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:

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.

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Answer:

Commemorations milad birthday pm

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:

1. Every Friday of the week
2. The two days of Eid (Fitr and Adha)
3. The whole month of Ramadan
4. The night of the ‘laylatul Qadr’ in Ramadan
5. The first ten days of the month of Dhul-Hijjah
6. The 10^th 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