CONCERNING THE CLAIM OF THE CONTEMPORARY "SALAFI" WRITERS WHO FORBADE MAWLID ON THE GROUNDS THAT IT IS AN INNOVATION, SUCH AS ALBANI, BIN BAZ, ABU BAKR JAZA'IRI,
MASHHUR SALMAN, `UTHAYMIN AND OTHERS.
This claim is not only an innovative departure from what the majority of the past scholars have said on the question; it is, first and foremost, defective in its logic and reasoning, since the scholars have defined innovations as being sometimes good, sometimes bad, and sometimes indifferent, and therefore it is not allowed to prohibit something solely on the ground that it is an innovation without first defining what kind of innovation it is.
There is a bid`a hasana or excellent innovation according to the majority of the scholars who have written about bid`a, though some, like Ibn al-Jawzi and Ibn Taymiyya, consider all bid`a to be bid`a dalala (innovation of miguidance). Their position in this is shadhdh (anomalous and deviating from the norm) as the following evidence shows:
1. Harmala ibn Yahya said: "I heard al-Shafi`i saying:
al-bid`atu bid`atan: bid`a mahmuda wa bid`a madhmuma, fa ma wafaqa al-sunna fa huwa mahmud, wa ma khalafa al-sunna fa huwa madhmum.
Innovation is of two kinds: the praiseworthy innovation and the blameworthy innovation. Whatever conforms to the Sunna is praiseworthy, and whatever contravenes the Sunna is blameworthy.
Sources:
al-hafiz Abu Nu`aym al-Asbahani cites it in Hilyat al-awliya (9:113);
al-hafiz Ibn Hajar al-`Asqalani also in Fath al-Bari (13:253);
al-hafiz Ibn Rajab al-Hanbali also in Jami` al-`uloom wa al-hikam (p. 291);
al-hafiz Abu Shama in al-Ba`ith `ala inkar al-bida` wa al-hawadith, ed. Mashhur Hasan Salman (Riyadh: Dar al-Raya, 1990/1410) p. 93; Cairo edition, p. 12.
al-hafiz al-Turtushi al-Maliki, Kitab al-hawadith wa al-bida` (p. 158-159); He himself divided the bid`a into muharrama (forbidden), makruha (disliked), and wajiba (obligatory): p. 15.
al-hafiz al-Suyuti alludes to it in the introduction to his fatwa on Mawlid entitled Husn al-maqsid fi `amal al-mawlid in al-Hawi li al-fatawi;
al-hafiz Ibn Taymiyya, Dar' ta`arud al-`aql wa al-naql, ed. Muhammad al-Sayyid Julaynid (Cairo: Mu'assasat al-ahram, 1409/1988) p. 171: "Bayhaqi narrated it in al-Madkhal with a sound chain";
al-hafiz al-Bayhaqi, Manaqib al-Shafi'i (1:469) in these words:
al-muhdathatu min al-umuri darbani ahaduhuma ma uhditha yukhalifu kitaban aw sunnatan aw atharan aw ijma`an fa hadhihi al-bid`atu al-dalalat wa al-thaniyatu ma uhditha min al-khayri la khilafa fihi li wahidin min hadhihi wa hadhihi muhdathatun ghayru madhmuma.
Innovated matters are one of two kinds: one is an innovation which contravenes something in the Qur'an or the Sunna or a report from a Companion or the consensus of he scholars: this is the innovation of misguidance (bid`a dalala); the other kind is whatever good has been innovated which contravenes none of the above, and this is an innovation that is not blameworthy (muhdathatun ghayru madhmuma).
2. al-Hafiz al-`Izz Ibn `Abd al-Salam said:
There are five types of bid`a:
- Haram (forbidden)
- Makhruh (disliked)
- Mubah (permitted)
- Mandub (praiseworthy)
- Wajib (obligatory)."
