The ruling on celebrating the Prophet’s birthday and other birthdays

To proceed: Many people have repeatedly asked about the ruling on celebrating the birthday of the Prophet ﷺ, standing up for him during it, greeting him with salām, and the other things done at mawālid [birthday celebrations].

Answer

The answer is this: It is not permissible to celebrate the birthday of the Messenger ﷺ or of anyone else, because it is one of the bidaʿ [innovations in the religion], newly introduced into it. The Messenger ﷺ did not do it, nor did his Rightly Guided Caliphs, nor any other of the Companions, may Allah’s good pleasure be upon them, nor the Successors who followed them in excellence in the favoured generations. They were the most knowledgeable of people about the Sunnah, and more complete in their love for the Messenger of Allah ﷺ and in following his law than those who came after them. It is established from the Prophet ﷺ that he said: “Whoever introduces into this affair of ours what is not part of it, it is rejected,” that is, it is thrown back at him. In another ḥadīth he said: “Hold to my Sunnah and the Sunnah of the Rightly Guided, guided Caliphs after me. Cling to it and bite on it with your molars. Beware of newly introduced matters, for every newly introduced matter is a bidʿah [innovation in the religion], and every bidʿah is misguidance.”

These two ḥadīths contain a severe warning against introducing bidaʿ and acting on them. Allah, Glory be to Him and Exalted is He, has said in His clear Book: ﴿وَمَا آتَاكُمُ الرَّسُولُ فَخُذُوهُ وَمَا نَهَاكُمْ عَنْهُ فَانْتَهُوا﴾ “Whatever the Messenger gives you, take it, and whatever he forbids you, refrain from it” [al-Ḥashr: 7]. He, Mighty and Majestic, said: ﴿فَلْيَحْذَرِ الَّذِينَ يُخَالِفُونَ عَنْ أَمْرِهِ أَنْ تُصِيبَهُمْ فِتْنَةٌ أَوْ يُصِيبَهُمْ عَذَابٌ أَلِيمٌ﴾ “So let those who go against his command beware lest a trial befall them or a painful punishment strike them” [al-Nūr: 63]. He, Glory be to Him, said: ﴿لَقَدْ كَانَ لَكُمْ فِي رَسُولِ اللَّهِ أُسْوَةٌ حَسَنَةٌ لِمَنْ كَانَ يَرْجُو اللَّهَ وَالْيَوْمَ الْآخِرَ وَذَكَرَ اللَّهَ كَثِيرًا﴾ “You have indeed had in the Messenger of Allah an excellent example, for whoever hopes for Allah and the Last Day and remembers Allah much” [al-Aḥzāb: 21]. He, Exalted is He, said: ﴿وَالسَّابِقُونَ الْأَوَّلُونَ مِنَ الْمُهَاجِرِينَ وَالْأَنْصَارِ وَالَّذِينَ اتَّبَعُوهُمْ بِإِحْسَانٍ رَضِيَ اللَّهُ عَنْهُمْ وَرَضُوا عَنْهُ وَأَعَدَّ لَهُمْ جَنَّاتٍ تَجْرِي تَحْتَهَا الْأَنْهَارُ خَالِدِينَ فِيهَا أَبَدًا ذَلِكَ الْفَوْزُ الْعَظِيمُ﴾ “As for the first forerunners among the Emigrants and the Helpers, and those who followed them in excellence, Allah is pleased with them and they are pleased with Him. He has prepared for them gardens beneath which rivers flow, where they will abide forever. That is the great triumph” [al-Tawbah: 100]. He, Exalted is He, also said: ﴿الْيَوْمَ أَكْمَلْتُ لَكُمْ دِينَكُمْ وَأَتْمَمْتُ عَلَيْكُمْ نِعْمَتِي وَرَضِيتُ لَكُمُ الْإِسْلَامَ دِينًا﴾ “Today I have perfected your religion for you, completed My favour upon you, and approved Islām as your religion” [al-Māʾidah: 3].

There are many āyāt with this meaning. Introducing mawālid such as these implies that Allah, Glory be to Him, did not perfect the religion for this Ummah, and that the Messenger, ʿalayhi al-ṣalātu wa-l-salām, did not convey what the Ummah ought to act upon, until these later people came and introduced into Allah’s law what He has not permitted, claiming that it brings them closer to Allah. Without doubt, this carries great danger and amounts to an objection against Allah, Glory be to Him, and against His Messenger ﷺ. Allah, Glory be to Him, has perfected the religion for His servants and completed His favour upon them.

