4. The Prophet Expressly Forbade Innovations in the

Religion If one genuinely and truthfully believes that the religion was completed and perfected and that the Messenger () conveyed everything needed by the Muslims to get closer to Allāh and to enter Paradise, then it is binding that he also genuinely and truthfully believes that innovations in matters of worship, in matters alleged to bring one closer to Allāh and to Paradise, are expressly forbidden and are futile. These two matters are fundamentally tied and cannot be separated. If you believe the religion is complete and perfect and that the Messenger fulfilled his trust and conveyed everything needed to get closer to Allāh, you must also believe that innovations in the religion pertaining to worship which are alleged to bring one closer to Allāh are ḥarām and are a revilement upon the Messenger and his integrity and upon the perfection of his message. Allāh () said: So let those beware who dissent from the Prophet's order, lest fitnah strike them or a painful punishment. (24:63).

And He () also said: And whoever opposes the Messenger after guidance has become bidah.com  page 18 clear to him and follows other than the way of the believers21 - We will give him what he has taken and drive him into Hell, and evil it is as a destination. (4:115). The Prophet () said as related by al-Irbād bin Sāriyah (), "I have left you upon clarity. It's night is like its day. No one deviates from it except that he is destroyed.

Whomever amongst you lives for long will see much controversy, so you must stick to my Sunnah and the Sunnah of the rightly- (), "Whoever introduces into this affair of ours that which is not from it will have it rejected"23 and also, "Whoever does an action that is not in accordance with our affair will have it rejected."24 And Jābir bin ʿAbdullāh reports that the Prophet () would say in his sermons, "To proceed: Indeed, the best speech is the Book of Allāh and the best guidance is the guidance of Muḥammad and the worst of affairs are the newly-invented matters, every newly-invented matter is an innovation and every innovation is misguidance, and every (instance of) misguidance is in the Fire."25 Whatever was not religion in the time of the Companions cannot be considered from the religion today as has preceded from the statement of Imām Mālik. ʿAbdullāh bin Masʿūd said (), "Follow and do not innovate, for you have been sufficed, and every innovation is misguidance."26 Imām alDārimī reports in his Sunan the incident of Abū Mūsā al-Ashʿarī () who upon seeing a group of people sat in the mosque in circles 21 The one who celebrates the mawlid takes other than the way of Abū Bakr, ʿUmar, ʿUthmān, ʿAlī and the Companions as a whole who are the Believers referred to in this verse. 22 23 Reported by al-Bukhārī. 24 Reported by Muslim. 25 Book of Allāh and the best guidance is the guidance of Muḥammad and the worst of affairs are the newly-invented matters and every innovation is misguidance." 26 bidah.com  page 19 performing collective dhikr went to the house of ʿAbdullāh bin Masʿūd () to inform him. When ʿAbdullah came out of his house, Abū Mūsā told him what he saw and they both went to the mosque. The men explained that they had pebbles and were counting tasbīh, tahlīl and takbīr upon them. ʿAbdullāh bin Masʿūd said, to them, "You better count your sins! I guarantee that nothing of your good deeds will go to waste [if done correctly]. Woe to you O ummah of Muḥammad, how quickly you go to destruction!

These are the Companions of your Prophet () who are abundant, these are his garments which are intact, these are his vessels still unbroken. By Him in whose Hand is my soul, either you are upon a religion better in guidance than the religion of Muḥammad or you are opening the door of misguidance." They said, "By Allāh O Abū ʿAbd alRaḥmān, we intended nothing but good." He said, "How many people intend good but never reach it."27 In this amazing narration which has so many benefits, good intentions were not enough to justify the innovated way (wasīlah) they used in performing dhikr because in its details and form, it was innovated and had no basis in the sharīʿah, even if the original act, dhikr, is from the loftiest of acts of worship. Sayyid bin alMuṣayyib saw a man praying more than two rakʿahs after the time for Fajr prayer had entered through the breaking of dawn and prohibited from that. The man said, "O Abū Muḥammad, Allāh will punish me for prayer?" He said, "No, but he will punish you for opposition to the Sunnah."28 These two narrations from Ibn Masʿūd who is from the great scholars amongst the Companions and Ibn al-Muṣayyab who is from the great scholars from the Successors are an unsheathed sword against those who justify opposition to the Sunnah by claiming that they are doing nothing but remembrance (dhikr) and prayer (ṣalāt) and so on. Everyone who claims love of the Prophet () and does not restrict himself to the Prophetic Sunnah but wilfully opposes it after knowledge 27 Al-Dārimī in al-Sunan (1/68-69), Abū Nuʿaym in al-Ḥilyah and others. 28 Reported by al-Bayḥaqī in Sunan al-Kubrā (2/466), al-Khaṭīb in al-Faqīh walMutafaqqih (p. 147), al-Dārimī in al-Sunan (1/116). bidah.com  page 20 has come to him is a liar in his claim even if he bears witness to what is in his heart of love and sincerity.

