Ruling on Holding Mawlid Celebrations

Question:
We return at the beginning of this episode to the message from the listener: Anwar Muhammad 'Ayd from the Syrian Arab Republic. Brother Anwar, we addressed some of his questions in a previous episode, and he has one question in this episode, in which he says: Many people among us have the custom of holding a Prophetic Mawlid for the deceased three days after his death, and they slaughter animals which they offer to the people. Is this act a Sunnah, or is it not permissible, and does the deceased not benefit from it? Answer us, may you be rewarded, may Allah reward you with good.

Answer:
In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful. Praise be to Allah, and may Allah send prayers and blessings upon the Messenger of Allah, and upon his family and his Companions, and upon whoever follows his guidance. As for what follows:
So, for a person to hold a Mawlid for his father, or his brother, or someone else, after three days, or after forty days, or after a week, or after a year, all of that is a religious innovation (bid'ah), having no basis in the pure Shari'ah.
So, celebrating Mawlid is something that people introduced into Islam. According to what a group of historians mentioned, the first to introduce it were the Fatimids, who ruled the Maghreb and Egypt for a long period in the fifth and sixth centuries, in the fourth and fifth centuries. Then others among the people did it afterwards, and they held Mawlid for the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), for al-Hasan and al-Husayn, for Fatimah, for 'Ali (may Allah be pleased with them), and for others, and all of that is from religious innovations (bid'ah).
So, it is obligatory for the people of Islam to follow the path of their Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) and the path of his Companions (may Allah be pleased with them), and those who followed them with excellence from the Tabi'un, and those who followed them in the blessed centuries, and not to hold a Mawlid, neither for the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) nor for their fathers, nor their mothers, nor for any other people. Allah (Exalted and Majestic is He) said in His great Book: [Al-Ahzab: 21]. So, we have in the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) a good example; he did not hold a Mawlid for himself, and his Rightly Guided Caliphs did not hold one for themselves or for their Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), and the Companions did not hold one, neither for the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) nor for the Rightly Guided Caliphs nor for anyone else, and the Tabi'un did not hold one, nor did the followers of the Tabi'un in the blessed centuries.
So, it is obligatory to leave it; because it is a religious innovation (bid'ah). And Allah the Exalted said: [Ash-Shura: 21]. He censures them with this, the Exalted. And He said to His Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him): [Al-Jathiyah: 18]. And the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said in the authentic hadith in the Friday sermon: . It was narrated by the Imam Muslim in his Sahih. And in the two Sahihs from 'Aishah (may Allah be pleased with her), from the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), that he said: . And Muslim narrated it in his Sahih, so he said: .
So, it is obligatory for the people of Islam to beware of these religious innovations (bid'ah), among which is: celebrating Mawlid, whether it is on the first day, the third, the tenth, or otherwise. And likewise, celebrating the Prophetic Mawlid, upon him be the best of prayers and peace.
And likewise, celebrating the other Mawlid, such as the Mawlid of 'Ali or Fatimah, or al-Hasan or al-Husayn, or al-Shadhili, or Shaykh 'Abd al-Qadir al-Jilani, or Ibn 'Arabi, or others; all of this is a religious innovation (bid'ah).
And among those who pointed this out is a group of scholars, such as al-Shatibi, and Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyyah, and others among the scholars. They pointed out these religious innovations (bid'ah). What is required of the Muslims is to follow the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) and to honor him by obeying his commands and leaving his prohibitions, not by Mawlid.
The intention is to follow his Shari'ah, and to honor his command and prohibition, and to proceed upon his methodology (peace and blessings be upon him), and to proceed upon what his Companions (may Allah be pleased with them) proceeded upon. As for introducing religious innovations (bid'ah), they anger him, rather, they anger Allah first, and they anger him (peace and blessings be upon him) as well; because they are an addition to the religion, having no basis. And Allah the Exalted says: [At-Tawbah: 100]. So, those who follow with excellence are those who proceeded upon his path, and did not add, and did not subtract, but rather followed them in what they were upon of righteous deeds and beneficial knowledge.
And if someone wants to give charity for his father, or his mother, or his relatives, with dirhams which he gives to the poor, or a slaughtered animal which he distributes among the poor, or food which he gives to the poor, there is no harm. He gives charity, or with money which he gives to some of the poor. All of this is good. Charity is sought.
As for establishing a Mawlid, a celebration of a Mawlid on any day, this is the blameworthy thing, this is the religious innovation (bid'ah), whether that Mawlid is for the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) or for someone else.
And likewise, celebrating the twenty-seventh night of Rajab; because in their claim it is the night of the Night Journey and Ascension. This is also a religious innovation (bid'ah), having no basis in the pure Shari'ah. And the night of the Night Journey and Ascension is not known. And even if it were known, it would not be celebrated; because the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) did not celebrate it, and likewise his Companions. And the thing which he (peace and blessings be upon him) and his Companions did not do is considered a religious innovation (bid'ah). So, if we knew the night of the Night Journey and Ascension, we would not celebrate it; because our Imam and our Master Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) did not celebrate it, and he is the role model. And likewise his Companions, may Allah be pleased with them and grant them satisfaction.
And every deed which is not upon his command; it is rejected, meaning: it is rejected. And it is not permissible for the sensible person to follow people blindly (taqlid), saying: the people did it and I do like them. And even if the majority did it, following blindly (taqlid) is not permissible. It is obligatory to take the argument and the evidence. Allah said, and His Messenger said. And whoever follows the people in what they do without looking at the evidence; he is destroyed.
So, many of the people now worship the dead, and call for aid to the people of the graves, and they circumambulate their graves. Do they follow this major shirk (associating partners with Allah), and build mosques on the graves? And this is blameworthy. So, it is not permissible to follow the people except in obedience to Allah and His Messenger. Allah censured the pre-Islamic age of ignorance (jahiliyyah), and censured Quraysh and their like of the disbelievers when He sent His Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) and they opposed him by saying: [Az-Zukhruf: 22]. He censured them with this. So, it is not for the sensible person to argue with the fathers and the predecessors, or with the deeds of the people in falsehood. Rather, he seeks the truth. Allah said, and His Messenger said. And he takes the truth which Allah and His Messenger said, even if the majority of creation contradicts him. So, the truth is what is obligatory to follow, even if you are alone. Hudhayfah (may Allah be pleased with him) said: O Messenger of Allah! We were in the pre-Islamic age of ignorance (jahiliyyah) and evil, so Allah brought us this good through you. Is there any evil after this good? He said: . So Hudhayfah (may Allah be pleased with him) said: Is there any good after that evil? He said: Yes. . I said: What is its smoke? He said: . I said: O Messenger of Allah! Is there any evil after that good? (meaning: is there any evil after the good which has smoke?) He said: . I said: O Messenger of Allah! Describe them to us? He said: (meaning: from the Arabs). I said: What do you order me, O Messenger of Allah! If I encounter that? He said: . I said: Then if they have no congregation, and no Imam? He said: . Meaning: and you are upon the truth.
And Ibn Mas'ud (may Allah be pleased with him) said to 'Amr ibn Maymun, 'Amr ibn Maymun al-A'udi: He said: O 'Amr! The congregation is what agrees with the truth, even if you are alone. The congregation is what agrees with the truth, even if you are alone.
So, the truth is what is obligatory to follow. So, if you are in a country where no one prays, do not leave the prayer; pray you, even if you are alone. And if you are in a country where they do not fast Ramadan; fast you, even if you are alone. And if you are in a country where they do not give zakah; give zakah you, even if you are alone. So, the truth is obligatory to follow, even if you are alone. And if you are in a country where they do not remember Allah; remember Allah you. Say: La ilaha illa Allah, Subhan Allah, and Alhamdulillah, even if they disapprove of you, and even if they mock you. And if you are in a country where they are not dutiful to their parents; be dutiful to your parents you. And likewise the rest of the matters of the religion. So, the truth must be followed, even if you are alone. And Allah is the Helper. Yes.

