The Comparison Between Celebrating the Mawlid and Holding Weeks and the National Day
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Fatwa No. ( 9403 ):
Q: I am the imam of one of the mosques in Jeddah, and I delivered a sermon on the sending of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him), in which I mentioned that celebrating the birth of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) is an innovation among the innovations introduced into the religion. In the second week, the sermon was on the Week of Mosques, and the title of the sermon was: "The Maintenance of Mosques." I mentioned in it the care of mosques, their maintenance, and their carpeting, deriving this from the Book of Allah and the Sunnah of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him). After the prayer, one of the worshippers approached me and said: "O my uncle, the Shaykh, you spoke to us last week about the birth of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him), and you mentioned that celebrating it is an innovation. I would like to ask you
The questioner: So I said to him: Please, I will answer you to the best of my ability. He said: What is the ruling of the Shari'ah regarding celebrating the birth of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him), the children's birthday, Mother's Day, Tree Week, Traffic Week, the Kingdom's National Day, and Mosque Week? Are these not religious innovations? Why do you fight the celebration of the Prophet's (peace and blessings be upon him) birth, knowing that he is the greatest man known to all of humanity and the most deserving of such a celebration, while you do not deny these other celebrations, but rather encourage them, especially you Saudis? I explained this to him, seeking help from Allah, and I said to him: The purpose of Mosque Week is to urge Muslims to keep their mosques clean and take care of them. He said to me: Look at the streets; verses of Allah are written on paper and cloth, the wind scatters them, and they are thrown into the roads and places of filth. Is this not forbidden, especially during Mosque Week? Look, my uncle the Shaykh, at this piece of cloth written with:[At-Tawbah 9:18], thrown in the garden, and waste water is poured over it. To Allah we belong and to Him we return... I am conveying to you the man's words verbatim, exactly as he spoke them to me. And indeed, I took the piece of cloth with the writing on it, washed it, and burned it. He then said to me: My uncle the Shaykh, I do not want anything from you; rather, what I
hope is that you, the preachers of the mosques and those whose words are heard, will speak out. But you, the preachers of Saudi Arabia , cannot do so. If the government says: This is forbidden, you say: Forbidden. And if it says: This is lawful, you say: Lawful. And you are the first one to tell me: This is a good deed and encourages Muslims to do good. I cannot be convinced by this talk except by a legal ruling from the senior scholars. And do not forget, O Shaykh, that the one who remains silent about the truth is a dumb devil. Peace be upon you. The end. Therefore, I request the legal ruling on the festivals mentioned on the first page, in detail, with evidence for each topic individually (may Allah preserve you).
A: First: The term "Eid" (festival) is the name for what recurs in the form of a customary gathering, whether by the recurrence of the year, the month, the week, or the like. Thus, an Eid gathers several matters: a recurring day, such as the day of Eid al-Fitr and the day of Jumu'ah; the gathering on that day; and the actions performed on that day, whether acts of worship or customs. Second: Whatever of this is intended for worship, drawing near to Allah, or exaltation in order to gain reward, or contains imitating the people of the pre-Islamic age of ignorance or the like of them from the sects of disbelievers, is a prohibited, newly introduced innovation, falling under the general meaning of the saying of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him):Sahih Muslim 1718a narrated by al-Bukhari and Muslim, An example of this is: celebrating the Eid of the Mawlid, Mother's Day, and the National Day; because
in the first, there is the introduction of a worship that Allah has not authorized, and in it, there is imitating the Christians and the like of them from the disbelievers, and in the second and third, there is imitating the disbelievers. And whatever is intended for organizing affairs, for example, for the benefit of the Ummah and regulating its matters; such as the Week of Traffic, organizing study schedules, and gathering employees for work, and the like of that which does not lead to drawing near, worship, or exaltation in itself, is a customary innovation that is not covered by his saying (peace and blessings be upon him):Sahih Muslim 1718a So there is no harm in it; rather, it is prescribed. And success is from Allah. And may Allah send prayers and blessings upon our Prophet Muhammad, his family, and his Companions.
