Ibn Taymiyyah, Ibn Rajab, Ibn Jawzi & Ibn Kathir on "Mawlid un Nabi" (s)
Hafiz Ibn Kathir and Qadi Shawkani write that: "the Days of Allah' refers to the day on which Allah Almighty has done a favour on mankind. For example, the freedom of Banu Isra'il from the slavery of Fir'awn" [Ibn Kathir,Tafsir Ibn Kathir; Qadi Shawkani, Fath al- Qadir] Friday is a special day for Muslims because this is the day that Allah created Adam (peace be upon him). [Muslim, 'Book of Jumu'a'; also Ta'rikh Ibn Kathir, vol.1, 'Story of Adam'] Hafiz Ibn Kathir writes that Abu Lahab freed Thuwayba on the day that the Prophet (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) was born. [Ibn Kathir, Sirat an-Nabi, 'Birth of the Prophet'] Hafiz Ibn Kathir wrote that: "There was once a King, Abu Sa'id Malik Muzaffar - a man of good deeds.In his kingdom, wherever he saw a lack of water, he would build a well. He also established many Islamic study centres. Every year, he would spend half a million dinars on hosting a gathering of his people to celebrate the birthday of the Prophet (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) [Ta'rikh Ibn Kathir, vol. 13, 'Story of King Abu Sa'id'] Muhammad ibn 'Abd al-Wahhab writes: "Thuwayba, who was the freed slave of Abu Lahab, fed Rasolallah milk. Abu Lahab freed Thuayba at the time when she informed him that a son has been born at his brother's house. After the death of Abu Lahab he was seen in a dream, in which he said 'I am in severe punishment but this is lessened on Mondays'. He showed his forefinger and said 'I will suck from it because it was with this finger that I freed Thuwayba when she informed of the birth of the Prophet, and she also fed the Prophet milk'. "Ibn Jawzi states: 'Abu Lahab is that kafir who has been specially referred to in the Qur'an. If such a person can be rewarded for celebrating the Milad of the Prophet, then imagine how great the reward would be for a Muslim when he celebrates it'" [Ibn 'Abd al- Wahhab, M., Mukhtasar Sirat ar-Rasul, 'Milad an-Nabi'] The above is evidence that celebrating the birthday of the Prophet (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) in the form of a gathering is permissible. Otherwise Hafiz Ibn Kathir would not have referred to it as a good deed and Hafiz Ibn Taymiyya would not have said that there would be a "big reward" for doing so. Some people have the opinion that King Abu Sa'id introduced the celebrating of this occasion. This is not true because Hafiz Ibn Kathir states that in the 5th Century after hijra (AH), a king named Malik Shah also celebrated it with a gathering [Ta'rikh Ibn Kathir, 'Biography of Malik Shah'] Some people even argue that the Holy Prophet was not even born on the 12th Rabi' al-Awwal. This argument is baseless as Hafiz Ibn Kathir has discussed this in Sirat an-Nabi. He states that the majority of the scholars agree that the Prophet was born on the 12th of Rabi' al-Awwal. The evidence of the people who do not accept this is weak [Sirat an-Nabi, vol.1, 'Birth of the Prophet] Muhammad ibn Ishaq states that the Prophet was born on the 12th of Rabi' al-Awwal. [Sira Ibn Hisham, chapter on 'Birth of the Prophet']. Ibn Ishaq was a Tabi'i and was born in 75 AH. His book is the oldest book available on Sira in Islamic history. The first book of Sira was written by Musa ibn 'Uqba. This book is no longer avaiable for reference. The Ahlus Sunnah celebrate the Mawlid of the Prophet (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) with love and respect. If someone does not celebrate it, we do not call them a kafir because the matter of Mawlid does not affect the 'aqida of a person. The celebrating of this should not cause any divisions among Muslims. Hafiz Salah ad-Din Yusuf (a great follower of Hafiz Ibn Taymiyya and Shaykh an-Najdi) writes: "On the birth date of the Prophet (may Allah bless him and grant him peace), to give charity to the poor or to build a masjid - we agree in this type of celebration of Milad" [Yusuf, Salah ad-Din, Mawlid-un-nabi, page 92] Hafiz Ibn Kathir writes: "On the day of the birth of Prophet (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) Shaytan cried a lot" [Ibn Kathir, Sirat an-Nabi, 'Birth of the Prophet'] >From Ibn Kathir's narration we can see that to feel unhappy on the birthday of the Prophet (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) is the way of Shaytan, not the way of a Muslim! Imam at-Tirmidhi writes: "'Abdullah ibn 'Abbas was reciting the third verse of SurahMa'ida from the Qur'an. A Jew, sitting close by, heard it and said to 'Abdullah, 'If that verse which you recited was revealed to us, we would make that day an 'Id day'. 