Bid’ah alert Celebrating Prophet’s birthday

An article written by Humza Mullick

IT was a typical day in England, the sun was out and the bitterness of the afternoon breeze cut through my skin. As I walked around the park, the leaves swaying and birds chirping, I noticed a minibus within the boundaries of the park. I thought what a strange sight it was and what is the bus doing inside the park? As my eyes moved up, I saw a chair, decorated with a green what-seemed-to-be silky cloth, fixed on its roof.
To my utter amazement, there were, what I can only describe as frantic Muslims, running behind the bus. I didn’t have a clue what was happening. I asked a fellow passerby in the park what on earth was going on. He told me that they were celebrating Prophet Muhammad’s (peace be on him) birthday. I was flabbergasted. They were chasing a bus with an empty chair on it?! Then he further explained that they “believed” the Prophet was actually sitting in the chair and the runners were trying to get some blessings from him! Allah’s refuge is to be sought from such false and repugnant beliefs. It looked like people from a mental asylum were let loose.

Muslims who celebrate Meelad-un-Nabi (the Prophet’s birthday) do it thinking it is a great deed. They have Insha Allah good intentions. But having good intention is not sufficient when it comes to religion – one must have proper knowledge of the right action.

Here’s a question, think about it: A man who wanted to get closer to Allah decided to go on top of a mountain and stand up on one leg the whole day long. He thought he will be purified from his sins and get closer to Allah. Do you think his action is correct? Why not? Yes, his intention was good, but his action was not in accordance with what Allah and His Messenger have laid down. He should have instead repented to Allah, prayed Salah, given in charity and tried to act on Islamic teachings in his life. He did not do the right thing because he did not know how one gets closer to Allah.

So knowledge of what one must do is a pre-requirement to any action. No doubt loving the Prophet more than everything in this world is required of every Muslim. And if one wants to show his love for the Messenger, that’s very good. But the question is how? By celebrating his birthday?

Muhammad (peace be on him) lived for 63 years, 23 years of which as a Prophet and Messenger. He never celebrated his birthday in his entire life. After he passed away, Abu Bakr, the closest companion to the Prophet (peace be upon him), became the Caliph. Then Umar, Uthman and Ali (may Allah be pleased with them) ruled as the rightly-guided Caliphs. But none of them – or any of the Companions or Tabi’een – ever celebrated the Prophet’s birthday. Does that mean they didn’t love the Prophet?

In fact there can be no one on this earth until the Day of Judgment who can love and sacrifice for the Prophet (peace be upon him) more than the Sahabah. They gave up their wealth, land, and lives for the Prophet (peace be upon him). What about the Prophet’s beloved wife Ayesha (Allah be pleased with her)? Can anyone claim to love the Prophet more than her? Why didn’t she ever celebrate Meelad-un-Nabi?
Religion is complete

Islam is a complete religion. So complete that nothing can be added to it and nothing can be subtracted from it. Allah said in the Qur’an:

“This day, I have perfected your religion for you, completed My Favor upon you, and have chosen for you Islam as your religion.” (Qur’an, 5:3)

The innovation of celebrating the Prophet’s birthday was first introduced 300 years after the death of the Prophet (peace be upon him), but it was still not practiced. It was only 600 years after the death of the Prophet (peace be upon him) that this celebration really started in the Muslim Ummah. (See Ibn Kathir’s Al-Bidayah wa’l-Nihayah, 13/137)
The Prophet (peace be upon him) has told us several times to stay clear of innovations in religion.

“I urge you to follow my Sunnah and the way of the rightly-guided Caliphs after me; adhere to it and cling to it firmly. Beware of newly-invented things, for every newly-invented thing (in the religion) is an innovation (bid’ah) and every innovation is misguidance.” (Narrated by Ahmad, 4/126; Al-Tirmidhi, no. 2676).

Apart from being an innovation it is imitating the Christians, who celebrate the birthday of Jesus (peace be upon him). Both, innovating in religion and imitating other religions, are Haraam in Islam.
The Prophet (peace be upon him) said: “Whoever imitates a people is one of them.” (Ahmad, 2/50; Abu Dawood, 4/314)

Then how do we express our love for the Prophet? Allah says in the Qur’an:

“Say (O Muhammad, peace be upon him, to mankind): ‘If you (really) love Allah, then follow me (i.e. accept Islamic Monotheism, follow the Qur’an and the Sunnah), Allah will love you and forgive you your sins.” (Qur’an, 3:31)

Loving Allah and His Messenger means to obey them. Loving Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) means following his Sunnah, reviving his practices which have become uncommon in our societies. It doesn’t mean introducing our own way of worship and rituals.

Allah and His Messenger did not say to hold celebrations where men and women mix, sing and dance with music playing. These Haraam activities can be found in the heart of London on a Friday or Saturday night, in the name of loving the Prophet (peace be on him). How absurd!

One of the early scholars, Al-Barbahari, one of the companions of Ahmed Ibn Hanbal, said,

“Beware of innovation, because every innovation started out as something small and resembling the truth and people were fooled by it and followed it until it became bigger and bigger and were trapped by it and it took them out of Islam.”

