Celebrating B/days, halal or haram?

[*Proud_Muslimah*]

Celebrating birthdays has no source whatsoever in the pure shariah. In fact, it is an innovation, since the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) said, "Whoever introduces anything into this matter of ours that does not belong to it shall have that action rejected."

This was recorded by both al-Bukhari and Muslim. In a version recorded by Muslim and by al-bukhari in definitive muallaq form, "Whoever performs a deed which is not in accord with our affairs, that deed is rejected."

It is well-known that the Prophet (peace be upon him) did not celebrate his birthday at all during his lifetime nor did he ever order it to be celebrated. Nor did he teach such to his Companions. Therefore, the rightly-guided caliphs and all of his Companions did not celebrate it. They are the most knowledgeable of the people concerning his sunnah and they are the most beloved to the Prophet (peace be upon him). They were also the most keen upon following whatever the Prophet (peace be upon him) brought. Therefore, if o­ne is supposed to celebrate the Prophet's birthday, this would have been made evident at their time. Similarly, not o­ne of the scholars of the best generations celebrated his birthday nor did they order it to be done.

Therefore, it is known from the above that such a celebration is not from the Law that Allah sent Muhammad (peace be upon him) with. We ask Allah and all Muslims to witness that if the Prophet (peace be upon him) had done so or ordered such to be done, or even if his Companions had done so, we would rush to do it and call others to do it. This is because, and all praises are due to Allah, we are the most keen in following his sunnah and respecting his commands and prohibitions. We ask Allah, for ourselves and for all of our brethren Muslims, steadfastness upon the truth, avoiding everything that differs from Allah's pure shariah. Verily, He is Generous and Noble.

Shaikh Ibn Baz

[dhuusa_deer]

Pious proudie,

Dirty drinking water: Haram or halal?
Qabiilism: haram or halal?
poverty: haram or halal?
benightedness: haram or halal?

[The Law26]

Proud

Welcome back, and I hope mother and child are doing fine. Ignore this di.ckhead above. I don't celebrate b/days except when my spouse spoils me with gifts and I enjoy it.

Following your logic, intent has no role. Our prophet pbuh has never used the net, airplanes......the list goes, on and on and are they all bida'?

Where is the intent in Bin Baz's logic? Do you know he resisted strongly the introduction of many of these technologies into Saudi Arabia using the same logic and arguments above? Did you read how King Faisal of Saudi Arabia tricked him and his colleagues to accept it when they rejected the idea of introducing the Radio to Saudi Arabia? No wonder then, why we Muslims are in this dark vaccum.

[*Proud_Muslimah*]

Assalamu 'Alaikum,

Law, what you're using as an argument here and what my post is discussing are two different things! As Muslims, we only have 2 celebration and they are the 2 eids!

If B/days were allowed in Islam then surely our beloved Prophet (saw) and his companions would have celebrated theirs, hence this being what the shaikh is trying to say!

The Prophet (saw) nor his companions ever used internet, airplanes..etc before because these things never existed back then but birthdays on the other hand akhi DID! Since a birthday is the date on which a person was born the Prophet (saw) and his companions could have celebrated it but did they ever? The answer is obviously no!

Salam

[Cawar]

I agree that a simple exchange of gifts or a mi8ld celebration of a bithday is not a sin per se, but Mr. Law we have to be carefull of a slippery slope that every new innovation might create if introduced into society as a harmless and innocent event, such as that of a Valentines day etc.

Therefore I think that when Sheikhs are daring to call some things as an act of sin they usually have in mind what it could create among the Ummah if they dont give a clear warning about that particular event or issue, not every person is as strong and/or knowledgable and even then we humans have a tendency to follow shaydaan very easily .

[*Proud_Muslimah*]

And lets not forget that these things (i.e. b/days, v/day..etc) are things celebrated by the disbelievers and "whoever follows a people is one of them"

[The Law26]

Proud

First, your title is misleading, and a simple answer is no, it is not haraam. If our prophet pbuh didn’t do, it does not relegate to the sin-bin.

Secondly, the author of your article is the late Bin Baz, and what is your view of his rejection of the introduction of the radio and other technological products in Saudi Arabia on similar grounds? Or, the rulings of women can't drive? I don’t celebrate b/days per se (I attend children's b/days, and infact I'm off to the b/day of a 3 year old boy after I finish this post in Melbourne), or Mowliid, but many other Muslims do. It is not haraam. What is Bin Baz's agenda in regards to those Muslims? Our prophet pbuh never recommended to Muslims, or ruled like a Monarch/king, or as a nation-state, is it haraam to imitate Europeans (who coined the nation-state) and has Bin Baz deemed the absolute monarchy in Saudi Arabia and all the Muslim nation states to be haraam? Is national day celebrations haraam too, because it imitates the non-believers who celebrate it too?

Cawar

“Therefore I think that when Sheikhs are daring to call some things as an act of sin they usually have in mind what it could create among the Ummah if they dont give a clear warning about that particular event or issue, not every person is as strong and/or knowledgable and even then we humans have a tendency to follow shaydaan very easily.”

Isn’t that condemning the majority of Muslims to be illiterate forever about their own religion. Isn’t the role of the Ullemma to teach Muslims so they can reach their own decisions according to their knowledge of Islam? This fatwa comes from the late Bin-Baz who also prohibited women in Saudi Arabia from driving while using the same reasoning. He argued that it could lead them to “sin”. Do you buy that argument too?

What has Valentine’s day got to do with this? Is it intended as a shock the crowd exercise?

See you later, I'm off to a relative's son birthday. He is 3 today. The intent is the family gathering and the positive vibe it generates. Also it lets the kids enjoy and have fun with mum, dad, relatives and friends arround.