Every Muslim is commanded by Allah SWT to honour, exalt, love and hold in high regard the Messenger of Allah SAAW.

These matters are found in the Qur’an, among them

1. Al-Araf (QS 7:157)

الَّذِينَ يَتَّبِعُونَ الرَّسُولَ النَّبِيَّ الْأُمِّيَّ الَّذِي يَجِدُونَهُ مَكْتُوبًا عِنْدَهُمْ فِي التَّوْرَاةِ وَالْإِنْجِيلِ يَأْمُرُهُمْ بِالْمَعْرُوفِ وَيَنْهَاهُمْ عَنِ الْمُنْكَرِ وَيُحِلُّ لَهُمُ الطَّيِّبَاتِ وَيُحَرِّمُ عَلَيْهِمُ الْخَبَائِثَ وَيَضَعُ عَنْهُمْ إِصْرَهُمْ وَالْأَغْلَالَ الَّتِي كَانَتْ عَلَيْهِمْ ۚ فَالَّذِينَ آمَنُوا بِهِ وَعَزَّرُوهُ وَنَصَرُوهُ وَاتَّبَعُوا النُّورَ الَّذِي أُنْزِلَ مَعَهُ ۙ أُولَٰئِكَ هُمُ الْمُفْلِحُونَ

“... So those who believe in him, honour him, help him and follow the clear light that was sent down with him (the Qur’an) — they are the ones who prosper.”

The words وَعَزَّرُوهُ in this verse mean to honour him (the Messenger SAAW), and so one way of honouring the Messenger SAAW is to hold a commemoration of the Maulid.

2. Ibrahim (QS 14:5)

وَذَكِّرْهُمْ بِأَيَّامِ اللَّهِ

“... and remind them of the days of Allah ...”

In this verse Allah commands the Prophet Musa as to remind his people of the “days of Allah (بِأَيَّامِ اللَّهِ ۚ)”. What is meant by “the days of Allah” is not a matter of era or period; what is meant is the remembrance of great events in the past, because the word “days” describes the character of those events, whether a day of blessing or a day of calamity.

If a person calls to mind the blessings Allah has given him, then that person is acting on Allah’s command in this verse. Is there any blessing of Allah greater than the exalted person of the Messenger of Allah SAAW? Is one who remembers that greatest of blessings to be called an innovator? Celebrating the Maulid of the Messenger of Allah is one way of calling to mind the greatest blessing of Allah.

The meaning of “the days of Allah” can be understood by referring to:
- Tafsir Al-Kasyaf, vol. 3 p. 519
- Tafsir Durul Mantsur, vol. 5 p. 6
- Tafsir Kabir, vol. 10 p. 90
- Jamiul Kabir Li Ahkamil Qur’an, vol. 5 p. 240

3. Maryam (QS 19:15)

وَسَلَامٌ عَلَيْهِ يَوْمَ وُلِدَ وَيَوْمَ يَمُوتُ وَيَوْمَ يُبْعَثُ حَيًّا

“Peace be upon him the day he was born, the day he dies, and the day he is raised alive”

The day of birth in the lives of the Prophets as is among the important and blessed days. Allah SWT gave His salutation to the Prophet Yahya as on the day of his birth. We all hold that the Messenger of Allah SAAW is the most noble among the Prophets and Messengers, and so his day of birth must necessarily be more noble than the birthdays of the other Prophets and Messengers.

Is it to be called an innovation to celebrate the Maulid of a man more noble than the Prophet Yahya as?

Allah SWT says in Al-Ahzab (QS 33:6)

النَّبِيُّ أَوْلَىٰ بِالْمُؤْمِنِينَ مِنْ أَنْفُسِهِمْ ۖ

“The Prophet is closer to the believers than their own selves ...”

If a believer gives precedence to himself or to others and does not give precedence to the Messenger of Allah SAAW above them, then that person cannot be counted among those who believe, as we can see in the verse above and as is reinforced by the following hadith from Sahih Muslim, vol. 3 p. 183:

“None of you believes until I am more beloved to him (given precedence) than his own self, his wealth, his family and all people”

The hadith above is also found in:
- Sunan Nasa’i, vol. 7 p. 119
- Sahih Bukhari, vol. 1 p. 12

Celebrating the Maulid of the Messenger SAAW is one way of giving precedence to and honouring a man whom Allah SWT has favoured above all His creation — can this be called an innovation?

A thing may be called an innovation when it has no proof or text in the Qur’an and hadith. If it does have proof or text in the Qur’an and hadith, then it is not an innovation; it is sunnah.

The verses of the Qur’an and the hadiths above are proof of the obligation to honour the Messenger of Allah SAAW and to give him precedence over ourselves, our wealth, our families and all people, which is a mark of a person’s faith. In other words, celebrating the Maulid of the Prophet SAAW is one of the marks by which a person may be counted a believer.

As for the group who say that the proofs or texts above do not show this, and who even call the Maulid an innovation, they argue as follows:
- Is there a command in the Qur’an to celebrate the Maulid?
- Did the Prophet SAAW and/or the companions ever do such a thing?

Both questions above arise from an error in understanding proof and text, and also from an error in understanding sunnah.

In understanding a proof or text one need not always be rigid, word by word. Rather we must understand the text or proof as the “ashlun” (origin/root) of an act of religious practice.

