It’s that time of the year. Every year we preach the same thing. At one point, one would consider to record the same speech, so it could be replayed every year. It also means, the same people will still try their hardest to refute every piece of truth that

we are trying to show them, and end up in heated debate. Ah, that got you intrigued. What am I talking about?

Well hello Rabi’ al-awwal! Yes, the month where some muslims carry out innovated acts, in the name of love for the Prophet (Peace Be Upon Him). The prominent actions, that I have seen since I was a kid, until now  are still going strong, are these two :

• Every night, from the 1st until 12th, they will gather in the mosque, after ishaa prayer, for an activity called “zikr”. They will gather and started singing qaseedah from the top of their lungs.

• On the 12th, people will gather and assemble to celebrate the Prophet’s (Peace Be Upon Him) birthday. With banners, they will march and walk around town the whole morning, whilst singing, and reciting the salaawat. Every government office and school, organisation and mosque will take part in this event.

None of these acts make sense. Instead of promoting the religion to the non-believers, we are pushing them away. How is that so? Let’s just say, if we are in the right state of mind, we will start questioning every action, and the logic behind each…

• Tell me, what is the logic of having the jamaah singing (or as they put it, it’s zikr) in the mosque, with the speakers blaring for the entire neighbourhood to hear, after ishaa? For the first 12 days of the month! Has it ever occurred to them that some people might need their sleep? Perhaps some would love to just unwind? Or at home praying and reciting Qu’ran in peace?

• What does walking around town have to do with anyone’s birthday? We are disrupting society, as we are blocking the roads, and shops needed to close down. Need I remind the singing part whilst parading across town? Who does that?
• The “zikr”, salawaat and qaseedah are questionable too.  The salawaat are innovated, the zikr and qaseedah contains questionable lyrics, praising the Prophet (Peace Be Upon Him), to the point to giving him the attributes of Allah The Almighty. Of course, when Arabic is not your mother tongue, you just swallow everything, and take it at face value. As long as it’s in Arabic, it’s acceptable. Weren’t we warned? Not to praise The Prophet (Peace Be Upon Him) exceedingly?

Narrated `Umar (May Allah be Pleased with him):

I heard the Prophet (Peace Be Upon Him) saying, “Do not exaggerate in praising me as the Christians praised the son of Mary, for I am only a Slave. So, call me the Slave of Allah and His Apostle.” (Sahih Bukhari 3445)

• All we need is to do a little research, about who started these traditions. We wouldn’t find any of the companions (May Allah be Pleased with them), or the Salaf-us-saalih, who went around celebrating mawlid. No, we never heard any narrations (be it authentic or fabricated), telling the story of how the companions (May Allah be Pleased with them), marched across town celebrating the Prophet’s (Peace Be Upon Him) birthday. The companions (May Allah be Pleased with them) are the closest to the Prophet (Peace Be Upon Him). Are we saying that we love the Prophet (Peace Be Upon Him) more than them? Hence the excessive celebration?

If research was done, we will realise that this tradition, is started by the Shia. So, whose sunnah are we following? (find our more about the origins of Mawlid here)

The Christians have their own innovated celebrations, in the form of Christmas. They believed that Isa (May peace be upon him) was born on that day. What difference is there from us, when we engage in mawlid celebrations? Weren’t we warned not to follow the Christians?

Abu Sa’id al-Khudri reported Allah’s Messenger (Peace Be Upon Him) as saying:

You would tread the same path as was trodden by those before you inch by inch and step by step so much so that if they had entered into the hole of the lizard, you would follow them in this also. We said: Allah’s Messenger, do you mean Jews and Christians (by your words) “those before you”? He said: Who else (than those two religious groups)? 

(Sahih Muslim 2669)

We were warned, not to innovate, and not to exaggerate in the religion. Yet, it has fallen on deaf ears. We still see people making excuses for every innovated act they have committed. It makes one wonder, if we refused to acknowledge the warnings by Allah’s Messenger (Peace Be Upon Him), what does that make us?

“… ‘O people, beware of exaggeration in religious matters for those who came before you were doomed because of exaggeration in religious matters.’”

(Ibn Majah 3144)

Since we were young, we were indoctrinated that these events are for the Prophet’s (Peace Be Upon Him) birthday. Now that I am able to see things differently, I begin to wonder. Do we really know the Prophet (Peace Be Upon Him)? When was the last time we read the seerah? Did we know that the date of 12th Rabi’ al-Awwal itself wasn’t agreed upon. In fact, one of the known opinion was on the 9th. Then again, there are reasons why the Prophet (Peace Be Upon Him) didn’t acknowledge this date. It wasn’t supposed to have any impact on our worship to Allah (May He be glorified).

We just need to remember, loving the Prophet (Peace Be Upon Him) is not by singing qaseedah. Remembering the Prophet (Peace Be Upon Him) is not by walking across town. We love the Prophet (Peace Be Upon Him) by following his sunnah every day. We remember the Prophet (Peace Be Upon Him) by reciting authentic salawaat, not just on this day, but throughout the year.

Ask yourself this, how do you love the Prophet (Peace Be Upon Him)?

Shaykh ul-Islaam Ibn Taymeeyah [رحمه الله] said regarding the Mawlid of the Prophet [ﷺ]:

❝The Salaf As-Salih did not do this even though they could have done it and there was no prevention in doing so. If the Mawlid was good or seen as beneficial the Salaf [رضي الله عنهم] would have had more of a right to it than us because they were the greatest in love for the Messenger of Allaah [ﷺ] and in respect for him, compared to us, and were more concerned for goodness.

Indeed loving him completely and respecting him is by following him [ﷺ], obeying him and following his commands, reviving his Sunnah outwardly and inwardly and conveying what he was sent with, striving upon that with the heart, hand and tongue, as this was the way of the foremost to embrace Islaam from the Muhajireen, the Ansar and those who followed them in goodness.❞

[Iqtida’ As-Siraat Al-Mustaqeem, (2/619)

Anisah Matasim,