Isn’t this what is exactly happening today? We find that in some places this event has become so important that if it is not practiced you are seen as a sinner! People who do this do not even give importance to prayer.

The important lesson to learn here is that when something is innovated into the religion, a Sunnah is lost. People are celebrating the birthday, which is not legislated, and are leaving the established Sunnahs. Let us ask ourselves: how many of us fast on the 13th, 14th and 15th of every month? How many of us fast Mondays and Thursdays? How many of us pray the Qiyam Al-Layl (the night prayer) or Tahajjud?

It is also important to know that the correct date of the Prophet’s birth is not known. Some scholars say it was 9th Rabi Al-Awwal and others say it was 12th. However, it is known for sure that the Prophet (peace be upon him) died on the 12th, which in fact was the greatest calamity that has ever struck Muslims.

Islam and Music

When it comes to Islam, music is a very interesting and heavily debated topic. Before I continue any further, I’d like to make it clear that my intention is not to take any side of the argument but instead to present both opinions in a short article. My aim is not to tell you what is haram (forbidden) or what is halal (permissible) but instead to explore some of the points we often debate. I’d like to add that I myself do listen to music, but I assure you that this won’t affect the neutrality of the article.

We all listen to music, so what can be wrong with it? For me, that argument is about as weak as they get, just because something is common or popular, it doesn’t become acceptable, I’ll leave the additional examples to your very own imagination. What is it about music that could potentially make it prohibited in Islam? It relaxes the mind and helps you to be calm and focused in life. No, that doesn’t seem like a major risk of listening to music. Music is difficult to define especially because it means so many different things to so many different people. There are many different types of music in the world, and if I chose to evaluate each and every type, you’d be moving to another webpage at the speed of light! So let me have a go at only one or two types of music.

Music enters the ears and moves down to the heart and eventually influences the soul. Some argue that it can control your lifestyle, your actions and your thoughts, put simply it can control you. One would ask, how might that be possible? You listen to a song written by a murderer, who kills for enjoyment, and then you go out and do exactly the same as him. Not quite, it is a little more sophisticated than that. A youngster spends five hours daily (remember you can do other stuff whilst listening to your tracks) listening to rap music which, just like a jam-sandwich is packed with jam, is packed with abusive language. The rap artist is a drug addict, living in a land where money grows on trees. Music is his voice, his frustration, anger, whatever you call it, his way of expressing himself and his heart presented in an audio format. The heart of a man (or a woman) is influenced by what he/she sees and hears, so if the youngster in our example, is constantly exposed to ‘filth’, what are the chances his mind will become corrupted? There is no rocket science in this example; it is plainly obvious that music can influence people. Now, to throw the argument on it’s head, what about those youngsters who listen to rap music but they are not influenced by it in any way. Good for them, why not throw them in a pool of snakes because they might be lucky enough to survive?

Romantic music doesn’t contain swearing or abuse, but it does often encourage men and women to engage in acts that are forbidden by Islam. “Your eyes are so beautiful, you’re so sweet, I wish I was with you for the rest of my life”, harmless, right? Well, one will say that it totally depends on the listener, some people will be easily influenced (e.g. to engage in forbidden acts outside marriage) but others won’t be. But again the key point is that music is an influence. Allah has warned us not only to abstain from that which is clearly forbidden but also that which may lead to it. The song may not be harmful but how it affects your character and your way of thinking is what could potentially become harmful. Music which encourages lewd behaviour usually results in increased vulgarity and disrespect for women in society. Islam doesn’t tell us to live on the edge, where there are risks of falling off the edge; we’ve been told to keep our distance. Sounds simple, if you want to avoid an accident, keep your distance from the car in front.

Now, there are many other types of music, there is even music that reminds us of our religion and that influences us positively. Some Muslims promote such music though there are others who pose questions about its sincerity. I’m also aware that the use of certain instruments is discouraged by our religion. One of the important points is that The Holy Q’uran doesn’t explicitly forbid music in the way it labels alcohol and gambling as ‘haram’. It seems that there are many different types of music out there, and the way in which people are influenced by music differs significantly. For example, a Nasheed (Islamic music) might appeal to one person because it contains the message of peace, but for another person it could be the ego or arrogance of the performer that is more appealing. Had our religion given us a blanket statement, such as all music is forbidden, it would’ve been quite misleading. No doubt, we can argue that Islam totally discourages music which blatantly promotes and explicitly glamourises sinful activity. Islam doesn't plainly forbid music and the reason for that might be because music takes many forms, it would be unfair and misleading to label them all as one. But for me, the important concept which we must understand is that music can heavily influence the mind and the heart. As Muslims, we must protect ourselves from all influences which take us away from the straight path of Islam. What sometimes annoys me is that the music debate gets far too much attention, and we get people on both sides holding up the ‘halal’ or ‘haram’ card. For me, what is more important is that each individual understands the role of music in their life and whether it is ruining their character, improving it or not affecting it at all. Paying attention to detail is important but there are times, we must learn not to lose ourselves in it, take a step back and look at the big picture, and ask yourself what music means in your life and how it influences you.