Whoever has genuine, true inward love of the Messenger () will show outward compliance with the Sunnah of the Messenger by necessity as a sign of his truthfulness in his love and he will abandon everything which he knows is not from the Messenger () and was not practiced by his Companions. 4th Point of Agreement: This automatically follows from the 3rd point, the agreement that the Prophet () explicitly and expressly and repeatedly warned against innovation (bidʿah) in the religion and that innovations in matters of worship that do not have a basis29 in the Sharīʿah clash with the belief in the completion and perfection of the Sharīʿah and belief in the fulfilment of the trust by the Messenger (). It is a contradiction to affirm the 3rd point and to contest the 4th point as they go hand in hand. 29 After agreeing with this point, those who celebrate the mawlid go on to claim that it does have a basis (aṣl) in the Sharīʿah and then they proceed to bring farfetched interpretations (distortions) of texts that do not remotely come close to establishing the celebration of the mawlid. These doubts are addressed later in this treatise. bidah.com  page 21 5. The Prophet's Birth and Death The people of knowledge have differed about the birth date of the Prophet (). The majority are of the view that he was born in Rabīʿ al-Awwal in the year of the Elephant which is said to be around 570CE but differ as to the specific day.

Some say the 2nd, others say the 8th, 10th, 12th or 17th. As for the day he was born, the Messenger () indicated it was a Monday. When asked about his fasting on Mondays he said, "That was the day I was born, when I was sent as a messenger, and when it was first revealed to me."30 The Messenger informed only of the day he was born and not the date, month or year. The date of birth was not preserved because it was not known to the Arabs at the time that Muḥammad bin ʿAbdullāh al-Qurashī al-Hāshimī would be a mercy to mankind by Allāh's choice and will and also the Arabs were unlettered and the Christian calendar itself was not accurate. So the exact date has not been preserved.

Thus, the alleged birth date remains inconclusive. According to research - by working back in the calendar on a weekly basis - it is not possible for the Prophet to have been born on a 12th Rabīʿ al-Awwal that corresponds to a Monday between 569CE-571CE.31 As for the day the Prophet () passed away, it was not forgotten and has been preserved accurately and is agreed upon by everyone unanimously. It is the 12th of Rabīʿ al-Awwal in the eleventh year of hijrah. The Muslims never suffered a calamity such as the passing away of the Messenger () and hence they never forgot the date. Thus, 30 Reported by Muslim. 31 According to some researchers - given that the Prophet () said he was born on a Monday - the calculations bring it to 2nd Rabīʿ al-Awwal corresponding to 28th April 571CE or 9th Rabīʿ al-Awwal which corresponds to 27th April 571CE.

In the year 570CE it is 6th Rabīʿ al-Awwal (28th April) or 13th Rabīʿ al-Awwal (5th May). In the year 569CE it is either 4th Rabīʿ al-Awwal (6th May) or 11th Rabīʿ al-Awwal (13th May). However, these dates cannot be taken with certainty either because of the nature of the lunar calendar and plausibility of error in calculation. bidah.com  page 22 the reality is that those who celebrate this day are celebrating the day that the Messenger () passed away with certainty and as for their celebration of the birth date, it is inconclusive and therefore comprises an element of speculation. The Mālikī scholar, Tāj al-Dīn al-Fākihānī (d. 743H) stated in his work, al-Mawrid Fī ʿAmal al-Mawlid, "The month in which the Messenger of Allāh () was born which is Rabīʿ al-Awwal is the very month in which he passed away. Hence, rejoicing therein is not more worthy than grieving therein."32 And Ibn al-Ḥāj said in alMadkhal, "Most strange it is how they perform the mawlid [celebration] with songs, rejoicement and happiness as has preceded because of his birth () as has preceded in this noble month yet he () passed away in this [very] month to His Lord () and the ummah was struck and afflicted with a great calamity that is not equalled by any other calamity at all.

And upon this, crying and much grief is what is required... so look at this noble month, whilst the affair is like this, and they are playing around and dancing and they neither cry nor grieve and if they had done that it would have been closer to the (true) situation."33 It is also known historically that the 12th of Rabīʿ al-Awwal had no special significance to the Muslims and this day would pass like any other day of the year during the era of the rightly-guided Caliphs and right through to the fourth century hijrah in all of the lands of the Muslims. Thus, despite the factors being present for the mawlid to be practiced whether during the lifetime of the Prophet () or after his lifetime - due to the calamitous loss of the Prophet () - it was not done, neither in the era of the Prophet, nor the era of the Companions and Tābiʿīn and nor the era of the Righteous Salaf - and this is evidence that it is not from the religion. 32 Maktabah al-Maʿārif, 1st edition, 1407H (p. 27). 33 Iḥtifāl bil-Mawlid al-Nabawī. bidah.com  page 23 5th Point of Agreement: It is established with absolute certainty and has been transmitted through the ummah that the Messenger () passed away on the 12th Rabīʿ al-Awwal in the 11th year of hijrah. However, the Muslims have disagreed on the date of birth. Note: Ibn Hajar al-ʿAsqalānī writes in al-Fatḥ, under his explanation of alBukhārī's chapter, "History: From where did they commence [the start of Islamic] history?" - mentioning a reason given for the the choice of the hijrah as the starting point, "And some of them have brought out the suitability of the hijrah being [the starting point] and said: The issues which occurred and which could have been taken as [the starting point] are four: His birth, his [being made a] messenger, his hijrah and his death. So they made the hijrah as the best option because the birth and being made a messenger are not free of dispute regarding the year.34 And as for the time of death, they turned away from it due to the sadness it brings about.

