Is there evidence of Mawlid in the Qur'an?
Amongst the many miracles of the Glorious Qur'an, one can be used to support the validity of the blessed celebration of Milad. This particular miracle is that every single ayah (verse) of the Glorious Qur'an forms a complete sentence and a comprehensive statement. For example, if you select any two verses of the Holy Qur'an, you are bound to receive at least two separate stories. In conjunction with this, the rules of Tafseer (commentary of the Qur'an) state that when you join one ayah (verse) of the Qur'an with another, a third subject comes into existence. In the same way, when you merge two verses with a third verse, a fourth subject begins to take shape. Keeping the rule or law of tafseer in mind, I would at this point like to quote three short verses of the Holy Qur'an.
So fear them not but fear Me; and that I may complete My favours on you and you
may (consent to) be guided.
A similar (favour have you already received) in that We have sent among you an Apostle of your own, rehearsing to you Our signs and sanctifying you and instructing you in Scripture and wisdom and in new knowledge.
Then do you remember Me; I will remember you.
In the first verse, Allah (swt) is asking mankind to acquire taqwa (God consciousness) so that He may complete His favours upon them and, therefore, guide them. Keeping the rule or law of tafseer in mind that when one verse is joined with another, a third subject takes rise, I would like to join the first two verses together.
As it has been said in the first verse, Allah (swt) wants to complete his favour upon the Muslims. Then, in the second verse, Allah (swt) says that a favour has already been granted upon the believers in that they have been sent an apostle, Muhammad (saw), who makes clear the signs of Allah (swt) for the believers. Consequently, when this verse is merged with the preceding verse and the rules of tafseer are bought into play, a new topic begins to emerge. In the first verse Allah (swt) announces that He wants to complete His favour upon the Muslims and in the next verse He says that He has done a favour for the Muslims by sending an apostle amongst them. At this point, by applying the rules of tafseer, it becomes clearly evident that the completion of the favours that Allah (swt) has granted to the believers is nothing else except the arrival of his beloved Prophet Muhammad (saw). Imam Fakhruddin Raazi in his tafseer called `Tafseer-e-Kabeer' has offered the same commentary of these two verses.
As it has now been vividly understood, our beloved Muhammad (saw) is the completion of the innumerable favours of our Lord Allah (swt). By the same measure, when this statement is now joined with the third verse in which Allah (swt) says that you must remember Him and in result He will remember you, it can be again clearly conceived that upon receiving the completion of His favours, we must rejoice and remember Him. Allama ibn Katheer in his tafseer named `Tafseer ibn Katheer' has proposed the same remembrance and rejoicing. When we look at the explanation that Allama ibn Katheer has offered and then think about what occurs at celebrations of Milad, then we can clearly conclude that such celebrations are indeed the orders of Allah (swt) and the explanation of the righteous Mufassireen (commentators of the Qur'an).
In the time of the Muhammad (saw) it was the practice of the believers to rejoice and the non-believers to become more doubtful whenever a Surah (chapter) or a verse of the Glorious Qur'an was revealed. This happened at every revelation. If only one verse was revealed throughout the whole year, the believers would celebrate once and the non-believers would only become more doubtful once. If a thousand verses were revealed in one year, the believers would rejoice a thousand times and doubt would darken the minds of the non-believers a thousand times. As the Qur'an says:
Whenever there comes down a Surah some of them say: "which of you has had his faith increased by it?" Yes, those who believe their faith is increased and they do rejoice.
But those in whose hearts is a disease it will add doubt to their doubt and they will die in a state of unbelief.
This was in the epoch of the Muhammad (saw). In this day and age, there is to be no more revelation of the Qur'an. Allah (swt) has completed the religion as is said in the verse:
This day have I perfected your religion for you, completed my favour upon you and have chosen for you Islam as your religion.
Once, Hazrat Aisha Siddiqua (ra), the Prophets (saw) wife, was asked by a companion of the beloved Messenger, "Tell me about the character of Muhammad?" She instantly replied, "You ask of the character of Muhammad (saw)? Indeed his character is the Qur'an".
