Here is a debate between Shaykh Al-Albani (Rahimullah) to help you understand why the celebration of 12 RabiulAwwal known as Eid Milad un Nabi or Mawlid is an innovation and not a part of Deen.
Shaykh al-Albani (Rahimullah): Is the celebration of Mawlid an-Nabawi considered khayr (good) or evil?
The opponent: Khayr.
Shaykh al-Albani (Rahimullah): So, are you saying, were the Messenger of Allah ﷺ and his Sahabah unaware of this Khayr (good) then?
The opponent: No.
Shaykh al-Albani (Rahimullah): I am not convinced with your saying just ‘No.’ This question could’ve been answered in this manner: It is simply not possible the Prophet ﷺ and his Sahabah were unaware of this “goodness.” All the components of Deen have been given to us by the Prophet ﷺ, so how is it possible that what we call an act of “khayr” was unknown to him. This is impossible.
The opponent: Establishing Mawlid an-Nabwi ﷺ is reviving his memories and is a tribute to him ﷺ.
Shaykh Al-Albani (Rahimullah): This is a philosophy that we have heard of before. Tell me, when Allah’s Messenger ﷺ invited the people (to the Deen of Allah (عَزَّوَجَلَّ)), did he call them to commands given in Islam as a whole or did he invite them to Tawheed?
The opponent: Tawheed.
Shaykh al-Albani (Rahimullah): First, he ﷺ invited them to Tawheed, next prayer was made obligatory, then fasting, later the obligation of Hajj, and so on. So, you follow this Sunnah of the Sharee’ah, (and talk about the issue under discussion) step-by-step.
We have now agreed that it is impossible that there could be a khayr with us which the Prophet ﷺ did not know of. We know all the khayr came through the Messenger ﷺ and I believe that anyone, who doubts in this matter, is not a Muslim.
From the ahadith of Allah’s Messenger ﷺ that support this statement is:
ما تركتُ شيئاً يقربكم إلى الله إلا وأمرتكم به
“There is nothing that will take you closer to Paradise but that I have enjoined it upon you, and there is nothing that will take you closer to Hell but that I have warned you of it.”
(Musnad ash-Shafa’ee and others)
So, if Mawlid was khayr and something that could bring us closer to Allah (عَزَّوَجَلَّ), then Allah’s Messenger ﷺ would have guided us to it. Do you agree with me so far?
The opponent: I totally agree.
Shaykh Al-Albani (Rahimullah): Jazak Allah khayr. We say to all who approve of this celebration – Mawlid is khayr in your opinion. Did the Messenger of Allah ﷺ guide us to it or did he not? If they say, “He ﷺ guided us to it.” We say to them:
قُلْ هَاتُوا بُرْهَانَكُمْ إِن كُنتُمْ صَادِقِينَ
“Produce your proof if you are truthful.”
[Surah al-Baqarah: 11]
And they can never bring a proof because they do not have one. They argue by saying, “This is a Bid’ah Husna (a good innovation).”
Both who approve of Mawlid and those who forbid it, are in agreement that this (celebration of) Mawlid neither existed at the time of Allah’s Messenger ﷺ nor at the time of the Companion and nor at the time of the Pious Predecessors.
However, the supporters of Mawlid say, “What is the harm in this celebration? It is just remembering the Prophet ﷺ, sending blessing upon him and similar acts.” We respond by saying, “If it was khayr, the Companions would have preceded us in its celebration. You know the hadith of Allah’s Messenger ﷺ,
خير الناس قرني ثم الذين يلونهم ثم الذين يلونهم
“The best of my Ummah is my generation, then those who come after them, then those who come after them.”
(This is an agreed upon Hadith)
The Prophet’s ﷺ generation was in which he ﷺ and the Sahabah lived, then those who followed them were the Tabi’een, and then those who followed them were the followers of Tabi’een. This again is an agreed upon matter.
So, do you think that there could exist a goodness in which we could surpass them in terms of knowledge and actions? Is it possible?
The opponent: If we look at it from a scientific perspective, what if the Messenger ﷺ had informed someone in his time that the earth rotates?
