The Reality of Meelaad (Edited)

7/30/2019 The Reality of Meelaad (Edited)

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THE REALITY OF MEELAAD IN THE LIGHT OF THESHARIAHMufti Siraj DesaiFirst Edition January 2013

Publication No. B08/13Al Farouq Publications240 Haworthia Drive, Malabar, Port Elizabeth, South AfricaPO Box 4280, Korsten, Port Elizabeth, 6014Telephone: +27 (0) 41 457 1501Fax: +27 (0) 41 457 1326Mobile: +27 (0) 84 574 9891

Email: [email protected] | www.askmufti.co.zaAl Farouq Publications is a department of Darul Uloom Abu Bakr, Port Elizabeth,

South Africa

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CONTENTS PAGEThe Blessed Birth he of Our Rasool 7Bidah according to Shariah 8

Customary Meelaad Celebrations 9Answering a common argument 10The Virtue of the Noble Birth is not new 11Amar bil Maroof and Nahi anil MUnkar 13Meelaad function in perspective 14

Only Two Eids for Muslims 15SECTION ONE: Violations in Meelaad 16

Qiyaam or Standing for Meelaad 19

False Aqaaid and Innovations 20Imitating the Kuffar 20

History and Origins of Meelaad 21The Birthday of Nabi Eesa 22

When was the practice of Meelaad started 22Driving the Meelaad process 23The first promoter of Meelaad 24The first praise writer of Meelaad 26A Summary of the Meelaad origin 27The origin of Qiyaam or standing 28SECTION TWO: Erroneous arguments 29The ordinary nature of Our Masters Birth 35Greater than his Birth was his Mission 36SECTION THREE: Q & A on Maulood 40SECTION FOUR: Miscellaneous Arguments 51Qiyaam or Standing 51

The Shaafi Mazh-hab and Meelaad 54The principle of abandonment 55Rasoolullah used to fast on Mondays 57Why Sahaaba never celebrated Meelaad 58Why Rasoolullah never did Meelaad 585

Lighter Punishment for Abu Lahab 59

Rasoolullah made Aqeeqa for himself 60Bidah condemned in the Quran 61

The Mass Meelaad Program 63


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The Divinely imposed fight against Bidah 646

_____ _ __ __ ___ _____ ____ ___ ____ ____

INTRODUCTION

In February last year two functions dubbed Meelaad Jalsas wereheld at the Movement Hall in Port Elizabeth. The first gathering

was in celebration of the Birth of Rasoolullah_, while the secondwas to celebrate the Day of Tasmiyah or Naming ofRasoolullah

_. This get-together was attended by local Imams as well as speakersfrom other parts of South Africa and abroad. This year again it

appears the same functions will be organised in similar fashion.

Many Muslims are attending these Meelaad celebrations while being

totally of the Islamic status and ruling in this regard. It is imperative

for a Muslim to acquaint himself with the law of Shariah

before going headlong into any venture, regardless how good and

outwardly noble it might seem.In this booklet, we examine the Islamic nature and validity of such

functions in order to answer questions pertaining to its permissibility.

It must be born in mind that the issue of Meelaad, also

called Maulood has been discussed in much detail by Ulema of

the past; so we shall certainly repeat some of their erudite arguments

in this debate, while at the same time provide answers to

new arguments that have evolved over recent years. The writer

has endeavoured to be more objective, logical, and pragmatic in

the treatment of this issue, in the hope that reason and understanding

will prevail over emotion and dogmatism.

We appeal to readers to approach this issue with an open mind,

for: sometimes years of indulgence in a particular practice makes itdifficult to suddenly accept a new ruling that overturns cherished

values and long-maintained views. May Allah Taala grant us all

true guidance and acceptance of the truth, aameen.7

THE BLESSED BIRTH OF OUR RASOOL_At the outset, we must make it clear that we do not oppose any form of

expression of joy and happiness over the birth of Our Master and Rasool_. How dare we do that! The remembrance of Our Rasool_is an act ofworship, and His Blessed Birth is one of the greatest Bounties ever to be

conferred on this World. How dare we condemn the vocalization of lovefor Our Master, or the display of joy on his Advent into this world! Torevise the story of that Noble Birth, and to rehearse the Seerah of OurBeloved Master_is an act of tremendous virtue and merit. Such a practicedraws immense reward and blessings, and even wards off calamities.The observance of Durood is part of our worship and an integral facet ofour Iemaan. Sending salawaat and salaam upon Allahs Beloved Messenger_are acts commanded by Almighty Allah. No Muslim, no matter howweak in iemaan, will deny this. The Name of Our Rasool_cannot betaken without uttering salaat and salaam. Readers should, therefore, notmisconstrue any criticism of meelad celebrations as an opposition tosalawaat and salaam, or as an objection to reviving and revising theBlessed Birth of Our Master_. It is imperative that we separate the twoissues and view them objectively.


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HAZRAT ABDULLAH BIN MASUD AND ZHIKRULLAHOn one occasion, Abdullah bin Masud_came across a group of peoplein the Musjid of Kufa who were engaged in a collective zhikr. He reprimanded

them for perpetrating an act of bidah so soon after the demiseof Rasoolullah_and he had them evicted from the musjid. This actionof Ibni Masud_was directed against what he perceived as a bidah. Willthis be considered a condemnation of the zhikr of Allah? Will any intelligentperson claim that Ibni Masud_was lashing out at people engagedin the zhikr of Allah? Certainly not! Ibni Masuds reprimand was forthe way they were conducting the zikr of Allah, not for the zhikr itself.Likewise, any criticism levelled in this booklet against meelaad celebrationsmust be considered in the same context. Our argument is notagainst salaat and salaam, but against the method adopted to expressthis great act of worship and the accompanying haraam factors that actuallytaint this glorious expression. We, therefore, appeal to readers,8

especially those who support or indulge in these meelad celebrations to

read the contents of this booklet with an open and clear mind, with aview to understanding truth from falsehood, and not to jump to hastyconclusions based on emotion and impulse.

BIDAH ACCORDING TO SHARIAHAs an introduction to the discussion, it is necessary to broach the topic ofbidah in the light of Shariah. A simple definition of bidah is as follows:Bidah is any new act for which a cause or reason existed during the first threeeras of Islam and in spite of which that act was not done during those eras byRasoolullah, or the Sahaaba, or the Ulema who succeeded them . (Sunnat andBidah by Mufti Shafee Uthmani sahib/ )Application of the above definition in examples:Athaan for Eid salaah: The reason for athaan is to invite people towards

the five daily salaah. This reason existed even during the timeof Rasoolullah_, for even then there was a need to invite people forEid salaah. Yet, in spite of this need, athaan for Eid salaah was neverpractised by him or his Sahaaba. To introduce this today will be defineda bidah.Dua after Janaaza Salaah: The need for dua existed in the time of Rasoolullah_and his Sahaaba as it exists today, but they never madeany dua after Janaza salaah. To introduce dua after Janaaza Salaahtoday will fall under the definition of bidah.Celebrating the First Revelation: It is commonly known that the first

revelation was Surah Alaq and occurred on the 17th night ofRamadaan. Elsewhere in this treatise we will prove from the Holy

Quran that the Bounty of Risaalat was an even greater Blessing to thisUmmat than the Noble Birth. Risaalat means the appointment of OurMaster as a Rasool of Allah. Today if someone decides to commemorate

the day of the first revelation as a day of eid or a day of celebration,such an act will be regarded as a bidah because the basis ofsuch an act existed in the time of Rasoolullah_and his Sahaaba, yetthese great luminaries never conducted such celebrations. If anyone

had a need to celebrate the first wahi it should be the Sahaaba whohad every reason to thank Allah for the Wahi of The Quran since they9

were the first beneficiaries and first recipients of that revelation. Theneed for such a celebration and commemoration existed even then,yet such an act was never practiced, nor envisaged, not even encouraged.In matters like these, it would be the height of foolishness to


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claim these practices had never occurred to the minds of the Sahaabaor that they had never thought of celebrating events of this nature.Deen was a way of life for the Sahaaba; pleasing Allah was their ultimategoal; they had left no stone unturned in the attainment of thisobjective. Sahaaba had acquired all good of Shariah that there was torequire. In this regard see the statement of Hazrat Huzhaifa_furtheron.

THE CUSTOMARY MEELAAD CELEBRATIONSThe present-day meelaad celebrations can be easily judged on the basisof this definition of bidah. The purpose of meelaad is to express joy andhappiness over the Blessed Birth of Rasoolullah_and this purpose existedeven in the time of the Sahaaba. In fact, the love the Sahaaba hadfor The Master_was far superior and more intense than the collectivelove of the entire Ummat. They had a greater need and stronger motivationto rejoice over the Noble Birth, yet not a single Sahaabi ever conducted

a function to celebrate or commemorate the Noble Birth. In fact,the meelaad was unheard of for the first four centuries of Islam. In spite

of their love and their zeal to express such love for The Messenger ofAllah_, they never celebrated an act of this nature. The same could besaid of the Ulema and Grand Scholars who came after the Sahaaba. They,too, were among the forerunners in practising Shariah and championingits cause. Yet, these intellectual giants and spiritual luminaries neverintroduced an act of this nature to the Muslims. Were these saintly peopleunacquainted with the greatness of this Noble Birth?

