Introduction to Concerning the Celebration of the Birthday of the Prophet

A well-known fatwa and scholarly discussion on the celebration of the Prophet's birthday (Mawlid al-Nabawi) by the great Shaykh ul-Islam Ibn Taymiyyah — the most influential Islamic scholar of the seventh and eighth centuries AH. Ibn Taymiyyah was a prolific Hanbali scholar who tirelessly defended the Sunnah against religious innovations.

Ibn Taymiyyah discusses the origins of the Mawlid celebration (which began among the Fatimid Shi'a and was later adopted by some Sunnis), its absence from the practice of the Companions and the early generations, and whether love for the Prophet requires annual celebrations. His position is that while love for the Prophet is obligatory and manifests in following his Sunnah, inventing specific dates and celebrations not established by the Prophet or Companions constitutes religious innovation (bid'ah).

Importantly, Ibn Taymiyyah distinguishes between the act and the intention: he acknowledges that some who celebrate do so with good intentions, while maintaining that the methodology itself contradicts the prophetic principle "Every innovation is misguidance." This is the standard Athari/Salafi position on the matter.