Therefore, we can now fairly conclude that there are two Qur'ans; a silent Qur'an which is in the form of a book and a walking, talking Qur'an, which is our beloved Muhammad (saw) via whom we received the bounties of the Qur'an as a book. Muhaddiseen (commentators of Hadith) such as Imam Qastalani, Imam Nabhani and Shaikh Abdul Haq Dehlwi have written about the saying of Aisha Siddiqua (ra):
"The way in which the miracles and beauties of the Qur'an are infinite, from this saying of Hazrat Aisha Siddiqua (ra) we can deduce that in the same way the character of the Muhammad (saw) will never cease to be miraculous".
It has been said that whenever a verse of the Qur'an was revealed upon the Muhammad (saw), the believers would rejoice due to a further strengthening of Imaan and the non-believers would become increasingly distanced from Islam.
We now know that there are two kinds of Qur'an. However, there is to be no further revelation of the silent Qur'an, the book. Nevertheless, the revelation of the living Qur'an, which is the Prophet Muhammad (saw), continues and occurs every year during the month in which he was born. Whenever the month of the Prophets (saw) birth dawns upon the World, those who celebrate, according to the Qur'anic verse have a strengthening of their faith and those who oppose the celebration, their faith is further reduced.
It is the mercy of Allah (swt) that even though the revelation of the silent Qur'an was halted 1400 years ago, the revelation of the living Qur'an, which is a perfect example for us, occurs every year when the month of Rabi'-ul-Awwal arrives. The silent Qur'an we can just read, but the living Qur'an has been sent as a standard for us to follow. As the Qur'an says:
You have indeed in the Apostle of Allah the best pattern of (conduct)
As the Glorious Qur'an states:
Whenever there comes down a Surah some of them say: "which of you has had his faith increased by it?" Yes, those who believe their faith is increased and they do rejoice.
But those in whose hearts is a disease it will add doubt to their doubt and they will die in a state of unbelief.
The above verses vividly separate the believers from the non-believers. Those who celebrate the arrival of the Muhammad (saw) their faith is increased and those who do not celebrate, it will add doubt to their diseased hearts and interestingly enough, Allah (swt) has given prior notice that they will die in a state of unbelief and not as Muslims.
The next verse of the Qur'an after the two above is a clear indication and proves that it is the Milad that Allah (swt) is pointing towards and nothing else. Allah (swt) says in the Glorious book:
Don't they see that they are tried every year once or twice? Yet they turn not in repentance and they take no heed.
Indeed it is true. Whenever the celebrations of Milad are organised every year, those who are reduced in faith try their utmost to stop such rejoices and as the Qur'an says, they are tried and yet they don't repent.
In the following verse, Allah (swt) has made a clear judgment about such people. The Qur'an says:
Whenever there comes down a Surah they look at each other (saying) "does anyone see you?" Then they turn aside: Allah has turned their hearts (from the light); for they are a people that understand not.
There is mention of revelation in the above verse and in the very next verse, Allah (swt) says:
There has come to you an apostle from amongst yourselves, it grieves him that you should perish
(This verse shows that the Prophet is Haadir wa Naadir. He is aggrieved when we perish which means that he is aware of our circumstances). When the two verses are merged, proof is found that the Holy Muhammad (saw) is the living Qur'an.
