Naqshbandiya Foundation for Islamic Education

The Naqshbandiya Foundation for Islamic Education (NFIE) is a non-profit, tax exempt, religious and educational organization dedicated to serve Islam with a special focus on Tasawwuf(Sufism),

Wednesday, August 10, 2022

The Spirituality of the Beloved Prophet ﷺ : It is a soothing balm in our Turbulent Times - Dr. Musharraf Hussain Al-Azhari, February, 2016



In order to understand clearly an intellectual concept or a philosophical idea, the preferred method is to observe a living example. This article provides you with an example of a living, walking and speaking role model of spirituality: the Beloved Messenger of Allah, Muhammad Mustafa ﷺ. We will get glimpses of his commitment to God, and a heart full of Allah’s love. No wonder the Glorious Quran proudly declares, “You have an excellent role model in the Messenger of Allah, particularly for anyone who longs for Allah and the Last Day and remembers Him abundantly” (Al-Ahzab: 21).

Spirituality is expressed variously; firstly through practising moral virtues of kindness, humility, gentleness, generosity and forgiveness. Secondly, through restraining oneself from vices; anger, greed, jealousy and arrogance. Thirdly to restrain oneself; fasting, night vigil, restricting speech, limiting contact with people, Divine remembrance, deep reflections, eating halal and avoiding forbidden things. He practised these seven remedies.

The Messenger (peace be upon him) possessed perfect intellect; he was adept and skilled at reasoning, full of knowledge given to him by the All-knowing Lord, with a clear understanding of the world around him and mental powers of the most intelligent person in his society. When he (peace be upon him) spoke there was an effect, the tone of his voice, the warmth of his speech and the fluency of his words penetrated deep into the souls of the listeners. When he (peace be upon him) spoke to them about paradise he brought to them a vision of paradise with its gorgeous gardens, graced with flowing streams and when he discussed the divine light they could literally see it beaming down from heaven on them.

Freedom from worldly things
The blessed Messenger (peace be upon him) practised self-discipline and abstention from pleasures, for pleasing his Lord and enhancing his spirituality. He (peace be upon him) adopted a lifestyle of poverty, a matter of choice not a necessity since there was plenty of wealth from various sources. He led a life of simplicity by sleeping on straw mats, which often left noticeable marks on his blessed body and clothes. This would upset his disciples; once someone offered him a soft mat to sleep on, his response was “what have I to do with this world? My place in this world is like that of a traveller who is walking through the desert on a hot day, he takes a nap under a tree and then leaves it behind him” (Abu Y’ala).

According to one narration Allah Almighty offered him gold that would fill a valley, he (peace be upon him) replied, “Lord! I would prefer to be hungry one day and eat the next day, the day I eat, I will praise you and give thanks to you, when I remain hungry I will seek your help and call upon you” (Tirmizi). Such was his (peace be upon him) sense of reliance on the Lord that he wanted to remain aloof from worldly things, he was happy with the small amount of worldly sustenance.

One day his daughter Fathima (may Allah be pleased with her) brought him a freshly baked loaf of bread, it smelt delicious and she proudly said to him. “O father, I baked this myself and I brought to you because I did not feel at ease eating it without sharing it with you.” The blessed Messenger (peace be upon him) replied “I haven’t eaten anything for three days, so this will be the first morsel” (Al Bayhaqi).

The messenger (peace be upon him) ate little because he knew the dangers of filling the stomach, when you are full, he would say, “the Devil runs within your veins, therefore make his path difficult by remaining hungry”, he (peace be upon him) also said “the son of Adam fills no vessel worse than his stomach”. Many spiritual Masters regard gluttony, overeating as a dangerous habit that ruins physical health as well as spiritual health.

Shaykh Al Shabrawi in his book book ‘The degrees of the soul’ said, “Jihad is an obligation, and the essence of it is to forsake all habits… In particular; overeating, sleeping, talking, mixing with people. Moderation is required in each of these things… The effective thing in this part is to eat only when hungry and then to less than satiety. The Prophet, may God’s blessing be upon him omitted supper when he had eaten lunch, omitted lunch when he had eaten supper.”

