Gareth Bryant Writes

Author’s-Note:

I know People are gonna be kinda pissed with me on this one, but, like I always say, “Sometimes, you just gotta say somethin’”.So, here it goes:
During the month of Rabī`-il-Awwal, the 4th-Month on the Islāmic-Calendar, Muslims from all over the Muslim-World are celebrating the Birth of Muhammad (Peace be upon him). This Celebration of his Date of Birth has been an annual, staple, Celebration for Centuries. However, for Muslims, there’s a very Crucial-Question that they must seriously ask themselves: what Islāmic-Justification do they have in celebrating the Birthday of a Dead/Presumably-Dead Person, regardless of whether they’re a Prophetic-Individual or not?

This-Pathology literally stems from Certain-Muslims pontificate/claim that since Allah will grant Muhammad Peace be upon them) ash-Shifā`/Intercession, then they really think/feel that they can “call upon” Muhammad for Various-Things, which is only correct to ask Allah for. There’s a Clear-Difference between at-Tawassul/Proximity & ash-Shirk/Association. Likewise, there’s a Difference between making ad-Du`ā’/Verbal-Prayer for someone & making ad-Du`ā’ to someone. Asking that Allah grant Muhammad ash-Shifā`/Intercession is so much different than/from asking a Dead-Person for anything. As Allah states that the Dead can neither hear nor benefit the Living.
(Noble-Qur’ān: Chpt.27, V.80; Chpt.35, V.22; 46, V.5)

Now, as I’ve said in the Author’s-Note, I know that there are gonna be Some-People whom will not necessarily take very kindly to my Reservations against the Celebration of the Birthday of Muhammad (Peace be upon him).But, let it be…I’m more than willing & able to deal with any & all Backlash that can/will come with this Article.Anyway, there’s yet Additional-Question that Muslims, whom commit themselves to the Celebration of the Birthday of a Dead-Person, must ask themselves: Where did this Practice originate from? Whom from amongst the Muslims originated this Practice? Did they adopt this Practice from Peoples of a Foreign-Religion, that celebrates the Birthdays of the Dead, “Holy-Men”, Righteous-People, etc.?

Now, Islāmically, based upon Principle, which is based upon classic text, any & all Actions to & for a Dead-Person are automatically considered Acts of Worship, and Islāmically, any & all Acts of Worship are automatically Mahrūm/Islāmically-Prohibited, unless there is specific, Non-Abrogated Revelatory/Textual-Evidence, directly from either the Book of Allah (The Qur’ān), or the Prophetic-Tradition (the Sunnah), which warrants the Islāmic-Lawfulness of such an Action.

And, I can say, very confidently in fact, that there is no such Revelatory/Textual-Evidence, from neither The Qur’ān nor the Sunnah, which gives Credence/Validity for Muslims to celebrate the Birthdays of either Prophetic or Non-Prophetic Individuals whom are Dead/Presumably-Dead. And, I simply say this, because there is direct Revelatory/Textual-Evidence in both The Qur’ān & Sunnah which give detail as to how Human-Beings began to deviate from the Purity of Islāmic-Monotheism.

This historical path to ash-Shirk (Ascribing False-Qualities to Allah [Noble-Qur’ān: Chpt.18, V.1-6]) actually begins with the Deaths of Righteous-5 amongst the People of Noah (Peace be upon him), their names are the following: Wadd, Suwā`, Yaghūth, Ya`ūq, Nasr.(Qur’an: Chpt.71, V.23) After their Deaths, the ash-Shaytān/Satan came to the People of Noah, in an Evil-Attempt, which unfortunately worked, to lure them away from worshipping Allah, and to begin worshipping Idols. The People of Noah had begun to build monuments in honor of the Righteousness of these 5-IndividuAls. But, as Time went on, they were inspired by ash-Shaytān to deviate further & even further from the Path of Allah, until they had eventually began to commit Full-Throttle ash-Shirk.(at-Tabarī, as-Suyūtī, ibn-Kathīr, adh-Dhahabī)

So, it was because of the People of Noah, that we as Muslims are in no Position to do anything to or for the Dead, unless it is Islāmically-Legislated, for fear that it may very well lead to ash-Shirk. However, unfortunately, Most-Muslims are not concerned with the Danger in celebrating the Birthday of a Dead-Person, in spite of the Fact that there are no Islāmic-Justifications for it to occur. Even Muhammad (Peace be upon him) himself, once said, “And do not exaggerate in praising me, like the Christians exaggerate in the praise of Jesus the Son of Mary.”.(al-Bukhārī)

Now, in knowing the General-Character of Muhammad, and his Eagerness to prevent anyone from his Nation, especially during his respective lifetime, would he even tolerate the Celebration of his own Birthday. I can confidently say that he would never tolerate such a Thing. So, in Closing, my Final-Statement is the following: People claim to celebrate the Birthday of Muhammad (Peace be upon him) out of some Type of Respect or that they have for him. But, check this out: How can a Person celebrate the Birthday of Muhammad (Peace be upon him), claiming to respect him & love him, when they don’t live their Lives according to the Standards that he lived his Life?

First & foremost, he worshipped Allah, exclusively…he was Respectful to all of Creation, even towards those who oppressed him, even when it came to al-Qitāl (Combat/Battle). He protected the Innocent & never abused his Authority over anyone…he was a loving Father, Husband, Leader, Teacher, Man, and Human. If we truly claim to respect & love Muhammad (Peace be upon him) we had better live our Lives according to how he lived his, as opposed to celebrating something that is not Islāmically-Sanctioned, which can potentially be the Cause for being placed in the Fire. If Allah so chooses to not forgive us for doing something that is a Bid`ah/Religio-Innovation.

Gareth Bryant/2012