Thus, it remained only with the hijrah."35 The point of indication in this statement is the reason why the death of the Prophet was not made the basis for the start of the Islāmic calender. The day of the death of the Prophet (), 12th Rabīʿ al-Awwal, is a day that brings sadness and grief upon a Muslim. However, these people have made it a day for partying, singing, dancing and celebrating - alongside all of the unlawful things which are done on this day of freemixing, exaggeration (ghuluww), wastage of wealth, actions resembling the non-Muslims and what is more, all in disobedience to the Prophet's command. 34 And in the case of the mawlid, the actual month and day of the month too. 35 Fatḥ al-Bārī (Maktabah Salafiyyah, 7/268). bidah.com  page 24 6. Who Invented the Mawlid Celebration? It is now firmly established by the historians that the first group to Shīʿite disbelievers and enemies of Islām known as the ʿUbaydiyyah who ruled over Egypt during the fourth century hijrah.

They deceptively called themselves "Fāṭimiyyah" claiming to be descendants of the Prophet's daughter, Fāṭimah al-Zahrāʾ () and were enemies of the people of Tawḥid and Sunnah. As rulers, they were hated and they tried to impose their Shiʿīsm upon the Sunnīs through the use of force. Their origins lie in a Persian Magian of Jewish origin known as Maymūn alQaddāh who is mentioned by Abū Manṣūr al-Baghdādī (d. 429H) in his book al-Farq Bayn al-Firaq. He was a learned Jewish scholar, a philosopher, astrologer and was acquainted with the beliefs of various religions as mentioned by Muḥammad bin Mālik (d. 479H) in his book Kashf Asrār alin his offspring who settled in Morocco (al-Maghrib). They established a city called al-Mahdiyyah in Tunisia between 297H to 299H so named after ʿUbaydallāh "al-Mahdi" (d. 322H) who had made his way to Morocco at the request of a Shīʿite leader called ʿAlī bin Ḥawshab who had been fighting against the Sunni Muslim state of the Aghālibah for the previous 15-20 years.36 They moved eastwards where they took over Egypt in 362H and then moved into Shām (Syria).

Their dynasty ended in 567H when their last ruler was killed by Ṣalāh al-Dīn al-ʿAyyūbī () - and the Shīʿites since that time have never ceased to grieve their loss of power and expulsion from Egypt. To this day they revile Ṣalāḥ al-Dīn al-ʿAyūbī and show enmity towards him. When al-Ikhwān al-Muslimūn came to power in Egypt after the revolution in 2011, the Shīʿites of Egypt rejoiced 36 There were Arabs, Banī Aghlab from the offspring of Banī Tamīm and they ruled al-Maghrib (Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia and western Libya) for over a hundred years between 184-296H. Their founder was Ibrāhīm bin al-Aghlab bin Sālim and he took power over Egypt during the reign of Hārūn al-Rashīd in 184H when the state of the Aghālibah became independent from the ʿAbbāsid state. bidah.com  page 25 and videos can be found of them reciting poetry addressing Ṣalāh al-Dīn with aspirations of reversing what he had done of humiliating them and kicking them out of Egypt. In 569H two years after their defeat, they plotted against Ṣalāh al-Dīn with the aid of the European Crusaders to return to power.

Despite the aid they received from the European Crusaders in these plots, they were all apprehended and a large number of them were killed by Ṣalāh al-Dīn.37 Maqdisī (d. 665H)38 gave an account of the Bāṭiniyyah ʿUbaydiyyah in Egypt in his work al-Rawḍatayn Fī Akhbār al-Dawlatayn.39 He mentions how was freed from humiliation in the year 567H when Ṣalāh al-Dīn defeated and expelled the ʿUbaydiyyah. He proceeded to give a historical account 37 Refer to al-Maqrizī's work al-Sulūk Li Maʾrifat Dawlat al-Mulūk (1/53). 38 With the knowledge that the likes of Abū Shāmah praised the action of the mawlid, ascribing it to al-Muẓaffar of Irbil - but when one reads their statements, they praised it on account of the charity, good deeds, and atmosphere of happiness that would be present. However, that does not make it lawful in the Sharīʿah. Further, it appears that some of those scholars during the 8th and 9th centuries who praised the mawlid ignored or failed to document - despite their mawlid celebration. For this reason, those who promote the mawlid are very careful in their choice of words when they say, "The first to celebrate the mawlid in its current form was al-Muzaffar of Irbil..." acknowledging, in a concealed, tactful way, that they do know who the actual originators of this bidʿah were - but it is not in their interests to point this out to their audience.