Shaykh al-Albani (Rahimullah): Please let’s not divert the discussion. I asked you about two things; knowledge and action. When I speak of knowledge, I refer to the knowledge of Shari’ah alone.
If we were to say the doctor today is more knowledgeable in the subject of Tibb than Ibn Seena, it does not prove that he is better than those that existed in the time of the khayr-ul-qurun (the best of people). We speak of Shara’ee knowledge and not of geography, astronomy, chemistry or biology. If a person were to be an expert in any of the above mentioned subjects, would it make him nearer to Allah (عَزَّوَجَلَّ)?
The opponent: No
Shaykh Al-Albani (Rahimullah):Do you think with the mind and intellect bestowed upon you (by Allah SWT) that it is possible for us, in this later time to be more knowledgeable than the Sahabah and the Taba’een with regards to the Sharee’ah knowledge and be hastier in performing actions and that we be closer to Allah ﷻ than the Salaf as-Salih?
The opponent: When you speak of Shaar’aee knowledge, are you referring to the Tafseer of the Qur’an?
Shaykh Al-Albani (Rahimullah): I refer to Tafseer of Qur’an and the hadith of the Prophet ﷺ as well as the knowledge of Shari’ah. They are more knowledgeable than us.
Perhaps today in our time, we are more knowledge in the the Tafseer of the Qur’an than the promise to the Prophet ﷺ. For example it is said in the Qur’an:
وَتَرَى الْجِبَالَ تَحْسَبُهَا جَامِدَةً وَهِيَ تَمُرُّ مَرَّ السَّحَابِ ۚ صُنْعَ اللَّـهِ الَّذِي أَتْقَنَ كُلَّ شَيْءٍ ۚ إِنَّهُ خَبِيرٌ بِمَا تَفْعَلُونَ
“You will see the mountains and think them solid, but they shall pass away as the passing away of the clouds. The Work of Allah, Who perfected all things. Verily! He is Well-Acquainted with what you do.”
[Surah an-Naml: 88]
If the Messenger of Allah ﷺ had informed someone in his time that the earth rotates, would anyone have believed him? Nobody would have believed him.
Shaykh Al-Albani (Rahimullah): Kindly do not divert from the topic at hand. Here we are discussing the whole where as you tend to incline towards speaking of just a part. The basic question being asked here is who is more knowledgeable in the knowledge of Islam?
The opponent: Obviously Allah’s Messenger ﷺ and his Companions (رَضِيَ ٱللَّٰهُ عَنْهُ).
Shaykh Al-Albani (Rahimullah): This is (the answer) we want from you, Barak Allah Feek. (May Allah SWT increase you in this.)
And in this verse of the Qur’an those who refer to the earth rotating, interpret it wrongly. As it refers to the Day of Judgement. We agree to the fact that the people of today may be more aware in scientific knowledge or the subject of astronomy. Just as the disbelievers are ahead of the Muslims in their knowledge. But what do they gain out of this? Hence, we do not choose to discuss this. We choose to discuss all that brings us closer to Allah (عَزَّوَجَلَّ). We are discussing Milad un Nabwi. We both have agreed that if this was an act of khayr, the Prophet ﷺ and his Companions would be more aware of it. And there is no doubt about that.
The opponent: Yes agreed. There is no doubt regarding this.
Shaykh Al-Albani(Rahimullah): Do not restrict this to experimental sciences as it has nothing to do with closeness to Allah ﷻ or righteous deeds. We are agreed upon that Mawlid was non-existent during the time of Allah’s Messenger ﷺ. So, this khayr was non-existent during the time of Allah’s Messenger ﷺ, his Sahabah, Taba’een and the Imams. How could this khayr be concealed from them? We have to say one of the two things; They knew this to be good like we know (because) they were more knowledgeable than us. Or they were not aware of its intrinsic good. If this is so, then how did we know it? We can say one of the two things:
Either they knew of this khayr or they were not aware of this. If we suppose that they knew of it (in support of those who celebrate it), then the question arises this saying so, why did they not act upon it? Are we closer to Allah (عَزَّوَجَلَّ) then they were?
