Mawlid: Between History and Customary

Loose translation of ‘Maulid: Antara Sejarah Dan Amalan’ written by Dr. Mohd Asri Zainul Abidin (http://drmaza.com)

Muslim scholars have been differing in determining the exact date of the birth of the Prophet s.a.w. The hadith reported by al-Imam Muslim only states that he was born on Monday without mentioning the specific date. One who reads the major manuscripts of Islamic history such as al-Bidayah wa al-Nihhayah by al-Imam Ibn Kathir (deceased in 774H) will find that there are many different views concerning the exact day and month in which the Prophet s.a.w was born.

Those who hold the view that he was born in the month of Rabi’ul Awwal have different opinions in determining which day of the month. The dates being proposed are the 8th, the 9th, the 12th as believed by many people, the 17th and many other dates. In addition to that, some scholars believe that he was born in the month of Ramadan and they have their own lines of reasoning to back up their claim.

Whatever it may be, it is more important to note that all scholars from the East or the West, the North or the South, have never argued about the birth of an individual named Muhammad bin ‘Abdillah to whom the Muslims subscribe as the last Messenger of Allah. In this sense, he differs from Jesus as portrayed by the West. Some of their researchers even doubted the birth of Jesus.

The birth of the Prophet s.a.w is a very important event because it epitomized the birth of a new chapter for humankind. Determining the date or month accurately is not an important factor. Not being able to accurately determine someone’s date of birth does not mean that the person does not exist. So many prophets, prominent figures and individuals have untraceable dates of birth but they were real and had painted their marks on the pages of history.

Among the reasons that contribute to the scholar’s inability to determine the Prophet’s date of birth is because the Prophet’s companions did not celebrate that date. It is stated in the history of Islam that of all Muslim generations, they were the ones who loved him the most. In spite of that, they never held a special celebration to commemorate his birth because they did not observe the Prophet s.a.w performing such practice.

Moreover, Ibn Kathir narrated that when it was suggested to Saidina ‘Umar to start the reckoning of Islamic year from the Prophet’s date of birth, he rejected it. Instead, the great Caliph chose the year of the Prophet’s migration to Medina as the start of count. It was not because the Prophet’s birth was insignificant but the migration signified the beginning of triumph and the history of Islamic struggle. To a Prophet, it is of utmost importance that he is being followed and not only being celebrated. The Christians in the West celebrate the birth of Jesus every year but is the way they live their life similar to what Jesus taught them?

Days went by and the world of Islam rose and fell amidst various political crises that in the end gave rise to mazhab (school of thoughts). Shia that used to be a political mazhab metamorphosed into a religious mazhab consisting of various streams of thought. A situation where politics was shaped by Islam faded away and was replaced by one where Islam was shaped by politics. Consequently, religious comprehension was built on political blocks rather than having Islam emblazoned the political thinking pattern. Thus, competition over power took place fueled by political agenda with Islamic elements embedded into it. In the end, the Muslim society disintegrated and went separate ways to embrace the different political agenda.

In Egypt, the Shia Fatimiyyah faction had once held the authoritative position. Various religious programs were implemented confined within their political school of thought that converted into a religion. A range of religious celebrations were performed with the intention to achieve certain political goals.

It is stated in Fatwa al-Azhar that Muslim scholars have no knowledge of anyone pioneering the celebration of the Prophet’s birthday (Mawlid) other than the Shi’a Fatimiyyah regime that celebrated it in a big scale in Egypt. They also celebrated the birthday of prominent figures among Ahlil Bayt (the Prophet’s descendants) and that of Prophet Isa a.s. In the year 488H, the celebration was discontinued by their Caliph al-Musta’la Billah but it was revived by certain governments in certain states. And that’s how the history goes.