Further, the contradiction of these same scholars in that period who spoke of it as a good bidʿah show their inconsistency and contradiction when at the same time they refute other innovated actions of worship such as Ṣalāt al-Raghāʾib as is mentioned later, indicating that they have no consistent principle to return back to in what determines something to be a good bidʿah or an evil bidʿah - it's just a matter of opinion (raʾī). 39 Printed by Dār al-Kutub al-ʿIlmiyyah, Lebanon, 1422H. Refer to 2/139 onwards on the section on the Bāṭiniyyah and their political state in Egypt. bidah.com  page 26 of how the Bāṭiniyyah ʿUbaydiyyah came to power. He said, "The father of ʿUbayd was from the offspring of al-Qaddāḥ, the Magian (fireworshipping) heretic and it is said that that ʿUbayd's father was a Jew from the people of Salamyah in Shām and he was an iron-monger. The name of ʿUbayd was Saʿīd but when he entered al-Maghrib (Morocco) he took the name of ʿUbaydullāh and claimed he was an ʿAlawī Fāṭimī and then claimed a lineage that was not correct... then he took power (over the area) and called himself the Mahdī and he built the city of alMahdiyyah in Tunisia and it was ascribed to him. He was a vile heretic (zindīq khabīth) and enemy to Islām, openly proclaiming Shiʿism, using it as a cover and was eager to end the religion of Islām. 40 He killed a large group of the jurists, ḥadīth scholars and the righteous people and his intent was to totally remove them from existence so that the world would remain like animals, enabling him to corrupt their beliefs and 40 From their evils were claims of knowing the unseen, claiming prophethood and divinity, erecting tombs over the dead for their veneration and worship, ordering their subjects to prostrate to their rulers and ordering them to revile the Companions.

They would hang the severed heads of donkeys on the doors and on other animals and then write the names of the Companions over them. They would also kill the scholars of the Sunnah. The ʿUbaydiyyah would exaggerate in their rulers such as their founder, ʿUbaydullāh al-Mahdī and even raised him to the level of a deity who knew the unseen or whose a sent messenger. They forced the people to follow the doctrines of the Rāfiḍah and sought to kill everyone who opposed that. They made it unlawful to give verdicts uopn the madhab of Imām Mālik () and anyone who opposed this would be punished or killed.

They would even parade the one they killed in the marketplaces and announce, "This is the recompense of the one who inclines to the madhab of Mālik." They would invalidate the Sunnah and institue bidʿah to replace it. One of their rulers, al-Ḥākim bi Amrillāh, claimed to be Allāh in 408H and was assassinated shortly thereafter in 411H. He also tried to abolish the zakāh in 400H and tried to alter rulings petaining to the Ḥajj and other symbols of Islām. The ʿUbaydī rulers would also employ Jewish and Christian ministers - as they were allied with the Jews and Christians against the Muslims - and these ministers would oppress and harm the Sunnī Muslim subjects by working against their interests. These affairs and more are documented about them in the history books. bidah.com  page 27 misguide them, "But Allāh will perfect His light, even if the disbelievers detest it." (61:8).

His offspring proceeded upon [the same course], making their affair open when the chance allowed them, otherwise they would conceal it. Their callers were dispatched to the various lands and would misguide whomever they were able to misguide of the servants. This tribulation remained with Islām from the first that their state (was erected) until its very end and that was between Dhūl-Hijjah 299H to 567H. During the days [of their rule] the Rāfiḍah increased and took power. Taxes were imposed upon the people and then other [rulers] folllowed their example.

They corrupted the beliefs of many factions who resided in the mountainous regions in Shām and likewise the Hashāshīn [in Northern Iran], they were of the same type (as these ones). Their callers were able to influence these [mountainous] people in a way that they were not able with others because of their weak minds and their ignorance. The Europeans took over most of the lands of Shām and the peninsula until Allāh granted favour to the Muslims through the [emergence of the] house of al-Atābikī and presented the likes of Ṣalāh alDīn. So they returned the land [back to the Muslims] and ended this state's domination of the servants. They were fourteen successive rulers.