THE STATEMENT OF HUZHAIFA BIN YAMAAN_Hazrat Huzhaifa bin Yaman_said: if An act of worship was not done by the

Sahaaba, then you, too, should not do it, for indeed the former people (i.e. theAshaab of Rasoolullah_) did not leave for the latter people any scope (to makeadditions to the Deen)

10ANSWERING A COMMON MEELAAD ARGUMENTSome learned men argue that if the Shariah is silent on a particular actand the prohibition of that act is not mentioned in the Holy Quran or in

The Sunnah or in the lives of the Sahaaba, then it must be permissible.They invoke the Fiqhi principle that Ibaahat (permissibility) is the originalrule in all things. On this basis they claim that meelaad celebrations havenot been directly or explicitly prohibited by the Quran and Sunnah so itcannot be haraam.There are several answers to this objection. Firstly, the Fiqhi principlecited above is not as straight-forward as it seems. If it was, then thedoor of innovation will be flung wide open. Every Zaid, Bakr, and Amarwould step forward to introduce a new act of worship into Islam andjustify it by claiming that the Quran and Sunnah are silent on the matter;

hence, it should be permissible. Surely, such a concept makes a totalmockery of Shariah Law and reduces our Deen to( a) shambles. A study ofthe books of Fiqh will reveal that this rule applies in the following circumstances:a) Edible items (foods) that were not commented on by Shariah;b) Basic needs of people that are freely available, such as water,grass, wood, etc.c) Business practices and transactions that were in vogue in the timeof Rasoolullah_and were allowed to continue.d) This principle does not apply to acts of worship like salaah, zhikr,

tilaawat of Quran, fasting, Hajj, etc. The method and mode of theseacts were already finalized in the time of Our Rasool_. Salawaat


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and Duroodfallwithin this category; hence, one cannot argue thatsilence of Shariah on a new method of Durood is proof of permissibility.The Shariah is silent on celebrating a Day of Wahiorthe Dayof Hijrat(which was another exceedingly joyous occasion for theSahaaba). Likewise, Shariah is silent on celebrating the last revelation,which was another major event in Islam. In fact there iscategorical proof in the hadith of the significance of this moment.In spite of such silence, celebrating any one of the abovementionedthree events would be deemed an act foreign to Islam andunacceptable.11

Secondly, a practice or event that existed in the time of Rasoolullah_and his Companions, but was not given any special significance or statusin terms of Shariah, will not fall under this rule. We gave examples ofthis under the explanation and meaning of bidah earlier. Permissibilityin the absence of categorical prohibition can only be considered whenthe reason and motive for such an act never existed in the time when

Revelation was in progress.Thirdly, permissibility of an act on which Shariah is silent is only tenablewhen that act does not clash with other principles of Shariah and does

not comprise factors that are haraam or makrooh.Fourthly, the silence of all the Sahaaba and the silence of all the great

Scholars of Islam who came after the Sahaaba on the non-observance ofMeelaad is itself a form ofIjmaa orconsensus that this is NOT a practiceof Shariah. Learned people are well aware that Ijmaaor Consensus ofOpinion is a strong Sharee Proof.In the light of the aforesaid we can safely say that the silence of Shariahon these matters actually proves that these activities are not sanctionedby Shariah and have not been institutionalised by Islam.

THE VIRTUE OF NOBLE BIRTH IS NOT NEWThe Birth of Rasoolullah_is nothing new to this Ummat; this was notan event that happened recently, as every sane person knows. The NobleBirth happened before the eyes of the Arabs, and that incident was wellknown to all the Sahaaba. Historians and Scholars of Hadith have writtenabout it for centuries after the Sahaaba. It follows that any activityrelated to this event must be sanctioned by Allah and His Messenger. If,for arguments sake, the Noble Birth was a new event that the Sahaabahad never experienced, like some of the modern-day inventions affectingour Deen, then it would be perfectly acceptable to draw analogiesbetween it and other injunctions of Shariah in order to arrive at a ruling.It would then be permissible to invent activities related to it based on

Islamic principles and precedents. If there is no law in Quran and Sunnahto govern a new matter that affects the Ummat today, then it is imperativeto use Qiyaas or analogical reasoning to arrive at a conclusiveruling on the new issue. This is precisely the purpose and object of Qi12

yaas; to create rulings for matters that never existed before. Examples ofthis are numerous, such as modern business transactions; modern-daybanking and Islamic finance; the use of modern technology and means oftransport; the ruling on television, modern musical instruments, andnew methods of gambling; studying of various secular sciences; new

forms of employment; establishment of Islamic Institutes and seminars;modern methods of printing Qurans and Islamic Books; publishing of

Qurans with translation into a multitude of different languages; spreadingIslam via the internet and other electronic means; the list is endless.Since all these activities were not ruled upon by Quran and Sunnah because


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they never existed during those times, it will be necessary to invokethe principle of Qiyaas to formulate rulings for them. It is indicativeof the comprehensive and encompassing nature of our Shariah thatthrough the principle of Qiyaas based on Quran and Sunnah, we can formulaterules and regulations for any new issue that arises in any givenera. That makes our Shariah so complete and allows the Ummat to practisetheir Deen till the end of time.The folly of the meelaad proponents is that they use such analogical reasoningin support of meelaad when the reality is that the silence ofShariah on a matter that existed during the period of revelation is itselfa ruling on the matter. When Allah remained silent on an issue, it is brazenlyfoolish to invent acts of worship related to such a matter. WhenAllah Taala commanded the fast ofshoora and the commemoration of

Eidul-Adh-haa, but remained silent on the celebration of Meelad, it wassurely not due to mere coincidence or any oversight on His part

(naoothu billah). It simply meant that in the Eyes of Allah the commemorationof the Noble Birth was not going to be part of Shariah. This

answers the common claim of the Meelad group that if Shariah is silenton a certain activity then it such a sign of its permissibility.

SILENCE ON RIBAAHazrat Umar_is reported to have said that Rasoolullah_left thisworld without explaining fully the verse of Riba. He further instructedthat people should, therefore, avoid ribaa and everything that is remotelyconnected to ribaa. (Tafseer Ibni Katheer) Today if anyone adds a13

new definition to ribaa thus legalizing modern-day usury and intereston the basis that the Shariah is silent on the exact explanation of Ribaa

(as is evident from this statement of Sayyiduna Umar_), then such aclaim will be vehemently rejected and opposed. The underlying reason

for such rejection will be that the concept and practice of Ribaa existedin the time of Rasoolullah_and his Sahaaba, and any silence on thismatter was not due to forgetfulness or oversight, and consequently, isnot a license for anyone afterwards to invent new rules and laws relatedto ribaa. Let the issue of meelaad be understood in the same vein. Thefact the Shariah had not attributed any significance or special activity tothe day of meelaad should be a loud and clear statement to the supportersof meelad that they, too, should refrain from rushing in where angelsfear to treadby assigning to the Noble Birth acts of worship without Divinesanction. It is not permissible to invent a virtue for any event thatShariah has left unmentioned, when it is well established that such anevent existed during the era of Prophethood and Divine Revelation.

And Allah Taala knows best.THE INJUNCTION OF AMAR-BIL MAROOF AND NAHIANIL MUNKARAmar bil-maroof and nahi anil munkar are salient features of this Deenthat provide a buffer against bidah and interpolation of Shariah. One ofthe main reasons why the religions of the Christians and Jews were adulterated

and interpolated, and at times even mutilated beyond recognition,was the neglect of their leaders to command good and condemn

evil. Allah Taala states in the Holy Quran:And they (the Jews and Christians)never prevented each other from the sins that they committed; despicableindeed is that which they perpetrated. (Surah 5, verse 79)

Commenting on this verse, Rasoolullah_stated: When the Bani Israel fellinto sin, their Ulema prohibited them, but they disobeyed the Ulema. The Ulema


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then continued associating with them in their gatherings and market places;they ate and drank with them, until Allah merged the hearts of the Ulema withthe ordinary people (so they all started thinking alike in sin and transgression).And Allah cursed them on the tongues of Dawood and Eesa son of Maryam(alayhimus-salaam). This is because of their sin and transgression. The narra14tor of this hadith says that Rasoolullah_was reclining when he said theabove. Suddenly he sat up and exclaimed: By that Being in Whose Hand liesmy life! This duty shall not be neglected until you turn people (forcefully) towardsthe Haqq! (Musnad Ahmed)The merging of hearts is a punishment from Allah Taala for neglectingthe sacred trust of prohibiting sin and evil. People, even Ulema, eventuallybecome desensitized towards evil and transgression. The word Itidaaused in the above aayat refers to an act that transgresses the limitsset by Allah Taala. This is what happens in bidah. Perpetrators of bidahcommit excesses in Deen and fall into extremism. Allah then punishedthe Jews and Christians by stripping their iemaan of any sensitivity towardsbidah. Gradually, false beliefs were tolerated, accepted, and incorporated

into their Deen, thus paving the way for total adulteration oftheir original Shariah.It is thus established that bidah is an insidious and sinisterplan hatchedby Shaytaan to bring about the adulteration of Deen. Since the time ofthe Sahaaba (radhiyallahu anhum), the fight against bidah was aggressivelymaintained, and thanks to these efforts Islam still exists in itspristine pure state as it was revealed to Our Master_.Rasoolullah_said: He who observes an evil should change it with his hand;and if he is not able to do so, then (he should change it) with his tongue; and if heis (even) incapable of this, then (he should at least detest it) with his heart, andthis is the lowest form of iemaan. (Saheeh Bukhari and Muslim)

THE MEELAAD FUNCTION IN PERSPECTIVE

The Meelaad functions in vogue today, without exception, comprise entertainmentin the form of naat recitals to the beat of drums, while theaudience simultaneously enjoy refreshments and furtive glances at thewomen who parade in front of the stage in their refinement, some withhair completely uncovered, intermingling of men and women, and all

the while the Praises of Rasoolullah_are being sung with great alacrityand purpose. In some Meelaad functions women will render the naat

recitals, or groups of both men and women will do the recitals. Jamaatsare formed specially for this purpose, in resemblance of the kuffar stylebands. Looking at Meelad celebrations in some specific areas one would15

find dancing as well, as part of the zhikr of certain misguided Sufi sects.

In addition there is photography and videoing of the event.Over and above these practices, there are also the false beliefs that accompanythe meelad that needs to be examined, as well as statements

made by speakers at the event. For this reason we have divided this treatiseinto several sections. The first section will deal with condemnationof the evils that happened at that gathering, the second section will refutethe false statements and fallacious reasoning of the speakers, especiallythose of Shaikh Fakhrud-Deen Uwaisi and Shaikh Yahya Ninowy,who were the keynote speakers at this event. The remaining two sectionsare dedicated to common arguments for and against Meelaad, andQuestions and Answers pertaining to Meelaad. All arguments andcounter-arguments this shall be done in the light of Quran and Sunnah,Insha Allah.