Sources:
al-hafiz al-Shatibi, Kitab al-i`tisam (Beirut ed.) 1:188;
al-hafiz al-Imam al-Nawawi, Kitab al-Adhkar (Beirut: al-Thaqafiyya) p. 237; and Tahdhib al-asma' wa al-lughat ([Cairo] : Idarat al-Tibaah al-Muniriyah, [1927]?) 3: 22;
al-hafiz Ibn `Abidin, Radd al-muhtar (Kuitah, Pakistan ed.?) 1:376;
al-hafiz al-Suyuti mentions it in the introduction to his fatwa on Mawlid entitled Husn al-maqsid fi `amal al-mawlid in al-Hawi li al-fatawi.
3. Others who admitted the possibility of praiseworthy bid`a are:
Abu Shama; he divided it into bid`a mustahsana / hasana on the one hand, and bid`a mustaqbaha on the other, itself subdivided into muharram and makruh. In al-Ba`ith `ala inkar al-bida` wa al-hawadith Cairo ed. (p. 13);
al-Turkumani al-Hanafi; he divided it into either bid`a mustahsana (approved), such as mubaha yuthab `alayha (permitted innovation which merits reward), or bid`a mustaqbaha (disapproved), such as makruha or muharrama. In Kitab al-luma` fi al-hawadith wa al-bida` (Stuttgart, 1986) 1:37;
Ibn al-Hajj al-`Abdari al-Maliki, who followed al-Izz Ibn `Abd al-Salam's classification. Madkhal al-shar` al-sharif (Cairo, 1336 H) 2:115;
al-Tahanawi al-Hanafi, who also followed Ibn `Abd al-Salam. Kashshaf istilahat al-funun (Beirut, 1966) 1:133-135;
al-Hafiz Ibn Hajar al-`Asqalani in his commentary of `Umar's saying related by Bukhari about Salat al-Tarawih: "What a fine innovation this is" (ni`mat al-bid`a hadhih):
The root meaning of innovation is what is produced without precedent. It is applied in the law in opposition to the Sunna and is therefore blameworthy. Strictly speaking, if it is part of what is classified as commendable by the law then it is a good innovation (hasana), while if it is part of what is classified as blameworthy by the law then it is blameworthy (mustaqbaha), otherwise it falls in the category of what is permitted indifferently (mubah). It can be divided into the known five categories."[8]
4. Certain people still object: "What about the hadith: kullu bida'tin dalala: "Every innovation is a misguidance"? Doesn't the term "every" include all innovations?"
Such an objection stems from the misinterpretation of the term kullu ("every") in the hadith to be all-encompassing without exception, whereas in Arabic it may mean "nearly all" or "the vast majority." This is how al-Shafi`i understood it or else he would have never allowed for any innovation whatsoever to be considered good, and he is considered a hujja or "proof," that is, a reference without peer for questions regarding the Arabic language. Imam Bayhaqi narrated in his Manaqib al-Shafi`i (2:42-46):
al-Hasan ibn Habib related from Mahmud al-Misri -- and he was one of those gifted with eloquence -- that Mahmud said: I saw al-Shafi`i when I was little, and I heard Ibn Hisham -- and I never set eyes on one from whom I took wisdom such as Ibn Hisham -- say: "I was al-Shafi`i's sitting-companion for a long time, and I never heard him use a word except that if that word were carefully considered, one would not find (in its context) a better word than it in the entire Arabic language." Mahmud also said: I also heard Ibn Hisham say: "al-Shafi`i's discourse, in relation to language, is a proof in itself."
It is also related from al-Hasan ibn Muhammad al-Za`farani: A group of the people of pure Arabic (qawmun min ahl al-`arabiyya) used to frequent al-Shafi`i's gathering with us and sit in a corner. One day I asked their leader: "You are not interested in scholarship; why do you keep coming here with us?" They said: "We come to hear al-Shafi`i's language."
The stylistic figure of meaning the part by the whole, or synecdoche in English, is in Arabic: `abbara `an al-kathrati bi al-kulliyya. This is illustrated by the use of kull in verse 46:25 of the Qur'an in a selective or partial sense not a universal sense:
Destroying all things by commandment of its Lord. And morning found them so that naught could be seen save their dwellings.
