Should I Prioritize Mawlids or Quran and Sunna-Based Worship?

Answered by Shaykh Dr. Muhammad Abu Bakr Badhib

Question

Is it better to spend time on commendable innovations (good innovations) such as Mawlids or engage in the recitation of the Quran and practice the adhkar mentioned in the Sunna?

Answer

In the name of Allah, and all praise is due to Allah, and blessings and peace be upon our master Muhammad, the Messenger of Allah, his Family, his Companions, and those who follow him.

The Command to Follow the Prophet

The Muslim is commanded to follow his chosen Prophet, our master Muhammad (Allah bless him and give him peace). Allah (Most High) says:

“Whatever the Messenger gives you, take it. And whatever he forbids you from, leave it.” [Quran, 59:7]

He (Most High) also says:

“Indeed, in the Messenger of Allah you have an excellent example.” [Quran, 33:21]

Thus, all goodness lies in what has been transmitted from Allah through His Messenger (Allah bless him and give him peace), for he left his nation upon a clear path. [See: Ibn Maja]

Obedience in Acts of Worship

The matters mentioned in the question are all acts of obedience. Reciting the Quran and engaging in its recitation are great acts of worship. Likewise, performing the awrad (litanies) and adhkar (remembrances) mentioned in the Sunna, according to their respective times and contexts, are at the core of a Muslim’s worship. The evidence for this is too abundant to enumerate.

However, many matters have emerged after the era of prophethood and the time of legislation. Scholars exercised ijtihad (independent reasoning) to rule on these matters and align them with the foundational principles of Islamic jurisprudence. This led to the development of consensus (ijma’), analogy (qiyas), and other sources of legislation, whether agreed upon or subject to differing opinions among individual mujtahid imams.

The Mawlid, as mentioned in the question, in its collective form and arrangement, did not exist during the time of legislation. However, its individual components are undoubtedly acts of worship that are free of any doubt. The Mawlid, or the gathering known as Mawlid as understood by the scholars, is an assembly where Muslims gather and arrange various acts such as:

• Recitation of the Quran.
• Listening to excerpts from the Prophetic biography, which include mentions of the noble traits of the Prophet (Allah bless him and give him peace), the events of his birth, the pre-birth portents, and the subsequent matters of his mission and prophethood.
• Singing of prophetic praises (madih).
• Delivering admonitions, reminders, guidance, and advice to the attendees by one of the scholars or preachers.
• Offering food to those present.

These individual actions are undoubtedly established as permissible and valid acts of worship, and proving the legitimacy of each would take considerable time. However, combining them in this particular format and description emerged during periods after the time of legislation, as previously mentioned. Thus, it is an innovative practice.

Scholarly Opinions on Mawlid

Scholars differ regarding the concept of innovation (bid‘a):

• The Shafi‘i school holds that the five legal rulings of Sacred Law (obligatory, recommended, permissible, disliked, and prohibited) can be applied to innovations. Based on this, many great hadith scholars, jurists, and prominent scholars authored works to demonstrate the validity of such practices. The majority of scholars from various schools of thought have approved this practice as a commendable innovation (bid‘a hasana), given the permissibility of its individual components.
• Some scholars regard every innovation as prohibited, maintaining a blanket prohibition on all matters described as bid‘a. This disagreement is longstanding and ongoing. For such disputed matters, one should not condemn those who engage in them, as long as they follow a valid and recognized scholarly opinion.

Avoiding Improper Gatherings

Yes, there are certain forms of Mawlid gatherings that deviate from the description mentioned earlier. These may include mixing of men and women, clapping, inappropriate dancing, or other undesirable activities, which could even reach the level of prohibition, such as smoking, excessive noise during the remembrance of Allah (Most High), or men looking at unrelated women. These practices are foreign to the gatherings typically observed by scholars.

A Muslim concerned about their faith should avoid these foreign customs and denounce them where possible. Moreover, they should leave such gatherings if they take on this inappropriate form and refrain from remaining in them.

Imam Suyuti, in his treatise “Husn al-Maqsid fi ‘Amal al-Mawlid” (The Good Purpose in Performing the Mawlid), quotes Shaykh al-Islam Abu al-Fadl Ahmad Ibn Hajar al-‘Asqalani in a legal verdict regarding the ruling of Mawlid. Ibn Hajar states:

“The origin of celebrating the Mawlid is an innovation. It was not transmitted from any of the righteous predecessors of the first three generations. However, despite this, it encompasses both praiseworthy and blameworthy elements. Whoever strives to observe its praiseworthy aspects and avoid its blameworthy aspects has engaged in a commendable innovation (bid‘a hasana), whereas anyone who does otherwise has not.” [Suyuti, al-Hawi li al-Fatawi]

Balance Between Duties and Recommended Acts

After all that has been mentioned, such gatherings should not overshadow obligatory acts and primary duties, such as prayer, reciting the Quran, engaging in the prescribed remembrances, seeking lawful sustenance, fulfilling family responsibilities, honoring one’s parents, maintaining ties of kinship, and other obligations. Once Muslims fulfill their duties and complete what is required of them, any extra time may be spent on recommended or permissible acts as they choose. As Allah (Most High) says:

“…(and) each tribe knew its drinking place.” [Quran, 2:60]

We ask Allah to bless our time and actions, to guide us in fulfilling our obligations, and to assist us in discharging rights to their due recipients. Allah is the One who grants success and provides aid.

[Shaykh] Dr. Muhammad Abu Bakr Badhib

Shaykh Dr. Muhammad Abu Bakr Badhib is a prominent Islamic scholar from Yemen. He was born in Shibam, Hadhramaut, in 1976. He received his degree in Shari‘a from Al-Ahqaf University, a master’s degree from the Islamic University of Beirut, and a PhD in Usul al-Din from Aligarh Muslim University (AMU).

He studied under great scholars such as Shaykh al-Habib Ahmad Mashhur al-Haddad, Shaykh Fadl Ba‘ fadl, Habib Salim al-Shatiri, Habib Ali Mashhur bin Hafeez, and others. He has served as the Director of Publications at Dar al-Fiqh, the former Deputy Director of Cultural Relations at Al-Ahqaf University, a former Assistant for Employee Affairs at Atiyah Iron Company, a researcher at the Sunna Center affiliated with the Dallah al-Baraka Foundation, and a researcher at Al-Furqan Foundation’s Makka al-Mukarrama and Madina al-Munawwara Encyclopedia branch.

Currently, he is a researcher at Al-Furqan Foundation’s Makka al-Mukarrama and Madina al-Munawwara Encyclopedia branch, teaches traditionally through the Ijaza system at Dar al-Fuqaha in Turkey, supervises the Arabic department at Nur al-Huda International Institute (SeekersGuidance), and is a member of the Board of Trustees of the Manuscript House in Istanbul.

His works include “The Efforts of Hadhramaut Jurists in Serving the Shafi‘i School,” “Contributions of Hadhramaut Scholars in Spreading Islam and its Sciences in India,” “Hada’iq al-Na‘im in Shafi‘i Fiqh,” in addition to verifying several books in Fiqh, history, the art of biographies, and Asanid (chains of narration).