Mawlid un Nabi صلّﷲ عليه وسلم

 Among the believers, there are people who respect the Mawlid,who partly support it and yet others who completely are against it.And I think it is the lack of knowledge about Mawlid and the virtues of bringing it into our lives that has made things so confusing. I am no scholar but I will make my efforts to make things clear to my readers in a way as simple as possible, In sha Allah.

WHAT IS MAWLID?

In the Arabic language, Mawlid has two meanings.

1. Celebrating the birth of Rasulallah صلّﷲ عليه وسلم .

2. Celebrating the birthday of Rasulallah صلّﷲ عليه وسلم .

I am sure my readers can understand the difference here.Let's first focus on to celebrating/commemorating  the birth of Rasulallah صلّﷲ عليه وسلم .

Mawlid is nothing but believers gathering together to commemorate the birth of Rasulallah صلّﷲ عليه وسلم  by expressing gratitude to the Almighty for blessing us with His Messenger صلّﷲ عليه وسلم , narrating the miraculous incidents that the world witnessed during the time of his birth , mentioning his parents and his lineage and every  detail that is connected to the birth of Rasulallah صلّﷲ عليه وسلم  . These write ups are usually sung into a beautiful tone which makes the image of those miraculous moments more mesmerizing.It is celebrated to be happy; to feel the happiness of being blessed with His Messenger صلّﷲ عليه وسلم . Mawlid is not celebrated on a specific day rather it can be celebrated any time throughout the year. 

Some eminent scholars about Mawlid:

1.Imam Jalal ud-din Suyuti رحمه الله [reviver of the 9th century]:

"The reality of Mawlid is that people gather to recite Quran to the extent that is easy,also to discuss narrations which are regarding Prophet صلّﷲ عليه وسلم , the signs which took place on his birth. Then dining is arranged for them and they return without adding anything more to this Bidat al Hasanah. The one who arranges it gets Thawab due to honoring Prophet صلّﷲ عليه وسلم  and showing gratitude on his birth."

2. Imam Ibn Kathir رحمه الله   [A scholar most respected by the Salafis/Wahhabis] 

He, while talking about  Shah Malik al Muzzafar رضي الله عنه, the brother in law of Salah ud din Ayyubi رضي الله عنه, the great warrior of Islam, says: 'He was a generous,mighty master and glorious ruler whose works were very good. He built Jamiya al Muzzafari near Qasiyun...During Rabiul Awwal he used to celebrate Mawlid ash Shareef  with great celebration. Moreover , he was benevolent, brave, wise, a scholar, and just person- Rahimuhullah wa Ikraam-Sheikh Abul Khattab (rah) wrote a book on Mawlid an Nabwi for him and named it At Tanwir fi Mawlid Al Bashir al Nazeer, for which he gave him 1000 dinars.His rule stayed till the rule of Salahiya and he captured Aka and he remained a man worthy of respect.

Al Sabt mentions that a person attending the gathering of Mawlid held by Muzzafar said: He used to fill the table with 5000 well cooked goats, 10,000 chickens, 100 thousand bowls of milk and 30 thousand trays of sweets.' [Tarikh Ibn Kathir, Al BidayaWan Nihaya]

3. Imam Shahab ud din Abul Abbas al Qastallani [ author of a great Seerah book Al Muwahib Al Laduniya]

"May Allah have mercy on the ones who turn the nights of the month of the Prophet's birth into celebration in order to decrease the suffering of those whose hearts are filled with disease and sickness." [Al Muwahib]

There are much more scholars talking in favor of Mawlid but I have quoted only a few. 

Mawlid from Sunnah

 The way we commemorate Mawlid today has been directly established from the Sunnah. There are enough and more of evidences. Let's glance into those times when the Sahabas and Rasulallah صلّﷲ عليه وسلم  himself commemorated his Mawlid.

1.Abu Saeed al-Khudri narrated that Mua'wiyah (ra) said:"The Messenger of Allah  صلّﷲ عليه وسلمwent out and saw his sahabas in a halaqa (circle) and said:' What are you doing?' They said: 'We have come together to pray to Allah and praise Him for guiding us to His religion, and blessing us with you.' He said: 'I ask you, by Allah, is that the only reason?' They said:' By Allah, we have not come together for any other reason.' He said: 'I am not asking you to swear to an oath because of any suspicion; rather Jibril came to me and told me that Allah, the Almighty and Sublime, is boasting of you to the angels. [Sunan Nasai]

2.Another hadith which clearly points out that Rasulullah صلّﷲ عليه وسلم was very happy about his birth and he expressed his gratitude to the Creator in the form of worship:

Abu Qatada Ansari (ra) reported that Allah's Messenger  صلّﷲ عليه وسلم  was asked about fasting on Monday, whereupon he said: 'It  is the day when I was born and revelation was sent down to me.'