However, many mufassireen (commentators of the Qur'an) have split the verse into two separate elements. A stop is put after the verse reads,
"There has come to you an apostle"
and then the mufassireen continue and translate the next part as,
"And to you He is more dearer than your own lives"
This characteristic, as is translated by the Mufassireen, is of the Muslims. When you take a glance at the previous five verses and their commentaries that have been given earlier, it becomes evident that this explanation of the mufassireen is only for those who celebrate the Milad and not of those who are, as the Qur'an says:
"Tried every year once or twice"
Summary (Muhammad Aqdas)
(1) The rules of Tafseer say that when you join one Qur'anic verse with another, a new subject matter arises
(2) In one verse Allah (swt) says that he wants to complete his favours upon the people
(3) In the next verse he says that he has done a favour by sending to us an apostle
(4) In the next verse he says that for Him to remember us, we must first remember Him
(5) When you join the above three verses, you conclude that the Prophet Muhammad (saw) is Allah'sswt greatest favour and upon receiving this favour, Muslims must remember Allah (swt)
(6) The above conclusion is supported by Imaam Fakhruddin Razi and Allama ibn Katheer in Tafseer-e-Kabeer and Tafseer ibn Katheer respectively
(7) The Prophets (saw) wife, Hazrat Aisha Siddiqua, said that his character was the Qur'an
(8) From this, Muhaddiseen gather that there are two types of Qur'an, one silent which is the book and one living, the Muhammad (saw)
(9) Whenever a surah (chapter) of the Qur'an was revealed, the believers celebrated and the non-believers were increased in the faithlessness
(10) There is to be no more revelation of the Qur'an as a book but every year the living Qur'an is revealed as it is his birthday
(11) Therefore, those who celebrate the coming of the living Qur'an are believers and those who don't, their faith is decreased and they will die as disbelievers
(12) To verify that it is the Milad that Allah (swt) is mentioning in the Qur'an, the verse after the one which mentions the celebrating of the believers, Allah (swt) asks, "Can't they see that they are tried once or twice a year?" This clearly points towards the Milad as it is celebrated every year
(13) About such people, Allah (swt) has decided that He has turned their hearts from the light and that they do not understand
(14) In the very next verse, Allah (swt) says that He has sent an apostle who is dearer to believers than their own lives
Conclusion
As it has been shown in this article, the celebration of the Milad is the order of the Qur'an. Those who don't celebrate themselves, or try to stop others from celebrating, are indeed going against its injunction.
The purpose of the Milad celebrations is primarily to increase our love for the Muhammad (saw) and it is also a very good means of propagation. It is a celebration that is conducted throughout the world and has been continuing since the advent of Islam.
The argument that is forwarded by the opponents of Milad is that its celebration was not a custom in the time of the Muhammad (saw) and the time of the Sahaba (companions), therefore it is a Bid'ah for us to celebrate it.
However, the justification of these people is completely wrong. It is recorded that the Muhammad (saw), when asked about fasting on Monday, said:
"That is the day on which I was born and the day on which I received revelations."
From this piece of undeniable evidence, we, as the rightly guided followers of our beloved Prophet, the Ahle-Sunnah wal Jama'ah, can proudly announce that our Saviour (saw) did in fact commemorate his own birth. Therefore calling the celebrations of Milad a bid'ah is in reality going against the action of the Prophet Muhammad (saw) himself.
It is true, the Prophet Muhammad (saw) nor the Sahabara commemorated the Milad as we do in the mosques, but the question we must ask is, why do we gather in the mosque? The answer is very simple. We need to learn the Seerah of the Muhammad (saw). We need to increase our love for him (saw). The Prophet Muhammad (saw) and the Sahaba (ra) did not need this. The Sahaba had enough love for the Muhammad (saw) without these gatherings. They knew the Seerah. We do not. We need to learn the Seerah and increase our love for the Prophet Muhammad (saw).
Regarding Milad, a great many things which support its validity can be written and have been written by the Ahle-Sunnah, but I feel that what this article contains is in itself enough to provide proof to anyone who seeks it. If someone were to gather the names of all the scholars who have written in favour of Milad, it would take a great deal of time. If someone were to even count how many Milad celebrations are conducted in Britain alone in one year, it would take some doing.
When people go out and do something, they do it for a reason. They may do it so that they gain something. Out of the six billion people that inhabit the planet Earth, I doubt very much that even one of these people would go out, willingly, and do a certain thing that involves them losing something. If they were on the other hand, gaining something, the human mind tells us that they would all go and do this particular thing.
Now, the question arises. Is the Milad celebration something from which people lose out? If so, then why do we witness hundreds of thousands of gathering of Milad year in and year out throughout the world? Do those who attend these gatherings attend without having something to gain? Are they present at such gatherings so that they may lose something? Have those who have celebrated Milad over the past fourteen centuries lost or gained? Indeed they have gained. And they have gained in abundance. If the celebration of Milad involved people losing out, then certainly after a few years of celebrating they would've realised their loss and ceased to celebrate. However, this didn't happen because their was no loss at all, it was all benefit and gain.
