MAWLID NABIYY

 

©Ibn Abdillah As-sudaisiy Al-Iloori

5th December, 2016

After Salatul Fajr this morning, I heard an Imam nearby preaching and arguing that the celebration of Mawlid Nabiyy is allowed in Islam. I didn't expect anything less from him because of his antecedents. 

However, what baffled me most was his statement that the aayah of Suratul Māidah (Q5:3) was revealed in relation to hajj alone and not of general application. He said the verse doesn't mean that we cannot do whatever the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم didn't do in the deen. He agreed that the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم, his Companions and the Taabi'een رضي الله عنهم didn't do Mawlid Nabiyy. But he insisted if we have good intention, we can do anything we like in the name of ibādah. SubhanaLlah! He said why are they condemning people who use the occasion to source for funds? He said it is a way of getting the rich to pay their zakat regularly. I was surprised that none of the members of his congregation asked him questions on his statements. 

This is how people of bid'ah mislead people here and there. This is how they interpret the Qur'ān to suit their desires. How can someone interpret the Qur'ān in isolation of the relevant hadiths. They twist the meanings of the Qur'ān using their intellect and they reject hadiths that do not suit their whims and caprices. 

In the first place, Mawlid Nabiyy was initiated by Shi'as who are in the habit of cursing some of the Companions of the Prophet رضي الله عنهم. Apart from the fact that Q5:3 signifies completion of deen with no addition and subtraction, there are many other verses of the Qur'ān and hadiths pointing to the fact that the practice of innovations in acts of worship and imitation of the Kuffār in their ways of worship are forbidden. The Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم was reported to have said repeatedly in almost all of his sermons

"Every newly-invented thing is a bid'ah (innovation), every bid'ah is a going astray." [Reported by al-Nisaa'i in al-Sunan]

Imam Ahmad رحمه الله said in his Usul Sunnah that there is no qiyas in the interpretation of a Sunnah when the text is crystal clear. There is no qiyas that would extend fasting on Mondays to including yearly celebration of Mawlid from Rabi'ul Awwal to Ramadan and beyond. All the arguments advanced to support Mawlid are illogical and unreliable. Let us shun desire. Sheikh Sālih Fawzaan حفظه الله mentioned in one of his works:

Celebrating the Mawlid is an innovation introduced by some muslims after the three best centuries in order to corrupt the religion of the Muslims. If a person does anything in order to draw closer to Allaah which was not done by the Messenger (salallaahu ‘alaihi wa sallam) or enjoined by him, and was not done by the khaleefahs who succeeded him, this action implies that he is accusing the Messenger of not explaining the religion to the people, and that he disbelieves in the words of Allaah (interpretation of the meaning): “This day, I have perfected your religion for you.” [al-Maa`idah, ayah 3] because he is adding something extra and claiming that it is a part of the religion, but the Messenger (صلى الله عليه وسلم) did not bring this. [The Ruling Concerning Maolid Nabawiy: Translated By Shawana A. Aziz, pg 8]

If there is any good in Mawlid Nabiyy, the Companions and the Taabi'een رضي الله عنهم would have been the first to do it. They loved and cherished the Prophe صلى الله عليه وسلم better than us. Had it been there is any good in Mawlid and other various kinds of bid'ah in our society, the four (4) Imams of Islamic jurisprudence would have celebrated it. Are we better than the Companions and their successors? There is nothing we can do to meet up with them. No one engages in bid'ah or call towards bid'ah except one who is ignorant and negligent about his deen. In an authentic hadith reported by 'Ali Ibn Abi Taalib رضي الله عنه, the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم said Allāh has placed His curse on people who perpetrate bid'ah or accommodates bid'ah or habours people of bid'ah. This hadith shows how dangerous it is to propagate bid'ah. 

No amount of good intention can justify an act of bid'ah in the deen regardless of the status of the one who initiates it in the society. Apart from the fact that Mawlid Celebration is not legislated in the deen, all arguments supplied by its proponents are not presentable at global discussions on the subject matter. Those arguments are only acceptable to people without basic knowledge of the shari'ah.

May Allah guide us aright.