What is the ruling on celebrating Eid Milad al-Nabi ﷺ, holding a Milad gathering and attending it? What is the ruling on processions, illuminations and Milad feasts?

There is no doubt that love for the Prophet ﷺ is part of faith; but the Shariah form of this love is following him, not a self-invented ritual. Allah Almighty said: ﴿قُلْ إِن كُنتُمْ تُحِبُّونَ اللَّهَ فَاتَّبِعُونِي يُحْبِبْكُمُ اللَّهُ﴾ (Say: If you love Allah, then follow me; Allah will love you) (Surah Aal 'Imran: 31). That is, if there is a claim of love for Allah, its proof is following the Prophet ﷺ. The noble Companions, may Allah be pleased with them, loved him ﷺ the most, and the expression of their love was in obeying his command, preserving his Sunnah and spreading and propagating it.

The fact is that neither did the Prophet ﷺ celebrate his own day of birth, nor did the Rightly-Guided Caliphs and the Companions, nor the Tabi'in and the four Imams, even though the date of his birth was known to them and they far exceeded us in love. This custom began centuries later: it started in Egypt in the Fatimid period (the fourth century Hijri), and in the seventh century Hijri the ruler of Irbil popularised it on a large scale, as the historians have written. An act invented as worship and as a means of nearness (to Allah) is called a bid'ah (innovation) in the Shariah. The Messenger of Allah ﷺ said: "Whoever introduces into this affair of ours something that is not from it, it is rejected" (Sahih Bukhari: 2697; Sahih Muslim: 1718). And in the well-known bequest to 'Irbad ibn Sariyah, may Allah be pleased with him, he said: "Hold firmly to my Sunnah and the Sunnah of the Rightly-Guided Caliphs, bite onto it with the molar teeth... and beware of newly invented matters, for every newly invented matter is an innovation and every innovation is misguidance" (Sunan Abi Dawud: 4607; Jami' al-Tirmidhi: 2676; sahih according to al-Albani, may Allah have mercy on him). He ﷺ used to say in every sermon: "The worst of affairs are the newly invented ones, and every innovation is misguidance" (Sahih Muslim: 867). Then Allah Almighty also announced the completion of the religion: ﴿الْيَوْمَ أَكْمَلْتُ لَكُمْ دِينَكُمْ﴾ (This day I have perfected your religion for you) (Surah al-Ma'idah: 3); so a worship invented after this completion cannot be part of this perfect religion.

On this basis, the preponderant view is precisely this: that fixing the day of birth and celebrating it as a religious festival (Eid), and singling out that day for acts of worship and gatherings, is an innovation and is not permissible. Shaykh Ibn Baz, may Allah have mercy on him, in his well-known treatise "al-Tahdhir min al-Bida'" (Warning Against Innovations), explicitly declared it an innovation, and the fatwa of al-Lajnah al-Da'imah (the Permanent Committee) is also the same. Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyyah, may Allah have mercy on him, wrote an exquisite detail of this issue in "Iqtida' al-Sirat al-Mustaqim": making this day an Eid is an invention which has no basis; however, a person who does this out of love and reverence and on the basis of ignorance may receive reward for his love and good intention, not for the innovation. Therefore hatred, abusive speech or declaring takfir of those who celebrate it is absolutely not correct; correction will be done with gentleness, evidence and wisdom. It is also transmitted that some scholars (for example Imam al-Suyuti, may Allah have mercy on him) called it a good innovation (bid'ah hasanah) subject to certain conditions, but the preponderant position, due to the strength of the evidence, is the one stated above, because the basis in worship is tawqif (the existence of a text).

Attending a gathering that is arranged as this very invented festival is participation in that same act, so it should be avoided; and when free mixing, music and extravagance are also included in these assemblies, the prohibition becomes even more emphasised. Processions and illuminations are also part of this same custom. However, severing ties with family members and relatives is not intended: maintain good conduct and do not make the difference a cause of quarrel. The better use of this occasion is that teaching of the Prophet's Seerah ﷺ be made common in homes and there be abundance of sending blessings and peace (upon him) — these acts are prescribed throughout the year, without singling out any day.

Maqasid-based caution: The sum of this issue is that the objective is reverence and love for the Messenger ﷺ, and the Shariah has appointed following the Sunnah as the path to this objective. Making a day that the Shariah did not make an Eid into an Eid makes the form, instead of the objective, the actual thing; true love is precisely this: that the guidance brought by the Prophet ﷺ be made the constitution of one's life.

Translated from the original Urdu fatwa.