Three of them were in Africa, and they are the ones titled al-Mahīd, alQāʾim and al-Manṣūr. Eleven of them were in Egypt and they are the ones titled, al-Muʿizz, al-ʿAzīz, al-Ḥākim, al-Ẓāhir, al-Mustanṣir, al-Mustaʿlā, allineage traces back to a [fire-worshipping] Magian or a Jew, and this became well-known even amongst the common-folk. As a result they began to say "Dawlah Fāṭimiyyah" (the Fāṭimid State) and "Dawlah ʿAlawiyyah" (the ʿAlawite State) whereas in reality it is a "Dawlah Yahūdiyyah" (Jewish State) or "Majūsiyyah, Bātiniyyah, Mulḥidah" (Heretical Magian, Bāṭinī state). And they used to command the khaṭībs (sermon-givers) to announce this on the pulpits and would write it on the walls of mosques and other places. One of their servants, called Jawhar, who aided them in conquering the lands of Egypt and building the city of Cairo for al-Muʿizz (one of their rulers), he wrote a long sermon within which he said, 'O Allāh send ṣalāt upon your servant and friend, the fruit bidah.com  page 28 (thamrah) of Prophethood and the scion of the descendants of the guiding al-Mahdiyyah,41 Abū Tamīm al-Imām al-Muʿizz li Dīnillāh,42 the Chief of the Believers, just as you have sent ṣalāt upon his pure forefathers and his chosen predecessors from the rightly-guided leaders.' The cursed enemy of Allāh has lied, for there is no goodness in him and nor in all of his precedessors and nor in his remaining offspring.

The pure descendants of Prophethood are innocent of them, may Allāh have mercy upon them and their likes from the first generation. Their lineage and their condition and what they were upon of deception and enmity to Islām has been explained by a group who preceded from the imāms and the scholars, and everyone was cautious of them and would not refer to them except as "Banī ʿUbayd the (false) claimaints," meaning they would claim a lineage which they did not possess." End quote from Abū Shāmah, the historian. Ibn Kathīr writes in al-Bidāyah, "In Rabīʿ al-Ākhir of this year (402H) a tract was written in Baghdād comprising revilement and scorn upon the lineage of the rulers (the ʿUbaydiyyah) and they are the kings of Egypt. They claim they are Fāṭimids but are not so. Their lineage returns to Dīsān bin Saʿīd al-Khurramī.43 A group of scholars, judges, jurists, nobles, 41 A reference to their first state set up in Tunisia. 42 This is the ʿUbaydī ruler who entered and conquered Egypt in 362H. 43 The Khurramites were a group that emerged in the fifth century hijrah and they were remnants of the Mazdakians who had fled after Mazdak was killed and his rule brought to an end centuries earlier.

They adopted Shīʿism and were a radical sect who led a revolt against the ʿAbbāsids because they did not want an Islāmic state in Persia due to their desire to perputate their Zoroastrian religion and its political dominance in the past. Abū Muslim al-Khurasānī had earlier led revolutions against the Banī ʿUmayyah and he was killed during the era of ʿAbbāsids. It was claimed that Abū Muslim al-Khurasānī had the spirit of Allāh inside of him, having previously been within Muḥammad () and ʿAlī (). He was a Persian Zoroastrian nationalist. The name "Khurrāmiyyah" is said to be derived from the word "red" because these people would wear red gowns.

The Khurramites led a sustained revolt against the ʿAbbāsids, taking over the lands ruled by them, dividing them and sharing them upon a Communist, bidah.com  page 29 notables, ḥadīth scholars, administrators and righteous wrote in that regard. All of them testified that the one who appeared in Egypt and he is Manṣūr bin Nizār who took the title 'al-Ḥākim [bi Amrillāh]'44 may Allāh judge destruction, ruin, humiliation, vengeance and extermination upon son of Saʿīd - may Allāh not make him happy. For when he (Saʿīd) came to the land of al-Maghrib, he took the name of ʿUbaydullāh and the title of al-Mahdī... This rejection against their falsehood was common and widespread in the land of the two Ḥarams and when they first appeared in al-Maghrib it was also well known and this prevented them from deceiving anyone with their lie or from anyone being led to believe them in what they claimed. This one who appeared in Egypt [al-Ḥākim], he and his predecessors are kuffār (disbelievers), sinners, debauchers, heretics, zindīqs, invalidators [of Islām], deniers of Islām and they [in reality] believe in the doctrine of the Dualists and the Magians.

They invalidated the ḥudūd (prescribed punishments), made permissible sexual relations with those whom it was prohibited, made intoxicants lawful, shed blood, reviled the Prophets, cursed the Salaf and claimed lordship."45 Citing the remaining statements of the historians about them would be lengthy but we will summarize some of their evils:46 Ibn Kathīr (d. 774H) Socialist type ideology. Ibn al-Qayyim () said, "The worst factions of the Magians who do not affirm a Creator, nor a resurrection, nor ḥalāl and ḥarām are the Khurramiyyah, the followers of Babek al-Khurramīy. And upon their and all of the ʿUbaydiyyah who call themselves 'Fātimiyyah.' They are the most disbelieving of disbelievers and do not attach to any religion amongst the religions nor any legislation amongst the legislations." Ighāthat ul-Lahafān (2/247). 44 He claimed he was Allāh - may Allāh's curse and vengeance be upon him - in the year 408H and he was eventually killed three years later. 45 Al-Bidāyah wal-Nihāyah (Dār Ibn Kathīr, 13/9 onwards). 46 Refer to the mulhaq (appendix) to al-ʿAwāṣim min al-Qawāsim of Ibn al-ʿArabī (Maktabah al-Sunnah, 1412H, p. 271 onwards) in the taḥqīq by Muḥibb al-Dīn albidah.com  page 30 explains that they acquired a lot of wealth whilst they ruled over alMaghrib, Egypt, Shām, Yemen and other places and were the most tyrannical of rulers. So many evils appeared during their rule and the righteous, the scholars and worshippers diminished. As a result of their rule, the Christians, Drūze and Ḥashīshiyyah multiplied in number and the European Crusaders took control over the entire coastal regions of Shām.