Why did not even one of them perform this act whether a Sahabi, a Taba’ee, a knowledgeable or even a common man? Do you believe that none of the above mentioned people never got a chance to act upon it even once despite the fact that they were in thousands and were both more knowledgeable than us and also more god-fearing?
You must be aware of the hadith of the Prophet ﷺ:
لاَ تَسُبُّوا أَصْحَابِي لاَ تَسُبُّوا أَصْحَابِي فَوَالَّذِي نَفْسِي بِيَدِهِ لَوْ أَنَّ أَحَدَكُمْ أَنْفَقَ مِثْلَ أُحُدٍ ذَهَبًا مَا أَدْرَكَ مُدَّ أَحَدِهِمْ وَلاَ نَصِيفَهُ
“Do not revile my companions. By (Allah SWT) in Whose Hand my soul is, if any one of you spends gold (piled up) like (mount) Uhud it will not equal a pint of any one of them, nor its half.”
(Sahih Muslim 2540)
(Agreed upon)
Do you see a difference in the Sahabas and us? The difference lies because of the fact that they acquired knowledge from the Prophet and accompanied the Prophet to fight in the way of Allah (عَزَّوَجَلَّ).
It is not possible for us to think that such people remained unaware of any knowledge that brought them closer to Allah (عَزَّوَجَلَّ) and then they chose not to implement it once they were aware of it. They struggled in the path of Allah with the Prophet ﷺ. They took the knowledge fresh and anew without these many mediums that are between us and the Prophet ﷺ.
Insha’Allah, this issue has been made clear to you after I have repeatedly mentioned it. If the celebration of Mawlid had goodness or benefit then it would have been from Islam.
The opponent : Alhumdulillah
Shaykh Al-Albani (Rahimullah): Jazak Allah khayr
One more thing. There are numerous verses and ahadith which explain that Islam has been completed/perfected. I believe you are well-aware of this and firmly believe in it – both a scholar and a common man know this truth that Islam is complete and it is not like the religion of the Jews and Christians in which there is alteration and modification every day.
I remind you of the saying of Allah (عَزَّوَجَلَّ):
الْيَوْمَ أَكْمَلْتُ لَكُمْ دِينَكُمْ وَأَتْمَمْتُ عَلَيْكُمْ نِعْمَتِي وَرَضِيتُ لَكُمُ الْإِسْلَامَ دِينًا
“This day I have perfected your religion for you, completed my Favor upon you and have chosen for you Islam as your religion.”
[Surah al-Maidah:3]
The day when the above verse was revealed, there was no celebration of Mawlid. So do you think the Deen would have been made complete (without this celebration)?
Please be frank with me, do not think of me as those scholars who quiet their students and common people saying, ‘Be quite, you do not know and you don’t understand.’
Use your freedom to speak as if you were speaking to a person of your age and knowledge. If you are not convinced say, ‘I am not convinced.’
So, if the celebration of Mawlid was khayr then it would have been from Islam and if it was not khayr then it would not have been from Islam and we are agreed upon that Mawlid was non-existent when this verse was revealed.
I base my argument upon the saying of Malik ibn Anas (Rahimullah), who said:
من ابتدع في الإسلام بدعة يراها حسنة فقد زعم أن محمداً صلى الله عليه وسلم خان الرسالة
“He, who innovates a bidah in the religion of Islam and he considers it to be khayr then he has maligned the Messenger of Allah ﷺ, Muhammad ﷺ that he ﷺ betrayed the message (i.e., did not completely convey the message).”
Notice that says does not mention just one bidah but refers to all bidah. So, this is a dangerous matter. What is the proof, O Imam?
Imam Malik (Rahimullah) said read if you wish:
الْيَوْمَ أَكْمَلْتُ لَكُمْ دِينَكُمْ وَأَتْمَمْتُ عَلَيْكُمْ نِعْمَتِي وَرَضِيتُ لَكُمُ الْإِسْلَامَ دِينًا
“This day I have perfected Malik ibn Anas your religion for you, completed my Favor upon you and have chosen for you Islam as your religion.”