We know that the sacred law obliges us to educate and teach our children, but the manner of that education is left to us and accords with our own times. For example, we are obliged to educate our children in the Qur’an, but the manner of that education accords with our times. We are permitted to use a computer, CD or VCD as a medium or tool in teaching the Qur’an to our children — things that of course did not exist in the time of the Prophet and the companions.

Educating children is the “ashlun”, which is the proof or text, while the ways of educating are adapted to the times, and this is not an innovation.

Al-Anfal (QS 8:60)

وَأَعِدُّوا لَهُمْ مَا اسْتَطَعْتُمْ مِنْ قُوَّةٍ وَمِنْ رِبَاطِ الْخَيْلِ تُرْهِبُونَ بِهِ عَدُوَّ اللَّهِ وَعَدُوَّكُمْ وَآخَرِينَ مِنْ دُونِهِمْ لَا تَعْلَمُونَهُمُ اللَّهُ يَعْلَمُهُمْ ۚ وَمَا تُنْفِقُوا مِنْ شَيْءٍ فِي سَبِيلِ اللَّهِ يُوَفَّ إِلَيْكُمْ وَأَنْتُمْ لَا تُظْلَمُونَ

“And prepare against them whatever force you are able, and steeds of war tethered, by which you may strike fear into the enemy of Allah and your enemy, and others besides them whom you do not know but Allah knows. Whatever you spend in the way of Allah will be repaid to you in full, and you will not be wronged.

Preparing strength to defend and guard the religion of Allah, to strike fear into an enemy known and unknown, is an “ashlun” present in the Qur’an, and this is a clear proof or text as to the obligation of it — but the ways of doing it accord with each age. In the time of the Messenger of Allah SAAW the spear, the bow, armour and the shield served as weapons while horses served as transport; in this age the rifle, the pistol and the missile serve as weapons and the tank and the aircraft as transport. If in this age the Muslim community were to prepare bows and spears as weapons, the enemies of Islam could not be defeated.

So plainly the reasoning of the group above is mistaken:
- there is a text in the Qur’an, namely QS 7:157
- the Prophet SAAW and the companions did not use pistols or aircraft in their time.

Also the following hadith of the Prophet SAAW:
Whoever institutes a good sunnah will have its reward and the reward of all who act upon it (that sunnah)”
- Sunan Al-Kubro, vol. 6 p. 121
- Syarah Nawawi, vol. 4 p. 88
- Kanzul Ummal, vol. 15 p. 330

Are we commanded to institute a sunnah of our own making, or a sunnah that has an “ashlun” in the Qur’an and hadith? Plainly a sunnah with a root in the Qur’an and hadith — such as preaching by television and internet, for which of course we find no report telling us that the Messenger of Allah SAAW and the companions appeared on television and preached over the internet.

The Maulid of the Prophet SAAW is therefore not an innovation but a good sunnah (sunnah hasanah).

In the time of the Prophet SAAW the companions had their own ways of honouring the Prophet, such as
- keeping the Prophet SAAW’s hair to take blessing from it (Sahih Bukhari, vol. 3 p. 95)
- drinking the water left from the Prophet SAAW’s wudhu (Fathul Bari, vol. 1 p. 395)
Ways of honouring such as the companions practised may be called impossible for us, since the bodily person (basyar) of the Messenger of Allah SAAW is not present in our age — and so holding a Maulid celebration is one of our ways in this age of honouring him SAAW.

As for those who hold a Maulid by reciting the Maulid Barjanji, the Maulid Habsyi, the Maulid Diba’ or by chanting kinds of salawat, these are ways with the very clear aim of honouring the Messenger of Allah SAAW, and are an expression of love for the Messenger of Allah SAAW.

Something new, not present in the time of the Messenger of Allah SAAW, connected with religious practice, is not always to be called an innovation. If that thing has an “ashlun”, then it is a good sunnah.

Allah SWT says in Al-Maidah (QS 5:114)

قَالَ عِيسَى ابْنُ مَرْيَمَ اللَّهُمَّ رَبَّنَا أَنْزِلْ عَلَيْنَا مَائِدَةً مِنَ السَّمَاءِ تَكُونُ لَنَا عِيدًا لِأَوَّلِنَا وَآخِرِنَا وَآيَةً مِنْكَ ۖ وَارْزُقْنَا وَأَنْتَ خَيْرُ الرَّازِقِينَ
“‘Isa son of Maryam prayed: ‘O our Lord, send down to us a table spread from heaven, that (the day of its descent) may be a festival for us — for those with us and those who come after us — and a sign from You; and provide for us, for You are the best of providers.’”

The event of the table being sent down from heaven became a festival for the community of the Prophet Isa as who were with him and also for the community of the Prophet Isa as who came after them.

If a matter concerning the sending down of food from heaven was made into a festival (always commemorated), then what of the event of the birth of the leader of the pure prophets and messengers, whom Allah sent SAAW as nothing other than a mercy to all the worlds (QS 21:107)?

The commemoration of the Prophet SAAW’s maulid is a form of expressing our love for the Prophet SAAW and also a proof that we honour him SAAW, and likewise a means (washilah) of drawing near to Allah SWT, as Allah SWT says in surah Al-Maidah (QS 5:35)

يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا اتَّقُوا اللَّهَ وَابْتَغُوا إِلَيْهِ الْوَسِيلَةَ وَجَاهِدُوا فِي سَبِيلِهِ لَعَلَّكُمْ تُفْلِحُونَ

“O you who believe, fear Allah and seek the means of nearness to Him, and strive in His way, that you may prosper.”