and His angels upon him, and He has commanded His servants to invoke blessings and peace upon him, saying: “Indeed, Allah and His angels send blessings upon the Prophet. O you who believe, invoke blessings upon him and offer him greetings of peace” (al-Ahzab 33:56). Nevertheless, no specific time or particular form of praise for him—peace and blessings be upon him—may be set apart unless supported by a sound proof from the Qur’an and the Sunnah. Hence, the practice of those who celebrate the mawlid, designating the day they claim to be his birthday for praising him, is a reprehensible innovation.

Among the requirements of venerating him—peace and blessings be upon him—is to venerate his Sunnah, to hold that acting upon it is obligatory, and to recognize that it occupies the second rank after the Noble Qur’an in terms of reverence and compliance, for it too is revelation from Allah Almighty. The Exalted says, “He does not speak from his own desire; it is only a revelation revealed” (al-Najm 53:3–4). It is therefore impermissible to cast doubt upon it, diminish its status, or to speak about authenticating or weakening its routes of transmission and chains of narrators, or to explain its meanings, except with knowledge and due caution. Yet in our time the audacity of the ignorant toward the Sunnah of the Messenger—peace and blessings be upon him—has become widespread, especially among certain young people who are still in the early stages