The blessed Messenger (peace be upon him) was sent as a guide, he communicated the divine message eloquently and effectively to his people. He (peace be upon him) said “silence is wisdom, but the silent are few, the one who keeps silent will be safe.” The reasons being that you can easily fall into speaking ill of others, in fact we commit more sins with the tongue than with any other limb, discussing other people, being insulting to others, using obscene language or cursing, even arguing with people, revealing secrets of others, mocking and jeering others, even lying, backbiting, slandering, and being pretentious. The messenger (peace be upon him) said that “when I was shown hell, I saw people were tearing their faces with their nails, I asked Jibrael who are these people? He replied those who backbite and slander people”.

Day and night in worship
The worship of the Prophet (peace be upon him) consisted of the regular five daily prayers, tahajjud (the night vigil), recitation of the glorious Quran, zikr and fasting. Sometimes day after day, the unique form of fasting, where he would not eat at sunset and continue into the next day and the next day. This will go on for several days without a break. However, his favourite practice was to fast every Monday and Thursday of the week, giving a reason for these two days he told, “these are the days when deeds are presented, so I love to make it so that when my deeds are presented. I am in the state of fasting” (Tirmizi).

Long prayers in the morning
After the morning prayer, he (peace be upon him) would sit cross-legged on the prayer mat busy doing Zikr (remembering God) with his beautiful names, Asma ul husna, until sunrise. He (peace be upon him) would then offer four or six units of prayer called Ishraq. He (peace be upon him) praised the value of excellence of this prayer by saying “when you offer this prayer regularly your sins will be forgiven even if they are as much as the foam on the surface of the sea.” Later on at mid-morning, he (peace be upon him) would pray the mid-morning prayer called Duha. He (peace be upon him) had a remarkable thirst to pray that he would ask his disciple Bilal fondly “stand up Bilal and give me peace of mind with the prayer” adding “I am most delighted when I pray (Ahmed). After Maghrib, (Sunset prayer) he (peace be upon him) would offer six units of the special prayer of Awwabeen. Such was his love for the prayer. This means that the Prophet (peace be upon him) formally prayed nine times a day, the five daily prayers, plus four voluntary prayers. The total time would be more than two hours. The Prophet (peace be upon him) would often pray profusely by raising his hands up to his shoulders and palms facing the sky.

Lifelong learning and teaching
Since the Prophet (peace be upon him) was divinely educated “It is Al-Rahman who taught the beloved Messenger the Majestic Quran. He created human beings and taught them the art of communication” (Al-Rahman: 1-4). For him (peace be upon him) it was a matter of lifelong teaching rather than lifelong learning, which is something we all should be engaged in for our constant improvement, for mental and spiritual development.

He (peace be upon him) was particularly keen to teach the glorious Quran, once he (peace be upon him) had received the revelation and after memorising it himself, he would summon one of the scribes to come and write it down and thus preserve it for posterity. He (peace be upon him) would encourage other disciples to memorise the new passages. In this way many of the disciples memorised the entire Quran. He (peace be upon him) was passionately devoted to children learning the Quran, to promote this activity he (peace be upon him) would say, “the best amongst you is the one who learns and teaches Quran” (Bukhari).

When delegations from the Arab tribes came to Medina in order to embrace Islam he (peace be upon him) would dispatch a learned disciple with them, so he could teach them the adhan, the prayer and Quran. He (peace be upon him) also encouraged parents to teach children, he (peace be upon him) promised them most exquisite spiritual rewards in the hereafter. For example, he said “every father who teaches his child the Quran in this world, will be crowned in paradise on the day of resurrection with the crown by which the people of paradise will know him as the one who taught Quran to his children.” The reading of the glorious Quran is a learning activity that effectively enhances spirituality, a powerful means of spiritual progress. Ibn Abbas said the beloved messenger (peace be upon him) said, “a person without Quran in his heart is like a wrecked house” (Tirmizi).

Whole life balance
The distinguishing characteristic of a spiritual person is a balanced lifestyle, the right amount of work and family time, a correct ratio of time spent in earning livelihood and social activities. The blessed Messenger (peace be upon him) was in a perfect equilibrium. As we read these accounts of his time at home and with family we see that perfect balance between his role as a prophet of God, spiritual guide, a leader and a teacher. The prophet (peace be upon him) took great care of his family by spending time with them and doing all kinds of domestic chores such as: patching up his clothes, mending shoes, washing clothes, or any other housework that needed to be done, milking the goats, fetched water for ablution and the like. Effectively he (peace be upon him) was at the service of his family, helping them with their tasks, listening to their jokes and laughing with them. Any wonder why he (peace be upon him) would say, “the best of you are the best to their families and I am the best to my family” (Tirmizi).