The Messenger ﷺ conveyed the message clearly. He left no path leading to Paradise and away from the Fire without making it clear to the Ummah, as is established in the authentic ḥadīth from ʿAbd Allāh ibn ʿAmr, raḍiya Allāhu ʿanhu, who said: The Messenger of Allah ﷺ said: “Allah never sent a prophet but that it was his duty to guide his nation to the best of what he knew for them and to warn them of the worst of what he knew for them.” Muslim narrated it in his Ṣaḥīḥ.

It is known that our Prophet ﷺ is the best of the prophets and their Seal, and the most complete of them in conveying the message and giving sincere counsel. If celebrating mawālid were part of the religion that Allah, Glory be to Him, is pleased with, the Messenger ﷺ would have made it clear to the Ummah, or done it in his lifetime, or his Companions, raḍiya Allāhu ʿanhum, would have done it. Since none of that happened, it is known that it has nothing to do with Islām; rather, it is one of the newly introduced matters against which the Messenger ﷺ warned his Ummah, as mentioned in the two ḥadīths above. Other ḥadīths with the same meaning have come, such as his saying ﷺ in the Friday khuṭbah: “To proceed: the best speech is the Book of Allah, the best guidance is the guidance of Muḥammad ﷺ, the worst of matters are the newly introduced ones, and every bidʿah is misguidance.” Imām Muslim narrated it in his Ṣaḥīḥ.

The āyāt and ḥadīths on this subject are many. A group of scholars have explicitly condemned mawālid and warned against them, acting on the proofs mentioned and others. Some later scholars took a different view and permitted them, provided they contain nothing objectionable, such as excess regarding the Messenger of Allah ﷺ, the mixing of women with men, the use of instruments of entertainment, and other things the pure Sharīʿah condemns. They thought them to be among the good bidaʿ.

The principle of the Sharīʿah is to refer whatever people dispute over back to the Book of Allah and the Sunnah of His Messenger Muḥammad ﷺ, as Allah, Mighty and Majestic, said: ﴿يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا أَطِيعُوا اللَّهَ وَأَطِيعُوا الرَّسُولَ وَأُولِي الْأَمْرِ مِنْكُمْ فَإِنْ تَنَازَعْتُمْ فِي شَيْءٍ فَرُدُّوهُ إِلَى اللَّهِ وَالرَّسُولِ إِنْ كُنْتُمْ تُؤْمِنُونَ بِاللَّهِ وَالْيَوْمِ الْآخِرِ ذَلِكَ خَيْرٌ وَأَحْسَنُ تَأْوِيلًا﴾ “O you who believe, obey Allah and obey the Messenger and those in authority among you. If you dispute over anything, refer it to Allah and the Messenger, if you believe in Allah and the Last Day. That is better and finer in taʾwīl [final outcome]” [al-Nisāʾ: 59]. He, Exalted is He, said: ﴿وَمَا اخْتَلَفْتُمْ فِيهِ مِنْ شَيْءٍ فَحُكْمُهُ إِلَى اللَّهِ﴾ “Whatever you differ over, its judgement rests with Allah” [al-Shūrā: 10].

We have referred this issue, the celebration of mawālid, to the Book of Allah, Glory be to Him, and found that it commands us to follow the Messenger ﷺ in what he brought, warns us against what he forbade, and tells us that Allah, Glory be to Him, has perfected this Ummah’s religion for it. This celebration is not among what the Messenger ﷺ brought, so it is not part of the religion that Allah has perfected for us and in which He has commanded us to follow the Messenger.

We have also referred it to the Sunnah of the Messenger ﷺ, and we did not find in it that he did it or commanded it, or that his Companions, raḍiya Allāhu ʿanhum, did it. From this we knew that it is not part of the religion; rather, it is one of the newly introduced bidaʿ, and an imitation of the People of the Book, the Jews and the Christians, in their festivals. This makes it clear to anyone with the least insight, desire for the truth and fairness in seeking it, that celebrating mawālid is not part of the religion of Islām; rather, it is one of the newly introduced bidaʿ which Allah, Glory be to Him, and His Messenger ﷺ have ordered to be abandoned and guarded against.

A sensible person should not be deceived by the large number of people who do it in every land, for the truth is not known by the number of those who do something, but by the proofs of the Sharīʿah, as He, Exalted is He, said about the Jews and the Christians: ﴿وَقَالُوا لَنْ يَدْخُلَ الْجَنَّةَ إِلَّا مَنْ كَانَ هُودًا أَوْ نَصَارَى تِلْكَ أَمَانِيُّهُمْ قُلْ هَاتُوا بُرْهَانَكُمْ إِنْ كُنْتُمْ صَادِقِينَ﴾ “They said, ‘None will enter Paradise except one who is a Jew or a Christian.’ Those are their wishful fancies. Say, ‘Bring your proof, if you are truthful’” [al-Baqarah: 111]. He, Exalted is He, said: ﴿وَإِنْ تُطِعْ أَكْثَرَ مَنْ فِي الْأَرْضِ يُضِلُّوكَ عَنْ سَبِيلِ اللَّهِ﴾ “If you obey most of those on earth, they will lead you astray from the path of Allah” [al-Anʿām: 116], to the end of the āyah.

