What is the ruling on holding celebrations for the Prophet's birthday and the like?

Question:
This person asks: Is it permissible to hold a celebration for the Mawlid, to keep awake the night of the twenty-seventh of Rajab, and for the people of Badr?

Answer:
The principle with us is to follow the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) and act according to his Sunnah. He advised us to do so and said: "Hold fast to my Sunnah and the Sunnah of the Rightly Guided Caliphs after me." Did we find in the established Sunnah of the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) that he kept awake the night of the twenty-seventh of Rajab? Did we find in it that he kept awake the night of the Mawlid? Did we find in it that he kept awake the night of Badr? There is nothing of these matters in his Sunnah. Whatever is not in the Sunnah of the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) is a bid'ah (religious innovation). Whoever does it has committed a bid'ah, and his deed is rejected, as he (peace and blessings be upon him) said: meaning it is rejected. These celebrations for the Mawlid, the Isra and Mi'raj, the night of Badr, or anything else, are all among the newly invented bid'ahs for which Allah has sent down no authority. Whoever wants good should hold fast to the Sunnah of the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him). Whoever wants evil acts according to bid'ahs and superstitions, and he will receive his due unless he repents to Allah (Glorified and Exalted is He). I do not think a sane person wants evil for himself, but Satan, desire, and the tribalism of the pre-Islamic age of ignorance (jahiliyyah) are what drive a person to these things, along with blind following (taqlid), as Allah the Exalted said.
Most of these people merely follow their fathers without guidance. When it is said to them, “Come to what Allah has revealed and to the Messenger,” ? Religion is not taken by custom and blind following; rather, it is taken by the Sunnah.
Following the Book and the Sunnah is the righteous deed that benefits its doer. Did you find in the Book of Allah or in the Sunnah of the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) an order to keep these occasions alive? No, by Allah. The order is only to follow the Book and the Sunnah. This is what exists and is the correct, established practice. So if we want good for ourselves, our brothers, and our society, we must hold fast to the Sunnah and call to it, and we must beware of bid'ahs, for they are harmful and destructive bid'ahs. If you saw a person whose house, shop, or car was on fire, and you did not warn him or inform him, you would be considered negligent and a sinner in this. It might even make you an enemy to him because you did not reach him with the warning. How much more so if you see him practicing a bid'ah that distances him from Allah and Paradise, and you do not stop him or clarify it to him? This is among the most dangerous matters, O servants of Allah. We want good; we want nothing but good for anyone.
We do not want to create division among Muslims, as is said about us. Rather, we want good for the Muslims. We want the Muslims to unite on the truth, for in this lies their well-being and success, . It is not possible to unite except on the truth and on the rope of Allah, which is the Book and the Sunnah. As for bid'ahs, they divide; bid'ahs scatter people; bid'ahs harm people; bid'ahs destroy people in their religion and their worldly affairs. So we must be cautious and warn against them. He asks: Is he considered a mushrik (one who associates partners with Allah)?
No, the one who keeps these occasions alive is not a mushrik. We do not call him a mushrik; we call him a mubtadi' (innovator). We hope that Allah will guide the misguided among the Muslims to the truth and make the right path clear to them. This is what we want for them.