Sameer Hussain

sampowa@googlemail.com

Sheikh Ahmad Kutty on Music

Sheikh Ahmad Kutty, a senior lecturer and an Islamic scholar at the Islamic Institute of Toronto, Ontario, Canada, states:

“Music is an issue that has been hotly debated by scholars of the past and the present. While many of them have been generally inclined to condemn all forms of music, with the singular exception of ad-duff (tambourine) in weddings, quite a few of them have taken a more positive approach of considering only music containing sensual, pagan, or unethical themes or subliminal messages as being categorically forbidden.

The latter view seems to be more consistent with the general nature of Islam, which is undoubtedly a complete way of life that caters to all of the genuine human instincts and needs within permissible limits. Thus, to say that all music is forbidden in Islam does not seem to agree with the balanced approach of Islam to issues of human life and experience.

Traditions often cited by the first group scholars to justify condemnation of all musical instruments and music, according to some scholars, are considered as either spurious, or phrased in such way solely because of their associations with drinking, dancing, and sensuality.

While everyone agrees that all forms of music that contain pagan, sensual themes, or subliminal messages are clearly forbidden, the latter group of scholars considers all forms of music free of such themes and messages as permissible.

As a matter of fact, we know from the authentic traditions that the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, not only allowed music in the weddings but also listened to girls singing: While listening to girls singing on such an occasion, he interrupted them only once when they sang the following verse, “In our midst is a prophet who knows what will happen tomorrow”; whence, the Prophet, peace be upon him, told them, “Cut this sentence out, and continue singing what you have been singing earlier.” There is nothing in the sources to indicate that the above permission is limited to the occasion of wedding, as some people tend to think.

In light of these, according to the last mentioned group of scholars, music that is deemed to be free of un-Islamic and unethical themes and messages, the same is true of musical instruments so long as they are not used for the above, have been considered as permissible.

But we have to stress that Islam clearly prohibits mixed dancing of males and females.”

The Accident

Eid ul Adha Mubarak Friday 27th November 2009

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Zakat in Islam

Source: http://www.ukim.org/webpages/Zakah.aspx

"Take from their wealth a portion for charity, in order to clean them thereby, and sanctify them." Literal Meaning: Zakat or Zakah means grow (in goodness) or 'increase', 'purifying' or 'making pure'. So the act of giving zakat means purifying one's wealth to gain Allah's blessing to make it grow in goodness. One of the most important principles of Islam is that all things belong to God, and that wealth is therefore held by human beings in trust. The word zakat or Zakah means both 'purification' and 'growth'. Our possessions are purified by setting aside a proportion for those in need, and, like the pruning of plants, this cutting back balances and encourages new growth. Zakat or Zakah not only purifies the property of the contributor but also purifies his heart from selfishness and greed. It also purifies the heart of the recipient from envy and jealousy, from hatred and uneasiness and it fosters instead good-will and warm wishes for the contributors. A certain fixed proportion of the wealth and of the each and every kind of the property liable to Zakat of a Muslim to be paid yearly for the benefit of the poor in the Muslim community.The Zakat is a form of giving to those who are less fortunate. Zakat is a 2.5% levy on most valuables and savings held for a full year if their total value is more than a basic minimum known as nisab. Cash money in your bank and building society accounts, and the release value of bonds, securities and shares in any form are zakatable if they are purchased as an investment. There is no Zakat on family home or household furniture, carpets, car, etc. This is done before the beginning of the month of Muharram, the first of new year. Giving the Zakat is considered an act of worship because it is a form of offering thanks to God for the means of material well-being one has acquired. The payment of Zakat is obligatory (Fard) as it is one of the five pillars of Islam. Zakat is the major economic means for establishing social justice and leading the Muslim society to prosperity and security. [See Sahih Al-Bukhari, Vol. 2, Book ofZakat (24)]. The Qur'an says that only those who pay zakat are in the "brotherhood of faith". The Holy Qur'an also says that Zakat purifies assets and creates virtue ( Surah 9: 103 ). Distribution of Zakat: Zakat is distributed among 8 categories of people, namely: Fakir - One who has neither material possessions nor means of livelihood. Miskin - One with insufficient means of livelihood to meet basic needs. Amil - One who is appointed to collect zakat. Muallaf - One who converts to Islam. Riqab - One who wants to free himself from bondage or the shackles of slavery. (In Singapore, zakat due to this category of recipients is spent on those who need help to pursue education or to improve their standard of living). Gharmin - One who is in debt (money borrowed to meet basic, halal expenditure). Fisabillillah - One who struggles for the cause of Allah. Ibnus Sabil - One who is stranded in journey. The Holy Qur'an (Sura Al-Tauba: 60) classifies the due recipients of zakat under the following eight categories. "Zakat is for the poor, and for the needy and those who are employed to administer and collect it, and the new converts, and for those who are in bondage, and in debt and service of the cause of Allah, and for the wayfarers, a duty ordained by Allah, and Allah is the All-Knowing, the Wise". Calculate Zakat: Click here to calculate your zakat (Islamicity.com)