Moreover, most of these celebrations of mawālid, besides being a bidʿah, are not free of other objectionable things, such as the mixing of women with men, songs and musical instruments, the consumption of intoxicants and drugs, and other evils. Something graver still may occur in them: major shirk. This happens through excess regarding the Messenger of Allah ﷺ or others of the awliyāʾ [allies of Allah], calling upon him, seeking his rescue, asking him for support, believing that he knows the unseen, and similar acts of kufr that many people commit when they celebrate the birthday of the Prophet ﷺ and of others whom they call awliyāʾ. It is authentically established from the Messenger of Allah ﷺ that he said: “Beware of excess in religion, for what destroyed those before you was excess in religion.” He, ʿalayhi al-ṣalātu wa-l-salām, also said: “Do not extol me excessively, as the Christians extolled the son of Maryam. I am only a servant, so say: the servant of Allah and His Messenger.” Al-Bukhārī recorded it in his Ṣaḥīḥ, from the ḥadīth of ʿUmar, raḍiya Allāhu ʿanhu.

One of the strangest and most astonishing things is that many people are eager and energetic in attending these innovated celebrations and defend them, yet stay away from the Jumuʿah prayers and the congregational prayers that Allah has made obligatory on them. They pay no attention to this and do not see that they have committed a grave wrong. There is no doubt that this comes from weakness of īmān, lack of insight, and the many kinds of sins and acts of disobedience that have rusted over the hearts. We ask Allah for well-being for ourselves and for all the Muslims.

Among these things too is that some of them suppose that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ attends the mawlid [celebration of the Prophet’s birthday], and so they stand up for him, greeting and welcoming him. This is among the greatest of falsehoods and the ugliest of ignorance. The Messenger ﷺ does not come out of his grave before the Day of Resurrection; he does not make contact with anyone, nor does he attend people’s gatherings. Rather, he remains in his grave until the Day of Resurrection, and his soul is in the highest ʿIlliyyīn [the loftiest abode in Paradise] with his Lord, in the Abode of Honour, as Allah, Exalted is He, said in Sūrat al-Muʾminīn: ﴿ثُمَّ إِنَّكُمْ بَعْدَ ذَلِكَ لَمَيِّتُونَ * ثُمَّ إِنَّكُمْ يَوْمَ الْقِيَامَةِ تُبْعَثُونَ﴾ “Then, after that, you will surely die. Then, on the Day of Resurrection, you will be raised” [al-Muʾminūn: 15-16]. The Prophet ﷺ said: “I am the first for whom the grave will be split open on the Day of Resurrection, and I am the first to intercede and the first whose intercession is accepted.” May the best blessings and peace from his Lord be upon him.

This noble āyah, the noble ḥadīth, and the āyāt and ḥadīths of the same meaning all show that the Prophet ﷺ and the rest of the dead come out of their graves only on the Day of Resurrection. This is agreed upon by the scholars of the Muslims, with no dispute among them. Every Muslim should therefore take heed of these matters and beware of the bidaʿ and superstitions introduced by the ignorant and their like, for which Allah has sent down no authority. Allah is the One whose help is sought, on Him we rely, and there is no might and no power except through Him.

As for sending blessings and peace upon the Messenger of Allah ﷺ, it is among the best acts of devotion and among the righteous deeds, as Allah, Exalted is He, said: ﴿إِنَّ اللَّهَ وَمَلَائِكَتَهُ يُصَلُّونَ عَلَى النَّبِيِّ يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا صَلُّوا عَلَيْهِ وَسَلِّمُوا تَسْلِيمًا﴾ “Allah and His angels send blessings upon the Prophet. O you who believe, send blessings upon him and greet him with abundant peace” [al-Aḥzāb: 56]. The Prophet ﷺ said: “Whoever sends blessings upon me once, Allah sends blessings upon him ten times for it.” It is prescribed at all times and emphasised at the end of every prayer; indeed, according to a group of scholars it is obligatory in the final tashahhud [the testimony recited while sitting in prayer] of every prayer. It is an emphasised Sunnah in many places, among them after the adhān, when he, ʿalayhi al-ṣalātu wa-l-salām, is mentioned, and on the day of Jumuʿah and its night, as many ḥadīths indicate.

We ask Allah to grant us and all the Muslims understanding of His religion and steadfastness upon it, and to favour everyone with adherence to the Sunnah and wariness of bidʿah. He is Generous, Noble. May Allah send blessings and peace upon our Prophet Muḥammad, his family and his Companions¹.