The presenter : Allah is the Helper. We ask Allah to prepare acceptance for this call, and to guide the Muslims to follow the methodology of Islam. Indeed, He is capable of all things.

The Shaykh : We ask Allah for that. We ask Allah to guide the Muslims to what brings His pleasure. We ask Allah to rectify their conditions. We ask Allah to appoint for them the best of them. We ask Allah to make it easy for them the callers to the truth so that they may understand them in the religion. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: . And he (peace and blessings be upon him) said: . And He, the Exalted, said: [Fussilat: 33].
It is obligatory for the scholars, wherever they are in the Islamic lands and elsewhere, it is obligatory for the scholars of truth, the scholars of the Book and the Sunnah, that they convey the message of Allah, and that they teach people the religion of Allah, and that they make the truth clear to them, especially the meaning of the testimony: that there is no deity but Allah, and that Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah, and that they teach them that it is obligatory upon them to devote worship to Allah alone, and that they do not worship with Him any other, neither a near angel, nor a sent prophet, and that they preserve the five prayers, and profess them, and be upright upon them in their times, and that they pay the zakah as Allah has made obligatory, and that they fast Ramadan as Allah has made obligatory, and that they perform Hajj to the House with the ability to do so as Allah has made obligatory. Thus, we ask Allah for the Muslims guidance and success, and rectification of intention and deed.

The presenter : O Allah, amen. May Allah reward you with good.

The Shaykh : We seek help from Allah. Yes.