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:

is the celebration of Eid-milad biddah or sunah. plz answer in detail.

(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:

Prophet (saws) Milad birthday innovation

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 no one (no idol, no person, no grave, no prophet, no imam, no dai, nobody!) 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 his noble companions, who loved him more than anyone else, ever celebrate the birthday of their Noble Leader and Prophet (saws).

Therefore if someone starts the ritual of celebrating 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.

It has been reported in an authentic narration that the Prophet of Allah (saws) said: “Whoever introduces a ‘bida’ (innovation) in this deen brought by me (saws), it will be rejected.”

It has been reported by Imam Ali ibn Abu Talib (r.a.) 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.”

It has been reported by Jabir ibn Abdullah (r.a.) in another authentic narration 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.

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