We are now in the first week of the blessed month of Rabi’ al-Awwal, the month that Allah Almighty sent the Beloved, Our Master Muhammad 
, the Best of Creation, the Seal of the Prophets. His birth, or Mawlid, is celebrated on the 12th of Rabi’ al-Awwal, and is an official holiday in every muslim country in the world, with one exception. Stay tuned for pictures from the celebration here in Kuching next week.
[Update: Within a half hour of posting, I recieved an email containing a short condemnation of Mawlid by Shaykh Al-Munajjad. I appreciate the brother for visiting the site and taking the time to write, but I was unimpressed with the fatwa. It begins by saying that the practive is bid’a, innovation, and ends with that ever-so-abused hadith that every new thing is an innovation and every innovation is in the fire, and there is not much in between. That is the one-two punch that the wahhabis have used to condemn countless good deeds, but it is soundly refuted here by the Imam Ahmed Raza Academy. Other notable shuyukh endorsing the celebration of mawlid in their fatwas are Sh. Yusuf Qardawi, Imam Ibn Kathir, and Imam As-Suyuti. There is even more, including the great merits of the Mawlid, at Mawlid.net. The site has Malay and Indonesian translations available.]
Umm il-Mu’mineen
Here is an image of the mosque qubbah and grave of Sayyidatina Khadija, the Mother of the Muslims, the First Believer. When the Prophet received the first revelation from Archangel Gabriel in the cave, he was overwhelmed and terrified by it. He fled the cave to his home, shivering and trembling. It was Sayyidatina Khadija who comforted him and covered him with a blanket. It was she who assured him he was not mad or possessed, and she was the first to embrace Islam.
The mosque qubbah and her grave stood in Mecca, until they were demolished by the Saudi regime in 1343 AH, under the direction of the followers of Ibn Abdul Wahhab. May Allah have mercy on us.
Thanks to Lan for the image.
Assalamualaikum,
Ourselves here in the UK are going to have the mawlid on 16th May 2003 in Lancaster. Although organised by the local Malay community, others (incl. non-Muslims) are welcomed. There should not be any language problem because our teacher, Sidi Afifi al-Akiti speaks English better than Malay.
I will be waiting impatiently to see the pictures from Kuching. Any audio files too?
Wassalam.
Your very poor brother in Cardiff.
Where’s the link to the image, or the image itself? I can’t seem to find it…
sorry, don’t know why it’s not showing up… Shahed, I’ll email it to you.
In my 39 years of observing milaad here in Pakistan, I have found a continuous progression of its ceremonies from bidaa hasana to almost haram. For example now we have naats here in pakistan that are on the tune of Indian songs. These naats are becoming popular on such occasions. I have also observed that muslims indulging in these activities here tend to view other muslims who do not beleive in milaad to be non-muslims by implying that they do not love the prophet sallalaho alahi wassalam or even worse that they are disrespectful by not observing the milaad and other such congregations. These sentiments have created a strong rift between muslims.
Thanks for sharing, Amjad. Certainly, participation in such a thing is not obligatory, though why someone would stay away from such a gathering, particularly in those countries where the mawlid is a national holiday, is beyond me. For my part, in the past 11 years in Michigan, 12 Rabi’ ul-Awwal has passed by without even a mention in masjids near me, or if it is mentioned, it is to warn the congregation away from it. Things are slowly changing to the point where people won’t whisper when they say they will be holding a mawlid celebration in their homes. But even last year, in a masjid claiming to be Ahl as-Sunnah wal-Jamaat, I attended a talk by a noted scholar from Yemen. After his lecture, we had to adjourn with him to a private location to praise the Praised One and recite poetry in his honor. No permission to do it in the masjid. Astaghfirullah! No one in that masjid or on it’s e-board remotely approached the Shaykh in religious knowledge, I can say that without reservation. Yet we were forbidden as though we were preparing to worship stones.
Is it bad to take an Indian pop melody and retool it with lyrics praising God and His Beloved? Here in the US, there is a popular tape of nursery rhymes for muslim children. They have taken melodies such as “Yankee Doodle Dandy” and substituted Islamic lyrics. It drives me nuts because the tunes are so obnoxious to begin with, but I don’t see the harm [or haram] in it, religiously.
Brother Zayn, I don’t think the term “mosque” is appropriate, as it is called the Qubbah, meaning “Dome”. It refers to the Dome above the maqbarah (qabr) of Sayyidatina Khadijah, Ummul Mu’minin.
Brother Amjad just forbid the munkarat and not the hasanat. Don’t forbid grapes becoz of wine.
hayz…argue argue…kitorang. tak habis habis
bukan arguement, muzakarah wa munaqasyah.
Assallaam wa laikum,
Iam trying to research on milaad. If anyone knows of its begnins please help.
Was Salaam
Tafazul