Mu`
meneen Brothers and Sisters,
As
Salaam Aleikum wa Rahmatullahi wa Barakatuh. (May Allah`s Peace, Mercy
and Blessings be upon all of you)
One
of our brothers/sisters has asked this question:
Question
Assalamualaikum dear
brother,
One should remember
ALLAH n HIS RASOOL every moment thank ALMIGHTY.
i do agree that one
should not invent things on his own in ISLAM.i beleive in this. it would
b bidah if one does this.but........one questions arises in
mind.............
cant we thank Allah
on this auspicious day of Prophet`s(PBUH) birthday, by offering namaaz?
cant we go for
charity or giving meals to poor n needy on this day?or
cant we go for
seminars or deeni sessions on this day?
may b qirat or
speeches on life of Prophet Mohammed(PBUH). we can also have gathering
where we send darood to our beloved Prophet(PBUH). we can this way mould
our young generation especially towards
islaam.no doubt such things should b done regularly n not on
specific occassions.but this do have impact on children`s mind.
i dont beleive in
taking out processions or decorating streets n spreading things which r
not taught by islaam.but i do feel that one can remember ALLAH ,offer
nafil namaaz or do some charity or have islamic session on this day.
if we cant do
anything atleast our each breath should thank ALLAH for making us THE
UMMAH OF our beloved Prophet MOHAMMED(PBUH).
bhai i may b wrong.u
have knowledge much much better than me.plz give light on this.& guide
me n others.enlighten us by right knowledge of Islaam.
(There may be some grammatical and spelling errors in the above
statement. The forum does not change anything from questions, comments
and statements received from our readers for circulation in
confidentiality.)
Answer:
Commemorations milad
birthday of Prophet (peace be upon him)
In
the name of Allah, We praise Him, seek His help and ask for
His forgiveness. Whoever Allah guides none can misguide, and whoever He
allows to fall astray, none can guide them aright. We bear witness that
there is none worthy of worship but Allah Alone, and we bear witness
that Muhammad (saws) is His slave-servant and the seal of His
Messengers.
Although every day one lives is a day to be grateful to the Lord and a
day of celebration and commemoration, Allah and His Messenger (saws)
have nominated every Friday of the week, and the two days of Eid (Fitr
and Adha) as days of special celebration and commemoration. The
birth-day or death-day of any individual has absolutely no significance
in the deen of Islam, and never ever did the Messenger of Allah (saws)
celebrate his own birthday, nor did he ever celebrate the birthdays of
his loved ones, nor did even his noble companions, who loved the Prophet
(saws) more than anyone else, ever celebrate the birthday of their Noble
Leader and Prophet (saws) during his (saws) life-time or after his
(saws) death!
Allah Says in the Holy Quran Chapter 33 Surah Ahzab verse 21:
There is indeed the best example for you to follow in the Messenger of
Allah, for every such person looks forward to Allah and the Last Day,
and remembers Allah much.
For an act, or deed, or rite or ritual of worship, celebration or
commemoration of a day or night, etc. to be considered a part of worship
in Islam, or to be considered acceptable and pleasing to the Lord
Creator, it is absolutely imperative that this act, or deed, or rite or
ritual of worship, or the celebration or commemoration be endorsed by
Allah and His Messenger (saws). If that act or deed or celebration in
Islam is not endorsed by Allah and His Messenger (saws), then it would
not constitute an acceptable deed in Islam in the Sight of the Lord.
Therefore if
someone starts the ritual of celebrating or commemorating the
Prophet�s (saws) or any others birthdays, thinking of it as a rite
which will bring about the Pleasure or Good Will of Allah Subhanah, he
will be inventing a thing in the deen of Islam which is not from the
deen! And that is exactly what the Messenger of Allah (saws) termed as
bidah or innovation; and every single innovation in the pure and perfect
deen of Islam is an error, a sin, and absolutely detestable to the Lord
Most Majestic.
Aisha
narrated that the Messenger of Allah (saws) said: �If somebody
innovates something which is not present in our religion, then that
thing will be rejected.�
Related by Bukhari.
Sunan
of Abu-Dawood Hadith 4515 Narrated by Ali ibn AbuTalib
That the Prophet
of Allah (saws) said: �If anyone introduces an innovation (in
religion), he will be responsible for it. If anyone introduces an
innovation or gives shelter to a man who introduces an innovation (in
religion), he is cursed by Allah, by His Angels, and by all the
people.�
Sahih
Muslim Hadith 1885 Narrated by Jabir ibn Abdullah
That the Prophet
of Allah (saws) said in a sermon: �The best speech is that which is
embodied in the Book of Allah, the Al Quran; and the best guidance is
the guidance given by me, Mohamed (saws). The most evil affairs are the
innovations, and every innovation is an error.�
The celebrating
or commemorating of the birthday of the Noble Prophet (saws) is a clear
and manifest bida, and the believers should fear Allah and absolutely
abstain from this and all other innovations which have unfortunately
crept into the pure and perfect deen of Islam�if indeed they fear
Allah and the Last Day.