Thus the dwellings were not destroyed although "all" things had been destroyed. "All" here means specifically the lives of the unbelievers of `Ad and their properties, except their houses. The same applies with the hoopoe-bird's expression when he says that Balkis has been given in abundance from "everything" in Sura al-Naml (27:23), whereas she was not given any power over Sulayman nor any share of his kingdom. Similarly when Allah says: "Every soul (kullu nafsin) shall taste death" (3:185), it is understood though not mentioned that Allah Himself is excluded from the meaning.
In conclusion, the position of the majority of the scholars is clear: "To invent" (ahdatha) a "new practice" (bid'at) may refer either to the matter that is new linguistically speaking (lafzan), e.g. stone masjids, all the Islamic sciences, writing books about religion, etc. or the matter that is new legally speaking (shar`an), e.g. a sixth daily prayer. Since bid`a usually applies to innovations in religion in the legal sense, the former kind of "new matter" does not qualify as a bid`a and therefore is not prohibited.
The above is the ruling of all the major scholars on the definition of bid`a. Whoever denies this definition is either ignorant, or actually giving a new definition which is not from the majority of scholars but from one's own whim. Their claim that they are "sticking to the Sunna" is an empty claim which does not fool anybody but themselves and those they sadly misguide. When asked to substantiate it with the criteria of scholarship in the light of the evidence against them, they just instead keep repeating the claim, like parrots, ignoring or affecting to ignore the difference between the claim and the reality of the claim. Their purported "avoidance of bid`a" is similarly based on their own whimsical conviction that they alone are right although they stray from the larger group. May Allah guide them to the truth.
BRIEF ANSWERS TO CERTAIN QUESTIONS
PERTAINING TO MAWLID
Q. Since the purpose of Mawlid is to promote love and obedience of the Prophet, then why did the first generations of Muslims not celebrate it? Undoubtedly, love and obedience of the Prophet were not lacking at that time.
A. The answer is given in the question itself. If the people of today could practice love and obedience of the Prophet the way the Salaf did, then they would have no need of the voluntary celebration of Mawlid to remind them.
The same applies to knowledge and belief. In the first generations, knowledge and belief were pure and safe from the dangers of forgetfulness and innovation; when these evils appeared, the Imams of fiqh stepped forth and did their great work to protect the Umma from error. The Companions themselves had no need of formal schools of Law.
The same applies to morals. Zuhd ("Doing-without") was a characteristic of all the Companions and the natural state of the Prophet. When it became a rare thing, the imams of tasawwuf came and codified zuhd, encouraging people to return to the excellent manners and simplicity of earlier times. All of these: `ulum al-fiqh, `ulum al-tasawwuf, and Mawlid, did not exist formally in the first centuries because there was no need for them. The love for the Prophet and his imitation were certainly greater then.
Beware of those who say that Mawlid is wrong simply because it did not exist in the first three centuries. To claim that something goes against the Sunna because it was not present in the first three centuries, indicates that one is fostering the wrong understanding of "following the Sunna" and this is rejected. In fact, it is impermissible to claim that the Prophet did not celebrate his birthday, since it is established in sound hadith that he commemorated his birthday by fasting on Mondays.
Q. There was no such thing as Mawlid before the Fatimi regime in Egypt started it. Aren't they denounced by Ahl al-Sunna as deviants?
A. The Fatimis ruled in Egypt from about 360 to 560. But the historian of Mecca al-Azraqi (3rd century) mentioned the mawlid in the sense of the house where the Prophet was born, and he said that salat in that house was declared by the scholars as desirable (mustahabb) for the reason of seeking special blessing (tabarruk). See Akhbar Mekka (2:160). Also, the mufassir al-Naqqash (266-351) said in his Shifa' al-gharam (1:199) that the birthplace of the Prophet (mawlid al-nabi) is a place where du`a on mondays is answered. Ibn Jubayr (540-640) in his Kitab al-rihal (p. 114-115) mentions the Mawlid as a public commemoration taking place in Mecca in the House of the Prophet "every Monday of the month of Rabi` al-awwal." And the father-and-son 7th-century historians Abul `Abbas and Abul Qasim al-`Azafi said in Kitab al-durr al-munazzam that "On the day of the Mawlid in Mecca, no activities are undertaken, the Ka`ba is opened and visited, etc."
