aa by noon on Mondays is answered. He is quoted in al-Faasis Shifa al-gharaam Vol. 1, p. 199, and others. Earliest Mentions of the Public Mawlid The oldest source that mentions a public commemoration of the Mawlid is in Ibn Jubayrs (540-614) Rihal (Travels), page 114-115: This blessed place (the house of the Prophet saww) used to be opened, and all men enter it to derive blessing from it (mutabarrikeena bihi), on every Monday of the month of Rabi` ul-Awwal; for on that day and in that month was born the Prophet (saww). The 7th-century historians Abul `Abbas al-`Azaafi and his son Abul Qasim al-`Azaafi wrote in their unpublished Kitaab ad-durr al-munazzam: Pious pilgrims and prominent travellers had testified that, on the day of the mawlid in Mecca, no activities were undertaken, and nothing was sold or bought, except by the people who are busy visiting his noble birthplace(saww), and rush to it. On this day the Ka`bah is opened and visited. Ibn Battutas Account of the Mawlid The famous 8th-century historian Ibn Battuta relates in his Rihla, Vol. 1, page 309 and 347, that on every Friday, after the salaah, and on the birthday of the Prophet (saww), the door of Ka`bah is opened by the head of the Banu Shayba, the doorkeepers of the Ka`bah, and that on the Mawlid, the Shafi`i qaadi (head judge) of Mecca, Najmuddeen Muhammad Ibn al-Imam Muhyiddeen al-Tabari, distributes food to the shurafaa (descendants of the Prophet(saww) and to all the other people of Mecca. Three Tenth-Century Accounts of the Mawlid The following description consolidates eyewitness accounts by three 10th-century authorities: the historian Ibn Huhayra from his al-Jaami` al-latif fi fasl Makka wa ahlihaa, page 326; the haafiz Ibn Hajar al-Haytami from his Kitab al-Mawlid ash-Sharif al-Mu`azzam, and the historian al-Nahrawali from al-I`lam bi-a`lam Bayt Allah al-haram, page 205. Each year on the 12th of Rabi` ul-Awwal, after the salaat al-Maghrib, the four qaadis of Mecca (representing the Four Schools) and large groups of people including the fuqahaa (scholars) and fudalaa (notables) of Mecca, shaeikhs, zaweeya teachers and their students, ruasaa (magistrates), and muta`ammameen (scholars) leave the mosque and set out collectively for a visit to the birthplace of the Prophet(saww), shouting out dhikr and tahleel (LAA ILAAHA IL-LAL LAAH). The houses on the route are illuminated with numerous lanterns and large candles, and a great many people are out and about. They all wear special clothes and they take their children with them. Having reached the birthplace, inside a special sermon for the occasion of the birthday of the Prophet(saww) is delivered, mentioning the miracles (karaamaat) that took place on that occasion. Hereafter the du`aa for the Sultan (i.e. the Caliph), the Emir of Mecca, and the Shafi`i qaadi is performed and all pray humbly. Shortly before the salaat al-`Isha, the whole party returns from the birthplace of the Prophet(saww) to the Great Mosque, which is almost overcrowded, and all sit down in rows at the foot of the Maqaam Ibrahim (as). In the mosque, a preacher first mentions the tahmeed (AL- HAMDU LIL LAAH) and the tahleel, and once again the du`aa for the Sultan, the Emir, and the Shafi`i qaadi is performed. After this the call for the Salaat al-`Isha is made. After the salaat, the crowd breaks up. A similar description is given by al-DiyaarBakri (d. 960) in his Taareekh al-Khamees. The Celebration of Mawlid in Islamic Countries Today In every Muslim country today, we find people celebrating the Prophets birthday(saww). This is true of the following: Egypt, Syria, Lebanon, Jordan, Palestine, Iraq, Kuwait, the Emirates, Saudi Arabia (not officially, but in the majority of homes), Sudan, Yemen, Libya, Tunisia, Algeria, Morocco, Mauritania, Djibouti, Somalia, Turkey, Pakistan, India, Sri Lanka, Iran, Afghanistan, Azerbaidjan, Uzbekistan, Turkestan, Bosnia (former