Each individual Muslim is expected to express his love for Prophet Muhammad. In fact, Muslims have to love Prophet Muhammad more than their families or themselves even. Prophet Muhammad said, “None of you shall have complete faith until he loves me more than his father, his children, and all mankind.” Narrated by Imam Al Bukhari. This saying implies that completeness of one’s faith means that we should love Prophet Muhammad above all else. Loving Prophet Muhammad is an act of worship.
Islam, however, teaches that any kind of worship should be done only according to the laws prescribed by Islam. One could not simply invent his own way of worship. Allah said in the Quran, ‘Today I have perfected your religion and completed My favors upon you and I have chosen Islam as your religion.’ Quran 5:3. This perfection that Allah was talking about in this verse is the completeness of the message. That everything we need to do of the acts of worship has already been taught to us by Prophet Muhammad already. There is nothing about this religion except that it was revealed already.
One of the actions that the deviant people express their love for Prophet Muhammad is their celebration of his birthday. Should we or should we not celebrate Mawlidun Nabi, the birthday of Prophet Muhammad.
THE FIRST CELEBRATION OF THE PROPHET’S BIRTHDAY
This should have been the simplest answer to the question of whether or not we should celebrate Prophet Muhammad’s birthday. Prophet Muhammad did not celebrate his birthday ever. Neither did his companions or the early generation of the Muslims have been reported at least to have celebrated it. The first celebration of Prophet Muhammad’s birthday was by a deviant sect that disguises itself as a form of Islam which is known as the Shiah Islam 300 years after Prophet Muhammad died.
So what’s wrong in celebrating Prophet Muhammad’s birthday? If it’s not enough an evidence that Prophet Muhammad did not celebrate his own birthday ever, let us look at the ramifications of the celebrating his birthday.
IT IS A HERESY
We’ve mentioned before that before Prophet Muhammad died, this religion is already complete and no other forms of worship or celebration should be added to Islam. Imam Malik said, ‘Whoever does a heresy in Islam or an innovation in the acts of worship has accused Prophet Muhammad of betraying the message.’ This means that whoever is celebrating the birthday of Prophet Muhammad is accusing Prophet Muhammad that he did not teach us the whole of this religion and he did not teach us the celebration of his birthday. This is a very serious matter because such a heresy exceeds the limit set upon us by Allah that we should completely submit ourselves to His will and not to our own desires.
Prophet Muhammad said, ‘The best of mankind is my generation, then those who come after them, then those who come after them.’ So do we take ourselves as more knowledgeable than these people who learned the religion from Prophet Muhammad himself?
IMITATING THE NON-MUSLIMS
Islam has its own laws and acts of worship and imitating the Non-Muslim have been prohibited in order to keep Islam in its pristine form whether the Non-Muslims accept or understand our teachings or not. Prophet Muhammad said, ‘You will follow the ways of those nations who were before you, span by span and inch by inch so much so that even if they entered a hole of a mastigure, you would follow them.” We said, “O Allah’s Messenger, do you mean the Jews and the Christians?” He said, “Who else?”
We are not saying this to be against the Christians but it is a belief of even some Christian themselves that much of the Christian teachings deviated from the original teaching of Jesus such as the celebration of his birthday during Christmas. Celebrating the Prophet’s birthday, in essence, is like having a Muslim version of Christmas which should not be the case.
PROHIBITION OF EXCESSIVE VENERATION OF THE PROPHET
Prophet Muhammad said, “Do not exaggerate about me as the Christians exaggerated about the son of Mary. I am only a slave of Allah, so say, ‘The slave of Allah and His Messenger.’” Narrated by Imam Al Bukhari.
During the celebration of Prophet Muhammad’s birthday or in most acts of worship that the deviants who claim to be Muslims do, they are exaggerating Prophet Muhammad into a rank that is more than what he deserves. Celebrating Prophet Muhammad’s birthday elevates him into someone higher than a prophet in the actions that we shall discuss below just like how Christians exaggerate in Jesus by claiming his divinity.
UNISLAMIC ACTIONS DURING THE CELEBRATION
Those who celebrate the Prophet’s birthday quote a saying of Prophet Muhammad as evidence. Prophet Muhammad said regarding fasting a voluntary fast during Mondays, “That is the day on which I was born and the day on which I was entrusted with the Mission or when I was first given Revelation.” Narrated by Imam Muslim.
The deviants equated it to Prophet Muhammad celebrating his birthday every Monday by fasting which is clearly not the case. Even a young child would understand what this saying meant.
But for argument’s sake, supposing that indeed Prophet Muhammad is celebrating his birthday every Monday by fasting, why are those who are celebrating Prophet Muhammad’s birthday not fasting during their celebration? Why is there food? Why is there dancing? Why is there singing? Did Prophet Muhammad do any of these while he is fasting on Mondays?
Also, the deviants believe that Prophet Muhammad joins them, during these celebrations and he blesses them which is clearly a form of cleary heresy and polytheism which invalidates their state of being Muslims.
So this is the summary of the issue, and despite our best efforts to unify the Muslims into the one truth, many prefer misguidance over guidance. The evidence has been given, so decide for yourself.
