Celebrating Prophet’s birthday? It depends on who you ask
Attitudes often turn contentious, including on social media
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This is a question that invariably surfaces around this time of the Islamic calendar: Should Muslims celebrate the birthday of the Prophet Mohammad (PBUH)?
The answer depends on who you ask.
On one side, there are those who see in the celebration an expression of great love and profound respect. On the other are those who believe it is an unwelcome innovation that has nothing to do with the Islamic religion.
Yosra, a Tunisian expatriate teacher in Bahrain, who was preparing assida, a sweet made from Aleppo pine seeds, said she wanted to be fully ready for Tuesday, the D-Day.
Innovation
Not far from her home, the imam of the all-white mosque in old Muharraq was asking worshippers not to commemorate the birthday of the Prophet, arguing it was bidaa , an innovation that was not condoned in Islam.
The debate between the opposing sides is taken to mosques, print media and, most importantly, social media ■ ■ and the blogosphere.
Muslims mark the birthday on the 12th day of Rabi Al Awwal, the third month of the lunar-based Islamic calendar.
The rituals of the celebration take different forms in different regions of the Muslim world.
“I do not see anything wrong with the celebration,” said Yosra, an economics teacher.
The Justice and Islamic Affairs Ministry said it would hold a special event at Bahrain’s largest mosque where speeches about the Prophet will be delivered by the minister and two senior scholars.
In Algeria, Mohammad Eisa, the Minister of Religious Affairs and Endowments, last week dismissed any form of opposition to the celebration.
Objection
In neighbouring Tunisia, the Ministry of Religious Affairs last week announced that it had prepared 12,489 religious events across the country.
In Sudan, the celebrations start on the first day of Rabi Al Awwal and reach their peak on the 12th day.
But across the Muslim world not everyone is in a celebratory mood. There are those who object to practices that did not exist in the time of the Prophet or his immediate Muslim community.
“The companions of the Prophet never celebrated his birthday and since they are our role models, we must follow their example,” Shaikh Al Abidine Bin Hanfiya, an Algerian religious scholar, said. “This celebration cannot be an expression of love for the Prophet because love requires obedience.”