Yougoslavia), Indonesia, Malaysia, Brunei, Singapore,Iran,Nigeria.Ghana and most other countries where Muslims congregate. In most Arab countries it is a national holiday. All these countries, O Nation of Islam, are celebrating that event. How is it that today a minority that calls itself Izaalas,Ahlus Sunnah Wal Jamaaa(fake though) is coming and making up a ruling that it is bida and haraam? And who are these scholars who spoke against Mawlid, in comparison to the huffaaz (hadeeth masters and scientist) and scholars of the Community such as Abu Shaama, `Asqalaani, Suyuuti, Sakhaawi, Haytaami, Shawkaani, and al-Qaari, all of whom declared Mawlid praiseworthy? How can any of the Salafis declare haraam something that even the strictest of their scholars, Ibn Taymeeyya, allowed under certain conditions, and which Ibn al-Jawzii and Ibn Katheer encouraged, each of them by writing a booklet entitled Mawlid and consisting of poems and passages from the siira? We will leave the answer for them. THE CELEBRATION OF MAWLID AS UNDERSTOOD BY THE SCHOLARS OF THE SALAFI MOVEMENT AND THOSE OF THE FOUR SCHOOLS OF AHLUS -SUNNAH Ibn Taymeeyyas Opinion on the Celebration of Mawlid and the Deviation of Salafis from his Opinion This is Ibn Taymeeyyas opinion about Mawlid from the Collected Fatwas, Majma` Fataawa Ibn Taymeeyya, Vol. 23, page 163 and his Iqtidaa al-siraat al-mustaqeem, page 294-295, Section entitled: The innovated festivities of time and place (maa uhditha min al-a`yaad al-zamaaneeyya wa al-makaaneeyya): And similarly what some people innovate by analogy with the Christians who celebrate the birth of Jesus, or out of love for the Prophet(saww) and to exalt him, and Allah may reward them for this love and effort, not on the fact that it is an innovation... To celebrate and to honor the birth of the Prophet(saww) and to take it as an honored season, as some of the people are doing, is good and in it there is a great reward, because of their good intentions in honoring the Prophet(saww). This is what Salafis cannot stomach, for all their love of Ibn Taymeeyya, and they cannot seem to forgive him for saying this. One Salafi editor of the Iqtidaa, Muhammad Hamid al-Fiqqi, has a two-page footnote here in which he exclaims: Kayfa yakuunu lahum thawabun `alaa haadhaa??... Ayyu ijtihaadun fi hadha?? -- How can they possibly obtain a reward for this??... What effort is in this?? and the contemporary Salafi scholars are all without exception cut from the same cloth of intemperance and deviation regarding Mawlid, substituting their ruling to that of Ibn Taymeeyya although the latter should be sufficient for them. Thus we see another Salafi author, Mashhuur Al Salman, exploding in similar terms in his recent edition of Abu Shamas al-Baa`ith `alaa inkaar al-bida` (Assault on all innovations), because when it comes to Mawlid, Abu Shaama instead of censoring it declares: Truly it is a praiseworthy innovation and a blessed one!.Contemporary convert scholars like Bilal Phillips who have made many mistakes in most of his books should bury their heads in shame or change their false stands.They cant deceive us for long.The Quraan and the Sunnah of the prophet(saww) are very open books for scrutiny and not the exclusive right of any individual or group of people.That is the reason why Allah tells us this:- Afalaa yatadab-baruunal Quraan? am alaa quluubun aqfaaluhaa? Do they not ponder or scrutinize the Quraan? Or are there locks over their hearts?.We are wild awake regarding our Deen and no lost European can come and deceive us anymore. Further on in the same text Ibn Taymeeyya mentions a fatwa given by Imam Ahmad ibn Hanbal, the Imam of Ibn Taymeeyyas madhhab, whereby when the people told Imam Ahmad about a prince who spent 1000 dinars on the decoration of Quran he said: That is the best place for him to use gold. We ask: Was Ibn Taymeeyya promoting bid`a when he permitted the celebration of Mawlid as some of the