On one occasion he (peace be upon him) challenged his wife Aisha to race with him, she won the race, some months later he (peace be upon him) again challenged her to a race, this time he (peace be upon him) beat her and said, it is because you have grown fat and plump so you lost the race and he began to laugh saying “this was payback for last time.”

He (peace be upon him) felt very comfortable doing jobs that other leaders might consider beneath their status, he (peace be upon him) was humble but also teaching his followers an important lesson in humility. This is the virtue where one forsakes the glory of one’s social status and pride and to assume a lower position than one’s equals. Perhaps more accurately humility is when a person sees himself as having no special value, a distinctive worth or distinction above others and does not consider himself to be above others. The following story is a beautiful example of his (peace be upon him) humility. On one of his expeditions whilst they were camping the prophet (peace be upon him) instructed companions to roast a sheep that had slaughtered and assigned each person a task, one man to skin it, another to prepare it for cooking and he himself said, “I will go and fetch the firewood.” The disciples said. “O Messenger of Allah! Let us take care of everything.” He (peace be upon him) replied “I know that you will do it well, but I hate to be different from the rest of you and Allah dislikes a person who sees himself better than his friends.”

Conclusion
The purpose of spiritual life is to gain a deeper understanding of Allah, connectedness, closeness, and contentment that leads to peace of mind. It is the process of renovation of the heart when a person begins to live with Allah. The various spiritual disciplines and exercises, the still life, lifelong learning and whole life of the messenger (peace be upon him) as described above is a model for us to imitate.

(Taken from my book ‘Seven steps to spiritual intelligence‘ published by Kube)

Source:https://www.musharrafhussain.com/the-spirituality-of-the-beloved-prophet/

Love of the Prophet ﷺ is the heart of Islam : Dr.Musharraf Hussain, Director Karimia Insititute



The Persian poet Saadi Shirazi felt shy and inadequate to praise the Prophet ﷺ, “Thousand times were I to wash my mouth with rose water, still disrespectful it would be to say your beautiful name.” The Punjabi Saint Pir Meher Ali Shah also faced a similar dilemma when he said; “How handsome, perfect and pretty you are, who is Meher Ali to praise you, where have these insolent eyes fallen on?”

The Majestic Quran describes Prophet Muhammad’s ﷺ beautiful, caring and charming character in glowing words; “A noble Messenger has come to you from among yourselves. He’s grieved by your hardships and cares about your wellbeing, for the believers he is compassionate and kind” (Tawba: 128). He loves us, the Muslims, in turn, love him. Love is an intense feeling of affection and admiration, here it is for the most magnificent man who ever lived. Human history has produced many great leaders who left their marks on all walks of life: philosophers, scholars, pious saints, conquerors, poets, musicians, inventors and doctors. They changed the course of human history for the better.

The life of the Prophet ﷺ is unique, its outstanding features, which set him apart from the rest, William Draper in his book titled ‘History of intellectual development of Europe’ said: “four years after the death of Justinian AD 569, was born in Makkah the man who of all men exercised the greatest influence on the human race Muhammad”. Similarly, Lamartine in ‘Histoire de la Turquie’ said, “philosopher, orator, apostle, legislator, conqueror of ideas, the restorer of rational dogmas of cult without images, the founder of 20 terrestrial empires and of one spiritual empire that is Muhammad as regards all standards by which human greatness may be measured. We may well ask is there any man greater than him?”

The Quran described him, “You have an excellent role model in the Messenger of Allah, particularly for anyone who longs for Allah and the Last Day and remembers Him abundantly” (Al Ahzab: 21). So, he is the role model. We recognise the need for role models, children imitate their parents, students copy their teachers and those who yearn for perfection, he ﷺ is the role model for all.