Q: I am the imam of one of the mosques in Jeddah, and I delivered a sermon on the sending of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him), in which I mentioned that celebrating the birth of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) is an innovation among the innovations introduced into the religion. In the second week, the sermon was on the Week of Mosques, and the title of the sermon was: "The Maintenance of Mosques." I mentioned in it the care of mosques, their maintenance, and their carpeting, deriving this from the Book of Allah and the Sunnah of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him). After the prayer, one of the worshippers approached me and said: "O my uncle, the Shaykh, you spoke to us last week about the birth of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him), and you mentioned that celebrating it is an innovation. I would like to ask you
The questioner: So I said to him: Please, I will answer you to the best of my ability. He said: What is the ruling of the Shari'ah regarding celebrating the birth of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him), the children's birthday, Mother's Day, Tree Week, Traffic Week, the Kingdom's National Day, and Mosque Week? Are these not religious innovations? Why do you fight the celebration of the Prophet's (peace and blessings be upon him) birth, knowing that he is the greatest man known to all of humanity and the most deserving of such a celebration, while you do not deny these other celebrations, but rather encourage them, especially you Saudis? I explained this to him, seeking help from Allah, and I said to him: The purpose of Mosque Week is to urge Muslims to keep their mosques clean and take care of them. He said to me: Look at the streets; verses of Allah are written on paper and cloth, the wind scatters them, and they are thrown into the roads and places of filth. Is this not forbidden, especially during Mosque Week? Look, my uncle the Shaykh, at this piece of cloth written with:
The mosques of Allah are only to be maintained by those who believe in Allah and the Last Day
إِنَّمَا يَعْمُرُ مَسَاجِدَ اللَّهِ مَنْ آمَنَ بِاللَّهِ وَالْيَوْمِ الآخِرِhope is that you, the preachers of the mosques and those whose words are heard, will speak out. But you, the preachers of Saudi Arabia , cannot do so. If the government says: This is forbidden, you say: Forbidden. And if it says: This is lawful, you say: Lawful. And you are the first one to tell me: This is a good deed and encourages Muslims to do good. I cannot be convinced by this talk except by a legal ruling from the senior scholars. And do not forget, O Shaykh, that the one who remains silent about the truth is a dumb devil. Peace be upon you. The end. Therefore, I request the legal ruling on the festivals mentioned on the first page, in detail, with evidence for each topic individually (may Allah preserve you).
A: First: The term "Eid" (festival) is the name for what recurs in the form of a customary gathering, whether by the recurrence of the year, the month, the week, or the like. Thus, an Eid gathers several matters: a recurring day, such as the day of Eid al-Fitr and the day of Jumu'ah; the gathering on that day; and the actions performed on that day, whether acts of worship or customs. Second: Whatever of this is intended for worship, drawing near to Allah, or exaltation in order to gain reward, or contains imitating the people of the pre-Islamic age of ignorance or the like of them from the sects of disbelievers, is a prohibited, newly introduced innovation, falling under the general meaning of the saying of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him):
'A'isha reported Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) as saying: He who innovates things in our affairs for which there is no valid (reason) (commits sin) and these are to be rejected.
من أحدث في أمرنا هذا ما ليس منه فهو ردin the first, there is the introduction of a worship that Allah has not authorized, and in it, there is imitating the Christians and the like of them from the disbelievers, and in the second and third, there is imitating the disbelievers. And whatever is intended for organizing affairs, for example, for the benefit of the Ummah and regulating its matters; such as the Week of Traffic, organizing study schedules, and gathering employees for work, and the like of that which does not lead to drawing near, worship, or exaltation in itself, is a customary innovation that is not covered by his saying (peace and blessings be upon him):
'A'isha reported Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) as saying: He who innovates things in our affairs for which there is no valid (reason) (commits sin) and these are to be rejected.
من أحدث في أمرنا هذا ما ليس منه فهو رد
Source
www.alifta.gov.sa
The Arabic text is copied verbatim from the original source, without any edits.