The Ruling on Celebrating the Mawlid and the Convergence of the Two Religions, Islam and Christianity

The questioner:
There is no harm in presenting a pressing question from one of his associates. Your Eminence the Shaykh, the newspaper al-Jazirah published in its issue dated this Thursday, the fifteenth of the third month, in its editorial margins column, an article written by one of the writers, Hamid al-Attas, titled "Between Two Mawlids and Two Civilizations." In it, he says: We are facing two historical transformations of two great men who changed the face of history and the face of two great nations, meaning Muhammad and Isa, and so on. He said: Let them embrace and affirm the cohesion of the two great religions, Christianity and Islam. What is Your Eminence's opinion of this statement?

The Shaykh:
We will review the article, if Allah wills, and explain what was written, but we clarify now that celebrating the mawlid is among the bid'ah (religious innovations) introduced by some people. It had no basis in the Shari'ah, nor in the time of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), nor in the time of his Companions, nor in the time of the blessed centuries, the first, second, and third centuries. It was only introduced after that. So, celebrating the mawlid has no basis; rather, it is among the bid'ah. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: , and he (peace and blessings be upon him) said: , and he (peace and blessings be upon him) said: . It is necessary to know this. Celebrating the Christian mawlid is an act of the Christians, and it is wrong. Furthermore, doing it is imitating the Christians, and they are forbidden from imitating the enemies of Allah. The Prophet (peace be upon him) said: . So, it is not permissible for us to imitate the Christians, nor the Jews, nor any other disbelievers. Rather, we should beware of their characteristics and morals and not imitate them in that, except for what is from our religion and our Shari'ah, for we act upon it even if it coincides with something they have. As for something they do on their own, and what they claim is from their religion or what they have innovated, it is not permissible for us to imitate them in that. Rather, the religion of our Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) is sufficient for us, for Allah made it a mercy for the worlds and made its Shari'ah abrogating all previous Shari'ahs. As for Islam, it is the effort of all the prophets, the effort of all the messengers, but the Shari'ah of Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) is the last of the Shari'ahs, and it abrogates all previous Shari'ahs. It has additions to what was in the previous Shari'ahs, and it abrogates some of what was in the previous Shari'ahs. It is not permissible for us to innovate a celebration of the mawlid, because the Christians innovated a celebration of the birth of Isa, and it is not for us to imitate them in the mawlid, nor in anything other than the mawlid. The Christians and the Jews have innovated many bid'ah, and they changed their religion and neglected their religion because of the bid'ah of the Jews and the Christians and others. The Messenger forbade us that and prohibited us from following their ways and their path. He informed us that the Ummah in the last of time will follow their path and their way. There is no power and no strength except by Allah, except for whom Allah wills, except for whom Allah guides. Reality is a witness to that, and to the truth of what he (peace and blessings be upon him) said, and he is the most knowledgeable of the signs of his prophethood, that he informed that people in the last of time will follow the Jews and the Christians, and that has happened, except for whom Allah wills. So, it is not for us to follow them, and it is not for us to imitate them in their misguided morals, nor in their evil deeds, nor in their bid'ah. Rather, it is sufficient for us to take hold of our religion and adhere to our religion, and to beware of what contradicts them. And Allah says, Exalted is He: . Islam has been returned to you as a religion, so Allah has completed the religion for us. We are not in need of the bid'ah of anyone. Our religion is complete; in his (peace and blessings be upon him) lifetime, Allah completed it for us. So, we are not in need of bid'ah coming from the East or the West, nor from the Jews, nor from the Christians.
And whoever innovates a bid'ah is, in meaning, diminishing this religion and seeing that it is in need of additions, in need of increase. So, he has come from where he does not know. The bid'ah are additions to the religion that Allah has not permitted. And Allah says, Exalted is He: , and the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: . And this poor man who wrote this writing was driven by ignorance and lack of insight. As for the religion of Christianity, it has been abrogated, and it is a false religion now, not a valid religion. It was valid when it was on the way of Isa (peace and blessings be upon him), and nothing was added to it. But when they distorted and changed and altered it, it became a confused religion, and it is not permissible to cling to it except for what was revealed by Allah to Isa and was upon Isa (peace and blessings be upon him). If they had held to the status of Isa and taken it and adhered to it, they would have been upon the truth until Allah sent Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him). When Allah sent Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him), it became obligatory to follow him, and no one has the right to follow the Shari'ah of Isa, nor Moses, nor anyone else. Even if Moses and Isa were alive, it would be obligatory for them to follow Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him). So, it is not permissible for any of the Christians or the Jews to remain on the religion of Isa or the religion of Moses. Rather, it is obligatory for them all to enter into the religion of Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him).
Because Allah said: And He, the Exalted, said: This is a state of abiding for everyone, so no one is to depart from the religion of Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him), neither the Jews, nor the Christians, nor anyone else.

The presenter:
O Allah, send prayers and peace upon him.

The Shaykh:
And he (peace and blessings be upon him) said: By Myself in whose hand is your soul, . And whoever the message of Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) reaches and he does not believe in it until he dies, he becomes from the people of the Fire, whether he is a Jew, a Christian, or otherwise. And the reality is that the Jewish religion, the Christian religion, and Buddhism are all false religions, just like polytheism, and just like communism and its like. They are all false religions that the disbelievers cling to, and they are false religions that do not fatten nor satisfy from hunger. Rather, they return their people to the Fire. There is no valid religion, no true religion in the world except the religion of Islam with which Allah sent Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him), and all religions are false. He said, Exalted is He: . The Jews are not upon Islam, and the Christians are not upon Islam. Rather, they departed from it when they opposed Moses and Isa (peace and blessings be upon him). Then after that, they disbelieved in Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) and did not believe in him, so they became disbelievers after a previous disbelief. The Jews disbelieved by denying Isa, and the Christians disbelieved by saying that Isa is the son of Allah. Then another disbelief came to them, which is the denial of Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) and their lack of belief in him. So, whoever claims that the Christian or Jewish religion is a true religion, he has gone astray and disbelieved. We ask Allah for safety.
He says that Christianity is true, or Judaism is true, so he is a disbeliever who has gone astray today. As for what was in the time of Moses, they did not follow it and did not distort it; these people were upon a true religion, but they passed away and were misguided. And whoever was in the time of Isa and believed in him in his time, and acted upon what he brought, he was upon a true religion, but they passed away and were misguided. As for those existing today who lied about Isa like the Jews, yes, or lied about Muhammad, how do the Christians justify this? These are all disbelievers by the consensus of the people of knowledge and faith. And Allah is the Helper, then there is no power and no strength except by Allah.