El Mawlid; Celebration of the birth of Prophet Muhammad (s.a.w.s.)

The term Mawlid is the name given to the celebration of the birthday of the Prophet Muhammad (s.a.w.s.). Also used with the same meaning is the word Mawlud which literally means “the Born” (in vulgar pronunciation Mulud).

The personality of Prophet Muhammad (s.a.w.s.) made a strong impression on his contemporaries and everything about him acquired enormous importance and significance. From him flowed a powerful báraka that he managed to communicate to everything around him, be it people, objects, places, even to his “time”. His companions, the Sahâba, especially sensitive to his báraka, took care to transmit to us his smallest gestures, his stays in certain places – which since then still maintain the presence of his active blessing – the moments in which he poured around him the natural goodness of his being. For Muslims, the remembrance of his birth(Mawlid) is closely linked to the principle that governs all that is good in existence, and although the Sunna does not mention the need to celebrate that event, it is commemorated by the entire Ummah that wishes to symbolically receive the báraka of the instant in which the Habib (s.a.w.s.) was born.

The house in which he saw the day in Makka, in the present Suq al-Layl, whose history is preserved mainly in the chronicles of the city, does not seem to have played, at the beginning, a particularly remarkable role. It was Harun ar-Rashid’s mother, Queen Khayçuran (8th century), who built a mosque over this modest room. Just as Muslims took and still take advantage of the pilgrimage to visit the tomb of the Rasûl (s.a.w.s.) in Medina, many went to his birthplace in Makka as a token of appreciation for the place where he was born and with the desire to collect the báraka that projects the space in which the event of his Mawlid took place . Descriptions of the house are preserved until the end of the 19th century. The oldest surviving mention of public celebrations of the Mawlid is found in the work of the historian Ibn Jubayr. In his time (12th century), a special ceremony, distinct from the private observance, was organized at Makka. During that day – the generally admitted date for the Mawlid is the twelfth of Rabí’ al-Awwal, he (s.a.w.s.) would have been born on Monday – the birthplace of Rasûlullâh (s.a.w.s.) would exceptionally remain open throughout the day and a large number of visitors would come to it. During the visit (Çiara), two rak’as were performed, du’a and dikr were made, and the walls were also kissed as a sign of acceptance of the báraka.

In Cairo, the large-scale participation of the people and the Sufi tariqas dates back at least to the 13th century. In a relatively short time, the festival spread throughout the Muslim world and there are numerous descriptions in different countries and at different times.

In 1588, the Ottoman Sultan Murad III introduced the Mawlid ceremony at his court. From 1910 until the dictatorship of Ataturk, it was the national holiday of the Ottoman Caliphate. Today, the official holiday lasts one or several days in countries where Islam predominates. In many of these countries, the authentic and popular celebration is replaced by a political ceremony, attended by the head of government or his representative and held in one of the main mosques of the capital.

In West Africa, the anniversary of Muhammad’s birth is associated with the idea of an initiation rite. For some tariqas, especially for the branches of the Tiyanía in Senegal, it is the occasion of the main annual meeting. The bulk of Hausa, Olof, Mandinka and Peul literature is constituted by the amdah or qasidas praising Rasul and recited during the Mawlid. In Chad, it is also celebrated with great pomp, regularity and care. The centerpiece of these ceremonies is the recitation of the madh, the panegyric poem with an almost always legendary character. The amdahs usually follow the same sequence: praises to Allah as an introduction, du’a or invocation, description of the creation of the Nur Muhammad (s.a.w.s.), and then various digressions (for example, on the ancestors of the Rasûl) before moving on to the specific account of his birth in which the figure of Amina, his mother, is exalted. In the Arabic-speaking world, the recitation of an extended madh is also a common feature of Mawlid celebrations since at least the 15th century. The most regularly employed poems are the Burda and the Hamsia, both by al-Busiri, perhaps the most prestigious author of amdah. In North Africa, the Middle East, India, East Asia, all over the Ummah, Mawlid is celebrated as a date to be commemorated and taken advantage of by Muslims.

