The ruling on celebrating the Prophet's birthday and other birthdays
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Question:
I am a young man suffering from a major problem related to 'aqidah (creed). This problem has caused me to live in worry and distress. It is that I work here in Jeddah, and my family is in Jizan. They practice some religious innovations (bid'ah), such as the Prophet's birthday celebration (Mawlid). In this Mawlid, they swear oaths by other than Allah, and they call for aid (istighathah) from the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him), the awliya (close friends of Allah), and the righteous, as well as other forms of shirk (associating partners with Allah) with Allah . In addition, there are matters for which Allah has not sent down any authority. Whenever I advise them, they do not listen to me; rather, they cut off ties with me and become angry with me. I want to save my mother and my brothers from this abyss, but I do not know what to do with them given their opposition to me? So what is your guidance for me, and your advice to me in a convincing way so that they will leave this thing? And how do I advise them while I am far away from them? I ask you to be kind enough to answer, for I am in deep distress. May Allah reward you with good.
Answer:
The evil of religious innovations (bid'ah) is great, and their consequences are severe. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said:Sahih Muslim 1718a meaning: it is rejected. And he (peace and blessings be upon him) said: Sahih Muslim 1718b meaning: it is rejected.
Satan has two stings for the Muslim: a sting toward religious innovations (bid'ah), and a sting toward negligence and sins. Whichever of the two he catches, he does it. He beautifies religious innovations (bid'ah) for people and calls them to them, so that they add to the religion. And he beautifies sins for people, so that they commit sins, and their religion decreases, and their faith decreases.
Celebrating birthdays is among the religious innovations (bid'ah), as Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyyah, Imam al-Shatibi, and a group of others have explicitly stated, clarifying this. This is because the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) did not celebrate the birthday in Madinah during his lifetime, nor did his Rightly Guided Caliphs, nor did he order it, nor did he guide to it. And the Muslims in the blessed centuries did not do it, and they are the most knowledgeable people and the best of people. If it had been good, they would have preceded us to it.
And because shirk (associating partners with Allah) may occur in the celebration of birthdays, as the questioner said, shirk may also occur in it. So the celebration of the Mawlid, and their gathering on the twelfth night, or on the twelfth day, or in any place, where they mention the birth of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) and celebrate it, and they established a system for it: from a table, or eating and drinking, and other things; this is a religious innovation (bid'ah) with no basis. And the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said in his Friday sermon:Sahih Muslim 867a, he said: Sahih Muslim 867a, and he said: Sunan Abi Dawud 4607Sahih (Al-Albani).
And if the celebration is accompanied by calling for aid (istighathah) from the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him), or from the awliya (close friends of Allah), saying: O Messenger of Allah, help me, or heal me, or help me, or help us against our enemy. This becomes major shirk (shirk akbar) along with the religious innovation (bid'ah). It is major shirk (shirk akbar) if one calls for aid from the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him), or from other dead people, or from idols, or from stars and planets. It becomes major shirk (shirk akbar).
And this occurs among many people in the Mawlid celebrations: the Mawlid of al-Badawi, the Mawlid of al-Husayn, the Mawlid of Shaykh Abdul Qadir, and the Mawlid of the Prophet. They commit shirk (associating partners with Allah) in this. They call for aid from the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him), and they call for aid from the awliya (close friends of Allah), and they invoke them along with Allah. This is major shirk (shirk akbar), greater than the religious innovation (bid'ah) of the Mawlid. And Allah (Exalted and Majestic is He) says: [Yunus: 106] meaning: the polytheists. And He (Mighty and Majestic) said: [Al-Mu'minun: 117]. And He said: [Fatir 35:13] If you call them, they will not hear your call, and even if they heard, they would not respond to you, and on the Day of Resurrection they will disavow your shirk (associating partners with Allah) [Fatir: 13-14]. So He named their invocation as shirk (associating partners with Allah). So it is obligatory to be cautious of that?
And you, O questioner, must seek the help of your good brothers: from your uncles, or your father's good neighbors, so that they advise him. And likewise, those who know them from the scholars of knowledge. You tell them so that they advise him and guide him to good. And you, you must use the good manner and kind speech with your father, so that Allah guides him, and so that he accepts the truth, and so that he accepts advice from you and from others.
And we have written letters on this, and they are available and distributed, titled "Warning Against Religious Innovations (Bid'ah)." In it is what relates to the Mawlid, and the clarification of the evidence for its being a religious innovation (bid'ah), and that it is a religious innovation (bid'ah), and that it is among the means of shirk (associating partners with Allah), and invoking the dead, and calling for aid from the dead. So the questioner can review the office and take a copy of this to give to his father or others.
May Allah grant success to everyone.
I am a young man suffering from a major problem related to 'aqidah (creed). This problem has caused me to live in worry and distress. It is that I work here in Jeddah, and my family is in Jizan. They practice some religious innovations (bid'ah), such as the Prophet's birthday celebration (Mawlid). In this Mawlid, they swear oaths by other than Allah, and they call for aid (istighathah) from the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him), the awliya (close friends of Allah), and the righteous, as well as other forms of shirk (associating partners with Allah) with Allah . In addition, there are matters for which Allah has not sent down any authority. Whenever I advise them, they do not listen to me; rather, they cut off ties with me and become angry with me. I want to save my mother and my brothers from this abyss, but I do not know what to do with them given their opposition to me? So what is your guidance for me, and your advice to me in a convincing way so that they will leave this thing? And how do I advise them while I am far away from them? I ask you to be kind enough to answer, for I am in deep distress. May Allah reward you with good.
