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CELEBRATING
MILAAD-UN-NABI
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When we celebrate Milad, we gather, in order to send
salutations (Esal-e-Swaab)
to the Prophet [May Allah bless him and grant Him peace], give charity
to the poor (Sadaqah Khairat) and remember wilaadah(Birth) and virtues
of the Prophet [May Allah bless him and grant Him peace]. The Ahl
as-Sunnah does not say that one must celebrate “Milad” only on 12
Rabee’-ul-Awwal, in fact it can be celebrated at anytime of the year.
Generally Milad-un-Nabi is celebrated, on the 12th of Rabee’ul-Awwal,
by Muslims all over the world. In every Muslim country, there is a
public holiday for “Milaad-un-Nabee”, except one country, but even
in that country, the people celebrate “Milaad” individually. The birth
of the Anbiyaa’ has been mentioned in the Qur’an. For example, Adam,
Musaa, Eesaa, and Yahyaa (May Allah bless them and grant them peace).
If it is wrong to talk about the birth of the Prophet (May Allah bless
him and grant him peace), then why has Allah TA’ALA mentioned it in
the Qur’an?
Evidence
of Milaad-un-Nabi from the Qur’an
Allah Ta’ala says in the Holy Qur’an:
Say: “In the bounty of Allah, and his mercy;-
Therein let them rejoice.” That is better then what they Amass.
(Yunus, 58)
In this verse, Allah Almighty 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 Almighty
Allah Almighty says in the Qur’an:
“And we sent not to you but a mercy for all
the worlds” (Al’Anbiyaa’, 107)
AllahAlmighty says in the Qur’an:
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 great bounty of Allah.
(Al-aHzaab, 44-47)
AllahAlmighty says in the Qur’an:
…remind them of the day of Allah…
(Ibraaheem, 5)
Hafidhh Ibn Kathir and Qadi Shawkani write that:
“the day of Allah” refers to the day on which
AllahAlmighty has done a favour on mankind. For example, the freedom
of Bani Isra’il from the slavery of Fir’awn.
[Tafsir Ibn Kathir, and Fath-ul-qadeer, by
Hafidhh Ibn Kather and Qaadee Shawkaanee]
Allah’s graetest favour on mankind was the
birth of the Prophet [May Allah bless him and grant Him peace]. This
means that the Milaad of the Prophet [May Allah bless him and grant
Him peace] is a “day of Allah”,
therefore we should remember it.
Hafidh Ibn Rajab
writes that:
It
is recommended to fast on those days on which Allah Almighty has sent
blessings on us. The greatest favour which AllahAlmighty has bestowed
us with, is the sending down of the Prophet [May Allah bless him and
grant Him peace]. Allah Almighty says
in the Qur'an:
“I have favoured among nations and sent to
you a Prophet from among you”(ltaa’if-ul-ma’rif, page 111, by Hafidh Ibn Rajab)
Some
other evidences of Milaad
Our Prophet [May
Allah bless him and grant Him peace] celebrated the birth of his son
Ibraaheem by freeing a slave.
(Tareekh Ibn Kathir, “Birth of Ibraaheem”).
Imam Muslim writes that the Prophet [May Allah
bless Him and grant Him peace] was asked about the fast on Mondays,
which he used to keep, the Prophet replied “This is the day of my
birth”.
(Muslim, “Kitaab-us-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 Bukhari writes that:
when Abu Lahab died, someone from his household
saw him in a dream, they asked him what happened in the grave he said
“I am being punished severely, but on Mondays, I get water from my
finger with which I am freed Thuwayba,
(Bukhari, “Kitaab-un-Nikaah”)
Friday is a special day for Muslims because
this is the day that Allah created Aadam[May Allah bless him and grant
him peace]
(The Muslim book of Jum’ah, also Tareekh Ibn
Kathir, vol.1, “Story of Aadam (May Allah bless him and grant him
peace])
Hafidhh Ibn Kathir writes that Abu Lahab freed
Thuwayba on the day that the Prophet [May Allah bless Him and grant
Him peace] was born.
