Celebrating the Maulid // 03
By
Dr Abubakar Muhammad Sani Birnin ( Hafizahullah)
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There are certain things to be noted from the above statement
1. That Ibn Hajar confesses that maulid is bid’ah;
2. And that non of the pious predecessors observed it;
3. That what made him permit it is that it entails some good things;
4. He endorses the categorisation of bid’ah into good and bad;
5. The basis of his stand is that he drew an analogy between maulid and the observance of the fasting of the day of Aashuraa;
6. That he was the first to draw this analogy;
7. The reason common between maulid and the day of Aashuraa is that both are a way of showing gratitude to Allah;
8. That maulid contains some negative and bad activities which, if avoided, it will be a good bid’ah.
9. That the exact date of the birth of the prophet should be pursued in observing the maulid. And this is something impossible, for one thing not known by many people (I don’t mean Ibn Hajar) is that the exact date of his birth is not known, at least through an authentic narration.
There are several views on this date. Some say it was on the 2nd of Rabi’ul Awwal, while most of the scholars of hadith say it was on the 8th. Other views are that it was on the 10th or 12th or 17th or 18th. Some even claim that it was in the month of Ramadan and there is no authentic narration from the prophet himself (sallallaahu alaihi wa sallam) to support any of these views.
The only thing established is that it was on Monday as mentioned by the prophet himself. But it is also established that he (sallallaahu alaihi wa sallam) died on the 12th of Rabi’ul Awwal. That is why Ibnul Haaj (a famous Maliki scholar said: “The most surprising thing is that how can they rejoice with drumming and other means of happiness because of his birth in this month (Rabi’ul Awwal) while he (sallallaahu alaihi wa sallam) died in the same month, and the ummah was inflicted with a great calamity not comparable with anything. Why didn’t they weep over his death…. Even though if they did that and continue to observe it every year it will all the same be a bid’ah.” Al-Madkhal vol.2 p.16-17. (See on the issue of the difference of opinion on this date Al-Mawahibul Laduniyyah 131-132 and Al-istee’aab by Ibn Abdil Barr, and Al-Bidayah Wan Nihayah by Ibn Katheer.
There are of course more to deduce from his statement.
The Aaashuuraa hadith is not the only proof on which the maulid is based. Rather the proponents of maulid have other arguments to support their claim of its lawfulness. I will briefly mention them here together with what other scholars said in response to those claims.
Two
Suyuti, immediately after quoting the above argument from Ibn Hajar said: “And it appears to me that celebrating maulid can be deduced from another established source. And that is what Al-Baihaqi reported from Anas (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Prophet (sallallaahu alaihi wa sallam) performed an ‘aqiqah for himself after becoming a prophet, even though it was reported that his grandfather Abdul Muttalib had done that for him on the seventh day of his birth. And it is known that it is not a normal practice to repeat the ‘aqiqah. This should therefore be taken to mean that the Prophet (sallallaahu alaihi wa sallam) performed that to express his gratitude to Allah Ta’aala for creating him and making him a mercy to the world. It should also be regarded as a legalization of that same action to his ummah, just as the Prophet (sallallaahu alaihi wa sallam) used to recite the salatun Nabiyy. So it is recommended that we also express our gratitude over his birth, by joining up in congregations, feeding the needy and other types of ibadaat to demonstrate our happiness.” (Husnul Maqsid Fi ‘Amalil Maulid from vol.1 p.303 of Al-Hawi lil Fataawi).
To be continue.....
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