As Shah Abdul Haq Muhahaddith-e-Dehlvi writes,
"The night of Milad is better than the Night of Power, which is better than a thousand months."
Shah Abdul Haq Muhaddith-e-Dehlvi is a personality who is revered by both celebrators and opposers of Milad and therefore his word holds a significant force.
Also, Shah Waliullah Muhaddith-e-Dehlvi writes,
"I was on Hajj and was in the Holy City of Makkah when I witnessed a band of people rejoicing. After a while I discovered that they were indeed celebrating the Milad. Via my intuition, I saw the blessings and mercy of Allah (swt) descending upon the rejoicers in abundance."
If the celebration of Milad is indeed a bid'ah, then why were the blessings of the Almighty Allah (swt) descending upon rejoicers? Aren't all innovations going to lead to hell? No, only those innovations that are against Islam will lead people to hell. From the verdict of Shah Waliullah we can conclude that Milad is not a misguiding bid'ah at all. Also, Shah Waliullah is a personality who is revered by both the celebrators and opponents of Milad and so his word also contains jurisdiction.
From all that has been written in this article, it is my sincere hope that many people will benefit after reading it. There are individuals and even organisations in our society that attempt to steal our Imaan from us. When they try to nullify the benefits of Milad, the blood of a Sunni boils.
Therefore, it is my greatest du'a (supplication) that may Allah (swt) save innocent Muslims from adopting false ideas and may He increase our love for His beloved Prophet Muhammad (saw), who is the best of creation. Aameen!
I would like to finish off by quoting a few poetic verses of A'la Hazrat, Imam of the Ahle-Sunnat, Reviver of Islam, Ash-Shah Imam Ahmad Raza Khan Barelvi (ra) that have been translated from Urdu by Prof. G.D. Qureshi.
Save me from every hardship here, O Master,
Protect me from every grief in the hereafter,
When I sit at the door-step of Your Prophet,
Grant me my death at that moment of faith, O Creator.
God's splendour shines through his (Prophet Muhammad (saw)) personality,
There is no man like this man in all humanity,
The Qur'an describes him as our "Faith",
The "Faith" tells us that he is its spiritual reality.
The Prophet's grave is away from the Ka'bah's location,
Why has it towards the left its situation?
I pondered and realised: The Ka'bah is the body;
And the Prophet's grave is in its heart's position.
God is your God; you are God's pious Servant;
You are not God; you are God's light and instrument,
It is justified to praise you as much as we like,
The only limit is that we cannot say that you God's embodiment.
Piety yearns to borrow sins for enjoying your merciful recommendation,
How wonderful! There is an excellent aesthetic dimension to your intercession
Your merciful fingers are satisfying the thirst of your devotees generously,
How magnanimous! The five tributaries of mercy flow for us constantly.
The sun and the moon rush to receive from you the charity of light, O Master,
How precious! The bright dust produced by the hoofs of your horse is invaluable, O Majestic rider.
The Prophet's eyes are searching for the sinners mercifully,
How lucky! My hardships will now change into good fortune suddenly.
Our kind intercessor has made an appeal to Allah's compassion,
How miraculous! The sins are disappearing from my account in quick succession.
Has this soothing breeze come from the Holy City of Madinah today?
How refreshing! All the flowers smell sweeter and look fresher in every way.
I wish to sacrifice my life to uphold your dignity and honour,
How excellent! You are being praised in both worlds, Now and in the Hereafter.
I have sacrificed my life for the sake of upholding the dignity of Allah's messenger,
Now the angels, Munkir and Nakeer, accord me to a distinctive honour.
The hot air if Taybah's desert is a cool breeze for me,
My heart's bud has blossomed through my devotion to the Prophet's city.
Allah has informed you about every matter, hidden and manifest,
You know everything in depth concerning events in the world and the next.
I wish to hear this from you on the Day of Resurrection,
"Here is a letter confirming your pardon and salvation".
If I luckily get the privilege of seeing your benign complexion,
I will never wish to see even a glimpse of any other person.
Who other than you have received the authority in all Creation?
To intercede on the Day of Judgment for Raza's salvation.
Allah knows best.
Muhammad Aqdas
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