(Sirat-un-Nabee, “Birth of Prophet May Allah
bless him and grant Him peace]”, by Hafidh Ibn Kathir)
This proves that
a kaafir, 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 ‘Ulamaa’,
to justify the celebration of Milad.
Allama Ibn Hajr Asqalani writes that Sohaily
said that Abbaas Radi-Allahu-unhu, who was the uncle of the Prophet
[May Allah bless Him and grant Him peace], had the above dream. Apart
from this, other Muhadditheen have also attributed this dream to Abbaas
Radi-Allahu-unhu. (Fath-ul-baari, “Nikaah”, by Hafidh Ibn Hajar Asqalaanee)
A person may ask, “When did Abbaas Radi-Allahu-unhu
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 (Seerah-Ibn-Hashaam) Abu Lahab died after the battle
of Badr before which Abbaas Radi-Allahu-unhu embraced Islam.
Fatwa
of Scholars for Milad
Hafidhh Ibn Taymiyyah writes:
“Those people who celebrate Milaad
through the love and respect of the Prophet [May Allah bless Him and
grant Him peace], will be rewarded by Allah.
[Iqtidaa’ us-siraat-il-Mustaqeem, page 294]
He also writes that:
If someone celebrates Milaad with the love
and respect of Prophet [May Allah bless him and grant Him peace],
he will have a “big reward”. He says that in Muslim communities, Milaad-un-Nabi
gatherings are only done with the respect and love of the Muslims
for the Prophet [May Allah bless him and grant Him peace]
[Iqtidaa’ as-siraat-il-Mustaqeem, page 297,
by Hafidhh Ibn Taymiyyah]
Hafidhh Ibn Kathir wrote that:
There was once a King, Abu Sa’eed 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 centers. 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]
[Tareekh Ibn Kathir, see story of King Abu
Sa’eed, Volume 13]
Ibn Muhammad bin Abdul Wahhab Najdi,
in his book, writes:
“Thuwaiba, who was the freed slave
of Abu Lahab fed Rasolallah Sallalalhu ‘alaihi wa sallam milk. Abu
Lahab freed Suwaiba at the time when she informed him that a son has
been born at your brother’s 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 that
he would suck from it. This
is so because it was with this finger that I freed Suwaiba when she
informed of the birth of the Prophet, and she also fed the Prophet
Sallalalhu ‘alaihi wa sallam milk”. Ibn Jawzi states: Abu Lahab is
that kaafir who has been specially referred to, in the Qur’an. If
such a person can be rewarded for celebrating the Milaad of the Prophet
Sallalalhu ‘alaihi wa Sallam, then imagine how great the reward would
be for a Muslim when he celebrates it.
[Mukhtassar Sirat-ur-rasool, “Milaad-un-nabi”,
by Ibn Muhammad bin Abdul wahhaab Najdi].
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 Hafidhh Ibn Kathir
would not have referred to it as a good deed and Hafidhh Ibn Taymiyyah
would not have said that there would be a “big reward” for doing so.
Some people have the opinion that King Abu Sa’eed introduced the celebrating
of this occasion. This is not true because Hafidh Ibn Kathir states
that in the 5th Century hijree, a King named Malik Shah celebrated
it also with a gathering
[Tareekh Ibn Katheer biography of Malik Shah]
Some people even
argue that the Holy Prophet was not even born on the 12th Rabbi Awwal.
This argument is baseless, as Hafidh Ibn Kathir has discussed this
in Sirat-un-nabi. He states that the majority of the scholars agree
that the Prophet was born on the 12th of Rabee’ul-Aawal. The evidence
of the people who do not accept this is weak.
(As-Sirat-un-nabi,
vol.1, “Birth of the Prophet [May Allah bless him and grant Him peace]”)
Muhammad Ibn Is-haaq states that the Prophet
was born on the 12th of Rabee’ul-Awwal.