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ONLY TWO EIDS FOR MUSLIMSIt is reported in Saheeh Bukhari that when Rasoolullah

arrived in Madinah after the Hijrat he found the

people there (including Muslims) celebrating two

festival days. According to commentators these two

days were Neeroz and Maharjaanfestive days ofthe Persiansthat were being celebrated since before

Islam. (Aunul-Mabood). The Messenger of Allahremarked: Allah has replaced these two dayswith som ething far greater: Eidul-Fi t r and Eidul

Adh-haaFrom this hadith we learn that Muslims have only

the two Eids that are celebrated in a specific way.16

SECTION ONEVIOLATION OF THE SUNNAHThe biggest sin committed at this function is the violation of the Sunnahof Our Master_. This was a gathering to ostensibly express love for theMessenger of Allah, yet the participants, with the full blessing and sanctionof the learned Scholars, violated Our Masters sunnah in every waypossible.

1) VIOLATION OF HIJAAB OR PURDAHIn the Port Elizabeth Meelaad event it was observed that men andwomen sat right next to each other, in one tent. They brushed past oneanother and were in full view of each other; women were seated right infront of the stage upon which sat all the delegates and leaders of themeelaad function. At one stage, a woman even walked onto the stage for

some reason. The sunnah of Hazrat Muhammad Mustafa_, whose remembrancethey came to rekindle, was totally abandoned. Hazrat Muhammad_taught us hijaab; he brought about the segregation of menand women; he practically observed the purdah with the women of hisUmmat, who were all his spiritual daughters. The Books of Hadith arereplete with examples and incidents of such purdah. In Saheehul-Bukhari the marriage of Hazrat Zaynab (radhiyallahu anha) is mentioned

in detail. At that stage the law of Hijaab had not yet been revealed,so men and women were all seated together in one room. At theend of this Nikah, Allah Taala revealed the law of Hijaab and, henceforth,men and women were not allowed to intermingle. After that therewas not a single instance in the life of Our Beloved Master_where men

and women sat together in one room or enclosure, in a manner thatthey could see each other. It is equally haraam for women to see men, asit is for men to look at women. This teaching of Rasoolullah_was sadlyand actively trampled upon in this so-called Zikr-e-Rasool gathering.

2) PHOTOGRAPHY AND VIDEOINGThe whole event was televised. Photographs were taken of the wholeproceedings; participants were using their mobile phones to video the17

event. Rasoolullah_came to stamp out picture making and photography,but the meelaad celebrators promoted this in broad fashion. Notonly that, they actively encouraged people to watch this event on theirtelevision sets. A special screen was set up in the adjacent tent to follow

the proceedings taking place inside the hall. The hadith of BukhariShareef states: The worst punished people on the Day of Judgment shall be the


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picture-makers.

3) SINGING WITH DRUMSThe nazams and qaseedas were sung to the beat of a drum. The drum or

duff is only permitted in Shariah on two occasions: during jihaad and atthe time of a nikah. And even on those two occasions there is no singing

or merry-making. The duff is not allowed while singing qaseedas ornazams. Those Ulema who claim permissibility of the duff have misunderstoodthe application of the ahadeeth related to this item. Duff is amusical instrument, and all musical instruments were made haraam. OurMaster_pronounced it as part of his mission to stamp out musical instruments.However, he excluded the duff for the occasion of jihad andnikaah. This was a special concession. It is, therefore, not permissible,

according to the Usool of Islam, to extend this concession to any otheroccasion besides jihad and Nikah. In other words, on any occasion besidesjihad and Nikah, the original ruling of prohibition of musical instrumentswill apply.

4) EATING AT TABLES

It was the Sunnah of Nabi Muhammad_to eat on the floor. Tables existedin his time and were used by the Romans for their meals, but he

shunned this style. In a hadith narrated by Imam Tirmizhi, as reportedby Anas bin Maalik, it appears that Rasoolullah never ate food on a

raised table. In those days the Romans used tables that were low, withshort legs, almost like the coffee tables of today. They sat on the floorbut placed the food on these tables when eating. But Our Rasool_shunned this mode of eating entirely and instructed that the food beplaced level with the eater. Some Ulema have mentioned that sitting attables for meals replaces the sunnah of sitting on the floor, and that tooevolves into a bidah. Replacing a sunnah with an act that is the total18

opposite is, according to some Ulema, a bidah. When we have a masnoonway of doing a certain act, then to replace it with a method that isforeign to Islam or that was invented by kuffar, is a sin. Rasoolullah_taught and emphasized a certain way of cleansing the mouth and teeth,

that is, the use of miswaak. To replace the miswaak with a toothbrush ina such a way that one does not use the miswaak at all and suffices withonly the toothbrush, is an abandonment of the sunnah and a sinful

bidah.

5) THE IMPORTANT SUNNAH OF THE BEARDPeople spearheading this event and who were in the forefront of theproceedings either had short, designer beards or no beard at all. Eventhe grand shuyookh sported neatly trimmed and tidied beards. This isnot a time when we will argue about which mazh-hab allows what,whether the beard is faradh or sunnah. This is a time when we claim toexpress love for our Rasool_. Where has that love gone when it comesto the beard? How does it behove a clean shaven man to express love for

the Master? With what face can a man with shortened and trimmedbeard say he loves his Rasool_when his appearance and countenance isa far cry from that of the Master? When leaders promote such mutilationof the Sunnah, what can we expect from the followers? Such a position

betrays our loud claims ofHubb-e-Rasool. At this juncture it is worthciting the pertinent words of a poet:


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Translation:

You display outer love for the Rasool_, yet you disobey him; This, Iswear, is incredibly amazing!If your love for him was indeed sincere; then the lover is obedient to theone whom he loves!

6) NON-MASNOON DUASInstead of reciting the masnoon duas that appear in the Sunnah of Our19

Rasool_the leaders of this meelaad celebration chose to render duasthat were made up by individuals. This, too, is a neglect of sunnah to acertain extent. While we do not brand these non-masnoon duas as

haraam or bidah, but it must be born in mind that the books of hadithare replete with the most wonderful of duas for our worldly and spiritualneeds. These duas should be given first preference, instead of self-styledduas. Likewise, the masnoon or sunnat forms of durood were discardedin favour of self-styled and concocted wordings of salaat and salaam.

Hazrat Moulana Ashraf Ali Thanwi and Hazrat Shaikh Zakariyya

(Allah have mercy on their souls) compiled in one booklet all the variousforms or salaat and salaah that appear in the Quran and Sunnah, andencouraged the ummat to read these instead of newly invented forms.Again, we fail to see a true expression of love for Rasoolullah_. The loversof Rasoolullah_should be obsessed with duas that were taught tothe Ummat by Our Master_and that should be their primary focus. Inmost cases, these newly invented duas are purely for ostentation andshow. Rasoolullah_prohibited duas that are adorned with poetry andflowery language.The above factors constitute violation of the Sunnah that people perpetratedat the Meelaad function. This makes a mockery of the idea of havinga gathering to express hubb-e-Rasool or Love for the Rasool_Wenow look at other Sharee violations of the Meelaad gathering.

QIYAAM OR STANDING FOR SALAWAATIt must be understood that the gathering of meelaad does not innocentlycomprise of eating, drinking, singing, and expressing joy over The NobleBirth. There is something more sinister to this than meets the eye. In

fact, there are serious discrepancies in Aqeeda that accompany the meelaad.The unwary public view this as a jalsa to commemorate the birthof Rasoolullah_, but the Aqeeda that underlie a function of this natureis in conflict with Shariah. One such corrupt belief is the notion that TheBlessed Rooh of Rasoolullah_attends such a gathering. Towards theend of this publication, under the Q and A section, we have explained

the falsity of this belief.20

FALSE AQAAID AND INNOVATIONSBesides the abovementioned practices and beliefs, it has been observed

over the years that promoters and organisers of the Meelad functionhave developed a culture of innovative practices and adulterated beliefs.This is the backdrop against which the Meelaad function must beviewed. The Meelad function is just one of several components thatmake up a brand of Islam that is alien to mainstream Muslims and thatcannot trace its origin to the khayrul-quroon or the golden eras of Islam:the Era of Our Rasool, his Sahaaba, and the illustrious Ulema who cameafter them. The Meelaad, therefore, should not be regarded as an isolated

practice, set aside from a host of other practices and beliefs thatform part of this innovative brand of Islam. It is a completely new set of


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beliefs and a combination of newly founded practices that cannot be reconciledwith the age-old, orthodox aqeeda code of the Ahlus-Sunnah wal-Jamaaah. By this token, it is clear that the supporters of a Meelaadfunction are supporting a hybrid and concocted form of Islam that isincompatible with Shariah.

CONSIDERING MEELAAD AND QIYAAM COMPULSORYAnother false Aqeeda that has been maintained for years by certain segmentsof the Meelaad supporters is that these events are compulsory.While modern-day Scholars who support the Meelaad will argue to thecontrary, it can never be denied that this belief WAS adopted in the past,

and is STILL maintained in some quarters. Under our Q and A section weshall mention an incident of people who were forced out of the Musjidbecause they refused to stand for Salaat and Salaam. This is not an isolatedincident. This happened in Cape Town, Durban, and right here inPort Elizabeth as well. It thus proves that such an aqeeda still exists today.

Remember Meelaad is a universal practice, not confined to onecountry or region. When writing a critique of this practice we must take

into account the broader application of Meelaad and not confine it to aparticular region.