people are doing? Not only did he allow it, but he mentioned that their celebration of Mawlid is good and in it there is a great reward. We ask again: Was Imam Ahmad making bid`a when he allowed the decoration of Quran? The answer to both questions is no. IBN TAYMEEYAS OPINION ON THE MEETINGS OF DHIKR The following is the opinion of Ibn Taymeeyya on meetings of dhikr. It can be found in the King Khalid ibn `Abd al-`Azeez edition of the Majmuu`aat fataawaa Ibn Taymeeyya: Ibn Taymeeyya was asked about people that gather in a masjid making dhikr and reading Quran, praying to Allah and taking their turbans off their heads (leaving their heads bare) and crying, while their intention is not pride nor showing off but seeking to draw closer to Allah: is it acceptable or not? He answered: Praise to Allah, it is good and recommended according to Shari`a (mustahabb) to come together for reading Quran, making dhikr, and making du`aa. Ibn Katheer Praises the Night of Mawlid Imam Ibn Hajar al-`Asqalaani, in his book al-Durar al-kaamina fii `ayn al-Miat al-thaamina, mentions that Ibn Katheer, a muhaddith from among the followers of Ibn Taymeeyya, in the last days of his life wrote a book entitled Mawlid Rasuulul Laah which was spread far and wide. That book mentioned the permissibility and recommendability of celebrating the Mawlid. Ibn Katheers book was edited and published in 1961. In it he says, page 19: The Night of the Prophets birth(saww) is a magnificient, noble, blessed and holy night, a night of bliss for the believers, pure, radiant with lights, and of immeasurable price. `Asqalaani and Suyuutis Fatwas on the Permissibility of Mawlid Jalal al-Deen al-Suyuuti said in his Haawi li al-fataawa: The Sheikh of Islam and hadeeth master of his age, Ahmad ibn Hajar (`Asqalaani) was asked about the practice of commemorating the birth of the Prophet(saww), and gave the following written reply: As for the origin of the practice of commemorating the Prophets birth, it is an innovation that has not been conveyed to us from any of the pious early muslims of the first three centuries, despite which it has included both features that are praiseworthy and features that are not. If one takes care to include in such a commemoration only things that are praiseworthy and avoids those that are otherwise, it is a praise worthy innovation, while if ones does not, it is not. An authentic primary textual basis from which its legal validity is inferable has occured to me, namely the rigorously authenticated (saheeh) hadeeth in the collections of Bukhari and Muslim that the Prophet(saww) came to Medina and found the Jews fasting on the tenth of Muharram (`Ashura ), so he asked them about it and they replied: It is the day on which Allah drowned Pharaoh and rescued Musa (as), so we fast in it to thanks to Allah Most high, which indicates the validity of giving thanks to Allah for the blessings He has bestowed on a particular day in providing a benefit, or averting an affliction, repeating ones thanks on the anniversary of that day every year, giving thanks to Allah taking any various forms of worship such as prostration, fasting, giving charity or reciting the Quran... THEN WHAT BLESSING IS GREATER THAN THE BIRTH OF THE PROPHET(saww), THE PROPHET OF MERCY, ON THIS DAY ? IN LIGHT OF WHICH, ONE SHOULD TAKE CARE TO COMMEMORATE IT ON THE DAY ITSELF IN ORDER TO CONFORM TO THE ABOVE STORY OF MUSA(as) AND THE TENTH OF MUHARRAM, [but] THOSE WHO DO NOT VIEW THE MATTER THUS DO NOT MIND COMMEMORATING IT ON ANY DAY OF THE MONTH, WHILE SOME HAVE EXPANDED ITS TIME TO ANY OF THE DAY OF THE YEAR, WHATEVER EXCEPTION MAY BE TAKEN AT SUCH A VIEW. Other Scholars Opinions on the Mawlid According to the Mufti of Mecca Ahmad ibn Zayni Dahlan, in his book al-Sira al-nabaweeyya wa al-athar al-muhammadeeyya, page 51: To celebrate the Mawlid and to remember the Prophet(saww) is accepted by all the Ulamaa of the Muslims. Most of the