Celebrating The Maulid //02
((( Originally celebrating Maulid is an innovation (bid’ah) which has not been reported from any of the pious predecessors ‘As-Salafus Salih’ from the first three generations of the Muslim Ummah. But all the same it contains some good and some bad things. So whoever pursues the good things in performing it, and avoids its opposite, it will be considered a good innovation (bid’ah hasanah). Otherwise it will be (a bad bid’ah).
It appears to me that celebrating the maulid can be deduced from an established source, that is the authentic hadith in al-Bukhari and Muslim that the Prophet (sallallaahu alaihi wa sallam) came to Madina and saw the Jews fasting the day of Ashuraa’. He asked them about that. They said: “this is the day on which Allah Ta’aala drowned Pharaoh and rescued Musa. So we fast it to show our gratitude to Allah Ta’aalaa”.
This infers that one can show gratitude to Allah for a favour He bestows on him, whether that favour is in the form of a blessing He granted him or for rescuing him from a hardship or trouble on a specific day. And that he repeats that celebration on the return of the like of that day every year. Thanking Allah can take the form of various types of ibadaats like prostration, fasting, voluntary alms and reciting (the holy Qur’an). And what kind of blessing is greater than the advent of this Prophet - the prophet of mercy – on that day?
Based on this, the exact and specific day ought to be pursued for the observance of maulid in order to correspond to the story of Musa on the day of Aashuuraa. He who does not take note of this will not care to observe the maulid on any day of the month. Some people even widened the matter and claim that the maulid should be observed on any day of the year. This of course entails some meanings that are unbecoming. This is as far as its initial observance is concerned.
But as regards what should be done in observing the maulid, people should confine themselves to what really gives the impression of showing gratitude to Allah. Like the aforementioned things: reciting the holy Qur’an, feeding the needy, voluntary alms giving and the recitation of some poems intended to praise the prophet (sallallaahu alaihi wa sallam) or that encourages religious devotion (zuhd), and that draws the mind towards the performance of good deeds. But as for the things which follow that, like the (sufi) samaa’ (songs joined with beating drums) and other types of entertainment, what we ought to say is that there is nothing wrong in permitting whatever is lawful from those activities such that it enhances happiness in respect of that day. And to prohibit whatever is known to be unlawful or disliked or is known to be non-preferable (khilaaful awlaa)) Unquote.
This is also mentioned by Al-Zarqaani in Sharhul Mawaahibil Laduniyyah vol.1 p.140, and As-Sharqaawi in his Hashiyah vol.7 p.423.
To be continue....
Dr. Abubakar Muhammad Sani Birnin Kudu
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