TASHABBUH OR IMITATING OF NASAARAUnder the next heading when we discuss the history of Meelaad it will

emerge that celebrating and commemorating the Birth of a Prophet of21

Allah was first done by Christians, who began celebrating the nativity oftheir Prophet Jesus (Sayyiduna Eesa_) two centuries after he had ascendedinto the heavens upon the Command of Allah. Muslims imitated

the Christians in this sense; they, too, felt the need to celebrate theBirthday of their Holy Prophet. Such tashabbuh or imitation is haraam.The Ulema are unanimous that to imitate kuffar in a religious matter is

totally forbidden, as mentioned in the Fiqhi Encyclopaedia (Kuwait) underthe heading Tashabbuh. Undoubtedly the Christians regarded thecelebration of their Prophets birthday as a religious event, and so doMuslims. Had the Meelaad been an act ordained and promoted by

Shariah then the question of tashabbuh does not arise at all. For example,the beard is a waajib act ordained by Quran and Sunnah. That theJews and some Christians sport beards will not render it an imitativepractice because this injunction was already legislated by Allah and HisRasool_. The same cannot be said about the Meelaad, for it appearsthose who innovated the Meelaad probably did so out of imitation of theNasaara.We have thus listed a number of un-Islamic and anti-Shariah elements

related to both belief and practice that render the Meelaad celebrationoutside the pale of Islamic sanction.

HISTORY OF MEELAADAt this juncture it is imperative that we provide readers with some backgroundto the origins of the Meelaad celebration. When and where didthis practice begin, and by whom, are probably questions that manyseek answers to. Here follows a brief explanation of the history of Meelaad.It was stated earlier that Meelaad functions of any sort were unheard ofin the first four centuries of Islam. This practice never existed duringthe khayrul-quroon or the Golden Eras of Islam, which comprise the eraof our Master, his illustrious companions, and the Ulema who succeeded

them. Even one hundred years after this Golden Era there was no traceof Meelaad celebrations. This is a fact that even the most die-hard and


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radical supporters of Meelaad cannot deny.22

THE ORIGINS OF MEELAADCelebrating the birthdays of Kings and famous people was an age-oldtradition among the kuffar nations of the past. Birthdays of kings, high-rankingnobility, and other important figures were always celebratedwith huge feasts whilst such dates were invariably declared public holidays.In ancient Egypt, the pharaohs ordered businesses to close on theirbirthdays and gave enormous feasts for hundreds of servants. In ancientRome, the emperor gave huge parties in honourof his own birthday,which included parades, circuses, and gladiatorial combat.THE BIRTHDAY OF NABI EESA (ALAYHIS-SALAAM)Two centuries after the ascension of Nabi Eesa (alayhis-salaam), theChristians latched onto the idea of celebrating his miraculous birth,though that move was mainly to combat and rival pagan Romans whoused to celebrate the birthday of the invincible sun god,Mithras (Naoothubillah), on 25 December. Eventually this datebecame

the official birth date of Nabi Eesa (alayhis-salaam), though today thenotion that 25 December is the birth date of Nabi Eesa (AS) has been

thoroughly refuted by the Christians themselves. The practice of celebratingbirthdays of gods and goddesses was quite common among theGreeks and Persians.When was the practice of Meelaad started among Muslims? Well, accordingto Imam Taqiyyud-Deen Miqreezi, a famous historian of the

eighth century Hijri, the Fatimid Regime in Egypt were the first peopleto introduce this concept to Muslims. The Fatimids belonged to the IsmailiShiah Sect and history bears mute testimony to the atrocities thatthis regime perpetrated against Sunni Muslims during its reign overEgypt and surrounding Muslim lands. These people claimed to be descendants

of Hazrat Fatima (Radhiyallahu anhaa) but Allama IbniKatheer has debunked this claim as spurious and false. Instead, he states

that the progenitor of the Fatimid clan was actually a Jewish slave whohad embraced Islam. Ibn Katheer then goes on to enlist a host of brutalitiesand destruction that the Fatimids carried out against Muslims andtheir properties. (See Al-Bidayah wan-Nihaayah)Al-Miqreezi narrates that this Regime actually introduced six types of23

birthday celebrations during their rule. These were: The Noble Birth of Our Rasool_ The Birth of Sayydinua Ali_ The Birth of Hazrat Fatima (radhiyallahu anhaa)

The Birth of Hazrat Hasan_ The Birth of Hazrat Husain_ The birthday of the current Ruler.

Each of these birthday celebrations was a festival on its own. Thousandswere splurged on eating, feeding, drinking, music, dancing and other

frivolities, not to mentioned the other acts of bidah involving ritualsand customs. Being Shiahs, they had other shirk and kufr customs thatformed part of their Meelaad celebrations.This, then was how the Meelaad or Maulood came to be introduced tothe Ummat; by a kaafir Shiah sect known as Ismails, in the fifth century.Ulema are unanimous that the Ismaili Shiahs are kaafir.

DRIVING THE MEELAAD PROCESS FORWARDWhile the Fatimid Shiah regime had managed to impose their customarybirthday celebrations on the Muslims in Egypt, nowhere else in the Muslim


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world were such celebrations held. Not in the Haramayn, not in Iraq,not in Syria, not even in Turkey. It took one hitherto unknown entity,Mulla Umar bin Muhammad, to transport this Meelaad to the land ofIraq after copying it from the Fatimid Shiahs.The first person to introduce the Meelaad celebrations to Muslims inIraq was Umar bin Muhammad of Mosul, Iraq, as mentioned in the bookSeerat-e-Shaamiby Shaikh Muhammad bin Yusuf Shaami. This occurredround about the beginning of the seventh century Hijri. So just who was

Umar bin Muhammad? According to Shaikh Abu Shaama, he was knownas Mulla Umar bin Muhammad and was among the pious people of Mosul(Al-Baaith alaa inkaaril-bidah wal hawaadithby Shaikh Abdur-Rahmanbin Ismail Abu Shaama). However, Mulla Umar bin Muhammad was noaalim or Scholar of Deen. He has not been listed among the Scholars ofHadith or Fiqh, and was not versed in any branch of Islamic knowledge.A man may be pious within himself, but if he possesses no knowledge ofDeen, his actions might not necessarily be in accordance with Shariah.24

Likewise, the actions of such an individual do not constitute validSharee proof; in fact, such a man cannot even validate his own actions,let alone provide a basis for the practices of other Muslims.Those who are versed in the field ofAsmaa-ur-Rijaal(critical analysis ofnarrators) will understand well that Scholars of Hadith will criticise a

narrator or brand him as unreliable in spite of his personal piety andrighteousness. The criteria is the reliability of the narrator in terms ofknowledge and integrity. In matters of this nature, piety is not taken

into account. How many a pious person will fall foul of Shariah due tolack of Islamic knowledge.

Having said this, we note that some Scholars have roundly and severelycondemned the self same Mulla Umar bin Muhammad. Allama Taajud-

Deen Faakihaani referred to him as an evil-monger and one of who followedhis base nafs; the Author ofTowdheehul-Maraam states that Umar bin Muhammad

was not reliable in Shariah because he listened to music and singing(during the Meelaad celebrations); the author ofQurratul-Uyoon said that thisUmar bin Muhammad was an open faasiq and perpetrated a bidah by introducingthe Meelaad celebration. All these references are taken from a detailedtreatise on the History of Meelaad by Hazrat Moulana Abdus-Shakoorsahib Mirzpuri RA. This is an Urdu publication available in Pakistan.From the above it is clear that in spite of some historians attesting to thepiety of Umar bin Muhammad, this man was by no means an authorityon Shariah, and possessed absolutely no Sharee credentials. On theother hand, there were several reputed Scholars who severely censured

his character and integrity. Even if Mulla Umar bin Muhammad was anaccredited Scholar of Deen, his individual action alone cannot be construedas evidence to substantiate the permissibility of Meelaad when itflies in the face of Sharee Proofs.Historians cannot pinpoint exactly what his motives were in introducingMeelaad to the Iraqi people, but clearly Umar bin Muhammad copied theFatimid style Meelaad and brought it to Iraq. But this new Bidah would

have died its own death in Iraq, had it not been for another key instigatorwho gave this act prominence.

THE FIRST PROMOTER OF MEELAADThe first man to give wide-scale circulation to Meelaad celebrations was25

a King known as Muzaffar Abu Saeed Koukabri, the sovereign of Irbil inNorthern Iraq, (also pronounced Erbil) who was born in Mosul in the


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year 549 AH. After witnessing the first Meelaad to be celebrated by thesaid Umar bin Muhammad, King Muzaffar was so highly impressed thathe decided to take these festivities a to a whole new level. He was, thus,the first person to promote the Meelaad in Iraq in no small way. As aKing and one noted for hospitality and generosity, he was able to conductthese celebrations on a huge and unprecedented scale. Like theFatimids did, he gave massive feasts spending enormous amounts ofmoney on food, drink, and entertainment to celebrate the Meelaad. Thehistorical data on the Meelaad of King Muzaffar borders on outright exaggeration,but that does not detract from the glamour and glitter thataccompanied this Meelaad.Looking at the character and integrity of this King, as we did with Umarbin Muhammad, historians have levelled a mixture of praise and condemnationat King Muzaffar. Some writers have praised his generosity,justice, fairness, and boldness against the enemy, while others went onto condemn his indulgence in music, dancing, and general laxity in certainaspects of Shariah. A much more serious indictment against the integrity

of this King was his open abandonment of taqleed of the fourmaz-habs and active promulgation of the same to his subjects. Allama

