What is the ruling on birthdays and celebrating the Prophet's (peace and blessings be upon him) birthday?
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The questioner : What is the ruling in the Shari'ah, in your view, regarding birthdays and celebrating the anniversary of the Messenger of Allah's (peace and blessings be upon him) birth? They are widespread among us. Please inform us, may Allah reward you.
The Shaykh : We have looked into this issue and say: The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) is a messenger to all of creation, and it is obligatory for all of creation to believe in him and follow him. Furthermore, it is obligatory for us to love him more than we love ourselves, our parents, and our children, because he is the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him). We see that among the ways of honoring the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) and signs of loving him is that we do not precede him with a matter that he has not prescribed for us, because that is a form of preceding him. Allah the Exalted said:[Al-Hujurat 49:1-2].
Establishing a festival for the Prophet's (peace and blessings be upon him) birth does not escape three possibilities: either a person does it out of love and honor for the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), or he does it for amusement and play, or he does it to imitate the Christians who celebrate the birth of Isa ibn Maryam (peace be upon him).
As for the first case, if a person does it out of love and honor for the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him), then in this state it becomes a matter of religion and worship, because loving and honoring the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) is part of the religion. Allah the Exalted said:[Al-Fath 48:8-9] If that is part of the religion, then it is not possible for us, nor is it permissible for us, to legislate in the religion of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) what is not part of it, because that necessitates one of two false matters: either the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) did not know that this was part of his Shari'ah, in which case he would be ignorant of the Shari'ah he was tasked with conveying, and those who established these celebrations after him would be more knowledgeable about the religion of Allah than his Messenger. This is a statement that no sane person, let alone a believer, could utter. Or, the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) knew that this was a prescribed matter but concealed it from his Ummah. This is worse than the first, because it implies that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) concealed part of what Allah revealed to him and hid it from the Ummah. This is a great betrayal, and may Allah protect the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) from concealing anything of what Allah revealed to him. Aisha (may Allah be pleased with her) said: "If the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) had concealed anything of what Allah revealed to him, he would have concealed the saying of Allah the Exalted: [Al-Ahzab 33:37]" Thus, the establishment of a celebration for the Prophet's (peace and blessings be upon him) birth for the sake of loving and honoring him is invalid. As for the second matter, which is that establishing these celebrations is for the sake of amusement and play, it is well known that among the ugliest things is to do an act that appears to intend honoring the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) while it is actually for play and amusement. This is a type of mockery and ridicule. If it is for amusement and play, how can it be taken as a religion by which the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) is honored?
As for the third matter, which is taking it to imitate the Christians in their celebrations of the birth of Isa ibn Maryam (peace be upon him), our imitating the Christians in such a matter is forbidden, because the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said:Sunan Abi Dawud 4031Hasan Sahih (Al-Albani).
Then we say: This celebration of the Prophet's (peace and blessings be upon him) birth was not done by the Companions (may Allah be pleased with them), nor by those who followed them in goodness, nor by the followers of the followers. It only occurred in the fourth century of the Hijrah. Where are the Salaf of the Ummah regarding this matter, which its practitioners consider to be part of the religion of Allah? Are they less loving and honoring of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) than we are? Or are they more ignorant than we are of what is due to the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) in terms of honor and rights? Or what? Any person who establishes this celebration claims that he is honoring the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), thereby claiming for himself that he is more honoring of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) and has stronger love than the Companions, the Tabi'un, and those who followed them in goodness. There is no doubt that loving and honoring the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) is achieved by following his Sunnah (peace and blessings be upon him), because following his Sunnah is the strongest sign indicating that a person loves the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) and honors him. As for preceding him and innovating something in his religion that he has not prescribed, this does not indicate the perfection of love and honor for the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him).
Someone might say: We do not establish it except for the sake of remembrance. We say: O my Allah, would you have remembrance in something that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) did not prescribe and the Companions (may Allah be pleased with them) did not do? While you have remembrance that is established and fixed by the consensus of Muslims, which is greater and more lasting than this. All Muslims say in the Adhan in the five prayers: "I bear witness that there is no god but Allah, and I bear witness that Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah." All Muslims say in their prayer: "I bear witness that there is no god but Allah, and I bear witness that Muhammad is His slave and His Messenger." All Muslims say when finishing the ablution: "I bear witness that there is no god but Allah, and I bear witness that Muhammad is His slave and His Messenger." Indeed, the remembrance of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) is in every act of worship a person does, because worship requires sincerity and following the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him). If a person is mindful of that when performing an act of worship, he must be mindful that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) is his leader in this act, and this is remembrance.
And in any case, what Allah and His Messenger have prescribed as signs of love and honor for the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) is sufficient for us, rather than what people have innovated in his religion that Allah and His Messenger have not prescribed. We ask Allah, the Exalted and Sublime, to guide everyone to what is good. However, these celebrations, as we hear, contain exaggeration and flattery that may take a person out of the religion, and they contain mixing between men and women from which fitnah and corruption are feared. We ask Allah to prepare for the Muslim Ummah what is right in their affairs, and to guide them to what is in the well-being of their religion and worldly life, and their honor and dignity. He is the Generous, the Bountiful. And all praise is due to Allah, Lord of the worlds.