Your
Question: cant we thank Allah on this auspicious day of Prophet`s (PBUH)
birthday, by offering namaaz?
Although every
single day one is blessed to be alive is an auspicious day, the days and
nights which are specifically nominated as �auspicious� by Allah and
His Messenger (saws), and where a specific commemoration are endorsed in
Islam are:
-
Every Friday of the week
-
The two days of Eid (Fitr and Adha)
-
The whole month of Ramadan
-
The night of the
�laylatul Qadr� in Ramadan
-
The first ten days
of the month of Dhul-Hijjah
-
The 10th day of the
month of Muharram, etc.
The birth or death day of any individual on a particular day does not
make that day any more auspicious than the other days of the year, nor
should one invent any celebration or commemoration by doing anything
extra on that day to make that day auspicious, when Allah and His
Messenger (saws) have not endorsed it.
If
one is in the habit of offering optional �Nafl� prayers on other
normal days of the year, there is absolutely no harm if one continues
their prayers. But to offer some specific optional prayers or do
anything extra on that day only because that day happens to be the birth
or death day of one in creation, then that would tantamount to declaring
that day as �auspicious� without right�..and such a commemoration
would, without an iota of a doubt, be an act of �bida� in the Sight
of the Lord.
Your
Question: cant we go for charity or giving meals to poor n needy on this
day?
Islam encourages
one to practice charity or feed the poor and needy�.but to practice
charity on that day only because it happens to be the birth or death day
of any individual would be to declare that day more auspicious than any
other day of the year without right; and thus a manifestation of the
crime of �bida� in the Sight of the Lord.
Your Question: or cant
we go for seminars or deeni sessions on this day? may b qirat or
speeches on life of Prophet Mohammed(PBUH).
One who sincerely
loves Allah and His Messenger (saws) can hold a seminar or �deeni�
session every day if one wills�but to hold a seminar or �deeni�
session on a day only because that day happens to be the birth or death
day of an individual, then such a commemoration would constitute a clear
�bida� in the Sight of the Lord.
Your
Question: we can also have gathering where we send darood to our beloved
Prophet(PBUH).
First and foremost
there is absolutely no evidence in the authentic and established Sunnah
or tradition of the Messenger of Allah (saws) whereby he endorsed the
gathering of believers for the specific purpose of sending �durood�
or salutations upon him!
To engineer a
gathering of believers with the specific purpose of collectively sending
salutations upon the Noble Prophet (saws); and to do that on a
self-invented day of commemoration would be to commit two crimes of
�bida�!
Your
Question: we can this way mould our young generation especially towards
islaam.
Everything one
does in one�s household, and everything that happens as acceptable in
society impacts and moulds the minds of our children who witness
it�..thus celebrating and commemorating a day as �auspicious�
without right from Allah and His Messenger (saws) would negatively
impact and mould the minds of our children�.because then they would
start believing that since it is considered a virtue in Islam to
commemorate the Prophet�s (saws) birthday, then it would be acceptable
to celebrate and commemorate their and their loved one�s birthdays or
anniversaries, or commemorate the death-days of their deceased
grand-parents or loved ones!!!
When each
individual takes it upon himself to declare a day as �auspicious�
and invents a rite or ritual of worship specific for that day from
themselves�.Islam would soon lose its simplicity and purity and become
a religion of self-innovated rites and rituals and self-appointed days
and nights of commemorations and celebrations! Every birth-day and every
death-day of every pious slave will be earmarked as an �auspicious�
day, and people will be gathered to commemorate the occasion, and
shrines and tombs will be built over the graves of the pious, and
flowers and garlands will be showered on those shrines, and people would
gather from far and wide to invoke those deceased in the graves, etc.
etc.
The many shrines
and tombs that one sees scattered all over the world, and the
celebrations and commemorations that take place in the name of Aashura,
or Muharram, or Ajmer Shareef, or the numerous �dargahs� are the
direct result and consequence of the ignorance of accepting and
following innovations; and every single innovation in the deen of Islam
is an error and a sin in the Sight of the Lord Most High.
If one trusts, obeys, and follows the guidance and commands of Allah
and His Messenger (saws), one can be assured of never ever being misled;
but if one believes, obeys and follows any other guidance, other than
that of Allah and His Messenger (saws), one can be assured of being led
astray.
Whatever
written of Truth and benefit is only due to Allah�s Assistance and
Guidance, and whatever of error is of me alone. Allah Alone Knows Best
and He is the Only Source of Strength.
Your brother and well wisher in Islam,
Burhan