[Surah Al-Maidah:3]
So, something that was not from the Deen that day is also not from the Deen today. Yet, it has been made a part of Deen today. And if it were a part, there would be no reason for contradiction in this matter amongst the scholars who adhere to the Sunnah and those who defend the bidah.
How can the celebration of Mawlid be from the Deen, when it was not so during the time of Allah’s Messenger ﷺ, the Sahabah, the Taba’een and their followers?
Imam Malik (Rahimullah) was from the followers of the Taba’een and was included in the Hadeeth:
خير الناس قرني ثم الذين يلونهم ثم الذين يلونهم
“The best of my Ummah is my generation, then those who come after them, then those who come after them.”
(Agreed upon)
How can Deen be perfected by adding to it with our own whims and fancies? How can we achieve the nearness to Allah (عَزَّوَجَلَّ) by those actions which the Prophet ﷺ did not prescribe?
Allah’s Messenger ﷺ said,
“There is nothing that will take you closer to Paradise but that I have enjoined it upon you, and there is nothing that will take you closer to Hell but that I have warned you from it.”
(Musnad Ash-Shafa’ee)
Let’s Honor the Prophet ﷺ every week instead of once a year
Abi Qatadah al-Ansaree related, “There came a man to Allah’s Messenger ﷺ and said:
‘O Messenger of Allah ﷺ, why do you fast on Mondays?” He ﷺ replied, “That is the day on which I was born and the day on which I was entrusted with the Mission or when I was first given Revelation.”
[Sahih Muslim]
The Prophet ﷺ is saying, why do you ask me this while on this day Allah ﷻ gave me life and revealed the Qur’an upon me?! Which means that it is required to fast on Mondays as a gratitude to Allah ﷻ for His creating me and revelation of the wahi.
This is similar to the fast of Aashoorah. The fast of Aashoorah was made obligatory upon every Muslim before the month of Ramadan. In Sahih Muslim, it has been stated that:
‘A’isha (رَضِيَ ٱللَّٰهُ عَنْهُ)reported that the Quraish used to fast on the day of ‘Ashura in the pre-Islamic days and the Messenger of Allah ﷺ also observed it. When he migrated to Medina, he himself observed this fast and commanded (others) to observe it. But when fasting during the month of Ramadan was made obligatory he said: He who wishes to observe this fast may do so, and he who wishes to abandon it may do so.”
(Sahih Muslim)
When Allah’s Messenger ﷺ migrated to Medina, he found the Jews fasting the day of Aashoorah and inquired about it. They replied saying this is the day when Allah (عَزَّوَجَلَّ) saved Moosa (عَلَيْهِ ٱلسَّلَامُ) and his people from Fir’awn and his army. So we fast on this day in thankfulness to Him. Allah’s Messenger ﷺ said, “We have more right upon him than you.” So, he fasted and ordered fasting on this day and it was made obligatory until Allah (عَزَّوَجَلَّ) revealed this verse:
شَهْرُ رَمَضَانَ الَّذِي أُنزِلَ فِيهِ الْقُرْآنُ هُدًى لِّلنَّاسِ وَبَيِّنَاتٍ مِّنَ الْهُدَىٰ وَالْفُرْقَانِ
“The month of Ramadan in which was revealed the Qur’an, a guidance for mankind and clear proofs for the guidance and criterion (between right and wrong).”
[Surah Al-Baqara: 185]
The obligation of fasting on the day of Aashoorah was abrogated later and it became a Sunnah.
It is evident from this that Allah’s Messenger ﷺ participated with the Jews in their fasting on the day of Aashoorah in thankfulness to Allah (عَزَّوَجَلَّ) for saving Moosa (عَلَيْهِ ٱلسَّلَامُ) from Fir’awn. So, the door of shukr (thankfulness) has been opened – even for us – in the form of fasting on Mondays because it is the day when Allah’s Messenger ﷺ was born and on this day the wahi (revelation) came down upon him.
Now I ask, These people who celebrate Mawlid, do they fast on Mondays? No, they do not fast on Mondays. But most of the people celebrate Mawlid an-Nabawi every year! Is this not altering the facts?
