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The example of Christmas will again be
relevant.
This Christian feast was originally
innovated to commemorate the birth of Jesus Christ and,
of course, to memorize his teachings. But once the
occasion has been recognized as a feast, all the secular
elements of public festivals crept in. The following
quotation from the Encyclopedia Britannia is worth
attention: "For several centuries Christmas was solely a
church anniversary observed by religious services. Out as
Christianity spread among the people of pagan lands, many
of the practices of the winter solstice were blended with
those of Christianity because of the liberal ruling of
Gregory I, the.great, and the cooperation of the
missionaries. Thus, Christmas became both religious and
secular in its celebration, at times reverent, at others
gay."
Then, what kind of activities have been
adopted to celebrate Christmas is mentioned in the next
paragraphs of which the following extract is more
pertinent here to quote:
"Merrymaking came to have a share in
Christmas observance through popular enthusiasm even
while emphasis was on the religious phase.
... In the wholly decked great halls of the
feudal lords, whose hospitality extended to all their
friends, tenants and household, was sailing, feasting,
singing and games, dancing, masquerading and mummers
presenting pantomimes and masques were all part of the
festivities." (Encyclopedia Britannica, 1953 v. 5, p.
643)
This is enough to show as to how an
apparently innocent feast of reverence was converted into
a secular festival where the merrymaking and seeking
enjoyment by whatever means took preference over all the
religious and spiritual activities.
Being fully aware of this human psychology,
Islam has never prescribed, nor encouraged the observance
of birthdays and anniversaries, and when such
celebrations are observed as a part of the religion they
are totally forbidden. The Holy Qur'an has clearly
pronounced on the occasion of the last Hajj of the Holy
Prophet (SAW): "Today, I have completed (the teachings
of) your religion."
It means that all the teachings of Islam
were communicated to the Muslims through the Holy Qur'an
and the Sunnah of the Holy Prophet (SAW). No one is
allowed after it to add any thing to them as a part of
religion. What was not a part of religion during the
lifetime of the Holy Prophet (SAW) can never form part of
it at any following occasion. Such additions are termed
by the Holy Prophet (SAW) as Bid'ah or
innovation.
Thus, the observance of the 12th of
Rabi'ul-Awwal as a religious feast is not warranted by
any verse of the Holy Qur'an or by any teaching of the
HolyProphet (SAW). Had it been a part of the religion it
would bave been clearly ordered or practiced by the Holy
Prophet (SAW) and his blessed companions or, at least, by
their immediate pupils. But no example of the celebration
of the occasion can be traced out in the early centuries
of the Islamic history. It was after centuries that some
monarchs started observing the 12th of Rabi'ul-Awwal as
the birthday of the Holy Prophet (SAW) without a sound
religious basis, and the congregations in the name of
Maulood or Milad were held where the history of the birth
of the Holy Prophet (SAW) used to be narrated. The
observance of the 12th of this month as the birthday of
the Holy Prophet (SAW) is not only an innovation having
no basis in the Islamic teachings, but the accuracy of
this date as the real birthday of the Holy Prophet (SAW)
is also very much doubted. There are different dates
suggested in different traditions, and the majority of
the authentic scholars is inclined to hold that the Holy
Prophet (SAW) was born on the 9th of Rabi'ul-Awwal. This
difference of opinion is another evidence to prove that
the observance of the birthday is not a part of the
religion, otherwise its exact date would have been
preserved with accuracy.
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