Ahmad bin Muhammad Maaliki states in his bookAl-Aqowlul-Mutamad:The King of Erbil Muzaffar Abu Saeed Koukabri was an extravagant person andused to instruct the Ulema of his time topractise on their own ijtihaad and researchand not follow the mazh-hab of anyone else; eventually a large group ofScholars and learned people inclined towards his ideas and methodology.Allama Ibni Rajab writes in Tabaqaatul-Hanaabilah that a pious Aalim,Shaikh Nasrud-Deen bin Abdul-Azeez of Harran, once disposed of winethat belonged to King Muzaffar Abu Saeed, and harshly criticised theKing for this evil. Had it not been for the Shaikhs popularity among themasses, King Muzaffar would have had him beheaded. This is, therefore,

the condition of the first mass promoter of Meelaad, a worldly King, wholacked Sharee credentials, was criticized by biographical experts of Islam,

and indulged in music and wine.26

THE FIRST PRAISE WRITER OF MEELAADLet us now turn our attention to another factor that gave further impetusto the Meelaad celebrations: the first book on Meelaad. This dubious

distinction was held by one Shaikh Abul-Khattab Umar bin Husain binDahya Kalbi, who hailed from Spain and was born in 544 A.H. After hearing

of King Muzaffars Meelaad celebrations, Ibn Dayha came to Irbil in604 whilst on his way to Khurasaan, and wrote a book titledAt-Tanweerfee Mualidil Basheer wan Nazheer, which he read out in the presence of the

King. The book contained details of the Blessed Nativity of Rasoolullah r,miracles at the time of his Birth and general support for the practice of

Meelaad. Immensely please with support from an ostensibly learnedScholar, King Muzaffar awarded Ibn Dahya a gift of 1000 dinars for thisbook.The need arises once again to consider the critical analysis of the integrityand reliability of Ibn Dahya as provided by the Ulema of this science.We summarise the comments of some of the famous Ulema in this field.It must be born in mind that the criticism levelled at Ibn Dahya by theseUlema was not because he had written a book in support of Meelaad.This had absolutely nothing to do with their biographical analysis of theman. Their comments were clinical and totally impartial; they assessedhis integrity and reliability purely on the basis of information that theyhad gleaned from their research and interaction with the man.


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Imam Thahabi states that Dhiyaa Maqdisi says: I met Abul-Khattab Ibn Dahyain Isfahan and his condition never impressed me. He spoke much ill of theImams. The Scholars of Morocco criticized him and branded him as weak inhadith. In spite of his in-depth study of hadith, Ibn Dahya still narrated hadithirresponsibly and hazarded wild guesses. Ibnun-Najjaar says: Ibn Dahya madenumerous claims about his sources of hadith but I discovered that Ulema agreedhe was a liar, weak in hadith, and that he falsified his credentials. The signs ofthis were quite noticeable in his speech and actions, and the heart refused toaccept his claims. He was also a fool, very arrogant, abusive with his tongue, andnegligent in matters of Deen. He claimed to be a descendant of Dahya Kalbi ANDHazrat Husain (Radhiyallahu anhu)! (Siyar Alaamun-Nubalaa)Imam Thahabi also mentions in Tazhkiratul-Huffazthat this Ibn Dahyawrote a poem in his maulood book praising King Muzaffar, but it waslater discovered the the poem had been plagiarized from the collection27

of another poet, Asad bin Mamaati!Allama Damashqi states: Ibn Dahya was of the Zaahiri Mazhab. He frequently

spoke ill of the other Imams (before him). He was not reliable in hadith. A largegroup of Scholars branded him weak. He has several writings that are baseless,incoherent, offensive, and misleading. Kindi said that his claim of being a descendantof the Sahaabi Hazrat Dahya Kalbi (radhiyallahu anhu) was false. Accordingto all Scholars of Hadith, the Sahaabi Dahya had no descendants (thusconfirming the lie of Ibn Dahya) (Shazhraatuz-Zhahab).Imam Suyooti says: In spite of his knowledge and good memory he was inconsistentand unreliable in his narrations and made very expansive claims (suchas) claiming ijaazah in certain hadith works but not being able to ratify thesame. (Tabaqaatul-Huffaaz)Imam Abu Zurah called him an unknown entity in hadith (Al-Jarah wat-Tadeel)

Allama Ibn Hajar states: Ibn Dahya used to make claims that had no reality.Abul-Qaasim bin Abdus-Salaam told me that Ibn Dahya claimed he had memorizedthe entire Tirmizhi and Saheeh Muslim. I then tested him by writing fiveahadeeth of each in a separate note-book and presented these to him. He rejectedthe five hadith of Tirmizhi as zhaeef and denied knowledge of the five from Saheeh Muslim!We can quote a number of other works that bear the same testimony.The above will surely suffice to proof that Abul-Khattab Ibn Dahya, thefirst man to write a book on Meelaad, was a liar, fraud, unreliable, arrogant,conceited, a chancer in hadith, a plagiarizer, a ghayr-muqallid, and

one who insulted the pious predecessors.

A SUMMARY OF THE ORIGIN OF MEELAADWe can thus summarize the historical development of Meelaad in thedescription:Meelaad celebrations were founded by Ismaili Shiahs in Egypt, copiedand transported to Iraq by an unknown, unreliable, faasiq, evil-mongering,

bidatee layman, and was then promoted in Iraq and givenprominence by a King who indulged in music and wine, and was also anactive ghayr-muqallid; finally the stamp of approval for Meelaad celebrationscame from another ghayr-muqallid, one Abul-Khattab Umarbin Hasan bin Dahya, whose disgraceful and dishonourable reputation28

was just laid bare a moment ago.The above is enough evidence for the seeker of truth to understand thereality of Meelaad and its Sharee position. How on earth can a practicethat was started by kuffar and promulgated by evil-doers and ghayrmuqallids


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ever enjoy even a semblance of recognition by our Pure andIllustrious Shariah? The very ethos of Shariah militates against such aconcept.

THE ORIGIN OF QIYAAM OR STANDINGIt seems appropriate to wind off this section with a look at the origin of

standing for salaat and salaam. Where did this practice originate? Whowas the first person to stand and offer durood in a Meelaad function?Well, I shall have to disappoint readers on this one. There just does notseem to be any trace of an originator for the Qiyaam of Meelaad. Earlieron I made reference to a comprehensive book on the history and origins

of Meelaad by Hazrat Moulana Abdus-Shakoor sahib Mirzapuri(rahmatullahi alayh). After attempting to trace the origin of Qiyaam inMeelaad, he writes: .after much research I have arrived at the conclusionthat there is just no trace of the originator of Qiyaam in Maulood. We, therefore,have to accept that, like a muqtadi without an Imaam, the Meelaad celebrators,in their practice of Qiyaam or standing, are muqallids (followers) of an unknownentity. They are followers, most certainly, but their Imam and leader in this

practice is majhool (unknown)(Taareekh-e-Meelaad page 120)Rasoolullah_said:Whoever introduces a path of evil and is followed thereupon,shall earn the sin of that evil, and the burden of sin of all thosewho followed him in that evil without the least bit of decrease intheir sins.

Narrated by Tirmizhi, who said this hadith is

hasan saheeh29

SECTION TWOTHE ERRONEOUS ARGUMENTS OF SHAIKH NINOWIAND SHAIKH UWAISIIn his introduction to the keynote speaker, Shaikh Uwaisi made claimsin support of the meelad function that were totally inconsistent withShariah. We shall now proceed to refute these fallacious and fictitiousclaims. As the Holy Quran describes... their arguments are false (baatil) accordingto their Lord... (Surah Shra)

THE FICTITIOUS YOWMUT-TASMIYAHShaikh Uwaisi averred that this get-together is to celebrate the name-giving

of Rasoolullah_which he labelled as yowmut-tasmiyah (or the dayof name-giving). He went on to explain that Rasoolullah_was born on12 Rabiul-Owwal and was named seven days later. So the meelad celebrations

took place on 12 Rabiul-Owwal (which was the previous Saturday)and seven days later (19 Rabiul-Owwal) they were celebrating theday that Rasoolullah_was named.

REBUTTAL OF THE CLAIM

In the first instance, the seventh day after birth is not what ShaikhUwaisi actually claims. If Rasoolullah_was born on Monday, then theseventh day will be the Sunday. Everyone knows this. We practice onthis masala every time a baby is born. Aqeeqa is made on the seventh,

and that is when the name of the baby is kept. And if parents failed to doit on the seventh, then Shariah says that it should be done on the seventh

day in the following week, or any week thereafter but on the daythat would be the seventh. This is mentioned in all the books of fiqah.

Shariah, has therefore, placed emphasis on the day and not the date.Hence, the claim the Messenger of Allah_was named on 19 Rabiul-


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Owwal is false and erroneous. The actual seventh day should be the Sunday,or in terms of dates, the 18 Rabiul-Owwal. The claim of celebratingthe Day of the Tasmiyah, therefore, falls flat on its face.Assuming the date is the pivotal factor here, then the seventh dayshould be 18 Rabiul-Awwal, for we stated earlier that one has to count30

the day of the birth as the first day. Such fallacious thinking lacks thesupport of coherent and authentic proof.

Looking at the matter factually, some books of Seerah state that Rasoolullah_was named the day he was born, not on the seventh day afterbirth. In the Seerah of Allama Ibn Hibban (RA) it is reported that HazratAamina (radhiyallahu anhaa) saw a dream in which she was ordered:when you deliver your baby then name him Muhammad. The inferencegleaned from this narration is that he was named straight after birth. InAl-Qowlul-Mubeen of An-Najjaar the indication is that he was named byAbdul-Muttalib by the Kaaba, on the day he was born. The author ofSeerah Halabiya and Seerah Shaami also made reference to the Blessed

Name being given the day of his Birth. There is, therefore, no certaintythat our Master_was named on the seventh day after birth.

TAHDEETH BIN-NIMAH AND MEELAADIn his introduction Shaikh Uwaisi also mentioned the last verse of SurahDhuhaa, wherein Allah Taala commands:And as for the Nimat of yourLord, so rehearse it. The Shaikh then adduces from this verse that theBirth of Rasoolullah_is the greatest Nimah or Favour from Allah, andthis gathering of meelaad is to proclaim and rehearse this Bounty of OurLord. The inference is, therefore, that the meelaad gathering is one wayofpractising on this verse.