Yes, I feel that it is proper to demonstrate the grateful feeling one has over the historical birth of the Prophet s.a.w accompanied by the spirit to follow his teachings. However, in doing that, we must be aware of the facts presented at the beginning of this article. If the month of Rabi’ul Awwal is believed to be the month in which the Prophet s.a.w was born, it is not wrong for us to give a sermon narrating the history of his struggle and the principles of Islam he brought forth in this month or other month. It is similar to our tendency to reminisce the history of a historical site when we pass through it. However, we shall not be among the ‘seasonal rejoicers’ who only remember the Prophet and his teachings in certain days and seemingly forget about him after that.

At the same time, we must be conscious of the fact that we shall not add on to his teachings without his permission if we aspire to follow him. The Prophet s.a.w said:

“He who innovates things in our affairs (Islam) for which there is no valid origins then these are to be rejected.” (Reported by Muslim)

Because he had never taught us any specific ibadah (act of worship) to be performed to commemorate his birthday be it specific solat, fasting or recitation, then we are not allowed to introduce it. The path that we shall follow in this matter is the path of his companions. The Prophet s.a.w said:

“… verily the People of Israel disintegrated into 72 factions and my followers will disintegrate into 73 factions. All of them will be in Hell except for one group.” The companions asked, “Which group is that O Allah’s Apostle?” He answered, “The group that follows the path that I and my companions are on.” (Reported by al-Tirmizi, ranked as sahih by al-Diya al-maqdisi)

Bear in mind that among the factors that contribute to the uniqueness of the history of the Prophet s.a.w is that it is possible to differentiate between the genuine facts and the add-ons. This is different from the history of the founders of other religion in this world in that almost all of their historical accounts are based on postulations or hearsays. The field of hadith provided the means to filter the sanad (chain of narrators) and the matan (text of a hadith) that made it possible to preserve the historical facts of our Prophet Muhammad s.a.w. We only follow the authentic history and not the fabricated history.

Al-Sayyid Sulaiman al-Nadwi stated:

“Verily, the history that is worth adhered to by humankind to be used as righteous examples and exalted archetypes must first have tarikhiyyah (historical) quality. As for the history that is founded on mythical and nonsensical stories lacking of supporting narrations with trusted authenticity, human nature refuses to be influenced by fabricated personal life history while the books of history never knew of his existence.” (Sulaiman al-Nadwi, al-Risalah al-Muhammadiyyah, pg. 41, Saudi: al-Dar al-Sa`udiyyah).

The book named Maulid al-Barzanji that is being widely recited by our community during festivities or similar events has provided us with some benefits. A significant number of authentic historical accounts were recorded by its author Ja’far bin Hasan bin ‘Abd al-Karim al-Barzanji (deceased in 1187H). However, when analyzed using the method of the field of hadith, it is found that there are a number of invalid facts included in the al-Barzanji book. This is a reality about the book that cannot be denied. Among the claims are, he stated:

“In the night the Prophet s.a.w was born, Asiah (the Paharaoh’s wife who was a Believer) and Maryam (the mother of Prophet Isa a.s.) were present and they were among the female dwellers of Heaven.”

There is no authentic narration reported from the Prophet s.a.w that confirms such event. As stated by a historian named Muhammad Muhammad Hasan Syurrab:

“It is our duty to be judicious in extracting facts from historical books especially the later editions. In most cases, the narrators included add-ons in the Prophet’s narrations and life history. They associated him with miraculous and extraordinary elements since his birth right until his death. Those elements are lacking reliable sanad. By adding on supernatural elements, it was as if the narrators tried to assign the Prophet s.a.w with miraculous attributes that the prophets before him did not have.” (Muhammad Muhammad Hasan Syurrab, Fi Usul Tarikh al-`Arab al-Islami, pg. 84, Damsyik, Dar al-Qalam).

We are thankful of and delighted over the birth of Prophet Muhammad s.a.w. Nevertheless, we must determine the correct way of following and comprehending his teachings. Year after year, various groups of people celebrated Mawlid. But, are the Muslims getting closer to him year after year?