They also killed hordes and nations of people about which only Allāh knows, they took the women and children of the Muslims captive in ways that cannot be defined and described and they also plundered the wealth of the Muslims in a like manner. Abū Bakr al-Bāqillānī (d. 403H) described them as a people proclaiming Shiʿīsm but concealing pure disbelief and he described ʿUbdayllāh "al-Mahdī" as a vile Bāṭinī who desired to end the religion of Islām, to eliminate the scholars and jurists so that he can misguide the creation and that his offpsring after him took the same course, that they made lawful intoxicants and shameless deeds and they spread Shiʿīsm (Rafḍ). Imām al-Ẓahabī (d. 748H) said that alzindīq (heretic) who openly reviled the Prophets and that the ʿUbaydiyyah were more harmful to Islām than the Tārtars. Abū al-Ḥasan ʿAlī bin Muḥammad al-Qābisī al-Mālikī (d. 403H) said that those killed by the ʿUbaydiyyah from the scholars and worshippers in order to prevent from them invoking Allāh's pleasure upon the Companions () were four-thousand who preferred death than to compromise. Ibn Khallikān (d. 681H) said that they claimed knowledge of the unseen affairs and that Muḥammad ʿAbdullāh Ibn Abī Zayd al-Qayrawānī al-Kīzānī (d. 386H) from the Mālikī scholars was asked about the person in Egypt who is forced to enter into the call of the ʿUbaydiyyah, whether he is to respond or choose death.

He said that he is to choose death and that no one is to be excused Khaṭīb added by Maḥmūh Mahdī al-Istānbūlī who cited from these authorities in unveiling the realities of the ʿUbaydiyyah Bāṭiniyyah. bidah.com  page 31 in this matter because the situation is one in which the Sharīʿah [of Islām] is being invalidated and abolished. The celebration of the mawlid originates with the likes of these Bāṭiniyyah who were disbelievers, enemies of Allāh, enemies of Islām and enemies of the Messenger () and his Companions. The Egyptian historian Taqī al-Dīn al-Maqrīzī (d. 845H) mentions the various days of celebration taken by the Shiʿites. They would celebrate the birthdays of the Prophet (), ʿAli (), al-Ḥasan and al-Ḥusayn, Fāṭimah and that of the current ruler. He said, "And the Faṭimid rulers (khulafā) used to have days of celebration and festive seasons throughout the year and they are: The season of the year's peak, the season of the year's beginning, the Day of ʿĀshūrā, the mawlid (birthday) of the Prophet (), the birthday of ʿAlī bin Abī Ṭālib (), the birthday of alḤasan and the birthday of al-Ḥusayn (), the birthday of Fāṭimah alZahrāʾ (), the birthday of the current ruler, the night of the first of Rajab and its middle (the fifteenth), and the night of the first of Shaʿbān and its middle..."47 This is also mentioned by another historian of Egypt known as Shihāb al-Dīn Abū al-ʿAbbās al-Qalqashandī (d. 821H) who lists all the gatherings and celebrations that would take place and amongst them is the sitting for the Prophet's alleged birth date on 12th Rabīʿ alAwwal.

He said, "The Third Sitting: His (the ruler's) Sitting During the Prophet's Birthday () on the 12th of the month of Rabīʿ alAwwal... And likewise was their affair regarding the birthday of ʿAlī bin Abī Ṭālib (may Allāh ennoble his face) specifically, in the times known to them during the year."48 It is the opinion of some that the first of those to innovate this practice from the ʿUbaydiyyah was Muʿizz al-Dīn in the year 362H when he 47 In al-Khiṭaṭ wal-Āthār (Cairo, 1st edition, 1417H, 2/359) 48 in his work Subḥ al-Aʿshā (3/502-503) bidah.com  page 32 entered Egypt.49 He is the founder of al-Azhar university which was so named after the title of Fāṭimah al-Zahrāʾ, which he masculinized to alwere a means to entice people away from the legislated actions of the Sharīʿah and towards innovations leading to a superficial attachment to Islām which eventually revolved around veneration of graves and saints as a means of easy salvation. In their book al-Muʿizz Li Dīnillāh, authors Ḥasan Ibrāhīm Ḥasan, former governor of the University of Asyūṭ (Egypt) and Ṭāhā Aḥmad Sharaf write under the chapter heading, "Gatherings and Celebrations," the following: "The Fāṭimids operated on the basis of gaining respect from their subjects and adopted this political method in the land of Morocco. Their successors in Egypt exaggerated in establishing celebratory gatherings whose organization they had an aptitude for. They would establish events, especially in the various regions of Cairo.

