Mawlid and Celebration of Mawlid

Mawlid is an Arabic term. In linguistics it signifies ‘birth time’, ‘birth day’ etc…To commemorate the great souls who acquired blessing and nearness of Allah Almighty with love and admiration and to perform encomium on the eventuality and moral prosperity of their lives in the form of prose, poem or in the both forms is called ‘Mawlid’. Mawlid and the celebration of Mawlid are not same.  To express happiness in the birth of the pious person is the birth day celebration. There are evidences for both in the Qur’an and the Sunnah. Surly, we can celebrate it since it is accepted by the whole Muslims in the world, with all the fervor and enthusiasm; let the modernists accept it or not.

Evidences 
                                        The urge of Allah Almighty to recollect the great souls and inform the world with songs of encomium can be seen at different places in the Qur’an. “Recollect Israel in the Qur’an”; “recall Idrees through Qur’an”; “remember our servant Davood”, “reminisce Mariyam through Qur’an”, after such verses, Allah delineates the sacred life histories and eulogize them meritoriously.  From the dream of the prophet Yoosuf even to the prayer of him: O! Allah, let me die being Muslim and may include me in the company of righteous men are recorded in the Qur’an. Verses of eulogia about the Holy Prophet are there in Qur’an in abundance. Unprejudiced investigation of Qur’an may help to find the eulogia on many a great soul. 

We cannot think that anyone would tell this veneration is a sin. The Prophet (Peace and Blessing be upon him) said, “He who does not respect those who are older than him is not among us”. If so, how befitting it is to honor the great souls in whom religious knowledge and chastity are assembled and who was stainless of sin, even hadn’t done a ‘karahath’ (undesirable action) in life knowingly! The decree of Allah to holy angels to prostrate respecting Adam (Peace be upon him) and seeking response from ‘Iblees’ (the leader of the Satan) for not obeying his order made him a character of eternal curse and toppled him down from his position teach us to respect great souls. Allah says through Qur’an that to respect the signs of Allah is the evidence for having ‘thaqwa’ (fear of Allah) in the heart.  Prophets, saints, righteous men are indeed the signs of Allah. Don’t rise your voice than that of you prophet’s, nor speak with him in a loud voice. Your good deeds would become fruitless unknowingly.  From this verse we can understand how far to respect our prophet.

In short, to commemorate, to honor, to praise the great souls and to wish their love and by which acquire Allah’s love are the intentions of ‘Mawlid’.  There is no evidence to say these things are un-Islamic. 

“Indeed, Allah and his angels utter ‘swalath’ in the name of the prophet; believers! utter swalath for the sake of the prophet.  In the interpretation of this verse of Qur’an, Imam Bukhari brings in the report of Abul ‘Aalia (Allah please with him).  The meaning of the verse that Allah utters swalath for the sake of the prophet is that Allah quotes the nobility of the prophet before them” (Bukhari).  Allah orders believers to do so.  Imam Baidavi (May Allah Mercy upon him) interprets ‘Allah and his angels are more interested in describing the nobility and in narrating the greatness of the prophet’.  So, it is clear that we are obliged to describe the nobility and present the greatness of the prophet to the world.

The Mawlid and its evidence can be understood from the above noted lines. But, here we have to understand one thing. If we provide evidences for Mawlid, the antagonists would ask where the evidence for celebration, and if provide evidences for celebration, they would ask where the evidence for Mawlid.  Such are the pretty tactics of them to baffle the commoners. 

We don’t have the least doubt in those who lean ladder to the harmful cartoonist of Denmark and to such others, and who had been writing and preaching that ‘the prophet is only an ordinary man and I and Muhammad of holy Makkah are alike’.

See some instances: “if the prophets could die, if the corps could burry then it does not seem to have any peculiar quality for the corpses not mingling with soil.  The corpses are buried not to cause difficulty by the exposure of decayed body to the living beings on the earth, i.e., the meaning of burial is to arrange room for corpses to decay not causing difficulty to the living beings.  If the body of the prophet does not decay what is the idea behind the burial of them. Won't it be wise to keep it on outside? (Prabodanam Malayalam weekly Published by Jama’athe Islami of kerala, January 1987).

“The prophet Muhammad (PBH) was born as the son of a man called Abdullah and a woman called Amina. He was born, grown and lived only as the ordinary man.  He was appointed as the prophet like other prophets. When reached Allah’s calling, he departed from here as a departure of an ordinary man.  These all are the uncontroversial historical facts” (Prabodanam weekly , December 1981).
Although they belonged to Islam, is this the privilege of them to belittle the prophet of Islam in any way?  Is it when the prophet-abuse is reported only from Denmark or Europe becomes a crime? The prophet-abuse by Jeeland post magazine is greater than that of the Jamath e Islami?
To say the holy body of the prophet would decay and deform; to say it would cause difficulty out of foul smell to the living beings if not buried; to question the reason behind the burial in the state of not decaying are all the prophet-abuse and never deserves excuse. 

The prophet(PBH) said that the physical body of the prophets are prohibited to the earth and they don’t decay into the earth, (Aboo Davod). That the prophet Moosa (Peace be upon him) was seen taking his prayer from his own rest place has come in the Hadîth. It is also reported that the Prophet (PBH) had lead the prayer from the sky to the prophets who have passed away. Are all these done with decayed bodies? Those who say or write they were the forces behind anything and everything should respond to it.  Some times silence is not a rhetoric but disgust.  They defied the sayings of the prophet too.  

We can thank Allah for their preparedness to conduct campaign on ‘Know the Prophet’.  We can rejoice in praising our beloved prophet from all corners by all. Be ready to live imprinting the prophet’s foot steps in life. We should show extreme care to make aware the importance of his pattern of life to all.