Furthermore, the fact that the Fatimis did a particular action does not automatically mean that such action is not good. Regarding Mawlid in particular, we refer you to the Maliki faqih of Alexandria, Egypt under the Fatimis: Abu Bakr Muhammad ibn al-Walid al-Turtushi (d. 520). He wrote a comprehensive book on the innovations of his time under the Fatimi regime, entitled Kitab al-hawadith wa al-bida`. This book has received two editions, one in Tunis (M. Talbim 1959), and one in Beirut (A.M. Turki, 1990). al-Turtushi's book constitutes one of the early comprehensive treatises on innovations in Religion. It had immeasurable influence on the style and structure of later books on the same subject, both in and outside his school, such as Ibn Rushd, Abu Shama, Ibn Taymiyya, Ibn al-Hajj, al-Shatibi, Ahmad Zarruq, and al-Suyuti.
Turtushi is extremely thorough and severe in his listing of innovations in religion under the Fatimis, whether great or small. He lists, among other innovations:
- Tatrib or qira'a bi al-alhan of Qur'an: reciting with melody.
- Numbering the Suras and punctuating the Qur'an.
- Building mihrabs in mosques; embellishing mosques.
- Placing a collection-box in the mosques; eating and drinking there.
- Selling goods in the mosques.
- He defends Tarawih as not being an innovation (because the Shi`is attacked it as such).
- The alfiyya prayer of mid-Sha`ban and the Ragha'ib of Rajab.
- Stopping work on the day of Jum`a.
- Tathwib (pronouncing as-salatu khayrun min al-nawm in the adhan of Fajr). [al-Wansharisi, a later Maliki who died in 914, finally accepts it as a bid`a mustahsana: see his al-Mustahsan min al-bida` (The innovations that are considered good).]
- Raising the hands and voice during du`a.
- Wearing the turban without passing the longest extremity under the chin.
- Dragging one's clothes behind oneself on the ground.
- Mixing of the sexes in the mosques on the nights of Tarawih.
- Renting the services of a person to perform the pilgrimage by proxy. Etc.
Yet al-Turtushi never mentions nor condemns the Mawlid, although he undoubtedly must have witnessed it since it was a regular public celebration during his life in Egypt, and although it involved more people than many of the innovations he does mention! This is a glaring omission in view of the fact that he was especially intent on censoring the innovations that he deemed were connected to the Fatimi regime. al-Turtushi's omission is an indication that although he opposed the Fatimis, he considered Mawlid under the Fatimis to be neither an innovation, nor blameworthy, and it constitutes tacit approval of Mawlid on his part. And Allah knows best.
Q. What are the opinions on Mawlid of those whom the "Salafis" consider their authorities?
A. We have already touched upon the subject above. Following are some additional remarks with reference to Hafiz al-Dhahabi and Imam Ibn Kathir.
Dhahabi's and Ibn Kathir's favorable views on Mawlid can be ascertained by their remarks on Muzaffar the King of Irbil, who was famous for his sumptuous celebration of the Prophet's birthday. Dhahabi writes in his Siyar a`lam al-nubala':
He [Muzaffar] loved charity (sadaqa)... and built four hospices for the poor and sick... and one house for women, one for orphans, one for the homeless, and he himself used to visit the sick... He built a madrasa for the Shafi`is and the Hanafis... He would forbid any reprehensible matter entry into his country... As for his celebration of the Noble Mawlid al-Nabawi, words are too poor to describe it. The people used to come all the way from Iraq and Algeria to attend it. Two wooden dais would be erected and decorated for him and his wife... the celebration would last several days, and a huge quantity of cows and camels would be brought out to be sacrificed and cooked in different ways... Preachers would roam the field exhorting the people. Great sums were spent (as charity). Ibn Dihya compiled a "Book of Mawlid" for him for which he received 1,000 dinars. He [Muzaffar] was modest, a lover of good, and a true Sunni who loved scholars of jurisprudence and scholars of hadith, and was generous even to poets. He was killed in battle according to what is reported.
Source: al-Dhahabi, Siyar a`lam al-nubala', ed. Shu`ayb Arna'ut (Beirut: Mu'assasat al-Risalah, 1981) 22:335-336.
