“Indeed in the Messenger of Allaah you have a good example to follow for him who
hopes in (the Meeting with) Allaah and the Last Day and remembers Allaah much.” [al-
Ahzaab 33:21]
In a saheeh hadeeth, the Prophet, peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him, said:
“Beware of going to extremes in religion, for those who came before you were destroyed
by their going to extremes in religion.” He also said: “Do not exaggerate about me as the
Christians exaggerated about the son of Maryam. I am only a slave, so say “the slave and
Messenger of Allaah.’” (Reported by al-Bukhaari in his Saheeh from the hadeeth of
‘Umar, may Allaah be pleased with him).
Some of them think that the Prophet, peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him,
actually attends the mawlid celebration, so they stand up to greet and welcome him. This
is a serious falsehood and a form of gross ignorance. The Messenger of Allaah, peace and
blessings of Allaah be upon him, will not come out of his grave, or contact anybody, or
attend any gatherings. He will remain in his grave until the Day of Resurrection, and his
soul is in the highest ‘Illiyoon (in Paradise), with his Lord in the abode of honour, as
Allaah says in Soorat al-Mu’minoon (interpretation of the meaning): “After that, surely,
you will die. Then (again), surely, you will be resurrected on the Day of Resurrection”
[al-Mu’minoon 23:15].
Prophet, peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him, and everyone else who has died will
only emerge from their graves on the Day of Resurrection.
9) Is it ok to attend other gatherings like annual festivals or national celebrations?
As regards holding regular gatherings, whether weekly, monthly or annually,
apart from the gatherings that are prescribed in Sharee’ah, islamic law, this implies that
one is making them as important as the gatherings for the five daily prayers, Jumu’ah,
Eid and Hajj, and this is a newly-invented innovation.
The principle in question here is: the Islamic acts of worship which are repeated at certain
intervals and are thus special occasions, have been prescribed by Allaah and are sufficient
for mankind. If any other gatherings are invented in addition to these gatherings, it
means that they are being given a status equal to that of the occasions prescribed by
Allaah, which leads to the adverse effects referred to above. This is in contrast to what a
person or a small specialized group may undertake on their own sometimes.
So, it is not permissible for the Muslim to take part in these events which are celebrated
regularly every year, because of their resemblance to the prescribed Islamic festivals, as
explained above. But if it is a “one-off” event that is not repeated, and the Muslim can
use the occasion to convey the truth to people, then there is nothing wrong with that, in
sha Allaah. And Allaah knows best.
 |
 |
 |
 |