Expressing love for the Prophet ﷺ

Love is an intense feeling of deep affection and fondness for someone. This transitive verb requires an object, So, you love someone, you delight in them, you admire them and cherish them. Muslim poets have expressed their love for the Prophet ﷺ in many ways. Allama Muhammad Iqbal was a passionate lover of the Prophet ﷺ, he said: “The passionate gaze sees him as the first and the last, he is the Quran, the Furqan, Yaseen and Taha”.

For a Muslim, the Prophet ﷺ is the centre of life. So, if you imagine Islam as a body then Muhammad ﷺ is the spirit inside it, if you imagine Islam as a tree then Muhammad ﷺ is its leaves and the fruit, if you imagine Islam as a flower then Muhammad ﷺ is the fragrance; he ﷺ is the pink colour of the rose. In brief, whatever image of Islam you imagine then Muhammad ﷺ is the lifeblood of it. Loving the Prophet ﷺ is the heart of a believer’s life.

The early Muslims displayed this deep affection and intense love of the Prophet ﷺ openly, here is a description of their passion for the Prophet ﷺ. Urwa bin Masood Saqafi was the ambassador of the Quraysh at the treaty of Hudaibiya, on his return to Makkah, he said to them “I witnessed some amazing scenes when Muhammad washed, his disciples did not let a drop of water fall on the ground they collected it in their hands, whatever he said they eagerly obeyed. I have visited the courts of Roman and Persian emperors, but nowhere have I seen such scenes of loyalty and commitment to a leader”. Even the enemies knew that to turn the Muslims away from Islam, they must weaken this link with the Prophet ﷺ. Allama Iqbal the great poet of Islam reveals this conspiracy, he says “this starved man who does not fear a bit, take away from him the spirit of Muhammad, give him Western ideals then Islam will be expelled from the Muslims.”

Allama Iqbal attributed his love and understanding of Islam to this prophetic love. He said: “the dazzling Western world did not impress me at all, my eyes were filled with the dust of Madinah”. He believed that the love of the Prophet ﷺ was a powerful shield against the influence of capitalism, communism and materialism. The love of the Messenger ﷺ gives the energy that drives the believers on the straight path, it shields them from the evil influences of society, the deceptions of the ego, and snares of Satan.

A disciple’s love of the Messenger ﷺ

Aisha the mother of believers reported that one day Sauban, a disciple came to the Messenger ﷺ, he looked sad, the Messenger ﷺ asked him why he was sad? He replied “I love you more than myself and my family. Whenever I miss you, I visit you, but now my anxiety is increasing, in the hereafter, you will be in a lofty place near Allah, but I don’t know where I will be, this really worries me. The thought of being separated from you makes me unhappy”. The Prophet ﷺ was so touched and moved on hearing this but said nothing, then a verse was revealed, where Allah says: “Anyone who obeys Allah and the Messenger shall be with those Allah favoured: the Prophets, the truthful, the martyrs and the righteous. What a wonderful fellowship” (An Nisa: 69).

Love of the Prophet ﷺ is a basic ingredient of Islam, the Prophet ﷺ himself declared: “None of you can be a believer until I am more dearer to you than your parents, children and the rest of humanity” (Bukhari). The love of the Prophet ﷺ must be more intense, deeper and stronger than love for anything else. Anas reported a man came to the Messenger ﷺ and asked “when is the last day coming? The Messenger ﷺ asked him, what have you prepared for it? He said I haven’t prepared much for it, but I do love God and his Messenger. He ﷺ replied, well if that’s the case then remember, a person will be with the one who he loves”. Allama Iqbal rephrased this poetically when he said: “the essence of Quran, the spirit of faith and the secrets of religion all lie in the love of the one who is the Kindness to all the people.” Another poet eloquently makes this point when he said: “love of Muhammad is the first requirement of religion, if this is lacking then everything is incomplete.” We are fortunate to have a guide like Muhammad ﷺ.

Source:https://www.musharrafhussain.com/love-of-the-prophet-is-the-heart-of-islam/

Dr.Musharraf Hussain's Biography :https://www.musharrafhussain.com/about/

Tuesday, August 9, 2022

Uniting for the Prophet: Preserving Faith in Times of Doubt: Seekers Guidance -11/7/2021

Uniting for the Prophet

A Special Rabi’ al-Awwal Series Finale Brought to You By SeekersGuidance in Collaboration with Al-Maqasid, Simply Islam Academy, Greensville Trust, The Ribat Institute and Dar-Al Rahma.
In Honour and Loving Memory of the Late Dr. Fuad Nahdi and Ustadh Usama Canon.

