For the Love of Muhammad

"Say (oh Muhammad): "If you do love Allah, follow me: Allah will love you and forgive you your sins: For Allah is Oft-Forgiving, Most Merciful." [ Surah Ali-'Imran, verse 31 ]

Love oh love... what exactly is LOVE?

In Arabic, love may be called al-hubb (love), al-mualah (mutual trust) and al-`isyq (deep love, crush or infatuation).

Love is a pure feeling that blossoms from the heart and provides motivation in life. It is an emotion from deep within that brings happiness, calm and peace. It connects hearts and makes them one in spirit.

The significance of "love" is such that the word "al-hubb" is mentioned in the Qur'an a total of 88 times. But, interestingly enough, only once did it actually refer to the love between a man and a woman (Surah Yusuf). In discussing the priorities of love, our scholars consider the highest level of love is towards Allah swt, Rasulullah saw and jihad fisabilillah.

But how should we manifest our love towards Rasulullah saw? By celebrating his birthday?

Are those who do not celebrate the birthday (maulid) of Rasulullah bereft of love for him?

We agree that the best of Muslims are the companions of Rasululah saw. During their time, did they forget to celebrate Rasulullah's birthday?


Maulid Celebrations

Maulid celebrations are held in the month of Rabi'ul-awal, and the 12th earmarked as Rasulullah's birthday. The date 12th Rabi'ul-awal is inaccurate - based on authentic narrations of Rasulullah's birth on Monday, scholars concluded, with the added help of a Mathematical algorithm for the Hijriyyah calendar, that the date should be 9th Rabi'ul-awal.

Maulid celebrations only began around 300 Hijriyah in the Fatimid dynasty. The Fatimid dynasty is a Shi'ite dynasty, they were not of the Ahlussunnah wal Jamaah.

One of the common traditions during maulid celebrations is the reading of barzanji, a poetic narration of the life of Muhammad saw. The whole length of the poem is sung in a beautiful Arabesque melody. But what does it really mean?

Eradicating the practice of barzanji is of high importance because it is a matter of 'aqidah. Narrations in barzanji contains statements that contradict the Islamic 'aqidah:
- the concept of wahdatul wujud in the belief of NurMuhammad as God's first creation from His own everlasting light and as the reason everything else is created
- supplications via Rasulullah as an intermediary
- over-excessive praising and glorifying of Rasulullah saw

Below is a brief review of barzanji by a religious scholar from Malaysia, Dr. Johari Mat (in Malay):

There are also issues of inaccuracies in sirah which you may compare with the award-winning book, "The Sealed Nectar".
http://www.witness-pioneer.org/vil/Books/SM_tsn/index.htm

“And if you obey most of those on earth, they will mislead you far away from Allâh's Path. They follow nothing but conjectures, and they do nothing but lie.” [ Surah al-An’am, verse 116 ]

True Love

To truly manifest our love for Muhammad saw is by obeying his commands which were inspired from Allah swt. Hence, it is imperative that Muslims adhere to the authentic sayings of Rasulullah saw in his hadith narrations.

"Oh you who believe! Obey Allah and His Messenger, and turn not away from him when you hear (him speak)." [ Surah al-Anfal, verse 20 ]

And to make Muhammad saw our exemplar par excellence.

"You have indeed in the Messenger of Allah an excellent exemplar for him who hopes in Allah and the Final Day, and who remembers Allah." [ Surah al-Ahzab, verse 21 ]

Certainly, this is easier said than done, but there must be effort towards this penultimate goal. And to achieve this goal, Muslims need to get acquainted with a much-neglected field of studies, the Hadith Sciences.

Islam, as practised in the Malay archipelago, is haplessly disconnected from the advanced studies of Hadith in Europe and the Middle East. The proof of this neglect may be seen from the spread of many narrations falsely attributed to the prophet, and forms of worship which is not aligned with authentic hadith narrations of our beloved prophet.

