The Shaykh’s response to the objection of some that this is merely a custom and that the disagreement is formal, in an attempt to escape the truth which cannot be refuted.

The Shaykh : And so you find one of them evading, and I do not want to say he is being evasive and compromising, when he says, “It is true that this celebration is not from the Sunnah; the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him), the Companions, and the righteous Salaf did not celebrate it. But people have become accustomed to celebrating it, and it seems that the disagreement is formal.” This is how he justifies the issue, saying the disagreement is formal. But the truth is that they have recently realized that this Mawlid has strayed from the subject of celebrating the birth of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him). And often, when the preachers speak, they address matters that have no relation to celebrating the birth of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him and his family).