Did
the Sahaba Commemorate
The Birthday of the Holy Prophet (صلى
الله عليه و آله وسلم)?
Yes,
it is a well recorded fact that they did commemorate his birthday by
fasting on Monday, like the Prophet himself did when he told them he
fasted on Mondays because it was the day he was born (thereby
commemorating his own day of birth), and also by composing and
reciting poetry in praise of the Prophet (for example: Ka’b ibn
Zubayr, Abdullah ibn Rawaha, Hassan ibn Thabit, Qurra ibn Hubayr, and
many others), and through other expressions of joy, due to which he
(صلى
الله عليه و آله وسلم)
would reward them greatly (as narrated by the compilers of Sira, such
as Ibn Sayyid an-Nas in his Minah al-Madh, who listed the names of
over 180 companions who composed praise-poetry for him صلى
الله عليه و آله وسلم ).
Anyone who claims otherwise, that the Sahaba did not commemorate his day of birth but rather ignored it, will have to answer before them on the Day of Judgment for his claims. (Also see: ad-Durr ul Munazzam fe Mawlude an Nabi al-Azam)
---
It was narrated that Abu Sa'eed Al-Khudri said: "Mu'awiyah, (may Allah be pleased with him,) said: Messenger of Allah [S] "WENT OUT TO A CIRCLE" meaning, of his Companions - and said: 'What are you doing?' They said: 'We have come together to pray to Allah and praise Him for guiding us to His religion, "AND BLESSING US WITH YOU." He said: 'I ask you, by Allah, is that the only reason?' They said: 'By Allah, we have not come together for any other reason.' He said: 'I am not asking you to swear to an oath because of any suspicion; rather Jibril came to me and told me that Allah, the Mighty and Sublime, "IS BOASTING OF YOU TO THE ANGELS" [Sunnan Nasai Book 49, Book of etiquettes and Judges. Hadith #5489. Dar us Salam Salafi version declared it "SAHIH"]
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Sahih
Muslim:
Abu Sa'id Khudri reported that Mu'awiya went to a
circle in the mosque and said:
What makes you sit
here? They said: We are sitting here in order to re- member Allah. He
said: I adjure you by Allah (to tell me whether you are sitting here
for this very purpose)?
They said: By Allah, we are sitting here
for this very purpose. Thereupon, he said: I have not demanded you to
take an oath, because of any allegation against you and none of my
rank in the eye of Allah's Messenger (Peace be upon him) is the
narrator of so few ahadith as I am.
The fact is that Allah's
Messenger (Peace be upon him) went out to the circle of his
Companions and said: What makes you sit? They said: We are sitting
here in order to remember Allah and to praise Him for He guided us to
the path of Islam and He conferred favours upon us. Thereupon he
adjured by Allah and asked if that only was the purpose of their
sitting there. They said: By Allah, we are not sitting here but for
this very purpose, whereupon he (the Messenger) said: I am not asking
you to take an oath because of any allegation against you but for the
fact that Gabriel came to me and he informed me that Allah, the
Exalted and Glorious, was talking to the angels about your
magnificence.
Muslim 2701
[Sahih Muslim Vol. 6,
Book 35, Hadith 6521, Book of Remembrance of Allah, Supplication,
Repentance and Seeking Forgiveness.] Classification: Sahih
---
“It
was narrated that Sayyidunā Abū Sa’īd Al-Khudrī (RA) said,
“Mu’āwiyah (RA) said: ‘The Messenger صلى
الله عليه وسلم of
Allāh (SWT) went out to a Halaqah (circle) – meaning, (gathering)
of his Companions – and said: ‘What are you doing?’
They
said:
(1)’We gathered together to pray to Allāh
(2)
and praise Him for guiding us to His religion,
(3) and (for)
blessing us with you.‘
He said: ‘I ask you, by Allāh,
is that the only reason?’
They said: ‘By Allāh, we
have not come together for any other reason.’
He said:
‘I am not asking you to swear to an oath because of any suspicion;
rather Jibrīl came to me and told me that Allāh, the Mighty and
Sublime, is boasting of you to the angels.”
Prior to
their gathering, there was no injunction to advocate such an
assembly, otherwise the Prophet صلى
الله عليه وسلم would
not have questioned such a gathering in the first place.
Suffice
to say that if there was indeed someone who understood the laws of
Islām best, it was undoubtedly the Messenger صلى
الله عليه وسلم ,
yet he did not jump to conclusions and follow to judge them by
stating that their gathering was unsanctioned by him and the Qur’ān,
therefore impermissible.
Instead, the Messenger صلى
الله عليه وسلم followed
to firstly inquire if the gathering had indeed any ‘basis’ to it
at all. The companions responded by stating 3 reasons.
They
gathered, in supplication to Allāh (SWT), in remembering the (gift
of) guidance to Islām, in acknowledgement of Allāh’s (SWT)
blessing upon them by the sending of the Messenger صلى
الله عليه وسلم .
We
are aware that other variants of the above narration exist in other
books, but this particular narration is one which explicitly states
that the companions gathered without any sanction for such a
gathering in the Qur’ān or Sunnah, and one of the reasons stated
was, in their understanding, an acknowledgement of the great gift of
Allāh (SWT) in the form of His sending the Messenger صلى
الله عليه وسلم This
is supported by a verse of the Qur’ān which will be presented
further in the article to confirm this point.
In all 3 of
the stated reasons, there is indeed basis. In the same light, those
who gather today do so in acknowledgement of that very favour which
Allāh (SWT) has declared with clarity for the believers.
.jpg)