Ibn Kathir said in al-Bidaya wa al-nihaya:
He [Muzaffar] used to celebrate the noble Mawlid in Rabi` al-Awwal and organize huge festivities for it. He was a wise king, brave, a fierce fighter, intelligent, learned, and just. May Allah have mercy on him and ennoble his grave. Shaykh Abu al-Khattab ibn Dihya compiled for him a book on the Mawlid of the Prophet and named it al-Tanwir fi mawlid al-bashir al-nadhir (The illumination concerning the birthday of the Bringer of glad tidings and Warner) and the king rewarded him with 1,000 dinars for it. His rule lasted until he died in the year 630 [Hijri] as he was besieging the French in the city of Acca [Acre, Palestine] after a glorious and blameless life.
Source: Ibn Kathir, al-Bidaya wa al-nihaya (Beirut and Riyad: Maktabat al-ma`arif & Maktabat al-Nasr, 1966) 13:136-137.
More importantly, Ibn Kathir himself composed a text on Mawlid, made of hadiths, invocations of blessings on the Prophet, and poetry in praise of him. It is entitled Mawlid Rasulillah sallallahu `alayhi wa sallam, and was edited and published by Salah al-Din al-Munajjad (Beirut: Dar al-Kitab al-Jadid, 1961).
Note: Among other similar works of Mawlid by the authorities is that by Ibn Hajar al-Haytami entitled Mawlid al-Nabi (Damascus: `Ala dhimmat Muhammad Hashim al-Kutubi, [1900?]), and that by the Hanbali hafiz Abu al-Faraj Ibn al-Jawzi entitled Mawlid al-`Arus (Cairo: al-Matba`a al-Bahiyya al-Misriyya, [1850?]). The latter received a commentary entitled Fath al-samad al-`alim `ala Mawlid al-Shaykh ibn al-Qasim also known as al-Bulugh al-fawzi li-bayan alfaz Mawlid Ibn al-Jawzi by Muhammad Nawawi ibn `Umar ibn `Arabi (Cairo: Tubi`a bi nafaqat Fada Muhammad al-Kashmiri al-Kutubi, 1328/1910).
Q. Who are the scholars of Ahl al-Sunna that accept the celebration of Mawlid al-Nabi as permissible or recommended?
A. They are the overwhelming majority of Ahl al-Sunna. Among them are found the following, together with the title of the works where their position is stated:
Hanafis:
Imam Qutb al-Din al-Hanafi, al-I`lam bi a`lam bayt Allah al-haram
Imam Muhammad ibn Jar Allah ibn Zahira, al-Jami` al-latif
`Abd al-Haqq Muhaddith Dihlawi, Ma thabata min al-sunna
Shah `Abd al-Rahim Dihlawi, al-Durr al-thamin
Shah Wali Allah Dihlawi, Fuyud al-haramayn
Mufti `Inayat Allah Kakurawi, Tarikh Habib Allah
Mufti Muhammad Mazhar Allah Dihlawi, Fatawa mazhari
Mulla `Ali al-Qari, al-Mawrid al-rawi fi Mawlid al-nabi.
Haji Imdad Allah Muhajir Makki, Shama'im imdadiyya
Muhaddith `Abd al-Hayy al-Lucknawi, Fatawa `Abd al-Hayy
Malikis:
Hafiz Ibn Dihya al-Kalbi, al-Tanwir fi mawlid al-bashir al-nadhir
Imam al-Turtushi, Kitab al-hawadith wa al-bida` (indirectly)
Imam al-Faqih Abu al-Tayyib Muhammad ibn Ibrahim al-Sabti (d. 695), as quoted by al-Adfawi in Suyuti's Husn al-maqsid
Abu `Abd Allah Sayyidi Muhammad ibn `Abbad al-Nafzi, al-Rasa'il al-kubra
Shaykh Jalal al-Din al-Kattani, Rawdat al-Jannat fi Mawlid khatim al-risalat, also quoted in Sakhawi's Subul al-huda
Shaykh Nasir al-Din ibn al-Tabbakh, quoted in Sakhawi's Subul al-huda
Shaykh Muhammad ibn `Alawi al-Makki, al-Ihtifal bi dhikra al-mawlid
Shafi`is:
Hafiz Abu Shama, al-Ba`ith `ala inkar al-bida` wa al-hawadith
Hafiz Shams al-Din al-Jazari, `Urf al-ta`rif bi al-mawlid al-sharif.
