in other festive gatherings.

We have said that it is an innovation because it has no foundation in the Qur’an, the Sunnah, or the practice of the righteous forebears and the preferred early generations. It only appeared much later—after the fourth century AH—when it was introduced by the Shiite Fatimid dynasty.

Imam Abū Ḥafṣ Tāj al-Dīn al-Fākihānī said:

“To proceed: A number of blessed brothers have repeatedly asked about the gathering some people hold in the month of Rabīʿ al-Awwal, which they call the mawlid (birthday celebration). Does it have any basis in the religion? They sought a clear and helpful answer, so I said—with Allah granting success:

I know of no foundation for this mawlid in the Book or the Sunnah, nor is it reported that any scholar of the Muslim community—those firmly grounded in the faith and committed to the legacy of the early generations—ever observed it. Rather, it is an innovation devised by people of falsehood and a carnal desire from which gluttons make their living.” 1

Shaykh al-Islām Ibn Taymiyyah likewise said:

“What some people invent—whether in imitation of the Christians’ celebration of the birth of Jesus, peace be upon him, or out of love and veneration for the Prophet ﷺ—namely, treating the Prophet’s mawlid as a festival (despite the disagreement about the actual date of his birth), was never practiced by the early generations. Had it been purely or predominantly good, the early generations, may Allah be pleased with them, would have been more entitled to it than we are, for they loved and revered the Prophet ﷺ more than we do and were more zealous in pursuing what is good. Their love and veneration for him were shown by following him, obeying him, adhering to his commands, reviving his sunnah inwardly and outwardly, spreading the message he brought, and striving for it with heart, hand, and tongue—such were the foremost forerunners among the Muhājirūn, the Anṣār, and those who followed them with excellence.” 2