Al-Muʿizz and whoever came after him from the succeeding rulers would celebrate through the Friday prayer from what we have seen and the two ʿĪd prayers and in saying farewell to the military dispatchments. Just as they also used to celebrate the day of ʿĀshūrāʾ and the birthdays of some of their [alleged] leaders such as ʿAlī bin Abī Ṭālib, Fāṭimah al-Zahrāʾ, the daughter of the Messenger and the wife of ʿAlī, and the birthday of al-Ḥasan and alḤusayn. Just as they also used to celebrate other days which distinguished them from the Sunnīs such as ʿĪd al-Ghadīr, the birthday of their current ruler and they would also have other celebrations besides these. For example, the 1st of Rajab, the 15th of Rajab, the 1st of Shaʿbān, the 15th of Shaʿbān and the 1st of Ramaḍān. They would also participate with other inhabitants in their celebrations such as the Conquest of the Gulf, and ʿĪd al-Nayrūz (Persian New Year).

They would also participate 49 The Egyptian Christian Copts used to celebrate the birthday of ʿĪsā () in them by setting up birthday celebrations for the Ahl al-Bayt as a display of their apparent love for Ahl al-Bayt. bidah.com  page 33 with the [Christian] Copts in celebrating the Epiphany festival and the Maundy Thursday festival and others. We observe a number of things from all of these festivals, from them: That al-Muʿizz Li Dīnillāh was the first who brought all these celebrations to Egypt and he worked to spread them by throwing exquisite banquets to celebrate them. He used to lay out carpets of food in the palace of the khilāfah and also in the mosques. His successors followed the same way after him... The Fāṭimids used to take these celebrations as a means of drawing the citizens towards them and this is why al-Muʿizz would participate with the [Christian] Copts in celebrating the Epiphany festival, Maundy Thursday, Christmas and others...

Added to that, al-Muʿizz also used to celebrate the new hijri year, the mawlid of the Prophet (), the nights of the 1st and 15th of Rajab and the nights of 1st and 15th of Shaʿbān and the 1st of Ramaḍān so that the souls of the Sunnīs would not be stirred and he would try to bridge the gap between the foundations of the Sunnīs and the doctrines of the Shiʿites. In a like manner, al-Muʿizz Li Dīnillāh used to employ these exaggerated celebrations for what he had set out to do of spreading Hence, he used to celebrate the day of ʿĀshūrāʾ in order to revive the mention of al-Ḥusayn () and also the birthday of the present ruler. In this way al-Muʿizz took these celebrations as a means to draw people to clarified that the exact date as to when the ʿUbaydiyyah initiated these festivals is unknown and their rule in Egypt lasted just over 2 centuries from 362H to 567H. When al-Maqrīzī mentioned these celebrations in alKhiṭaṭ, he stated, "A mention of the days which the Fatimid rulers used to take as days of celebration and seasons in which the subjects were given increase and showered with favours."50 Thus the exact date of the invention of the Mawlid celebration is not known. 50 In al-Khiṭaṭ wal-Āthār (Cairo, 1st edition, 1417H, 2/347) bidah.com  page 34 From those who affirm these historical facts about the origin of the mawlid celebration are the former muftī of Egypt, Shaykh Muḥammad was another major scholar from al-Azhar in Egypt. These celebrations were later taken up by Sunnī rulers who had been affected by Ṣufism53 in the 7th century hijrah some of whom would spend 51 In his book Aḥsan al-Kalāam Fīmā Yataʿallaq bil-Sunnah wal-Bidʿah min al-Aḥkām been invented (newly-introduced) and about which questions have increased are the birthdays (mawaalid).

So we say: The first to introduce them in Cairo, were the Fāṭimid rulers, and the first of them was al-Muʿizz Li Dinillah, he advanced from al-Maghrib (Morocco) to Egypt in Shawwāl of 361H, and reached the port of Alexandria in Shaʿbān of 362H. He entered Cairo with seven [days] remaining of the month of Ramaḍān in that year. They then innovated six birthday (celebrations): The Prophet's birthday, the birthday of the chief of the believers, ʿAlī bin Abī Ṭālib, the birthday of Sayyidah Fāṭimah al-Zahrāʾ, the birthday of alḤasan and the birthday of al-Ḥusayn and the birthday of the presently serving ruler. These birthday (celebrations) remained as customs until they were invalidated by al-Afḍal, son of the chief of armies whose father was the chief of armies and had come from Shām to Egypt during the rulership of al-Mustanṣir Billāh upon his invitation to him." (pp. 59-60). 52 In his book al-Ibdāʿ Fī Maḍārr al-Ibtidāʿ (Maktabah al-Rushd, 1421H) Shaykh ʿAlī Maḥfūz writes, "The Fourth Chapter. Regarding the Birthday Celebrations and the First to Introduce Them.

