When we celebrate Milad, we gather, in order to send salutations (durud) to the Prophet (may Allah bless him and grant him peace), give charity to the poor (sadaqa), and to remember the wilada (birth) and virtues of the Prophet (may Allah bless him and grant him peace). The Ahl as-Sunna does not say that one must celebrate Milad only on the 12th of Rabi al-Awwal; in fact it can be celebrated at any time of the year. Generally Milad an-Nabi is celebrated, on the 12th of Rabi al-Awwal, by Muslims all over the world. In every Muslim country, there is a public holiday for Milad an-Nabi, except one country, but even in that country the people celebrate the Milad individually. The birth of the anbiya has been mentioned in the Quran; for example, Adam, Musa, Isa, and Yahya (peace be upon them). Furthermore, if it is wrong to talk about the birth of the Prophet (may Allah bless him and grant him peace), then why has Allah Most High mentioned it in the Quran? Evidence of Milad an-Nabi from the Quran Allah Most High says in the Holy Quran: Say: In the bounty of Allah,and His Mercy, therein let them rejoice. That is better then what they amass [Sura Yunus, verse 58] In this verse, Allah Most High tells us that we should be happy when we receive blessings and mercy from Him. Without doubt, the Prophet (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) is the greateset mercy and blessing of Allah Most High. Allah Most High says in the Quran: And we sent you not but as a mercy for all the worlds [Sura al-Anbiya, verse107] Allah Most High says in the Quran: Oh Prophet! The communicator of unseen news. We have sent you as a present beholder and bearer of glad tidings and a warner. And an inviter towards Allah by His command and a brightening sun. And give glad tidings to the believers that for them is a great bounty. [Sura al-Ahzab, verses 44-47] Allah Most High says in the Quran: ...remind them of the Days of Allah... [Ibrahim, verse 5] Hafiz Ibn Kathir and Qadi Shawkani write that: the Days of Allah refers to the day on which Allah Almighty has done a favour on mankind. For example, the freedom of Banu Israil from the slavery of Firawn [Ibn Kathir,Tafsir Ibn Kathir; Qadi Shawkani, Fath al-Qadir] Allahs greatest favour on mankind was the birth of the Prophet (may Allah bless him and grant him peace). This means that the Milad of the Prophet (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) is one of the Days of Allah, therefore we should remember it. Hafiz Ibn Rajab writes that: It is recommended to fast on those days on which Allah Most High has sent blessings on us. The greatest favour which Allah Almighty has bestowed us with, is the sending down of the Prophet (may Allah bless him and grant him peace). Allah Most High says in the Quran:I have favoured you among nations and sent to you a Prophet from among you [Ibn Rajab, ltaaif-ul-marif, page 111] Some Other Evidences of Milad Our Prophet (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) celebrated the birth of his son Ibrahim by freeing a slave.[Tarikh Ibn Kathir, Birth of Ibrahim] Imam Muslim writes that the Prophet (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) was asked about the fast on Mondays that he kept. The Prophet replied, This is the day of my birth [Muslim, Kitab as-Sawm] This proves that the Prophet (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) kept fast on Mondays to show gratitude for his birth. Imam al-Bukhari writes that: When Abu Lahab died, someone from his household saw him in a dream and asked him what happened in the grave. He said, I am being punished severely, but on Mondays I get water from the finger with which I am freed Thuwayba [Abu Lahabs slave] , [Bukhari, Kitab an-Nikah] Friday is a special day for Muslims because this is the day that Allah created Adam (peace be upon him). [Muslim, Book of Jumua; also Tarikh Ibn Kathir, vol.1, Story of Adam] Hafiz Ibn Kathir writes that Abu Lahab freed Thuwayba on the day that the Prophet (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) was born. [Ibn Kathir, Sirat an-Nabi, Birth of the Prophet] This proves that a kafir, Abu Lahab, was happy on the day of the birth of the Prophet (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) and was rewarded by having his punishment reduced. If this is true, then indeed Allah will bless a Muslim who rejoices the birth of the Prophet (may Allah bless him and grant him peace). This hadith has been used by many ulema to justify the celebration of Milad. Hafiz Ibn Hajar al-Asqalani writes: Sohaily said that Abbas (may Allah be pleased with him), who was the uncle of the Prophet (may Allah bless him and grant him peace), had the above dream. Apart from this, other muhaddithin have also attributed this dream to Abbas [Ibn Hajar al-Asqalani, Fath al-Bari, chapter on Nikah] A person may ask, When did Abbas have this dream? Was it before or after he embraced Islam?The answer to this is that he had this dream after coming into the fold of Islam [Sira Ibn Hisham]. Abu Lahab died after the Battle of Badr, before which Abbas (may Allah be pleased with him) embraced Islam. Fatwa of Scholars for Milad Hafiz Ibn Taymiyya writes: Those people who celebrate Milad through the love and respect of the Prophet (may Allah bless him and grant him peace), will be rewarded by Allah [Iqtida as-Sirat al-Mustaqim, page 294] He also writes that: If someone celebrates Milad with the love and respect of Prophet (may Allah bless him and grant him peace), he will have a big reward... In Muslim communities, Milad an-Nabi gatherings are only done with the respect and love for the Prophet (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) [Iqtida as-Sirat al-Mustaqim, page 297] Hafiz Ibn Kathir wrote that: There was once a King, Abu Said Malik Muzaffar - a man of good deeds.In his kingdom, wherever he saw a lack of water, he would build a well. He also established many Islamic study centres. Every year, he would spend half a million dinars on hosting a gathering of his people to celebrate the birthday of the Prophet (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) [Tarikh Ibn Kathir, vol. 13, Story of King Abu Said] Muhammad ibn Abd al-Wahhab writes: Thuwayba, who was the freed slave of Abu Lahab, fed Rasolallah milk. Abu Lahab freed Thuayba at the time when she informed him that a son has been born at his brothers house. After the death of Abu Lahab he was seen in a dream, in which he said I am in severe punishment but this is lessened on Mondays. He showed his forefinger and said I will suck from it because it was with this finger that I freed Thuwayba when she informed of the birth of the Prophet, and she also fed the Prophet milk. Ibn Jawzi states: Abu Lahab is that kafir who has been specially referred to in the Quran. If such a person can be rewarded for celebrating the Milad of the Prophet, then imagine how great the reward would be for a Muslim when he celebrates it [Ibn Abd al-Wahhab, M., Mukhtasar Sirat ar-Rasul, Milad an-Nabi] The above is evidence that celebrating the birthday of the Prophet (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) in the form of a gathering is permissible. Otherwise Hafiz Ibn Kathir would not have referred to it as a good deed and Hafiz Ibn Taymiyya would not have said that there would be a big reward for doing so. Some people have the opinion that King Abu Said introduced the celebrating of this occasion. This is not true because Hafiz Ibn Kathir states that in the 5th Century after hijra (AH), a king named Malik Shah also celebrated it with a gathering [Tarikh Ibn Kathir, Biography of Malik Shah] Some people even argue that the Holy Prophet was not even born on the 12th Rabi al-Awwal. This argument is baseless as Hafiz Ibn Kathir has discussed this in Sirat an-Nabi. He states that the majority of the scholars agree that the Prophet was born on the 12th of Rabi al-Awwal. The evidence of the people who do not accept this is weak [Sirat an-Nabi, vol.1, Birth of the Prophet] Muhammad ibn Ishaq states that the Prophet was born on the 12th of Rabi al-Awwal. [Sira Ibn Hisham, chapter on Birth of the Prophet]. Ibn Ishaq was a Tabii and was born in 75 AH. His book is the oldest book available on Sira in Islamic history. The first book of Sira was written by Musa ibn Uqba. This book is no longer avaiable for reference. The Ahl as-Sunna celebrate the Milad of the Prophet (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) with love and respect. If someone does not celebrate it, we do not call them a kafir because the matter of Milad does not affect the aqida of a person. The celebrating of this should not cause any divisions among Muslims. Hafiz Salah ad-Din Yusuf (a great follower of Hafiz Ibn Taymiyya and Shaykh an-Najdi) writes: On the birth date of the Prophet (may Allah bless him and grant him peace), to give charity to the poor or to build a masjid - we agree in this type of celebration of Milad [Yusuf, Salah ad-Din, Milad-un-nabi, page 92] Hafiz Ibn Kathir writes: On the day of the birth of Prophet(may Allah bless him and grant him peace) Shaytan cried a lot [Ibn Kathir, Sirat an-Nabi, Birth of the Prophet] From Ibn Kathirs narration we can see that to feel unhappy on the birthday of the Prophet (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) is the way of Shaytan, not the way of a Muslim! Some Questions Raised Concerning the Milad (Q) Although the Prophet was born on the 12th of Rabi al-Awwal, he also died on the same date. How then can the 12th of Rabi al-Awwal be a happy day? (A) Mourning for someones death should not be more than three days, except for a woman who has lost her husband. The Prophets (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) death was over 1400 years ago, so the period of mourning has passed. But, after someone dies, his death is remembered by reciting the Quran, remembering his merits, giving alms, and making dua for him. Even if the period of mourning for the Prophets (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) death exists, all the actions mentioned above are included when people gather for Milad an-Nabi. For this reason, there is no need to separate the celebration of the Prophets (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) birth, and the mourning of his death. (Q) How can there be an Id Milad an-Nabi when there are only two Ids (al-Fitr and al-Adha)? (A) Allah Most High says in the Quran: Said Isa, son of Maryam,, Oh Allah, our Lord, send down to us a tray of food from the Heavens so that it may be an occasion of Id for the first and the last of us [Sura al-Maida, verse 114] Imam al-Hakim writes that the Prophet (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) said, Friday is also an Id day. Once, in the Prophets time, Id came on Friday and the Prophet (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) said, Allah has given you two Ids today [al-Hakim, Mustadrak, Jumua;summary by Imam adh-Dhahabi] Imam at-Tirmidhi writes: Abdullah ibn Abbas was reciting the third verse of SurahMaida from the Quran. A Jew, sitting close by, heard it and said to Abdullah, If that verse which you recited was revealed to us, we would make that day an Id day. Abdullah ibn Abbas replied, When this verse was revealed, there were two Ids on that day. One of them was the Hajj day and the other Friday [at-Tirmidhi , Tafsir; and also Tafsir Ibn Kathir, Surah 5, verse 3] From the references above, it is proved that the term Id day does not specifically apply to the two Id days (al-Fitr and al-Adha) but instead, it could be used for any Islamic holy day. This means that we can refer to Milad an-Nabi as Id-Milad an-Nabi. Books on Milad an-Nabi Imam at-Tirmidhi, in his book, even gives the title of one of his chapters the name Milad an-Nabi [at-Tirmidhi, Shamail] Imam al-Waqidi (a second century scholar) also wrote a book entitled Milad an-Nabi. The original copy can be found in Cairo. Allama Ibn al-Jawzi wrote a book called Milad an-Nabi in which he gives very strong proofs permitting the celebration of Milad.
Posted on: Fri, 16 Jan 2015 00:12:04 +0000
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