(Seerah Ibn Hashaam, “Chapter Birth of the
Prophet [May Allah bless him and grant Him peace]”)
Ibn Is-haaq was a Taabi’ and was born in 75 Hijrah. His
book is the oldest book available of seerah in Islamic history. The
first book of Seerah was written by Musa bin Uqba. This book is no
longer avaiable for reference.
The Ahl as-Sunnah celebrate the Milaad 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 kaafir because the matter
of Milaad does not affect the ‘Aqeedah of a person. The celebrating
of this should not cause any divisions among Muslims.
Hafidhh Salaahuddeen Yoosuf [A great follower
of Hafidhh Ibn Taymiyyah and Shaikh Najdee] 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 Milaad.
(Milaad-un-nabi, by Hafidhh.Yoosuf, page 92)
Hafidh Ibn Kathir writes: “On the day of the
birth of Prophet[May Allah bless Him and grant Him peace], Shaytaan
cried a lot.”
(Sirat-un-nabi, “Birth of the Prophet [May
Allah bless him and grant Him peace]”, by Hafidh Ibn Kathir)
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 shaytaan not the way of a Muslim!
Some
questions raised concerning the Milaad
Although the Prophet was born on the 12th
of Rabee’ul-awwal he also died on the same date. How then can the
12th of Rabee’ul-awwal be a happy day?
Mourning for someone’s death should not be
more than three days, except for a woman, who has lost her husband.
The Prophet’s [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 Qur'an, remembering
his merits, giving alms, and making du’a for him. Even if the period
of mourning for the Prophet’s [May Allah bless him and grant Him peace]
death exists, all the actions mentioned above are included when people
gather for Milaad-un-nabee. For this reason, there is not need to
separate the celebration of the Prophet’s [May Allah bless him and
grant Him peace] birth, and the mourning of his death.
How
can there be an Eid Milaad-un-nabi when there are only two Eids (Al-Fitr
and Al-AdhHaa)?
Allah Almighty says
in the Qur’an:
Prophet Isa [May Allah bless him and grant
Him peace] prayed to Allah Almighty “Oh Allah, our Lord, send down
to us a tray of food from the Heavens so that it may be an occasion
of Eid for us for the first and the last of us.” (Al-Maa’idah, 114)
Imam Hakim writes that the Prophet [May Allah
bless him and grant Him peace] said “Friday is also an Eid day”. Once,
in the Prophet’s time Eid came on Friday and the Prophet [May Allah
bless him and grant Him peace] said “Allah has given you two Eids
today”.
(Mustadrak, “Jum’ah” by Imam Haakim
and summary by Imam Dhahabi).
Imam Tirmidhee writes
“Abdullah-bin-Abbaas
was reciting verse 3 of surah
maa’ida, from the Qur’an. 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 Eid day”. Abdullah-bin-Abbas replied
“When this verse was revealed, there were two Eids on that day. One
of them was the Hajj day and the other Friday”.
[Tirmidhee , “Tafsir”,
and also Tafsir Ibn Kathir, surah 5, verse 3]
From the references
above, it is proved that the term “Eid day” does not specifically
apply to the two Eid days (Al-fitr and al-adhHaa), but instead, it
could be used for any Islamic holy day. This means that we can refer
to “Milaad-un-Nabi” as “Eid-Milaad-un-nabi”
Books
on Milaad-un-Nabi
Imam Tirmidhi, in his book even gives the title
of one of this chapters, the name “Milaad-un-Nabee”. (Tirmidhi, shamaa’il)
Imam Waaqdi (A second century Scholar) also
wrote a book entitled “Milaad-un-Nabi”. The original copy can be found
in Cairo.
Allama Ibn Al-Jawzi,
wrote a book called “Milaad-un-Nabi” in which he gives very strong
proofs permitting the celebration of Milaad.
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