The Shaykh : We have looked into this issue and say: The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) is a messenger to all of creation, and it is obligatory for all of creation to believe in him and follow him. Furthermore, it is obligatory for us to love him more than we love ourselves, our parents, and our children, because he is the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him). We see that among the ways of honoring the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) and signs of loving him is that we do not precede him with a matter that he has not prescribed for us, because that is a form of preceding him. Allah the Exalted said:
(1) O you who have believed, do not put [yourselves] before Allah and His Messenger but fear Allah. Indeed, Allah is Hearing and Knowing. (2) O you who have believed, do not raise your voices above the voice of the Prophet or be loud to him in speech like the loudness of some of you to others, lest your deeds become worthless while you perceive not.
يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا لا تُقَدِّمُوا بَيْنَ يَدَيِ اللَّهِ وَرَسُولِهِ وَاتَّقُوا اللَّهَ إِنَّ اللَّهَ سَمِيعٌ عَلِيمٌ * يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا لا تَرْفَعُوا أَصْوَاتَكُمْ فَوْقَ صَوْتِ النَّبِيِّ وَلا تَجْهَرُوا لَهُ بِالْقَوْلِ كَجَهْرِ بَعْضِكُمْ لِبَعْضٍ أَنْ تَحْبَطَ أَعْمَالُكُمْ وَأَنْتُمْ لا تَشْعُرُونَEstablishing a festival for the Prophet's (peace and blessings be upon him) birth does not escape three possibilities: either a person does it out of love and honor for the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), or he does it for amusement and play, or he does it to imitate the Christians who celebrate the birth of Isa ibn Maryam (peace be upon him).
As for the first case, if a person does it out of love and honor for the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him), then in this state it becomes a matter of religion and worship, because loving and honoring the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) is part of the religion. Allah the Exalted said:
(8) Indeed, We have sent you as a witness and a bringer of good tidings and a warner (9) That you [people] may believe in Allah and His Messenger and honor him and respect the Prophet and exalt Allah morning and afternoon.
إِنَّا أَرْسَلْنَاكَ شَاهِدًا وَمُبَشِّرًا وَنَذِيرًا * لِتُؤْمِنُوا بِاللَّهِ وَرَسُولِهِ وَتُعَزِّرُوهُ وَتُوَقِّرُوهُ وَتُسَبِّحُوهُ بُكْرَةً وَأَصِيلًاand fear Allah," while you concealed within yourself that which Allah is to disclose. And you feared the people, while Allah has more right that you fear Him.
وَاتَّقِ اللَّهَ وَتُخْفِي فِي نَفْسِكَ مَا اللَّهُ مُبْدِيهِ وَتَخْشَى النَّاسَ وَاللَّهُ أَحَقُّ أَنْ تَخْشَاهُAs for the third matter, which is taking it to imitate the Christians in their celebrations of the birth of Isa ibn Maryam (peace be upon him), our imitating the Christians in such a matter is forbidden, because the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said:
He who copies any people is one of them.
من تشبه بقوم فهو منهمThen we say: This celebration of the Prophet's (peace and blessings be upon him) birth was not done by the Companions (may Allah be pleased with them), nor by those who followed them in goodness, nor by the followers of the followers. It only occurred in the fourth century of the Hijrah. Where are the Salaf of the Ummah regarding this matter, which its practitioners consider to be part of the religion of Allah? Are they less loving and honoring of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) than we are? Or are they more ignorant than we are of what is due to the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) in terms of honor and rights? Or what? Any person who establishes this celebration claims that he is honoring the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), thereby claiming for himself that he is more honoring of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) and has stronger love than the Companions, the Tabi'un, and those who followed them in goodness. There is no doubt that loving and honoring the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) is achieved by following his Sunnah (peace and blessings be upon him), because following his Sunnah is the strongest sign indicating that a person loves the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) and honors him. As for preceding him and innovating something in his religion that he has not prescribed, this does not indicate the perfection of love and honor for the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him).
Someone might say: We do not establish it except for the sake of remembrance. We say: O my Allah, would you have remembrance in something that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) did not prescribe and the Companions (may Allah be pleased with them) did not do? While you have remembrance that is established and fixed by the consensus of Muslims, which is greater and more lasting than this. All Muslims say in the Adhan in the five prayers: "I bear witness that there is no god but Allah, and I bear witness that Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah." All Muslims say in their prayer: "I bear witness that there is no god but Allah, and I bear witness that Muhammad is His slave and His Messenger." All Muslims say when finishing the ablution: "I bear witness that there is no god but Allah, and I bear witness that Muhammad is His slave and His Messenger." Indeed, the remembrance of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) is in every act of worship a person does, because worship requires sincerity and following the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him). If a person is mindful of that when performing an act of worship, he must be mindful that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) is his leader in this act, and this is remembrance.
And in any case, what Allah and His Messenger have prescribed as signs of love and honor for the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) is sufficient for us, rather than what people have innovated in his religion that Allah and His Messenger have not prescribed. We ask Allah, the Exalted and Sublime, to guide everyone to what is good. However, these celebrations, as we hear, contain exaggeration and flattery that may take a person out of the religion, and they contain mixing between men and women from which fitnah and corruption are feared. We ask Allah to prepare for the Muslim Ummah what is right in their affairs, and to guide them to what is in the well-being of their religion and worldly life, and their honor and dignity. He is the Generous, the Bountiful. And all praise is due to Allah, Lord of the worlds.