We find ourselves in the midst of a great deal of division and isolation after almost two years of a global pandemic.
Therefore, it is of utmost importance to safeguard and cultivate our faith.
More than ever now is the time to turn to our faith and the teachings of our teacher, the Beloved of Allah (peace be upon him) to find the strength to navigate these difficult and confusing times.

Join us with renowned scholars, educators and devotional artists from around the world in Uniting for the Prophet: Preserving Faith in Times of Doubt.

17 Video Lectures: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=twArUmzr7ps&list=PL4mTEQpP9b5GwONgbRA2lMqNVdSV7FlIN

Source:https://seekersguidance.org/rabi-al-awwal/

Monday, August 8, 2022

Habib Umar Bin Hafiz : "Ashura remind us that all honor belongs to those who are beloved to Allah"



The events which took place on Ashura remind us that all honour belongs to those who are beloved to Allah, even if the opposite appears to be the case.
The Messenger of Allah ﷺ is the most honourable of people in the sight of Allah, although he was the one who tied a stone to his belly out of hunger, he was the one who had camel’s entrails thrown upon him when he was praying and he was the one whose forehead was split and whose tooth was broken. All honour belonged to him while he was in the cave as the disbelievers searched for him.
All physical, material, and military strength was in the hands of Pharaoh, but all honour belonged to Sayyiduna Musa.
His people said to him: “We are trapped!”
Musa said: “No! My Lord is with me and He will guide me!”
Whoever wishes to abase those whom Allah has honoured will be abased, but whoever wishes to honour those whom Allah has honoured will himself be honoured.
When Sayyiduna al-Husayn was martyred, it was not he that was abased, but rather those that killed him. He attained the greatest honour from his Lord. His son, Ali Zayn al-Abidin, lived on to be the father of thousands of great imams. There is no honour in commemorating his martyrdom in a way that contravenes his way, the way of his father and the way of his grandfather ﷺ.
Whoever is killed for the sake of Allah will gain honour. Whoever is killed for the sake of something contemptible such as power, wealth and status, will be abased.
Through obedience to Allah, we honour ourselves. Through disobedience to Allah, we dishonour ourselves.
Habib Umar bin Hafiz (may Allah protect him and benefit us by him)

Sunday, August 7, 2022

Permissibility of Celebrating Mawlid :Dr. Hafiz Muhammad Munir Al-Azhari - British Fatwa Council

Question:

Is it permissible to celebrate the Mawlid?

Answer:

To express joy and happiness during the mawlid is an expression of love and honour towards our Beloved Prophet ﷺ. There is no doubt that showing love towards the Prophet ﷺ and happiness for his mawlid is permissible. Expressing joy and happiness at this time is a means of increasing one’s love for the Prophet ﷺ and loving the Prophet ﷺ is an essential part of our iman (faith).

Imam Ibn Rajab Al-Hanbali mentions, “Loving the Prophet ﷺ is from the foundations of Iman. Allah ﷻ has joined the love of the Prophet ﷺ with His ﷻ own. Placing the love of anything else, be it your parents, children, spouse etc above the love of Allah ﷻ and His Messenger ﷺ is calling for the wrath of Allah ﷻ.

The purpose of celebrating the Mawlid:

Gatherings of Mawlid allow people to get together and learn about the Beloved Prophet ﷺ. People will learn about the sirah and shamail of the Prophet ﷺ, they will express their joy in the form of qasa’id and na’at, and in whole reaffirm their love and connection with the Messenger ﷺ.

