WARNING AGAINST SOME WORKS AUTHORED IN THE NAME OF THE MAWLID (for the Misguidance Contained Therein)
The honorable merit of the Prophet is well-founded in the Qur’an and the confirmed hadiths. Hence, no fabrications or exaggerated narrations are needed to confirm his sublime status and profound merit. Ahmad (in his Musnad) and Ibn Hibban (in his Sahih) narrated from the route of ^Umar Ibn al-Khattab that he said, “The Messenger of Allah said:
<< لا تطرونى كما أطرت النصارى عيسى، فإنما أنا عبد، فقولوا عبد الله ورسوله >>
This means : <<Do not praise me unlawfully as the Christians did when they unlawfully praised ^Isa. I am just a slave of Allah. So say about me, ‘He is the slave of Allah and His Messenger’.>>”
Lying about the Messenger of Allah is not a matter taken lightly. Rather, it is an enormous sin. Muslim (in his Sahih) and at-Tirmidhiyy and Ibn Majah (in their Sunans) narrated that the Messenger of Allah said:
<< من حدث عنى بحديث يرى أنه كذب فهو أحد الكاذبين >>
This means: <<The one who narrates a hadith about me and knows that it is fabricated, and then he is one of the fabricators.>>
Al-Bukhariyy and Muslim (in their Sahihs) and Abu Dawud, at-Tirmidhiyy, and Ibn Majah (in their Sunans) narrated that the Messenger of Allah said:
<< من كذب على فليتبوأ مقعده من النار >>
This means: <<Let the one who fabricates a hadith about me prepare himself for his seat in Hellfire.>>
It is clear that attributing to the Prophet a fabricated and untrue matter is a dispraised exaggeration. Moreover, doing so can not be justified by claiming it to be similar to narrating the weak hadiths pertaining to the fada’il (merits of the Prophet). According to most of the scholars (jumhur) it is acceptable to narrate a weak hadith if it pertains to the fada’il. However, there is consensus among the scholars that it is not acceptable to narrate a fabricated hadith pertaining to the fada’il.
Unfortunately, these days many of the books on the Mawlid which are widespread and read by many are full of contraventions and vileness. Included in these books are fabricated hadiths, defective narrations, and dispraised exaggerations. They contain lying about the Religion, likening Allah to the creations, and attributing bodily attributes to Him. It is forbidden to narrate such fabrications without exposing their false content. It is obligatory upon one to warn against such books and fabrications.
One of the most widespread of these books is called Mawlid Al-^Arus which was falsely attributed to Ibn al-Jawziyy. That Mawlid Al-^Arus was not authored by Ibn al-Jawziyy is obvious because his writings are full of statements which contradict what is written in Mawlid Al-^Arus with regard to clearing Allah from resembling the creations and from attributing bodily attributes to Him. The weak language and poor sentence structure of Mawlid Al-^Arus is another evidence that its author was not Ibn al-Jawziyy. Ibn al-Jawziyy was a scholar of hadith, a scholar of jurisprudence, an interpreter of the Qur’an, and was deeply rooted in preaching and providing guidance. Whenever Ibn al-Jawziyy spoke, he moved the hearts of the people. One hundred thousand people became Muslim after listening to his strong preaching, profound articulation, and good expressions. Ibn al-Jawziyy mastered the Arabic language and was extremely articulate. It was Brookleman, an Orientalist, who falsely attributed Mawlid Al-^Arus to Ibn al-Jawziyy.
Among the blasphemous statements contained in Mawlid Al-^Arus is that Allah took a handful of the ‘light of His Face’ and ordered it to be Muhammad, and so it was. Such a statement means that part of Allah became Muhammad. May Allah protect us from blasphemy. Allah is clear of having parts and is clear of dispersing. Allah is clear of partitions and divisions. Allah is clear of all of that. He does not resemble any of His creations, and none of His creations are like Him. Allah said in Surah ash-Shura, Ayah 11:
{لَيْسَ كَمِثْلِهِ شَيْءٌ وَهُوَ السَّمِيعُ الْبَصِيرُ}
Which means: [Absolutely nothing is similar to Allah, and Allah is attributed with Hearing and Sight.] The one who believes that Muhammad or other than Muhammad is part of Allah is definitely a blasphemer.
Allah said in Surah az-Zukhruf, Ayah 15:
{وَجَعَلُوا لَهُ مِنْ عِبَادِهِ جُزْءًا}
Which means: [They (the blasphemers) attributed to Him a part among His slaves.]
Another widespread contravention is the false saying that Muhammad is the first of the creations. This false statement came about because of the spread of a fabricated hadith[6] called Hadith Jabir:
<<. أول ما خلق الله نور نبيك يا جابر خلقه من نوره قبل الأشياء >>
This means: <<“The first that Allah created, O Jabir, was the light of your prophet. Allah created him from His light before creating other things.”>> This hadith has no foundation and is a fabrication about the Prophet. Moreover, it contradicts the Qur’an and the Sunnah. Contradicting the Qur’an is self apparent when one reads Surah al-Anbiya’, Ayah 30:
{وَجَعَلْنَا مِنَ الْمَاءِ كُلَّ شَيْءٍ حَيٍّ}
This means: [We created from water all living things], and Surah al-Kahf, Ayah 110:
{قُلْ إِنَّمَا أَنَا بَشَرٌ مِثْلُكُمْ يُوحَى إِلَيَّ}
This means: [Say, O Muhammad, I am only a human like you except that I receive the Revelation and you do not.]