Answer:
The evil of religious innovations (bid'ah) is great, and their consequences are severe. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said:
'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.
مَن أحدث في أمرنا هذا ما ليس منه فهو ردٌّHe who did any act for which there is no sanction from our behalf, that is to be rejected.
مَن عمل عملًا ليس عليه أمرُنا فهو ردٌّSatan has two stings for the Muslim: a sting toward religious innovations (bid'ah), and a sting toward negligence and sins. Whichever of the two he catches, he does it. He beautifies religious innovations (bid'ah) for people and calls them to them, so that they add to the religion. And he beautifies sins for people, so that they commit sins, and their religion decreases, and their faith decreases.
Celebrating birthdays is among the religious innovations (bid'ah), as Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyyah, Imam al-Shatibi, and a group of others have explicitly stated, clarifying this. This is because the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) did not celebrate the birthday in Madinah during his lifetime, nor did his Rightly Guided Caliphs, nor did he order it, nor did he guide to it. And the Muslims in the blessed centuries did not do it, and they are the most knowledgeable people and the best of people. If it had been good, they would have preceded us to it.
And because shirk (associating partners with Allah) may occur in the celebration of birthdays, as the questioner said, shirk may also occur in it. So the celebration of the Mawlid, and their gathering on the twelfth night, or on the twelfth day, or in any place, where they mention the birth of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) and celebrate it, and they established a system for it: from a table, or eating and drinking, and other things; this is a religious innovation (bid'ah) with no basis. And the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said in his Friday sermon:
the best of the guidance is the guidance given by Muhammad
إنَّ خير الهدي هدي محمدٍ ﷺAnd the most evil affairs are their innovations; and every innovation is error.
وشرُّ الأمور مُحدثاتها، وكل بدعةٍ ضلالةAvoid novelties, for every novelty is an innovation, and every innovation is an error.
إياكم ومُحدثات الأمور، فإنَّ كل محدثةٍ بدعة، وكل بدعةٍ ضلالةAnd if the celebration is accompanied by calling for aid (istighathah) from the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him), or from the awliya (close friends of Allah), saying: O Messenger of Allah, help me, or heal me, or help me, or help us against our enemy. This becomes major shirk (shirk akbar) along with the religious innovation (bid'ah). It is major shirk (shirk akbar) if one calls for aid from the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him), or from other dead people, or from idols, or from stars and planets. It becomes major shirk (shirk akbar).
And this occurs among many people in the Mawlid celebrations: the Mawlid of al-Badawi, the Mawlid of al-Husayn, the Mawlid of Shaykh Abdul Qadir, and the Mawlid of the Prophet. They commit shirk (associating partners with Allah) in this. They call for aid from the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him), and they call for aid from the awliya (close friends of Allah), and they invoke them along with Allah. This is major shirk (shirk akbar), greater than the religious innovation (bid'ah) of the Mawlid. And Allah (Exalted and Majestic is He) says:
And do not invoke besides Allah that which neither benefits you nor harms you, for if you did, then indeed you would be of the wrongdoers.'"
وَلَا تَدْعُ مِنْ دُونِ اللَّهِ مَا لَا يَنْفَعُكَ وَلَا يَضُرُّكَ فَإِنْ فَعَلْتَ فَإِنَّكَ إِذًا مِنَ الظَّالِمِينَAnd whoever invokes besides Allah another deity for which he has no proof - then his account is only with his Lord. Indeed, the disbelievers will not succeed.
وَمَنْ يَدْعُ مَعَ اللَّهِ إِلَهًا آخَرَ لَا بُرْهَانَ لَهُ بِهِ فَإِنَّمَا حِسَابُهُ عِنْدَ رَبِّهِ إِنَّهُ لَا يُفْلِحُ الْكَافِرُونَThat is Allah, your Lord; to Him belongs sovereignty. And those whom you invoke other than Him do not possess [as much as] the membrane of a date seed.
ذَلِكُمُ اللَّهُ رَبُّكُمْ لَهُ الْمُلْكُ وَالَّذِينَ تَدْعُونَ مِنْ دُونِهِ مَا يَمْلِكُونَ مِنْ قِطْمِيرٍ And you, O questioner, must seek the help of your good brothers: from your uncles, or your father's good neighbors, so that they advise him. And likewise, those who know them from the scholars of knowledge. You tell them so that they advise him and guide him to good. And you, you must use the good manner and kind speech with your father, so that Allah guides him, and so that he accepts the truth, and so that he accepts advice from you and from others.
And we have written letters on this, and they are available and distributed, titled "Warning Against Religious Innovations (Bid'ah)." In it is what relates to the Mawlid, and the clarification of the evidence for its being a religious innovation (bid'ah), and that it is a religious innovation (bid'ah), and that it is among the means of shirk (associating partners with Allah), and invoking the dead, and calling for aid from the dead. So the questioner can review the office and take a copy of this to give to his father or others.
May Allah grant success to everyone.
Source
binbaz.org.sa
The Arabic text is copied verbatim from the original source, without any edits.