'Abdullah ibn 'Abbas replied, 'When this verse was revealed, there were two 'Ids on that day. One of them was the Hajj day and the other Friday'" [at-Tirmidhi , 'Tafsir'; and also Tafsir Ibn Kathir, Surah 5, verse 3] Ibn al-Jawzi wrote a book called "Mawlid-un-Nabi" in which he gives very strong proofs permitting the celebration of Mawlid. Ibn Taymiyya In his book Iqtida' al Siratul Mustaqeem [Al hadeeth print, p. 266]. Ibn Taymiyya states, "As to what some people have innovated either to compete with Christians on the birth of `Isa u or for the love of the Prophet (saws) and veneration for him, Allah might reward them for their love and ijtihad." As far as we are concerned, we commemorate the Mawlid for no other reason but what Ibn Taymiya said, "Out of love and veneration of the Prophet." May Allah I reward us according to this love and effort, and may Allah I bless the one who said, "Let alone what the Christians claim about their Prophet, and you may praise Muhammed e in any way you want and attribute to his essence all honors and to his status all greatness, for his merit has no limits that any _expression by any speaker might reach." [Imam al-Busayri] Imam Ibn al Jawzi said about the honorable Mawlid, "It is security throughout the year, and glad tidings that all wishes and desires will be fulfilled." "Ibn Kathir said in his 'Tarikh' [History]: 'He [Caliph Muzaffar] used to celebrate the noble Mawlid in Rabi` al-Awwal and organize huge festivities for it. He was a wise king, brave, a fierce fighter, intelligent, learned, and just. May he have mercy on him and ennoble his grave. Shaykh Abu al-Khattab ibn Dihya compiled for him a book on the Mawlid of the Prophet (s) an named it 'al-Tanwir fi Mawlid al-Bashir al-Nadhir' [The Illumination Concerning the Birthday of the Bringer of Glad Tidings and Warner] and the king rewarded him with 1,000 dinars for it. His rule lasted until he died in the year 630 [Hijri] as he was besieging the French in the city of Acca [Acre, Palestine] after a glorious and blameless life.'" Ibn Kathir says in "Dhikra Mawlid Rasul Allah", on page 19: "The Night of the Prophet's (s) birth is a magnificent, noble, blessed and holy night, a night of bliss for the Believers, pure, radiant with lights and of immeasurable price." Imam Al-Hafiz Ibn Al-Jawzi, said in the description of Meelad: "Peace and Tranquillity takes over during that year and a good glad tiding to obtain your wish and inspiration". Ibn Tay'miah said in his book "Necessity of the Right Path", p. 266, 5th line from the bottom of that page, published by Dar Al-Hadith, the following: "As far as what people do during the Mawlid, either as a rival celebration to that which the Christian do during the time of Christ's birthday or as an _expression of their love and admiration and a sign of praise for the Noble Prophet (sallal laahu alaihi wasallam), Allah will surely reward them for such Ij'tiha". He then said: "Although Mawlid was not practised by (Salaf), they should have done so since there was no objection against it from the Shari'ah point of view". Allah's greatest favour on mankind was the birth of the Prophet (may Allah bless him and grant him peace). This means that the Mawlid of the Prophet (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) is one of the "Days of Allah", therefore we should remember it. Hafiz Ibn Rajab writes that: "It is recommended to fast on those days on which Allah Most High has sent blessings on us. The greatest favour which Allah Almighty has bestowed us with, is the sending down of the Prophet (may Allah bless him and grant him peace). Allah Most High says in the Qur'an:'I have favoured you among nations and sent to you a Prophet from among you' [Ibn Rajab, ltaa'if-ul-ma'rif, page 111] The Prophet's uncle al-`Abbas composed poetry praising the birth of the Prophet (s), in which are found the following lines: "When you were born, the earth was shining, and the firmament barely contained your light, and we can pierce through, thanks to that radiance and light and path of guidance." [Suyuti's, Husn al-maqsid, Ibn Kathir's Mawlid, Ibn Hajar's Fath al-Bari] Ibn Kathir mentions the fact that according to the Sahaba, the Prophet (s) praised his own name and recited poetry about himself in the middle of the battle of Hunayn in order to encourage the companions and scare the enemies. That day he said: "I am the Prophet! This is no lie. I am the son of `Abd al- Muttalib!" [Ibn Kathir, Dhikra Mawlid an-Nabi] The Prophet (s) was therefore happy with those who praised him because it is Allah's (swt) order, and he rewarded them from what Allah (swt) was providing him by praying for them and giving them gifts. Ibn Qayyim al-Jawziyya relates that the Prophet (s) prayed that Allah (swt) support Hassan ibn Thabit with ruh al-qudus (the Divine spirit) as long as he would support the Prophet (s) with his poetry. Similarly, the Prophet (s) rewarded Ka`b ibn Zuhayr's (r) poem of praise with a robe (burda). Hasan ibn Thabit (r) recited this poetry about the Prophet (s) on the day of his death saying: I say, and none can find fault with me But one lost to all sense: I shall never cease to praise him. It may be for so doing I shall be forever in Paradise, With the Chosen One for whose support in that I hope, And to attain to that day I devote all my efforts. [Ibn Hisham, notes to his Seerah, p. 797, Karachi, Oxford Press.] Ibn Kathir's, Al bidaya wal nihayat and Dhikra mawlid rasulillah, "Paradise and the skies were decorated and angels moved about in continuous processions, the palace of Chosroes was shaken and the fire of 1000 years ceased to burn." All these events happened on the night and within the moment of the Prophet's (s) birth. So, it is not `eid on a particular day, but it is a universal blessing from Allah (swt) to humanity, for which reason its commemoration is needed. He was the most honored and perfect creation that Allah (swt) created as a servant, and raised him by putting his name with His Name, elevated him on the night of the Ascension and revealed to him the Holy Qur'an. If Allah's (swt) creation rejoiced at the advent of the Prophet (s) on the day of his birth, what about us, for whom his birth is the greatest favor, and the means by which we were granted the religion of Islam? Is it not illogical to say, "We must not rejoice on that day," when all heavens and all creations were doing so, in the most auspicious manner? Muslim narrated that, "Abi Qatada (r) said that the Prophet (s) was asked about fasting on Monday and he said `That was the day I was born.'" This hadith is clear evidence of the importance of the commemoration of the Prophet's (s) birthday through worship. Al-Hafiz ibn Rajab al-Hanbali, in his book Lataif al-maarif (p. 98), in explaining this hadith of Muslim said, "It is good to fast on the days that Allah (swt) honored and favored his servants." It is incumbent not only on Muslims but on all human beings to rejoice in his advent, the day of his birth. Al-Hafiz ibn Rajab al-Hanbali said, "The best favor that Allah (swt) has granted this nation is the birth of Prophet Muhammad (s) when he was sent to humanity. So we review and recall Allah's (swt) favor of sending the Prophet (s) by fasting on that day." Thus, commemoration of the Prophet's (s) birthday by any form of worship, starting with fasting, was derived analogously by the great scholars of jurisprudence, who concluded that all forms of worship according to the Qur'an and Sunnah are meritorious to perform on that day. This includes recitation of Qur'an, loudly or quietly, individually or in congregation, praising the Prophet is amongst the most meritorious forms of worship, feeding people, charity and remembering Allah (swt). ------------------------ Yahoo! Groups Sponsor --------------------~--> Join modern day disciples reach the disfigured and poor with hope and healing http://us.click.yahoo.com/lMct6A/Vp3LAA/i1hLAA/TXWolB/TM --------------------------------------------------------------------~-> *************************************************************************** {Invite (mankind, O Muhammad ) to the Way of your Lord (i.e. Islam) with wisdom (i.e. with the Divine Inspiration and the Qur'an) and fair preaching, and argue with them in a way that is better. Truly, your Lord knows best who has gone astray from His Path, and He is the Best Aware of those who are guided.} (Holy Quran-16:125) {And who is better in speech than he who [says: "My Lord is Allah (believes in His Oneness)," and then stands straight (acts upon His Order), and] invites (men) to Allah's (Islamic Monotheism), and does righteous deeds, and says: "I am one of the Muslims."} (Holy Quran-41:33) The prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said: "By Allah, if Allah guides one person by you, it is better for you than the best types of camels." [al-Bukhaaree, Muslim] The prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) also said, "Whoever calls to guidance will have a reward similar to the reward of the one who follows him, without the reward of either of them being lessened at all." [Muslim, Ahmad, Aboo Daawood, an-Nasaa'ee, at-Tirmidhee, Ibn Maajah] -------------------------------------------------------------------------- All views expressed herein belong to the individuals concerned and do not in any way reflect the official views of IslamCity unless sanctioned or approved otherwise. If your mailbox clogged with mails from IslamCity, you may wish to get a daily digest of emails by logging-on to http://www.yahoogroups.com to change your mail delivery settings or email the moderators at [EMAIL PROTECTED] with the title "change to daily digest". Yahoo! Groups Links <*> To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/islamcity/ <*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] <*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to: http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