Hadith Jabir contradicts the confirmed hadiths about the first creation of Allah. Al-Bukhariyy (in his Sahih) and al-Bayhaqiyy (in Al-Asma’ Was-Sifat) narrated from the route of ^Imran Ibn al-Husayn that he said, “The Messenger of Allah said:
<< كان الله ولم يكن شىء غيره وكان عرشه على الماء >>
(which means): <<Allah existed eternally and there was nothing else existing and Allah created His ^Arsh (the ceiling of Paradise) on water.>>” Ibn Hibban (in his Sahih) narrated from the route of Abu Hurayrah that he said, “O Messenger of Allah, when I see you I feel good on the inside and it delights my eyes, so tell me how the creation started. The Prophet said:
<< كل شىء خلق من الماء >>
This means : <<Everything was created from water.>>”
As-Suddiyy narrated from many routes in the explanation of Fath Al-Bari the saying of the Prophet:
<< إن الله لم يخلق شيئا مما خلق قبل الماء >>
Which means: <<Allah did not create any of His creations prior to the water.>>
The first hadith explicitly states that the water and the ^Arsh are the first creations of Allah. The fact that the water was created before the ^Arsh is taken from the second and third hadiths.
The claim that Hadith Jabir was narrated by al-Bayhaqiyy is untrue. The claim that Hadith Jabir is in Musannaf ^Abdur-Razzaq is also untrue. It is neither in Musannaf ^Abdur-Razzaq nor in his Jami^ nor in his Tafsir of the Qur’an. Rather, one finds in his Tafsir what contradicts Hadith Jabir. Indeed what he mentioned is that the water is the first creation of Allah.
The Hafidh as-Suyutiyy said in his book Al-Hawi Lilfatawa about Hadith Jabir, “It does not have any reliable chain of narration.” Moreover, he explicitly stated in his explanation of at-Tirmidhiyy, “The hadith referencing that the light of Muhammad is the first creation is not confirmable. The superficiality of the terms of Hadith Jabir is a proof that it is fabricated. The Prophet was the most articulate of the creations of Allah; hence, he did not utter any superficial statement.”
The Hafidh and Scholar of Hadith, Shaykh Ahmad Ibn as-Siddiq al-Ghumariyy judged Hadith Jabir as fabricated on the grounds of the superficiality of its terms and the invalidity of its meanings. Shaykh ^Abdullah al-Harariyy explained that the meaning of the statement in Hadith Jabir that Allah created the Prophet from ‘His Light’ before other things is contradictory and superficial enough to judge the hadith as fabricated. He said that on one hand, it could mean that Allah created a light and from that light He created Muhammad. As such, Muhammad would be the second creation of Allah—and this is contrary to what is claimed. On the other hand, it can mean that Muhammad is a part of Allah—and this is abhorrent blasphemy for attributing parts to Allah.
Another defect of this hadith is the idtirab (shakiness) of its terms. There are some narrations of Hadith Jabir in which the terms used are very divergent—enough to change the meaning. The terminology of the narration of az-Zarqaniyy and as-Sawiyy are very different and this makes the hadith mudtarib (shaky).
The hadith: <<I was the first of the prophets in creation and the last in Revelation>> is a weak hadith, as copied by the scholars in Al-Maqasid Al-Hasanah, Kashf Al-Khafa, and Asna Al-Matalib. Bugyah Ibn al-Walid, who is a mudallis,[7] is one of the narrators of this hadith. Sa^id Ibn Bashir is also among the narrators and he is da^if (a weak narrator).
The so called hadith: <<I was a prophet when Adam was in a state between water and clay>> and the so called hadith: <<I was a prophet and there was no Adam, no water and no clay>> are fabricated and have no foundation as mentioned in At-Tadhkirah Fi Al-Ahadith Al-Mushtahirah, Al-Maqasid Al-Hasanah, Kashf Al-Khafa, Tanzih Ash-Shari^ah, Al-Asrar Al-Marfu^ah, and Asna Al-Matalib.
The rule remains strong that there is no need to ascribe a meaning or an interpretation to a sahih hadith for the sake of a fabricated hadith which has no foundation.
Another fabrication found in some books on the Mawlid is the saying: “O Muhammad, if it were not for you I would not have created the planets.” This saying was judged by the scholars of hadith as fabricated– as reported by al-^Ajluni (in Kashf Al-Khafa) and as-Saghaniyy (in his Mawdu^at).
Also, an abhorrent lie is what was mentioned about Jibril receiving the Revelation from behind a barrier. It is claimed that one time the barrier was removed and Jibril saw Prophet Muhammad receiving the Revelation. So it is claimed Jibril said: منك وإليك which means: “From you and on to you.” This contradicts the saying of Allah in Surah ash-Shura, Ayah 52:
{وَكَذَلِكَ أَوْحَيْنَا إِلَيْكَ رُوحًا مِنْ أَمْرِنَا مَا كُنْتَ تَدْرِي مَا الْكِتَابُ وَلَا الْإِيمَانُ}
This means: [O Muhammad, likewise We revealed to you Jibril, and prior to that you had neither knowledge of the Book nor the details of belief.]
Also among the fabrications is what some books on the Mawlid mention from the route of Abu Hurayrah they say he said, “The Prophet asked Jibril how old he was. Jibril replied, ‘O Messenger of Allah, I do not know except that there is a star that appears once every seventy thousand years, and I have seen it seventy-two thousand times.’ The Prophet said, ‘by the glory of my Lord, I am that star. ’”