following quotations are taken from that work. Imam Subki said, When we were celebrating the Prophets birthday, a great familiarity comes to our heart, and we feel something special. Imam Shawkaani in his book al-Badr at-taali`, said, It is permissible to celebrate the Prophets birthday (saww). He mentioned that Mullah `Ali Qaari held the same opinion in a book entitled al-Mawrid ar-Raawi fi al-Mawlid al-Nabawii, written specifically to support the celebration of the Prophets birthday. Imam Abu Shaama, the sheikh of Imam Nawaawi, said in his book on innovations entitled: al-Baa`ith `alaa inkaar al-bid`a wa al-hawaadith: The best innovation in our day is the remembrance of the Prophets birthday(saww). On that day, people give much donations, make much worship, show much love to the Prophet(saww), and give much thanks to Allah Almighty for sending them His messenger to keep them on the Sunnah and Shari`a of Islam. Imam Sakhaawi said, The Mawlid had begun three centuries after the Prophet(saww), and all Muslim nations celebrated it, and all `ulamaa accepted it, by worshipping Allah alone, by giving donations and by reading the Prophets Siira. Haafiz Ibn Hajar al-Haytaami said , As Jews celebrated the day of `Ashura by fasting to thank Allah, we also have to celebrate the day of Mawlid, and he quoted the aforementioned hadeeth, When the Prophet(saww) came to Madina... Ibn Hajar continues, One gives thanks to Allah for the favor that He gave on a particular day either through a great good, or through the averting of a disaster. That day is celebrated every year thereafter. Thanksgiving entails various forms of worship like prostration, fast, charity, and recitation of Quran, and what greater good is there than the advent of that Prophet, the Prophet of Mercy, on the day of Mawlid (saww)? Ibn al-Jawzi (d. 597) wrote a booklet of poems and siira to be read at mawlid celebrations. It is entitled Mawlid al-`aruus and begins with the words: al-hamdu lil Laah al-ladhee abraza min ghurrati `arusi al-hadrati subhan mustaneera: Praise be to Allah Who has manifested from the radiance of the bridegroom of His presence a light-giving daybreak...To Celebrate Mawlid Is Manduub (Recommended) Imam Suyuuti in his book Husn al-maqsid fi `amal al-mawlid, p. 54 and 62, says: The reason for gathering for taraaweeh prayers is Sunnah and qurba (to seek nearness to Allah)... and similarly we say that the reason for gathering to celebrate mawlid is manduub (recommended) and qurba (an act of drawing near).. and the intention to celebrate mawlid is mustahsana (excellent) without a doubt. Imam Suyuuti continues, p. 64-65, I have derived the permissibility of Mawlid from another source of the Sunnah [besides Ibn Hajars deduction from the hadeeth of `Ashura], namely, the hadeeth found in Bayhaqi, narrated by Anas (ra), that The Prophet(saww) slaughtered for `aqeeqa (sacrifice for newborns) for himself after he received the prophecy, although it has been mentioned that his grandfather `Abd al-Muttalib did that on the seventh day after he was born, and the `aqeeqa cannot be repeated. Thus the reason for the Prophets action is to give thanks to Allah for sending him as a mercy to the worlds, and to give honor to his Umma, in the same way that he used to pray on himself(saww). It is recommended for us, therefore, that we also show thanks for his birth by meeting with our brothers, by feeding people, and other such good works and rejoicing. This hadeeth confirms the aforementioned hadeeth of the Prophets emphasis of Monday as the day of his birthday and that of his prophethood.Thanks for finding time to read this.May Allah Sub-haanahu wa Taaalaa reward you abundantly with your heart desire that is just.Follow me in PART 4 as we unravel more on celebration of Maulid Kareem.WA SALAAMUL LAAHI ALAA MANIT-TABAAL HUDAA.
Posted on: Sun, 11 Jan 2015 15:12:49 +0000
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