Praise be to Allaah.
Firstly, Muhammad (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon
him) is the Messenger of Allaah to all of mankind, the one through whom Allaah
leads people from darkness into light, from misguidance to guidance.
Secondly, acts of worship in Islam are based on an
important principle, which is that no one is permitted to worship Allaah in any
way except that which Allaah has prescribed in his Book or which was taught by
His Messenger Muhammad (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him). Whoever
worships Allaah by doing something that Allaah and His Messenger have not
enjoined, Allaah will not accept that from him. The Prophet (peace and blessings
of Allaah be upon him) told us of that, as it was narrated that ‘Aa’ishah (may
Allaah be pleased with her) said: “The Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings
of Allaah be upon him) said: ‘Whoever innovates something in this matter of
ours [i.e., Islam] that is not part of it will have it rejected.’” (Narrated by
al-Bukhaari, Kitaab al-Sulh, 2499).
Acts of worship include festivals. Allaah has prescribed
two festivals or Eids for us to celebrate, and it is not permissible for us to
celebrate any others.
In general, celebrating birthdays is an innovation in the
religion of Allaah, and it is not permissible to do this. It is not permissible
to eat the food that has been prepared for this occasion. Their claim that the
food for the birthday celebration is for the guests does not make it excusable
to eat it. Hospitality is subject to its own rulings, and matters are judged
according to the intentions behind them. It is very clear that the food is
being prepared for this innovated occasion, and eating this food is one of the
things that helps them to persist in doing this. It is a kind of co-operation
in sin and transgression. Allaah says (interpretation of the meaning):
“Help you one another in Al Birr and At Taqwa (virtue,
righteousness and piety); but do not help one another in sin and transgression”
[al-Maa’idah 5:2]
Shaykh ‘Abd al-Kareem al-Khudayr
With regard to celebrating the day on which
the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) was born, it should be
noted that he (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) did not tell us to
celebrate this day, and he himself (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him)
did not celebrate it, nor did his companions (may Allaah be pleased with them).
They loved the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) far more
than we do, yet despite that they did not celebrate this day. Hence we do not
celebrate this day, in obedience to the command of Allaah Who has commanded us
to follow the commands of His Prophet. Allaah says (interpretation of the
meaning):
“And whatsoever the Messenger (Muhammad) gives you, take
it; and whatsoever he forbids you, abstain (from it)” [al-Hashr 59:7]
And the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him)
said: “I urge you to adhere to my Sunnah [way] and the way of the
Rightly-Guided khaleefahs. Adhere to it and cling tightly to it. And beware of
newly-invented matters [in religion], for every newly-invented matter is an
innovation and every innovation is a going-astray.” (Narrated by Abu Dawood,
al-Sunnah, 3991; classed as saheeh by al-Albaani in Saheeh Abi Dawood, no. 3851).
The extent to which a person loves the Messenger of Allaah
(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) is to be seen in how he follows him
with regard to all that he commanded or forbade. That includes following him in
not celebrating the day on which he was born.
Al-Faakihaani (may Allaah have mercy on him) said:
I do not know of any basis for this mawlid in the Qur’aan
or Sunnah, and there is no report that any of the scholars of this ummah, who
are examples in matters of religion and adhere to the path of those who came
before, did this. Rather it is an innovation (bid’ah) which was introduced by
those who have nothing better to do, and it is a means for them to have fun and
eat a lot.
Al-Mawrid fi ‘Aml al-Mawlid, quoted in Rasaa’il fi Hukm
al-Ihtifaal bi’l-Mawlid al-Nabawi, 1/8, 9
Shaykh ‘Abd al-‘Azeez ibn Baaz (may Allaah have mercy on
him) said:
If celebrating the Prophet’s birthday was prescribed, then
the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) would have told his
ummah of that, because he is the most sincere of people and there is no Prophet
after him who could explain anything he did not speak about. He (peace and
blessings of Allaah be upon him) is the Seal of the Prophets and he explained
to the people what he had to explain of the truth, such as loving him and
following his sharee’ah, sending blessings and salaams upon him and other
rights of his that are explained in the Qur’aan and Sunnah. He did not tell his
ummah that celebrating the day of his birth was something prescribed so that
they would do that. He (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) did not do
that during his lifetime and his companions (peace and blessings of Allaah be
upon him) who were the dearest of people to him and the most knowledgeable of
his rights did not celebrate that day, neither did the Rightly-Guided Caliphs
or any others. Then those who followed them in truth of the best three
generations did not celebrate this day either.