REBUTTAL OF THE CLAIMFirstly, the above verse is addressed to Rasoolullah r himself. He is commanded

to rehearse and proclaim the favours of His Lord. The wholeSurah Dhuha is based around the life of Allahs Messenger r and thebounties that Allah Taala bestowed upon him. There are eleven versesin this Surah and each verse is addressed directly to Rasoolullah r. Ifcelebrating the Noble Birth was referred to in this verse then surely TheMessenger of Allah r himself would be the first topractise and to ordersuch celebrations. If there was any inference in this regard from thisverse, then it would not have been missed by the Messenger of Allah r orhis Sahaaba. To entertain such an idea is ridiculous and unacceptable. It

is presumptuous and the height of ignorance to believe that modernscholars could draw an inference from this verse that the Sahaaba and31

former Scholars failed to comprehend in spite of the basis for such aninference having existed even in their times.Secondly, when neither the Messenger of Allah r nor his Sahaaba understoodthis verse to mean celebrating the meelaad, to adduce such a verseas proof in support of meelaad celebrations is completely contrary toIslamic Principles of Jurisprudence and Tafseer.Thirdly, we accept unequivocally that the Noble Birth ranks among thegreatest Bounties of Allah on this Ummat. But the verse of Surah Dhuhaathat commands the proclaiming of Allahs Bounties does not mean thatspecial functions should be held for this purpose, or Eid-like celebrationsshould be hosted with fanfare and festivities, as is done in the customarymeelaad celebrations of today. This is not remotely connected to theverse in question.Fourthly, if we accept that proclaiming the great Bounty of the Noble


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Birth falls within the purview of this verse, no one can deny that thereexists other great bounties that are equally glorious and deserving ofrehearsal, such as the Risaalah of Our Rasool r , the First Wahi, the Completionof the Quranic Revelation, etc. Why single out one event for celebrationand exclude the rest?Fifthly, if expressing joy over the Birth of Our Rasool r is one way of fulfillingthe Command of Allah in this verse, why should it be done in agathering, only on the 12 Rabiul-Owwal? Shall we rehearse this bounty

once a year only? And shall we await a large gathering before doing so?If this is the case then we have committed a great disservice to the Honourand Rank of Our Master.

TIME IN RELATION TO RASOOLULLAH_The Shaikh went on to state that in relation to The Messenger of Allah_

there is no time before or after himall time is his..

REBUTTAL OF THIS CLAIMThe above statement actually elevates the status of Rasoolullah_to thelevel of Allah (Allah Forbid!). Rasoolullah_strictly prohibited this in the

following hadith: Do not exaggerate my praises (falsely) as the Christiansexaggerated the praises of Eesa bin Maryam. I am naught by His slave, so say:The slave of Allah and His Rasool(Narrated by Bukhari and Muslim)32

If Islam allowed it, we, the Ummat of Rasoolullah_would worship him;we would make sujood to his grave; we would leave no stone unturnedin idolizing and deifying this most wonderful and glorious creation ofAllah; such is the unbound love this Ummat has for their Rasool_. ButAllah has forbidden this, and Rasoolullah_himself strictly prohibited itas the hadith overleaf clearly states. We are bound by the Commandments

of Allah and His Rasool_, and not the dictates of our nafs or emotions.Regardless of what emotions are evoked from within, or what our

hearts yearn for, we shall only praise our Rasool_within limits prescribedby Shariah. In relation to Allah our belief is that there is no timebefore or after Him. Allah Himself is time. His existence is not preceded

or superseded by time. Time does not overtake Allah, and all time belongsto Him only. To attribute this to The Messenger of Allah_is ascribinga partner to Allah in His Divine Sifaat or Attributes. That is undoubtedlya form of shirk.

THE FALLACIOUS REASONING OF SHAIKH NINOWIIn a Jumuah lecture delivered at Musjidut-Taqwa on 10 Feb 2012, PortElizabeth Shaikh Ninowi presented a few arguments in support of meelaadcelebrations. Before we rebut the erroneous claims of the Shaikh, itmust be said that instead of offering spiritually and morally upliftingadvice, the Shaikh chose to promote his ideology and creed from theJumuah platform. This is tantamount to abuse of this sacred forum,while it also displays the insecurity of people who at every opportunitydeem it necessary to defend a position that they themselves know is

groundless and insubstantial.

ARGUMENT 1The Shaikh argued that Shariah has ordained the commemoration of theSacrifice of Sayyiduna Ebrahim_, when he was commanded to sacrificehis son Ismail, who was eventually expiated with a ram from Jannah.

This resulted in the annual Qurbani that Muslims observe throughoutthe world. The Shaikh then said that if we can celebrate the sacrifice of

Nabi Ebrahim_then why shall we not celebrate the Birth of Our Rasool_, who was the greatest Messenger of all?


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33

REBUTTAL OF THE ARGUMENTSuch reasoning is extremely flimsy and baseless for the following reasons:Firstly, we dont celebrate the sacrifice of Nabi Ebrahim, we commemorateit as an act of worship. There is nothing in the sacrifice tocelebrate about. But, this act was so loved by Allah Taala that he ordainedit for the Ummat of Muhammad r as well. On the contrary, nocommemoration of Meelaad has been ordained by Shariah. This alonehighlights the difference between the two acts.Secondly, this very argument of the Shaikh is in fact proof that meeladcelebrations are not part of Shariah, for the One who ordained the commemoration(not celebration) of Hazrat Ebrahim us sacrifice is the Same Being Who brought about the wonderful Birth of Our Rasool r, with allthe unique and miraculous happenings that accompanied it. When ThatSupreme Being commanded that we commemorate the first and not thesecond, who are we to innovate the celebration of the event and attributeto Almighty Allah that which He had never ordained? Our celebrations

must be in conformity to the Command of Allah. If the BlessedBirth had to be celebrated like the sacrifice of Nabi Ebrahim u, would

Allah not have revealed such a command to His Rasool r and his Companions?The fact that He didnt is sufficient evidence to prove that sucha birthday celebration is not part of Islam.

ARGUMENT 2Shaikh Ninowi goes on to argue that the Friday gathering is a commemorationof the creation of Nabi Adam_, which he then rephrasesas the birth of Nabi Adam_. So, the Shaikh avers, that if we gatherweekly to celebrate the birth of Nabi Adam_, then why can we notmeet to celebrate the birth of Hazrat Muhammad_?

REBUTTAL

This is another attempt to co-opt the minds of the unwary public and ofpeople who are ignorant of Shariah. I am sure many in the audiencewere far from convinced with this line of argumentation. Firstly, Jumuahwas not ordained to celebrate anyones birth or creation. Jumuahwas a day of virtue since the time Allah Taala created the World,long before Adam came into existence. It is precisely for this reason that34

Allah chose to bring about major events on this day, one of which wasthe creation of Nabi Adam_, and another being the congregationalprayers. So Jumuah was not ordained because of the creation of Adam,_instead Adam_was created on Friday because of the long-standingvirtue ofthis Day. Secondly, when the Jumuah salaah was ordained for

the Sahaaba in Madinah, Rasoolullah_never furnished the creation ofNabi Adam_as a reason for the Jumuah gathering. There is no proofof this in the hadith at all. The Shaikh may not conjure up a reason forthe Jumuah that cannot be substantiated from hadith. Such sophisticargumentation is unbecoming of men of knowledge.Thirdly, many other major events are recorded on the day of Jumuah,such as the creation of Jannat, the ascension of Nabi Eesa_, as well asthe advent of Qiyaamat. It therefore, means that we cannot pin-pointone particular event as an act of commemoration on this day. The fact is

that all these events are testimony to the virtue of Jumuah; not theother way around. When Allah Taala offered the Jews a Holy Day, they

chose Saturday, while the Christians chose Sunday, thus leaving thegreatest day for the Muslims. In short, the Friday congregational prayersare not offered out of any celebration or commemoration. There is absolutely


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no vestige of proof for this in Shariah. Such a claim is baseless anddevoid of truth.Lastly, we repeat the answer provided earlier, that the Friday khutbaand salaah were ordained by Allah, whereas nothing has been ordainedfor the Meelaad. The Shaikh is attempting to draw an analogy betweenJumuah and Meelaad celebrations, but such an analogy if fallacious, becausethere is just no similarity between the two. There is no commonfactor (illah) that unites both acts, and there is absolutely no similaritybetween the nature of the two events.

ARGUMENT 3Shaikh Ninowi attempted to sway public opinion in favour of meelad byciting incidents in the Quran-e-Kareem where the births of certain Ambiyaa

are mentioned, such as the birth of Nabi Moosa_in Surah Qasas,the birth of Nabi Eesa_in Surah Maryam, and the birth of Maryam_herself in Surah Aala Imraan. He claims that if we read the births of

these great people in the Quran almost daily, why shall we not read the35

birth of Our Rasool_?REBUTTALAgain, the argument of the Shaikh is actually our proof against meelaad.Simple reason tells us that The Quran Shareef was revealed by Allah, andHe chose to mention the Births of these Ambiya and NOT the Birth ofOur Rasool_. That in itself proves that there is no significance inShariah to meelad celebrations, for if there was, then at least AlmightyAllah would have mentioned the Noble Birth in the Holy Quran.The main reason why Almighty Allah mentioned the births of these Ambiyaa(alayhimus-salaam) in the Quran-e-Kareem was to underline and

highlight his Power. In all these incidents we see the Amazing Qudratand Might of Allah Taala. Nabi Eesa_was born miraculously without a

father. Nabi Yayha_was born to Nabi Zakariyya_when the latterwas 80 years old and his wife, who was slightly younger, had been barrenfor all the years of their marriage. Nabi Moosa_was dropped intothe River Nile soon after birth for fear that he would be killed byFirouns men; he was later on picked up by the familyof Firoun, breast

-fed by his own mother in the palace of Firoun and reared right underthe noses of his enemies. All this points to the greatness of Allah Taalaand His Supreme Ability to protect His Chosen Servants in ways that bafflethe human mind. Furthermore, one may recite the story of The NobleBirth at any given time of the year; it is contrary to Sharee principlesto confine it strictly to Rabiul-Owwal.