Showing happiness and joy during the mawlid of the Prophet ﷺ is acting upon the Qur’an and Sunnah and the great ulema have all agreed on this. Allah ﷻ has mentioned in the Holy Qur’an, “… and remind them of the days of Allah. (Surah Ibrahim: 5)” The days of Allah ﷻ include those days in which Allah ﷻ sent his help towards the Prophets (Peace be upon them all) in their times of need. They also include the days in which the Prophets were born. The day of the birth of our Prophet Muhammad ﷺ is without doubt the greatest of all these days. The days in which Prophets are born have been given great honour by Allah ﷻ and have been described as days of peace. It is mentioned in the Holy Qur’an, “Peace be upon him the day he was born. (Surah Maryam: 15)”

The birth of a Prophet is the event which leads the way for the countless blessings a Prophet will show to his ummah throughout his life and beyond. The ummah of our Prophet ﷺ will continue till the day of judgement and we are continuously benefiting from the Prophet ﷺ and will continue to do so in the hereafter. Allah ﷻ has mentioned in the Holy Qur’an, “Say: It’s Allah’s grace and kindness. So celebrate… (Surah Yunus: 58)” The Prophet ﷺ is the greatest blessing for all mankind. Sayyiduna Ibn Abbas mentions, “the grace of Allah refers to knowledge, and the kindness of Allah refers to our Master Muhammad ﷺ.” Allah ﷻ has stated, “We sent you, Muhammad, as Kindness for all communities. (Surah Al-Anbiya: 107)”

Abu Qatada Ansari narrates that the Prophet ﷺ was asked about fasting on Mondays. The Prophet ﷺ said, “This was the day on which I was born. (Sahih Muslim)” The Prophet ﷺ fasting on the day of his birth is a clear evidence for marking and honouring the mawlid.

Sayyiduna Ibn Abbas narrates that when the Prophet ﷺ arrived in Al-Madinah Al-Munawwarah, he saw that the Jews would keep a fast on the ‘ashura. The Prophet ﷺ asked them, “Why do you keep a fast on this day?” They replied that this is a great day for us, Allah ﷻ saved Prophet Musa and his nation by drowning the Pharaoh and his followers. The Prophet ﷺ replied, “We have a greater right over Prophet Musa than you.” The Prophet ﷺ fasted on that day and ordered others to do so. In a similar narration, Sayyiduna Abu Hurayra narrates that the Prophet ﷺ passed by some Jews who were fasting on the day of ‘ashura. The Prophet ﷺ asked, “Why are you fasting?”  The Jews replied, “This is the day that Allah ﷻ saved Prophet Musa and his nation from destruction by drowning the Pharaoh and his followers. This is also the day in which the ark of Prophet Nuh stopped upon Mount Judiy. Both Prophets kept a fast on this day to thank Allah ﷻ. The Prophet ﷺ replied, I have a greater right over Prophet Musa.” The Prophet ﷺ commanded the companions to fast. (Musnad Ahmad).

When it is permissible to mark the day in which Prophet Nuh landed to safety and when Prophet Musa was saved from the tyranny of the Pharaoh, then marking the day on which the Prophet ﷺ has greater significance and honour.

Sayyiduna Burayda Aslami narrates that the Prophet ﷺ had returned from a battle and a woman came to visit the Messenger ﷺ. She said, “O Messenger of Allah, I took an oath that if you were to return safely, then I will play this duff in your presence. The Prophet ﷺ replied, “If you have taken an oath then play it, otherwise do not.” (Musannaf Abi Shaybah) The Prophet ﷺ allowed the beating of the duff to celebrate his safe return from battle, therefore to show happiness and celebrate the birth of the Prophet ﷺ is also permissible.

The agreement of the Scholars:

Imam Abu Shama Al-Maqdasi states, “the ‘ulema agree that a bid’ah hasana is permissible and mustahab. Whoever does such an action with a good intention, he will be rewarded. In our times, an example of a bid’ah hasana can be seen in the city of Erbil. During the mawlid, sadaqa is given and people spend time in voluntary worship. The city is beautified and there is atmosphere of great joy. These actions are of great benefit to the poor and destitute and the love of the Prophet ﷺ is increased in the hearts of all. People learn about the life and the great rank of the Messenger ﷺ and express their thanks and praise to Allah ﷻ for blessing them with the Prophet ﷺ as a mercy to all.”

Imam Sakhawi mentions, “In all the cities and states of the Muslims, there are gatherings of Mawlid throughout the month of Rabi’ ul Awwal. Families hold great feasts, there is a great show of joy and happiness and charity is distributed amongst the needy. Gatherings are held where the events around the blessed birth of the Prophet ﷺ are read. This is a means of great blessings and something which I have experienced.” Similar narrations have been mentioned by Imam Qastalani in Al-Mawahib Al-Laduniya and ‘Allama Diyar Bakri in Tarikh al-Khamis Fi Ahwal Anfus Al-Nafis.