Hence it is clear that his birth can be celebrated through any form of ibada (worship) approved by the Quran and Sunnah to express gratitude to the Lord. It can be by fasting or by holding gatherings of Zikr and Quran recitations; providing food to the poor,all being acts of ibada.

3.Narrated 'Ursa: Thuwaiba was the freed slave girl of Abu Lahab whom he had manumitted, and then she suckled the Prophet  صلّﷲ عليه وسلم . When Abu Lahab died, one of his relatives saw him in a dream in a very bad state and asked him," What have you encountered?" Abu Lahab said," I have not found any rest since I left you, except that I have been given water to drink in this (the space between his thumb and other fingers) and that is because of my manumitting Thuwaiba." [Sahih Bukhari]

Even Abu Lahab, who was the worst of enemies of Islam, is given relaxation in his Adhaab (punishment) just because he was happy on the birth of Rasulallah  صلّﷲ عليه وسلم  and he freed his slave girl Thuwaiba. So imagine the status of a believer celebrating Rasulallah's صلّﷲ عليه وسلم  birth throughout his lifetime!

4. Reciting poems in  praise of Rasulallah  صلّﷲ عليه وسلم is one way of commemorating his Mawlid. Following are examples from the sirah and Hadith, when the Prophet  صلّﷲ عليه وسلم listened to the poems in his praise:

• The Prophet's صلّﷲ عليه وسلم uncle Al Abbas composed a poem praising the birth of Rasulallah  صلّﷲ عليه وسلم, in which the following lines were found,

"When you were born, the Earth was shining and the firmament barely contained your light and we can pierce through , thanks to that radiance and light and path of guidance." [Suyuti's Husn Al Maqsid, Ibn Kathir's Mawlid, Ibn Hajar's Fath al Bari] 

• Ibn Kathir mentions the fact that according to the Sahaba,the Prophet صلّﷲ عليه وسلم praised his own name and recited poem about himself in the middle of the battle of Hunayn in order to encourage the companions and scare the enemies. That day he said:

"I am the Prophet! This is no lie. I am the son of Abd al Muttalib!" [Ibn Kathir's Dhikra Mawlid an Nabi]

• Ibn Qayyim al Jawziyya relates that the Prophet  صلّﷲ عليه وسلم prayed that Allah support Hassan ibn Thabit with ruh ul qudus (the Divine spirit) as long as he would support the Prophet  صلّﷲ عليه وسلم with his poetry.
• Rasulallah  صلّﷲ عليه وسلم had rewarded Ka'ab ibn Zuhayr's (r) poem of praise with a robe(burdah).

Allah's celebration on the birth of His Habeeb

Ibn Kathir says in his Al Bidaya wan Nihaya and Dhikra Mawlid,

"Paradise and the skies were decorated and angels moved about in continuous processions, the palace of Chosroes was shaken and the fire of 1000 years ceased to burn."

Allah Himself ,put His Heavens on celebration on the advent of the Holy Prophet صلّﷲ عليه وسلم. He has created this servant of His to be the most honored and the most perfect of all beings. The Holy Prophet has been sent down as nothing but a mercy to the world and especially to the mankind until the End of Time. When he has been a blessing and a mercy for us, opening doors for us to Allah's religion, will it not be illogical for us to forget his Mawlid? When the Heavens light up as Rabi ul Awwal approaches, will it not be an arrogance and pride when we forget to remember our beloved? How can one claim that he loves the Rasulallah  صلّﷲ عليه وسلم when he cannot rejoice on his Mawlid because,

"Iblis cried loudly four times,first when Allah declared him as curse, second when he was thrown out, third when Prophet  صلّﷲ عليه وسلم was born and fourth when Surah Al Fathiha was revealed." [Ibn Kathir in Al Bidayah wan Nihaya]

It's obvious that everyone rejoices except Iblis and his followers. Allah speaks to us of rejoicing on this event through the following verses:

" In the bounty of Allah. And in His Mercy, in that Let Them Rejoice: that is better than the (wealth) they hoard" [Surah Yunus, 10:58]

Also,

"We have not sent you but as a MERCY TO THE WORLDS" [Surah al Ambiya, 21:107]

These verses are clear cut evidences that Allah has sent the Holy Prophet  صلّﷲ عليه وسلم as a mercy, not for us alone but for the whole world; infact worlds. And Allah Himself has permitted us to rejoice over this mercy.

For those who want to understand, these evidences are enough to understand. But for those who do not want to understand any number of verifications is pointless!

May Allah guide us all to the best of understanding...Ameen