THE ORDINARY NATURE OF OUR MASTERS NOBLE BIRTH_At this juncture the question arises as to why was Our Rasool_, theGreatest of all of Allahs creation, not granted a miraculous and unique

birth? He was conceived and born in the normal way that every humanbeing is born. There are several answers to this, as listed hereunder:

a) Allah Taala wanted Our Rasool_to integrate with his people anddevelop a close connection with them. This was only possible if

they perceived him as a normal, ordinary human being. In thisway, he could benefit his Ummat even more. Had he been born ina miraculous way, his followers would perceive him as an extraordinaryand supernatural human being, and this concept would36

prevent that openness and close interaction that was needed forspiritual benefit.b) Had he been born in a miraculous way, his Ummat would have


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worshipped him like the Nasaara worshipped Nabi Eesa_. (Eventoday, with the Noble Birth being as ordinary as it was, a segmentof the Ummat have already propelled Our Master to the level of

GodhoodAllah forbidimagine what would be the situationhad he been born through a miracle!)

c) Allah Taala wanted to show the world, that His Greatest Messenger_would come from the most humblest of beginnings.

PROOF OF THE AUTHENTICY OF THE QURANThe fact that the Noble Birth of Our Master_is not mentioned in theQuran is further proof that the Holy Quran came from Allah and was notauthored or fabricated by His Messenger. Had it been Muhammad_,The Messenger of God, who had wrote and edited the Quran, then surely,

along with mentioning the births of the other Messengers and Apostles,he would have also included mention of his own birth. If he was going tosell the idea of a Divine Quran, common sense would demand that he

also recorded an account of his own birth, along with whatever miraclesoccurred at that time. And miracles there certainly were, for the books

of hadith record many extraordinary events and miraculous happeningsat the time of his Blessed Birth. These could have been added to the

Quran by Muhammad_. But since he had no say in the writing of theQuran, nor dared he make any additions or omissions in this regard, theBirth of Muhammad_was never mentioned or even alluded to anywherein The Holy Quran. This is another proof of the Divine Nature ofThe Holy Quran.

GREATER THAN THE BIRTH IS HIS MISSIONNowhere in the Holy Quran is there any mention of the Noble Birth, nor

any virtue or praise thereof. However, in verse 164 of Surah Aala Imraan,Allah The Almighty boasts of His Special Favour upon the Believers inthe following words:

Most Certainly Allah has conferred upon the Believers a great favour when hesent to them a Rasool from among themselves; he recites to them the Verses of37

Allah, and he purifies them and he teaches them The Book and Wisdom.Almighty Allah chose to extol and glorify the Mission and Risaalat of HisBeloved Rasool_as a favour on this Ummat. This proves that theProphethood of Our Nabi_was a greater nimat on this Ummat than hisactual Birth. The Noble Birth heralded the advent of Our Rasool_, buthis Divine Appointment as a Messenger was the direct means of guidanceto the entire world. Despite that fact the Divine Mission of Rasoolullah_was, in Quranic Terms, a greater Bounty of this Ummat, theidea of celebrating the inception and beginnings of this Divine Missionwas never ever mooted or commanded. It is, therefore, not possible touse the births of the Ambiyaa in The Quran Shareef as a basis for celebrating

the Birth of Our Master_.

ARGUMENT 4It is argued that Muslims commemorate the day ofshoora (i.e. 10 Muharram)by fasting and giving sadaqah, and this particular day is connected

to Nabi Moosa_. Upon arriving in Madinah the Messenger ofAllah was informed that the Jews were celebrating the tenth of Muharramas the day when Allah Taala granted Moosa and his followers salvationfrom Firoun. Nabi Moosa_and the Bani Israel fasted on this dayas a gesture of thanksgiving to Allah. Upon hearing this, Rasoolullah_

remarked: We have a greater right to Moosa than the JewsConsequently,he fasted on this day and commanded the Sahaaba to do the same. The


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fast ofshoora is to express thanks to Allah for salvation, so why should

we not express thanks to Allah for the Noble Birth, which was a greaternimat or Bounty?

REBUTTALIn the first instance, the fast ofshoora was ordained upon this Ummat

by Allah Taala before Ramadaan, as mentioned by Allama Ibnul-QayyimJowzi (rahmatullahi alayh) in Zaadul-Maaad. When the fast ofRamadaan was made compulsory, the fast ofshoora became nafl or

optional. On the other hand, no amal or act of worship was ordained forthe day Rasoolullah_was born. It is, therefore, erroneous to draw ananalogy between the fast ofshoora and celebrating the Birth of Ra38

soolullah_when the first was established through Divine Commandwhile the second was neither commanded nor encouraged. Rasoolullah_said: Regarding the Fast ofshoora, I have hope in Allah that it will compensatefor the previous years sins. (Muslim Shareef) This hadith speaks of thevirtue ofshoora, andprescribes the practice of fasting with a specialreward. The same cannot be associated with any other day. Sacred time

and virtues are only decreed by Almighty Allah; we, His servants have noright to do so.Secondly, the Day ofshoora was sacred since the time of Nabi Adam_, as is evident from the works of hadith on this subject. As with theDay of Jumuah, the Day ofshoora was ordained as sacred since thetime Allah Taala created the heavens and earth; Allah Taala chose thisday for certain important historical events.Thirdly,shoora is spent in fasting, not in celebration and merrymaking.

On the assumption that the analogy between meelad andshoora is valid, then people should be fasting and giving sadaqa, instead

of eating, singing, and celebrating. Rasoolullah_himself fasted ona Monday and encouraged the Ummat to do so, for this was the day he

was born. We encourage those who have a penchant for celebratingmeelaad to rather fast every Monday to thank Allah Taala for the Nimatof the Noble Birth. Such an act will be more in conformity to Shariah

than a meelad celebration that has no basis or origin in Islam.

FURTHER CLAIMS OF SHAIKH NINOWIIn the course of his Jumuah talk the Shaikh stated that everything camefrom The Rasool of Allah The Quran, The Deen, All knowledge, etc. He goesfurther to say that we dont know the prophets, we only know him, they allcame through him

REBUTTAL OF THE CLAIMThe above statements are so serious that they border on kufr! It is a

known and accepted fact that The Quran and this entire Deen of Islamcame from Allah. Allah Taala declares in Surah Maa-idah, verse 15:Indeed, A Noor and A Clear Book has come to you from AllahAgain, in SurahNisaa, verse 170 Allah Taala states:O Mankind! Certainly The Rasool has39

come to with the Truth from Your Lord.The claim that everything camefrom The Rasool of Allah contradicts the above verses of the HolyQuran. This is contrary to the belief of Islam. The Rasool of Allah himselfadmitted that If I attained guidance, then it is only through that which MyRabb revealed to me. (Surah Saba, verse 50). This theme is foundthroughout the Holy Quran. Islam teaches that all knowledge and Scripturecame from Allah, via His Messengers.

DISRESPECT TO THE AMBIYAA ALAYHIMUS-SALAAMThe second statement of the Shaikh cited above betrays serious disrespect


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to the other Messengers of Allah. Islamic teaching and belief demandthat we revere and respect all the Messengers of Allah, but holdOur Rasool as the greatest of all. It is contrary to the teaching of Rasoolullah_to speak disparagingly of the other Messengers while praisinghim. One who does so has not shown true love to Our Master. Thestatement that we don't know the other prophetsis grave and constitutesa negation of Islamic belief that acknowledges the status and rank of allAllahs Messengers. Allah Taala says: These are the Messengers; we gavesome rank over others; (Surah Baqarah). In Surah Anaam, where AllahTaala mentions the names of seventeen Ambiyaa all in one place, Hestates: And we granted all virtue over the (rest of the world)(Surah Anaam,verse 86) Rasoolullah_refered to the other Ambiyaa as his brethren; hepraised their achievements and extolled their high rank. Our belief is

that Our Master Muhammad_is the greatest of all Messengers, but atthe same time we maintain great respect for all the other Ambiyaa andRusul sent by Allah Taala. We know only the Shariah of Our Master, butwe also respect and revere the unadulterated and original Law Codes of

all previous Messengers. We believe that none of the Ambiya or Rusulcan match the status, stature, and greatness of Our Master. We also confirmthat the Shariah of Our Master is far superior and more perfectthan all the Shariahs before, but we hold in high esteem all the DivineLaw Codes that came from Allah Taala. A sign of true iemaan and love

for Rasoolullah_is that we do not praise him at the expense of the dignityof other Ambiyaa (alayhimus-salaam)40

SECTION THREEQUESTIONS AND ANSWERS ON MAULOODIN RESPONSE TO OUR LAST PAMPHLET AGAINST MEELAAD, THE

FOLLOWING QUESTIONS WERE POSTED BY READERS:Q: Are there any other acts of bidah besides the moulood?A: Muslims have introduced many other acts ofbidah. The people whopromote and support the present-day meelaad also commit other bidahacts such Urs, Giyarwee, Niyaaz, Baal Mubaarak, second faatiha after salaah,

loud zikr immediately after the faradh salaah, athaan at the time ofburial, dua after salaatul-janaazah, offerings to graves, 3-day, 7-day, 40-day, and 100-day memorials for the dead, kissing the thumbs and placing

them over the eyes when hearing the Name of Rasoolullah_in theathaan, etc. Besides these, general acts of bidah found in other communitiesare: loud recitation of the dua after athaan by the muezzin; dua bythe muezzin before juma khutba and in between the two khutbas; recitationof the verse Innallah wa malaaikatahu etcbefore athaan and beforethe Juma khutba, raising the hands when reading the sunnat dua afterathaan.Q: Is meelaad and qiyaam prohibited in the Holy Quran?A: The present-day Meelaad celebrations are prohibited by Quran-e-Kareem, Sunnat-e-Shareefa, Ijmaa or consensus of the Sahaaba, and Qiyaas,all of which constitute the major sources of Islamic Law. We brieflyproduce these proofs hereunder:Proof from Quran: a) In Surah Shoora, verse 21 Allah Taala states: Dothey have associates who have ordained for them matters of Deen that Allah hasnot permitted? This verse condemns the innovation of anything in Deen

which Allah has not permitted. The Birth of Rasoolullah is not somethingnew. The unique happenings that occurred at the time of this Noble