Hafiz Nasir Al-Din Al-Dimashqi narrates, “Thuwayba was freed on the day the Prophet ﷺ was born. It has been mentioned that when Sayyida Aminah gave birth to the Prophet ﷺ, Thuwayba went to her Master, Abu Lahab, and told him of the birth of his nephew, Muhammad ibn Abdullah. In a show of great happiness, Abu Lahab straight away freed Thuwayba. In another narration its states that Thuwayba went to Abu Lahab and said, “Have you heard that Aminah has given birth to a boy?” Abu Lahab replied, “You are free!”

Every Monday, there is relief in the punishment Abu Lahab receives due to the happiness he expressed upon the birth of the Prophet ﷺ and freed a slave in honour of this. Sayyiduna ‘Urwa ibn Zabir mentions, when Abu Lahab died, a member of his family saw him in a dream in very bad state. They asked what had happened to him. Abu Lahab replied, “Nothing has helped me since dying except for freeing Thuwayba, due to which I am given something to drink from here, pointing in between his thumb and index finger. This dream was seen by his brother, Sayyiduna ‘Abbas a year after he had died. Quoting Imam Suyuti’s narration, Imam Dimashqi states, “This statement is correct that every Monday, there is a relief in the punishment given to Abu Lahab due to his freeing of Thuwayba upon the birth of the Prophet ﷺ. When a disbeliever, who has been cursed in the Qur’an, is given relief from his punishment every Monday due to expressing joy upon the birth of the Prophet ﷺ. Then imagine how much reward that person will receive who spent his entire life celebrating the birth of the Prophet ﷺ and passed away upon tawhid.

Accounts and narrations from different scholars from the early centuries clearly show that the mawlid was celebrated throughout the Muslim world and ha continued to this day. People spend the night of the mawlid busy in worship and remembrance of Allah ﷻ. People try their best to engage themselves in good deeds. To mention a few, they arrange food for family and friends, pray and keep a voluntary fast, recite the holy Qur’an and different adhkar and read qas’aid in praise of the Prophet ﷺ.

Many classical scholars have mentioned such accounts in their writings. These include ‘ulema such as Hafiz Ibn Jawzi, Ibn Dihya, Ibn Kathir, Ibn Hajar and Imam Suyuti.

Many of the early and latter scholars have discussed the permissibility of celebrating the mawlid. Great scholars of tafsirhadith and fiqh have written books on this subject. Examples include Hafiz Ibn Dihya’s ‘Al-Tanwir fi Mawlid Al-Bashir Al-Nazir’, Abu Abbas Al-‘Azafi’s ‘Al-Durr al-Munazzam fi al-Mawlid al-Nabi al-Mu’azzam,  Imam ‘Alai’s ‘Al-Durrah Al-Saniyya fi Mawlid Khayr al-Bariyya, Hafiz ‘Iraqi’s ‘Al-Mawrid al-Hani fi al-Mawlid al-Nabi, Hafiz ibn Nasir al-Din al-Dimashqi’s ‘Mawrid al-Saadi fi Mawlid al-Haadi’, Hafiz Al-Naji’s ‘Kanz al-Raghibin al-‘Ufaat fi al-Ramz ila al-Mawlid al-Muhammadi wa al-Wafat, and Imam Suyuti’s ‘Husn al-Maqsid fi ‘Aml al-Mawlid.

Imam Salihi narrates from Imam Zarhazni that he saw the Prophet ﷺ in a dream. He mentioned that some people refuse to celebrate the mawlid. The Prophet ﷺ replied, “Whoever is happy with us, we are happy with them.”

Celebrating the mawlid is an expression of love towards the Prophet ﷺ. It is mustahab and has clear evidences from the Qur’an and Sunnah. It is from the practices of the pious predecessors and the scholars agree that performing virtuous acts during the mawlid is a means to goodness.

And Allah ﷻ knows the best

This Fatwa is written by Dr. Hafiz Muhammad Munir Al-Azhari

Source:

https://www.britishfatwacouncil.org/2020/12/permissibility-of-celebrating-the-mawlid/