Group Hero

Foodies

601,920 members

👨‍🍳 Passionate home cook? Aspiring chef? or just a good ol’ foodie? Share your favourite recipes, culinary experiments, and the joys of good food.

Share group
Doba

@Doha43440800

20 days ago

Hi 🫶🏻

29 Likes
5
Share
mohamed

@mohamed490675

20 days ago

What’s your favorite dish? 😋

1 Like
Share
Mohammad

@Mohammaduae

20 days ago

May God bless every morning with new hope, every day with peace, and every night with a heart full of gratitude. May our lives always be surrounded by goodness. 🤲❤️🔴

Share
Mohammed Adnan

@Adnan54094899

20 days ago

Part-1.
Disclaimer: This post isn't directed at any specific individual. Its a general post on Mawlid for everyone to understand the different points of view on this and make a decision for themselves, what is correct or isn't correct. Its a slightly longer post so read it in your free time. I was having a hard time to format this post with all the background information in a coherent way so pardon my distractions for going off topic here and there.
First thing first what is Mawlid and why people celebrate it?
Mawlid aka Miladun is the observance of the birth of the Prophet Muhammad(SAW). It is typically observed on the 12th(Sunni tradition) day of Rabi'al-Awwal or 17th(Shia tradition) day of Rabi'al-Awwal(3rd Month of Hirji calendar) although in many other countries it observed on different dates. Just to keep in mind the exact birth date of Prophet Muhammad(SAW) is not established with certainty and early Muslim historians transmitted several different dates. What is much more firmly established is that he was born on a Monday, in Rabiʿ al-Awwal, during the Year of the Elephant.
Here a few list of other possible dates of his(SAW) birth reported by other people.
1 Rabiʿ al-Awwal - Reported from Ibn ʿAbbas
2 Rabiʿ al-Awwal - Reported by Abu Maʿshar
8 Rabiʿ al-Awwal - Reported by Muhammad ibn Jubayr ibn Muṭʿim
9 Rabiʿ al-Awwal - A later astronomical calculation, notably associated with Maḥmūd Pasha; some modern scholars consider this the strongest candidate
10 Rabiʿ al-Awwal - Reported from al-Shaʿbi and Imam Muhammad al-Baqir
People celebrate Mawlid because they want to commemorate the birth of Prophet Muhammad(SAW) and express their love, gratitude, and respect for him. They do this by remembering his life and teachings, sending blessings upon him and thanking Allah for sending him as our Prophet. At some mosques you might find scholars giving lectures about the Prophet's life (Seerah) and his teachings.
But this celebration did not exist for the first 5 centuries of Islam. It was first officially celebrated during the time of Fatimid Empire(Short lived Shia Caliphate) around 1123 CE, approximately 491 years after the Prophet's(SAW) death(632 CE) and mostly Shias celebrated it. It was later adopted by the Sunni ruler(Muẓaffar al-Dīn Kökböri) of Erbil in 1207 CE (604 AH). He held the first famous large public Mawlid gathering. So now you know its not something part of Islam. Its something added by different people across time and culture that turned into a tradition.
Whats the scholarly opinion on this? I'll go fiqh by fiqh.