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Birth were not hidden from the Sahaaba. In spite of this, Allah andHis Rasool did not command or even encourage the Sahaaba to celebratethe Noble Birth, nor did they initiate such a practice on their own, de41spite the unparalleled love they had for Allahs Rasool. When in spite ofthere being a reason or cause fora certain act, Allah Taala did not mentionit in The Quran or Sunnah, then it clearly means that Allah has notpermitted that act. If celebrating the Birth of Rasoolullah was an act ofspecial merit then Allah would have certainly given permission for this.It is not possible that Allah would hide from His servants an act thatwarranted special reward and merit. That it was not commanded or encouragedby Allah is proof that there is no special significance in such acelebration. If anyone attributes special reward or significance to meelaadcelebrations then such a person is claiming, though not in word butcertainly in action, that Allah had overlooked an act of great merit. Weseek Allahs protection from such blasphemy. All those who follow thepromoters of customary Meelaad functions will fall within the scope ofverse 21 of Surah Shoora, for they stand guilty of following associates who

have ordained for them matters of Deen that Allah has not permitted.b) In Surah Maaidah Allah Taala asks: Is it the Law of Jaahilyyah that theyseek? The interrogatory clause in this sentence is an imperative one. Inother words, by posing this questions Allah Taala is actually prohibitingthe acts and practices of the Jaahilyya or times of ignorance. Jaahiliyya

refers to the period of history prior to Islam. As explained earlier underthe history of Meelaad, long before Islam the Christians had inventedthe practice of celebrating the birth of their Prophet Nabi Eesa (alayhissalaam).And even before that pagan Romans were celebrating birthdaysof their gods and goddesses. Muslims of latter generations have adopted

the same celebrations that come from the era of Jaahiliyya. From thisangle, the customary meelaad celebrations fall under practices of ignorant

times, and therefore, stands condemned.Proof from Hadith: Whoever introduces into this matter of ours (i.e. Islam)that which does not belong to it, will be rejected.(Bukhari) This hadithspeaks of an act that does not belong to Islam; that is not part of Islam; an actthat is not of this Deen. Meelaad celebration is not an act of Deen. Acts thatbelong to Deen must be established through Quran, Sunnah, Ijmaa of theSahaaba, or Qiyaas. The latter is based on the first three. The meelaad

cannot be substantiated from any of these primary sources of Islamicknowledge. This hadith, therefore, proves that Meelaad celebrations arenot permissible.42

Proof from roof Ijmaa of Sahaaba: The Sahaaba possessed the greatest love

for Rasoolullah in the entire Ummat. Their love for him was unmatchedand phenomenal. Yet, neither during his lifetime, nor after his demise,did they ever celebrate his birth nor encourage others to do so. Whenthe cause or reason for any act was known to the Sahaaba, and they

neverpractised it, then it proves conclusively that such an act is notpart of Deen and that the Sahaaba were all unanimous on the exclusionof such an act from Islam.

It is a principle of Fiqh that when the first three generations of Islam hadunanimously shunned a certain practice for which they had good reason

to do, that constitutes Ijmaa or consensus that such an act is wrong andnot part of Deen. As explained earlier, the Sahaaba had good reason tocelebrate the Birth of Our Rasool_for they had the greatest love forhim, and they also knew that he fasted on Mondays because that was theday he was born. In spite of this, they neither did it, not encouraged others


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to celebrate the Meelaad. This is a unanimous decision among theSahaaba that meelaad celebration is not part of Deen.Proof from Qiyaas: Qiyaas or analogical reasoning also indicates thatMeelaad is just not part of Shariah. If we should search for a celebrationin Islam that closely resembles Meelaad, we would find it in the Aqeeqa.Shariah had ordained celebrating the birth of a child through aqeeqa;that is, cooking the meat and inviting people. The purpose of this is tothank Allah for the child and also ward offcalamities and harm from thebaby. But aqeeqa is only done once in a lifetime. This is not a recurringact that has to be performed year in and year out. Likewise, the Aqeeqaof Rasoolullah_was done at the time of his birth. It was never repeatedever again. Proof of this will appear in Section Four. Even if a Scholarwere to present proof that Rasoolullah_made an Aqeeqa for himselflater in life, we will still argue that it was done once and never again. Sothis line of Sharee reasoning clearly shows that the birth of even aProphet is not celebrated except once, and that is when that Prophet isborn.

Q: What is your proof that standing for salawaat is haraam?43A: There are two reasons why standing and reading salawaat is not permissible.The first reason: Salawaat is an act of worship. This no one can deny.Rasoolullah_taught the Sahaaba how to read salawaat; he taught themthe wording of salawaat, like he taught them the thikrs and duas of salaah.In all these teachings he never once indicated that there is specialmerit in standing and reading salawaat. Those who introduced the

standing salawaat must adduce proof for this new method of worship.This is a a special and peculiar act. To include this into our mode of worship

we must have evidence from Sharee sources; we cannot conjure upacts of worship or add to our established acts of worship things that appeal

to our whims and fancies. If standing and reading salawaat had anysignificance then The Messenger of Allah would have instructed the Sahaabato do this. They were the first people to be privy to all the specialacts of Deen. Again, salawaat is not a new act of worship. Salawaat uponour Rasool is as old as The Quran and as old as the Sunnah. To make anaddition to an existing ibaadat, such as standing for the ibaadat of salawaat,that was not done in former times fits the description ofbidah likea glove.Second reason: There are many who stand and read salawaat becausethey really and truly believe the Messenger of Allah comes into theirpresence. Such a belief is false, so whoever stands and makes salawaat,even though he or she does NOT hold that belief, is actually imitating

people of false beliefs and promoting an act that was done by people ofcorrupt beliefs. Some of the leaders in Meelaad have gone on record asenunciating this belief.Q: Why did Moulana Thanwi and Moulana Ganghoi oppose Haji Imdaadullahif you said his moulood is not wrong.

A: Hazrat Moulana Thanwi and Hazrat Moulana Rasheed Ahmed Ganghoiprohibited this moulood because of the bidah and haraam factors that

had crept into the moulood celebrations by people in their times. Todaywe are repeating the same fatwa of prohibition. They did not oppose themoulood of Haji Imdaadullah; instead they opposed the moulood of peoplewho turned this whole thing into a farcical bidah.44

Q: Why do you say it is wrong to make salawaat standing when we do itin janaaza salaah and after the qunoot of witr?


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A: In Salaatul Janaaza and Qunoot we are not instructed to read ONLYsalawaat; there are other duas to be read as well. So the salaawat read inthese two salaahs are part of a selection of duas. The purpose of standingin qunoot and janaaza salaah is NOT for the salawaat; instead the standingposture is part of the faraaidh of these two salaah. If Allah commandedus to stand in qunoot and janaaza mainly because salawaat isrecited therein, then your argument would make sense. But as it is, thepurpose of standing is not for salawaat. For this reason, if one does notrecite the salawaat in Qunoot or in Salaatul-Janaaza, both these acts ofworship would be valid. Hence one cannot infer from this that standingfor salawaat is a special act.Furthermore, this argument is actually proof that standing for salawaatis NOT an Islamic practice. Allah Taala commanded us to stand and read the salawaat in Salaatul-Janaazaa and the qunoot of witr. Had this standingbeen mainly and solely for the purpose of salawaaat then AllahTaala would have commanded us to stand for salawaat at other times aswell. When Almighty Allah did NOT do that, it meant that standing for

salawaat has no special significance in Islam.Q: Is it permissible to stand for salaam to the Holy Prophet_? I definitelydo not believe that the Holy Prophet_is present in that gathering.Can one stand and make the zikr of Allah?A: We answered this above. You might not have the belief that the Messenger

of Allah is present in that gathering, but by standing you are supportingsuch a belief; you are imitating people who do hold such beliefs;

you are also creating the impression that you subscribe to such a belief.Assuming in that gathering of meelaad there are some who hold the beliefthat the Blessed Rooh of Allahs Messenger_arrives in that gathering.Whilst you may not believe it, by joining the others who are standingwith this false belief, you are promoting and supporting a belief of

shirk. This in itself is sinful. In Surah 6, verse 68, Allah Taala says: Anddo not sit in the company of those who commit injustice after being advisedThis verse prohibits associating with those who commit injustice, oneform of which is holding false beliefs. Furthermore, we explained above45

that one must have valid Sharee evidence to prove that standing forsalaat or salaam is a specific act of merit. If Shariah did not stipulate the

sources of Islamic practices then everyday someone will come out with anew act of worship and attribute it to Shariah. This will result in a freefor all, and will leave our beautiful Deen mangled beyond recognition.We must adhere to the Usool or Principles of Shariah in all matters.Without these principles and guidelines, the floodgates of bidah will

open, and in the process we lose all trace of the Sunnah (Allah Forbid!).Q: You say the Prophet_cannot be in many places at the same time butdo you not believe that certain auliya were able to deliver 30 differentjumuah lectures in different places at the same time. Also it is well documentedthat certain auliya were able to travel very far distances in veryshort times.A: Firstly, we do not believe that a wali can deliver lectures in 30 differentplaces at one and the same time. Maybe that is your belief, but certainlynot ours. Stories like these regarding the Auliyaa are mentioned in

many books, but few of them can actually be ratified via authenticchains of transmission. Without authentic sanad we cannot accept suchincidents. Shariah does not encourage circulation of false informationbased on spurious and groundless tales. Secondly, the Rooh of AllahsMessenger_being in more than one place at the same time is an important


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matter of Aqeedah. And Aqeedah must be proven from Quran andSunnah. Any belief related to Rasoolullah_is important and of majorsignificance, so it has to be verified from one of these two sources. The

presence of The Mubaarak Rooh of Rasoolullah_is unusual and beyondhuman understanding; hence, we require proof for it from Quran,

Documents

The Reality of Meelaad (Edited)