Hafiz Shams al-Din ibn Nasir al-Din al-Dimashqi, al-Mawrid al-sadi fi mawlid al-hadi; Jami` al-athar fi mawlid al-nabi al-mukhtar; al-lafz al-ra'iq fi mawlid khayr al-khala'iq
Hafiz Zayn al-Din al-`Iraqi, al-Mawrid al-hani fi al-mawlid al-sani
Hafiz al-Dhahabi, Siyar a`lam al-nubala' (indirectly)
Hafiz Ibn Kathir, Kitab Mawlid an-Nabi, and al-Bidaya p. 272-273.
Hafiz Ibn Hajar al-`Asqalani, as quoted by Suyuti in al-Hawi.
Qastallani, al-Mawahib al-laduniyya
Hafiz al-Sakhawi, Subul al-huda, alsoquoted in Qari, al-Mawrid al-rawi
Imam Ibn Hajar al-Haytami, Fatawa hadithiyya; al-Ni`mat al-kubra `ala al-`alam fi mawlid sayyid waladi Adam; Tahrir al-kalam fi al-qiyam `inda dhikr mawlid sayyid al-anam; Tuhfat al-akhyar fi mawlid al-mukhtar
Hafiz Wajih al-Din `Abd al-Rahman al-Zabidi al-Dayba` (d. 944), Kitab al-mawlid.
Zahir al-Din Ja`far al-Misri, quoted in Sakhawi's Subul al-huda
Muhammad ibn Yusuf al-Salihi al-Shami, quoted in Sakhawi's Subul al-huda
Kamal al-Din al-Adfawi, al-Tali` al-sa`id
Hafiz al-Suyuti, Husn al-Maqsid fi `amal al-Mawlid in his al-Hawi li al-fatawi
al-Zarqani, Sharh al-mawahib
Abu Zur`a al-`Iraqi, as quoted in Muhammad ibn Siddiq al-Ghumari's Tashnif al-adhan
Hanbalis:
Hafiz Ibn Taymiyya, Iqtida' al-sirat al-mustaqim (in some cases)
Q. During Mawlid the reading of the life of the Prophet and the recitation of poems in his honor take place. Is there a precedent in the Sunna for them?
A. We have shown conclusively that the recitation of poetry in honor of the Prophet is a Sunna which he himself and the Companions practiced. See further below, in the section on Na`t, the list of over a hundred Companions who composed and recited such poetry. As for reading about his life, it falls within the obligation upon every Muslim to know their Prophet and to love him.
Narrated Ibn `Umar:
The Prophet used to deliver his sermons while standing
beside the trunk of a datepalm. When he had the pulpit made,
he used it instead. The trunk started crying and the Prophet
went to it, rubbing his hand over it (to stop its crying).
[Sahih Bukhari, Vol. 4, Book 56, Number 783]
If a dead tree could cry with sorrow when distanced from the Prophet, what about a human being? And how distant from the Prophet are we in comparison to those who lived in his blessed time? If some people accuse Ahl al-Sunna of innovation when they want to remember the Prophet on his birthday and on any other day by reciting his Sira, making salawat in groups, singing qasidas of praise, and longing for him: then let them accuse the tree trunk of bid'ah and stop it from its sorrow.
As for us, we are rejoicing for his advent to this worldly life and yet lamenting his passing, on the same day as his birth, for our hearts are missing him and seek the day of meeting with him. May Allah perfume his blessed grave and endow it with ever more lights and peace.
It is from the Sunna to long for the Prophet after his passing from this life. This is documented in an authentic hadith in which Abu Hurayra narrated that the Prophet said: "A time will come when any of you will long to see me more than to have his family and property doubled." (Sahih Bukhari, Vol. 4, Book 56, Number 787).