Do you think that all these people were ignorant of his
rights or fell short with regard to them, until the later generations came and
made up for this shortfall and made the truth complete? No, by Allaah. No wise
man who understands the nature of the Sahaabah and how they followed the truth
would say this. If you understand that the celebration of the Prophet’s
birthday was unknown at the time of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah
be upon him) and the time of his companions and the time of their earliest
followers, you will realize that it is an innovation that has been introduced
into the faith, and it is not permissible to do it, approve of it or advocate
it, rather we must denounce it and warn people against it.
Majmoo’ Fataawa al-Shaykh Ibn Baaz, 6/318, 319
Whoever wants to venerate the day on which the Prophet
(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) was born should follow the
alternative that is based on Islamic evidence, which is that one should fast on
Mondays, not just the day that he was born but every Monday.
Muslim (1162) narrated from Abu Qataadah al-Ansaari (may
Allah be pleased with him) that the Messenger of Allah (blessings and peace of
Allah be upon him) was asked about fasting on Mondays and he said: “On (that
day) I was born and on it Revelation came down to me.”
Al-Tirmidhi (747) narrated, in a hadeeth that he classed as
hasan, from Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Messenger of
Allah (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) said: “Deeds are presented (to
Allah) on Monday and Thursday and I like my deeds to be presented when I am
fasting.”
However, from the saheeh hadeeths quoted above, it is clear
that just as the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) fasted on
Mondays out of gratitude for the blessing of his birth on this day, he also
fasted it because of its virtue, because the Revelation came down to him on
that day, and on that day deeds are presented to Allah. So he (blessings and
peace of Allah be upon him) liked his deeds to be taken up when he was fasting.
The fact that he was born on that day was one of several reasons for fasting
that day.
If a person fasts on Mondays, as the Prophet (blessings and
peace of Allah be upon him) did, hoping for forgiveness on that day, out of gratitude
for the blessings that Allah bestowed upon His slaves on the day – the greatest
of which blessings is the birth of His Prophet and His sending him – and hoping
to be among the people who are forgiven on that day, then this is something
good and is in accordance with what is proven of the Sunnah of the Prophet
(blessings and peace of Allah be upon him). But he should not single out one
week for that to the exclusion of others, or one month to the exclusion of
others. Rather he should do that as much as he can on a permanent basis.
Moreover, it is not known that any of the salaf or early
scholars said that it is prescribed to fast on any particular day of the week
or the month or the year, and regard that day as a “festival” because the
Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) used to fast on the day of
his birth every week, which was a Monday. If that was prescribed, the people of
knowledge and virtue of the early generations who hastened to do all that is
good would have hastened to do it before us. As they did not do that, it is
known that this is something that is innovated and it is not permissible to do
it.
With regard to singling out one day of the year for fasting
it, in celebration of the birth of the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be
upon him), this is an innovation (bid‘ah) that is contrary to the Sunnah of the
Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him). The Prophet (blessings and
peace of Allah be upon him) fasted on Mondays, and no other day, but from year
to the next, his birthday may come on that day or any other day of the week.
Conclusion: celebrating the Prophet’s birthday was not
prescribed by Allaah or by the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of
Allaah be upon him), so it is not permissible for the Muslims to celebrate his
birthday, in obedience to the command of Allaah and the command of His Prophet
(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him). We ask Allaah to guide you to
the Straight Path.
Reading Qur’aan
together, giving good deeds to the dead
Praise be to Allaah.
Firstly:
In the saheeh Sunnah there are many reports which speak of
the virtues of gathering to read the Book of Allaah, but in order for the
Muslim to attain those rewards, he should ensure that the gathering is in
accordance with sharee’ah. One of the prescribed ways in which people may
gather to read Qur’aan is for the people gathered to read together for the
purpose of study, learning the meanings and how to recite properly. Another
kind of gathering that is prescribed is for each of them to read and the others
to listen, so that they may ponder the meanings of the verses. Both are
mentioned in the Sunnah of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon
him).
