Celebrating the Prophet's birthday is an innovation

11/11/2018| IslamWeb

Question:

What is the ruling regarding those who celebrate the birthday of the Prophet  sallallaahu  `alayhi  wa  sallam ( may  Allah exalt his mention )?

Fatwa:
 
All perfect praise be to Allah, The Lord of the Worlds. I testify that there is none worthy of worship except Allah, and that Muhammad  sallallaahu  `alayhi  wa  sallam ( may  Allah exalt his mention ) is His slave and Messenger.
 
Allah The Almighty Says (what means): {Say, [O Muhammad], "If you should love Allah, then follow me, [so] Allah will love you and forgive you your sins.} [Quran 3:31] In a Hadeeth (saying of Prophet  sallallaahu  `alayhi  wa  sallam ( may  Allah exalt his mention )) on the authority of 'Aa'ishah  may  Allah  be  pleased  with  her the Prophet  sallallaahu  `alayhi  wa  sallam ( may  Allah exalt his mention ) said: that "whoever introduces something new to Islam which does not belong to it, it will be rejected and Allah The Almighty will not accept it from him." [Al-Bukhari and Muslim]
 
In a Hadeeth on the authority of Jabir Ibn Abdullah   may  Allah  be  pleased  with  him the Prophet  sallallaahu  `alayhi  wa  sallam ( may  Allah exalt his mention ) used to mention in his sermons that the "best of sayings is the Book of Allah The Almighty, and the best of guidance is that of Muhammad  sallallaahu  `alayhi  wa  sallam ( may  Allah exalt his mention ) and the worst of matters is innovations in religion and that every religious innovation is misguidance." [Muslim]
 
It was not authentically narrated from the Prophet  sallallaahu  `alayhi  wa  sallam ( may  Allah exalt his mention ) or the rightly-guided Caliphs that they celebrated the birthday of the Prophet  sallallaahu  `alayhi  wa  sallam ( may  Allah exalt his mention ) or did anything to that effect. If the celebration of his birthday was a good thing, they would have done that before anyone else. In the spirit of observing the noble Sunnah (rituals of Prophet  sallallaahu  `alayhi  wa  sallam ( may  Allah exalt his mention )) and abiding by the Quran, Muslims should not introduce any matter that does not belong to the Book of Allah, the Quran, or the Sunnah of the Prophet  sallallaahu  `alayhi  wa  sallam ( may  Allah exalt his mention ).
 
If they were to do so, they would fail to apply his  sallallaahu  `alayhi  wa  sallam ( may  Allah exalt his mention )  Sunnah and convey his  sallallaahu  `alayhi  wa  sallam ( may  Allah exalt his mention )  message, while occupying themselves with trivial matters. It is not permissible for any Muslim, irrespective of his  sallallaahu  `alayhi  wa  sallam ( may  Allah exalt his mention )  status, to propagate religious innovations or practice them, for this was the norm of the righteous predecessors of this Ummah (Nation), and affirmed by the diligent and prominent Imams  may  Allah  be  pleased  with  them all.
 
Finally, we implore Allah The Almighty to guide us to follow in their footsteps and hold fast to the straight path without addition or deletion. Allah The Almighty is the guide to success.
 
Allah Knows best.
 
Fatwa answered by: The Fatwa Center at Islamweb

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