For these people, the following verse is true with regards to Jews (alone):
قَالَ أَتَسْتَبْدِلُونَ الَّذِي هُوَ أَدْنَىٰ بِالَّذِي هُوَ خَيْرٌ
‘Would you exchange that which is better for that which is lower?’
[Surah al-Baqarah: 61]
The fast which is agreed upon by all the Muslims on Mondays is khayr although majority of the Muslims do not fast this day!
There are a very few people who fast on these days. So, do they know the reason behind this fast? No, they don’t.
The Messenger ﷺ truly said,
“They will follow the ways of those who came before them, handspan by handspan, cubit by cubit, until even if they entered a lizard’s hole they will follow them.” We said, “O Messenger of Allah ﷺ, (do you mean) the Jews and Christians?” He ﷺ said, “Who else?”
[Agreed upon]
So, we have followed in the footsteps of the Jews, they chose that which was less over that which was better, like we have chosen the celebration of Mawlid an-Nabawi that comes once a year and is baseless – over what calls for real celebration of the birth of the Prophet ﷺ every Monday and the revelation.
The opponent: Isn’t reading the Seerah (biography) of Allah’s Messenger ﷺ an act of honoring him?
Shaykh Al-Albani(Rahimullah): Yes
The opponent: In it is reward from Allah (عَزَّوَجَلَّ).
Shaykh Al-Albani (Rahimullah): All of it is of benefit, yet there is no benefit (for your stance) in this question so I interrupt you with a question, ‘Does anybody stop you from reading his ﷺ Seerah?’
Let me ask you a question, ‘If there was a legislated worship, but Allah’s Messenger ﷺ did not assign a specific time or specific manner for it. Is it allowed for us to set a specific time and manner for it from ourselves? Do you have an answer?’
The opponent: No, I don’t have an answer.
Shaykh Al-Albani (Rahimullah): Allah (عَزَّوَجَلَّ) says:
أَمْ لَهُمْ شُرَكَاءُ شَرَعُوا لَهُم مِّنَ الدِّينِ مَا لَمْ يَأْذَن بِهِ اللَّهُ
“Or have they partners with Allah, who have instituted for them a religion which Allah has not allowed.”
[Surah Ash-Shura: 21]
Similarly, Allah (عَزَّوَجَلَّ) says:
اتَّخَذُوا أَحْبَارَهُمْ وَرُهْبَانَهُمْ أَرْبَابًا مِّن دُونِ اللَّهِ وَالْمَسِيحَ ابْنَ مَرْيَمَ وَمَا أُمِرُوا إِلَّا لِيَعْبُدُوا إِلَٰهًا وَاحِدًا ۖ لَّا إِلَٰهَ إِلَّا هُوَ ۚ سُبْحَانَهُ عَمَّا يُشْرِكُونَ
“They (Jews and Christians) took their rabbis and their monks to be their lords besides Allah (by obeying them in things which they made lawful or unlawful according to their own desires without being ordered by Allah), and (they also took as their Lord) Messiah, son of Maryam, while they (Jews and Christians) were commanded to worship none but One Ilah (Allah) La ilaha illa Huwa (none has the right to be worshiped but He). Praise and glory be to Him, (far above is He) from having the partners they associate (with Him).”
[Surah Tawbah: 31]
Narrated Adee ibn Hatim (رَضِيَ ٱللَّٰهُ عَنْهُ) that he heard the Prophet of Allah ﷺ reciting the verse: (above verse), he (Hatim) said,
“We didn’t worship them.” The Messenger of Allah ﷺ, “Did they not make Haraam what Allah made Halaal and you all made it Haraam, and they made Halaal what Allah made Haraam and you all made it Haraam?” He replied, ‘Certainly.’ The Prophet of Allah ﷺ said, “That is your worship to them.”
[At-Tirmidhee: 247]
This shows the danger of innovating in the Deen of Allah (عَزَّوَجَلَّ).
Adapted from: cassette no 1/94 of the series al-Huda wan-Nur