Interacting with Maulid Celebrations

Those who interact with maulid celebrations may be categorised as follows:

1) Those who are aware that it is an innovation but believe that honouring the Prophet saw is not constrained by specific dates, durations or periods, and they continue to honour him even after the period expires.

2) Those who are aware that it is an innovation but uses this opportunity to convey the true Sunnah to the masses and how best to honour the prophet. They believe that taking advantage of these celebrations brings more gain than leaving them totally.

3) Those who are sincere in their religion but do so because of certain factors, or because truth had not been conveyed to them about the maulid. They celebrate solely because of love and honour towards the prophet and they are handicapped by their lack of knowledge. May they receive vast rewards from Allah swt.

4) Those who are aware that it is an innovation but still remain stubborn in defending the practice because of worldly gains. They take this opportunity to create more elaborate forms of worship, mass singing and chanting, even with women. They give sermons that talk about their dreams or their syaikhs' dreams of Rasulullah and create mesmerising tales. They aim to increase their popularity in the eyes of the masses and profit from the religion and their titles as religious teachers. May Allah judge them accordingly in His court when the time finally arrives.

Many renowned scholars such as Imam Ibn Hajar al-'Asqalani, Imam as-Suyuti and Syeikh Yusuf al-Qaradhawi allow interaction with maulid celebrations for reason number 2.

Religion vs Tradition

Identifying differences between tradition and religion is important for us because we are responsible for portraying the image of Islam to others, especially fellow youths. This prevents cases where we may mistakenly acknowledge certain practices as part of Islam when it is not. One of the reasons for the adverse feelings towards Islam inherent in some youths is the misconception that Islam is just like any other religion. It is not. Islam is based upon sound knowledge, proofs and evidences.

Our parents, grandparents, aunts and uncles, may Allah bless them, are practising Islam to the best of their knowledge. May Allah reward them for their good intentions. However, the next generation has been brought up in a culture of intellectual exchange and in the era of globalisation. We too should exemplify our ancestors by practising Islam NOT to the best of THEIR knowledge, but to the best of OURS.

In general, Muslim youths have become more learned and those with Islamic awareness are not mere folowers, but rather, they are students of knowledge. Our Muslim youths' independence and self-motivation has brought them academic success, and they need to bring in this same attitude towards the study of religion.

Our youth are aware of the disease of 'mass mentality' that has entrapped Muslims in rituals of mass poetry and mass chanting just because 'everyone else is doing it'.

"And follow not that of which you have no knowledge..." [ Surah al-Isra', verse 36 ]

"And when the true believers are called to Allah and His Messenger (to accept and practice the law and commands of Allah and His Messenger) that he may pass judgement upon them, their ONLY reply is 'We hear and obey.' Such men shall surely prosper." [ Surah an-Nur, verse 51 ]

Man is not only accountable for what he says and does, he is also acountable for that which he remains silent.

Dearest youth, it is time to affect change. Spread the word with love and hikmah. Communicate the truth to family, friends, mosque committees and even the Islamic Council.

For the love of God. For the love of Muhammad.

Verily, Allah knows best.


References:
1) Cinta Dari Perspektif Syara' by Ustaz Haji Abdul Ghani Bin Samsudin
2) Sambutan Maulidurrasul by Hafiz Firdaus Abdullah

* The recording of Dr. Johari Mat regarding the practice of barzanji may be downloaded here: http://tinyurl.com/yujgt3

Dr. Johari Mat's background:
BA Syariah & Undang-Undang, Markaz Dirasat al-Islamiah al-Aliyah, Kelantan
MA Aqidah, Universiti Imam, Riyadh
PhD Mazahib al-Mu'asirah, Universiti Imam, Riyadh
Mantan Ketua Jabatan Aqidah Dan Pemikiran Islam, Akademi Islam, Universiti Malaya
Ketua Eksekutif, Kolej Islam Antarabangsa Sultan Ismail Petra, Kota Bharu, Kelantan