  1. Hanafi - Mixed opinion, many Hanafi scholars permitted it when it consists of permissible acts such as Qur'an, dhikr, salawat, Seerah, charity, and feeding people. And Hanafi scholars considered particular forms disliked or impermissible if they contained prohibited practices such as visiting the graves.
  2. Maliki - Alo mixed opinion. Some Maliki scholars strongly supported Mawlid, others rejected it as bidʿah. Ibn ʿAbbad al-Rundi considered Mawlid a legitimate occasion of joy. While Taj al-Din al-Fakihani al-Maliki wrote an entire treatise, al-Mawrid fi ʿAmal al-Mawlid, criticizing Mawlid. He argued that there was no established precedent for the practice and classified it as an innovation.
  3. Shafi - They have the strongest concentration of famous classical scholars explicitly defending Mawlid. Abu Shamah al-Maqdisi, teacher of Imam al-Nawawi praised Mawlid gatherings when they involved charity, good deeds, joy and expressions of love for the Prophet(SAW). Ibn Hajar al-ʿAsqalani the famous Shafi'i hadith scholar and commentator on Sahih al-Bukhari gave a nuanced defense. He explicitly acknowledged that the basic form of Mawlid was an innovation not transmitted from the first three generations. But he argued that if the gathering consists of good actions and avoids prohibited ones, it can be considered a good innovation (bidah hasanah). This is a very important point because some scholars believe that “bidah” does not necessarily mean “forbidden”. They use the statement of Umar bin al-Khattab to justify this distinction where he called Taraweeh in congregation an "excellent bid'ah" (innovation) recorded in Sahih al-Bukhari 2010.
  4. Hanbali - This one is the most interesting. Ibn al-Jawzi al-Hanbali is often cited as a supporter because of his work Mawlid al-ʿArus. But Ibn Taymiyyah had a middle position on this. He did not consider Mawlid a Sunnah or an established religious practice. He considered it an innovation because the Prophet(SAW), companions and early generations did not celebrate it. However he acknowledged that some people celebrate it out of love and reverence for the Prophet(SAW), and he said they could receive reward for their intention and love, even though he did not regard the innovation itself as legislated(I'll come back to this). Ibn Taymiyyah's position became enormously influential on later Hanbali/Salafi thought. Mawlid is not legislated and should not be established as an annual religious observance.
  5. Salafi/Ahle Hadees(Non Madhabi) -  They have the most strict view on this. Modern Salafi scholars overwhelmingly reject the annual Mawlid. Ibn Baz rejected Mawlid as bidʿah. Muhammad ibn Salih al-ʿUthaymin rejected it. Nasir al-Din al-Albani rejected the establishment of Mawlid as an annual religious celebration.

Their basic argument is:
The Prophet(SAW) did not celebrate his birthday.
The Companions did not celebrate it.
The Tabiʿun did not celebrate it.
The first generations were the best generations.
Therefore, establishing it as a recurring religious occasion is an innovation.

They also argue its an innovation because:

  1. You imitate the kuffar by celebriting birthday(Its a pagan practice).
    Ibn Umar reported: The Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, said, “Whoever imitates a people is one of them.” - Sunan Abī Dāwūd 4031

  2. You praise the Prophet(SAW) on this occasion more than a human being which he explicitly forbideen in a hadeeth.
    Narrated `Umar: I heard the Prophet (ﷺ) saying, "Do not exaggerate in praising me as the Christians praised the son of Mary, for I am only a Slave. So, call me the Slave of Allah and His Apostle." - Sahih al-Bukhari 3445

  3. You bring something new to the religion.
    "Whoever innovates something into this matter of ours (Islam) that is not part of it, will have it rejected." - Sahih al-Bukhari 2697 and Sahih Muslim 1718
    "The best speech is the Book of Allah, and the best guidance is the guidance of Muhammad. The most evil matters are those that are newly invented, for every newly invented matter is an innovation, and every innovation is misguidance." - Sunan an-Nasa'i 1578
    "Beware of newly invented matters, for verily every innovation is misguidance." - Sunan Abi Daud 4607 and Jami At-Tirmidhi 2676

I personally follow the opinion of Ibn Taymmiyah on this. Ibn Taymiyyah viewed the celebration of the Prophet’s birthday (Mawlid) as a religious innovation (bid'ah) that had no precedent among the early generations of Muslims (the Salaf).
Core Views of Ibn Taymiyyah on Mawlid:
Classification as Bid'ah: In his work Iqtida' al-Sirat al-Mustaqim, he categorized taking the Prophet's birth date as an annual festival or seasonal celebration among the innovated practices.
Absence from the Early Generations: He emphasized that neither the Prophet Muhammad nor his Companions (Sahabah) celebrated the Mawlid, arguing that if it were a pure good, the early pious generations would have done it before anyone else.
Intentions vs. Actions: He stated that a person might receive a reward for their righteous intention of loving and honoring the Prophet (husn al-qasd), but they do not gain reward for the innovated ritual itself.
Weighing Harm and Benefit: He maintained that innovations generally contain an element of evil or drawback that outweighs apparent superficial good because the religious law (Shari'ah) did not prescribe or highlight them. Therefore, it should be discouraged or prohibited in favor of adhering strictly to established prophetic traditions.
Part-2 is in the comment.

Share
Rachid

@Rachid92128566

20 days ago

Hi 👋😊 everyone I'm new here

Share
Moe

@Mohammed60250667

20 days ago
1 Like
Share
Ibrahem Ahmed

@Ibrahem71074684

21 days ago

Anyone coming to Egypt soon

1 Like
Share