The celebration of Mawlid, as an expression of veneration for Muhammad, is, in practice, universally accepted in Islam. Those who oppose the celebration of Mawlid consider it bid’a, that is, reprehensible innovation. An interesting document concerning this controversy is a kind of fatwa published by Suyuti, the great Egyptian ‘Alim of the 16th century: after a brief study of the history of the feast he discusses its pros and cons in detail and concludes that it should be approved as bid’a hásana (right or good innovation).

IslamHoy article
https://islamhoy.com/mawlid/

On the celebration of Mawlid
Fatwah of Shaykh Abdallah bin Bayyah

Background:

The celebration of the mawlid (the birth of the Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) is a subject of controversy among scholars. Thus, there are those who consider it a non-recommendable innovation, some even saying that it reaches the level of prohibition, and there are others who consider it a praiseworthy innovation.

This difference of opinion goes back to a divergence concerning the division of innovation (bid’ah). Some scholars recognize the validity of this type of innovations and so it was, first of all, in the school of Imam Al-Shafi (may Allah have mercy on him), and the main promoter of this thought was Al-‘Izzi Adin Abdul Salam (may Allah have mercy on him). Moreover, Imam Al-Qarafi (may Allah have mercy on him) who was Maliki, held this same opinion, to which he devotes great attention, explaining it thoroughly. In his discussion Al-Qarafi (ra) expanded the concept of innovation by including innovations that were commendable, highly commendable, obligatory and of a non-commendable nature. Therefore, he divided innovation into five parts: (obligatory, recommended, permissible, not recommended and prohibited).

There were some scholars who did not accept this division holding that, “Any innovation, if it appears, then it is repulsive by nature.” They did so by restricting the statement of ‘Umar (ra), regarding tarawih prayers when he said, “This is a good innovation,” to its linguistic meaning. There have been a large number of scholars who have held this opinion such as Taqi al-Din Ahmad Ibn Taymiyyah, Al-Shatibi, in his book Al-‘Itisam, and many scholars of the Maliki and Hanbali schools (may Allah have mercy on them all).

Finally, there were scholars who wrote in support of celebrating the mawlid (the commemoration of the birth of Prophet Muhammad) such as Al-Suyuti (may Allah have mercy on him) and, at the same time, there were others who wrote against it. Therefore, in my opinion, there is no need to keep dragging this discussion, nor continue to argue about it any longer.

The Opinion:

Whoever wants to celebrate the mawlid, the birthday of the Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, should celebrate it and avoid doing any action that is contrary to the sharia. This act should be done with the intention that it is neither a sunna nor an obligatory act. If these conditions are met, and one is careful not to contradict Islamic law, and it is done out of sincere love for the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him), then, Allah willing, there is nothing wrong with this action and this person will be rewarded for it.

Commenting on this, the Shaykh of Islam Ibn Taymiyah (may Allah have mercy on him) said: “Indeed, such a person will be rewarded for his intention. Similarly, for the one who leaves this celebration, trying to hold on to the sunna for fear of falling into innovation, then this person will also be rewarded, Allah willing. It is important to note that this matter does not represent a big problem. Therefore, it is also not necessary to give it more attention than it deserves.

Methodology:

Our attention to this issue is directed towards uniting Muslims and curbing these differences. We base our understanding of this issue on the principle of facilitation (for both sides) and ease. This ease is not founded on an empty premise, but is based on references directly from the Qur’an, the traditions of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him), the fundamental objectives of Islamic law, and the command of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) to work for unity. If a contentious issue arises regarding a matter, we exercise great consideration and respect for both sides. This consideration is not simply an act of accommodation, as some argue, or attacking those who hold weak opinions. Rather, this respect and consideration for differences is guided by the fact that both opinions are based on evidence from Islamic Law. In some respects, this evidence is clear to support one opinion, and in other respects, this is true for the opposing opinion as well. Thus, some scholars have provided evidence for the legitimacy of these acts, and others evidence to support the opposite. In conclusion, our position is that both are right, Allah willing, as long as this act is not mixed with some kind of evil and the intention is correct.

And Allah knows best.

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