The Companions and Mawlid: Separating Fact from Fiction
Those who celebrate Mawlid present the argument that Hazrat Abbas (may Allah be pleased with him) recited words of praise for the Prophet (peace be upon him).
The poem attributed to Hazrat Abbas (may Allah be pleased with him) is as follows:
“Before you, you were pure in the shadows and in a womb where the leaves are woven. Then you descended to the land, neither a human nor a piece of flesh nor a clot. Rather, a drop that boarded the ship, while an eagle was restrained and its people drowned. You were transferred from a loins to a womb when a world appeared. And when you were born, the earth illuminated and the horizon shone with your light. So we are in that light and in the radiance, and we traverse the paths of guidance.”
This is also attributed to Hassan ibn Thabit (may Allah be pleased with him). It has been narrated by Imam Hakim and Tabarani, but this narration is considered weak. Even if we accept it as authentic, it does not provide any evidence for celebrating Mawlid, as Hazrat Abbas (may Allah be pleased with him) praised the Prophet (peace be upon him), which has no connection to the celebration of Mawlid or its innovations. The entire world praises the Prophet (peace be upon him) and will continue to do so.
Where will the celebrants find evidence for the following actions, especially on the 12th of Rabi’ al-Awwal?
- – Creating a replica of the Prophet’s tomb
- – Reciting polytheistic praises
- – Standing at the end of the gathering under the belief that the Prophet (peace be upon him) is present in the gathering (may Allah protect us)
- – Distributing sweets
- – Cooking large pots of food
- – Decorating doors and hills
- – Illuminating buildings
- – Putting up banners with images of the Prophet’s sandals
- – Wearing specific clothing
- – Taking pictures
- – Organizing dances and celebrations
- – Staying awake at night
- – Performing collective voluntary prayers
- – Observing collective fasts
- – Reciting the Quran collectively
- – Mixing men and women
- – Young boys participating in processions and women watching them
- – Fireworks
- – Torch-lit processions, which is a practice of Christians
- – Singing and playing music
- – Indecency and nudity
- – Immorality and disobedience
- – Showiness and hypocrisy
- – Narrating fabricated stories and false traditions
- – Expressing polytheistic and heretical beliefs about prophets, angels, and the Companions
- – Qawwali (devotional singing)
- – Entertainment and frivolity
- – Wasting wealth and time
- – In fact, these programs often lead to disorder, fights, and even murder.
Anyone who attributes such actions to the Prophet (peace be upon him) and the Companions will be considered an innovator, sinful, and corrupt.
Their leaders claim that Mawlid is a later invention, so how could the Companions have celebrated it?
Barelvi scholar Ahmad Yar Khan Naeemi writes that the innovation of Mawlid was first introduced by the king of Arbil, Malik Muzaffar. (Ja’a al-Haq)
Similarly, another Barelvi scholar from Jamia Naeemia Lahore, Ghulam Rasool Saeedi, also acknowledges that celebrating Mawlid is not established from the Companions.
In summary, it is proven that the celebration of Mawlid is a newly invented innovation. Greedy clerics mislead simple people with baseless arguments to indulge in delicious foods.
May Allah grant the entire Muslim Ummah the ability to follow the Sunnah of the Messenger and protect them from all forms of polytheism and innovations. Ameen, O Lord of the worlds.
Maqbool Ahmad Salafi