Celebrating Milad e Mustafa

CELEBRATING MILAAD-UN-NABI صلی اللہ علیہ وسلم




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Allah Ta’ala says in the Holy Qur’an:









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:





AllahAlmighty says in the Qur’an:









AllahAlmighty says in the Qur’an:









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 MilaadOur 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
MiladHafidhh 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
MilaadAlthough 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:





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. 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? </td></tr></table>