With regard to what each person reads being counted as a
khatmah (complete reading of the Qur’aan) for each of them, this is not
correct, because none of them has read the entire Qur’aan, or even listened to
it, rather each of them has read a part of it, so they will only be rewarded
for whatever they have read of the Qur’aan.
The scholars of the Standing Committee said:
Distributing ajza’ or parts of the Qur’aan to those who are
present so that each one of them may read a hizb of the Qur’aan is not
necessarily regarded as a khatmah or complete reading of the Qur’aan on the
part of each one of them. End quote.
Fataawa al-Lajnah al-Daa’imah, 2/480
Secondly:
It is not prescribed to say du’aa’ together after reading
Qur’aan, and it is not permissible to pray that the reward for the reading go
to any of the dead or the living. Our Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be
upon him) did not do that, and neither did any of his companions (may Allaah be
pleased with them).
Shaykh ‘Abd al-‘Azeez ibn Baaz (may Allaah have mercy on
him) was asked:
Is it permissible for me to read the entire Qur’aan for my
parents, knowing that they are illiterate and cannot read or write? Is it
permissible for me to read the entire Qur’aan for a person who knows how to
read and write, but I want to give this khatmah to him? Is it permissible for
me to read the entire Qur’aan for more than one person?
He replied:
There is no report in the Holy Qur’aan or in the Sunnah of
the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him), or from
his companions (may Allaah be pleased with them) to indicate that it is
prescribed to give one's reading of Qur’aan (or the reward thereof) to one's
parents or to anyone else. Rather Allaah has enjoined reading Qur’aan so that
one may benefit from it, learn from it, ponder its meanings and act upon it.
Allaah says (interpretation of the meaning):
“(This is) a Book (the Qur’aan) which We have sent down to
you, full of blessings, that they may ponder over its Verses, and that men of
understanding may remember”
[Saad 38:29]
“Verily, this Qur’aan guides to that which is most just and
right”
[al-Isra’ 17:90]
“Say: It is for those who believe, a guide and a healing”
[Fussilat 41:44]
And our Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him)
said: “Read the Qur’aan, for it will come as an intercessor for its
companions.” And he (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “The
Qur’aan will be brought on the Day of Resurrection along with its people who
used to act upon it, preceded by Soorat al-Baqarah and Aal ‘Imraan, like two
clouds or two flocks of birds, spreading their wings, pleading on behalf of
their companions (i.e., those who used to read them).”
The point is that it was revealed to be acted upon and
pondered, to be read as an act of worship and read a great deal, not to be
given to the dead or to anyone else. I do not know of any reliable basis for
giving it to one’s parents or anyone else. The Prophet (peace and blessings of
Allaah be upon him) said: “Whoever does any action that is not in accordance
with this matter of ours will have it rejected.” Some of the scholars are of
the view that that is permissible, and they said: There is no reason why the
reward for reading Qur’aan and other righteous actions cannot be given to
others, and they liken that to the case of charity and du’aa’ for the deceased
and others. But the correct view is the first view, because of the hadeeth
quoted above, and other similar reports. If giving the reward for reading to
another was permissible or prescribed, the righteous salaf would have done it.
It is not permissible to make analogies with regard to acts of worship, because
they can only be proven by a text from the Book of Allaah, may He be blessed
and exalted, or the Sunnah of His Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be
upon him), because of the hadeeth quoted above and other similar reports.
Majmoo’ Fataawa al-Shaykh Ibn Baaz, 8/360, 361
With regard to the hadeeth, “When the son of
Adam dies, all his good deeds come to an end…” this is not correct, rather if
you think about it, you will see that the hadeeth indicates that it is not
prescribed to give the reward for reading Qur’aan to the dead, because the
Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “A son who will pray
for him,” not “who will read Qur’aan for him.”
We hope that what we have mentioned is sufficient to make the
laymen refrain from this innovation. We advise them to fear Allaah and follow
the Sunnah. They should remember that Allaah does not accept any innovated act
of worship, no matter what efforts and wealth are expended on it. Being
moderate in following the Sunnah is better than striving hard in following
innovation, as the great Sahaabi ‘Abd-Allaah ibn Mas’ood (may Allaah be pleased
with him) said.
We ask Allaah to guide them to that which pleases Him, and
we advise the readers to convey this message well and not take part in that
with them, and to be patient in bearing any problems that may result from
that.
And Allaah knows best.
Islam Q&A
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