It is said that the first to introduce them in Cairo where the Fāṭimid rulers in the fourth century and they innovated six birthday celebrations: The Prophet's birthday, the birthday of Imām ʿAlī bin Abī Ṭālib (), the birthday of Sayyidah Fāṭimah al-Zahrāʾ (), the birthday of alḤasan and al-Ḥusayn () and the birthday of the presently serving ruler. These birthday (celebrations) remained as customs until they were invalidated by al-Afḍal, son of the chief of armies. Then they were brought back in the rulership of al-ʾĀmir bi Aḥkāmillāh in 524H after the people had forgotten them. The first to introduce the Prophetic Mawlid in the city of Irbil was the king, Muẓaffar Abu Saʿīd in the seventh century and the practice of the mawlid has continued to this day of ours. The people have taken liberties regarding it and have innovated everything their souls have desired and with which the devils from men and jinn have inspired to them." (p.231). 53 There is a strong connection between Shiʿism and Ṣūfism and many of the bidah.com  page 35 lavishly on such celebrations.

It is reported that in the year 625H, the ruler of Irbil, al-Muẓaffar Abū Saʿīd al-Kawkabūrī al-Turkmānī, celebrated the mawlid and it is mistakingly believed that he was the first to initiate this practice. These celebrations - aside from being wicked innovations from the enemies of Islām - comprised a lot of oppositions to the Sharīʿah such that even those who considered it a good practice54 declared it unlawful in the presence of these oppositions. 6th Point of Agreement: The first to innovate and practice birthday celebrations of the Ahl al-Bayt inclusive of the Prophet () were the descendants of the fire-worshipping Magians or Jews who were enemies to Islām, enemies to the Prophet () and enemies of the Companions and to the people of the Sunnah. They were hypocrites, disbelievers who desired to undermine and destroy Islām. They killed the Sunnī jurists, ḥadīth scholars and righteous and forcefully imposed their Shīʿism and their innovations on to the masses. They would celebrate the festivals of the Persians and Christians.

To please the Sunnī masses they also celebrated the Prophet's mawlid as a means of drawing people to 54 This is an erroneous view since the birthday celebration in its foundation is an evil innovation in Islām and on that count alone it is unlawful - and as for the evils that are found in these celebrations such as free-mixing between men and women, wastage of wealth, exaggeration in the status of the Prophet () and statements of shirk where divine qualities are given to the Prophet - then all of that is a burden of sin on top of the burden of sin for the original innovation behind all of this evil. bidah.com  page 36 7. All Disputes Must Be Referred Back to Allāh and His Messenger This is a Sharīʿah principle, that all disputes between the Muslims must be referred back to Allāh and His Messenger and not the saying of anyone else. This is part and parcel of love for Allāh and His Messenger and is a proof that a person's love is genuine. Allāh said: O you who believe! Obey Allah and obey the Messenger , and those of you (Muslims) who are in authority.

(And) if you differ in anything amongst yourselves, refer it to Allah and His Messenger, if you believe in Allah and in the Last Day. That is better and more suitable for final determination. (4:59) And Allāh () also said: And in anything over which you disagree - its ruling is [to be referred] to Allah. (42:10). And Allāh () also said: But no, by your Lord, they will not have true faith until they make you, [O Muḥammad], judge concerning that over which they dispute among themselves and then find within bidah.com  page 37 themselves no discomfort from what you have judged and submit in [full, willing] submission.

(4:65). Thus, when a matter is differed over - such as our issue of celebrating the mawlid - then it is not permissible to refer this matter to other than Allāh (His Book) and His Messenger (his Sunnah). Only the saying of Allāh and His Messenger is a ḥujjah (proof) and likewise the consensus (ijmāʾ) of the Companions.55 As for the saying of anyone else, it is not a ḥujjah. Thus, either a person brings a verse from the Qurʾan, a ḥadīth from the Prophet () or the consensus of the Companions or he has no proof with him at all. Whilst the opposer may agree with this point verbally, when it comes down to argument, it will become clear that the one who tries to justify celebration of the mawlid violates this principle, and will rely upon the statements of the later scholars, seven hundred years after the Prophet ().

And this demonstrates how weak and unstable the situation is for them. Because if they had brought statements from Abū Prophet () one could say they have done well - and even then, the saying of these four Imāms is not an independent proof in the religion. But when you are seven hundred years out, it proves that desires are being followed in reality. 7th Point of Agreement: It is obligatory to refer all disputes back to Allāh and His Messenger (). Whoever rejects this Sharīʿah principle has opposed and belied the Qurʾān. It is a condition of faith and from the way of the Believers to refer judgement in disputes to Allāh (His Book) and His Messenger (his Sunnah) and to humbly accept the judgement of Allāh and His Messenger when they have determined a matter. 55 Or the saying of a Companion when there is no oppositiont to it from other Companions in the view of a group of scholars. bidah.com  page 38 Seven Points of Agreement We have now established seven points which no Muslim is allowed to contest and which everyone must agree to at least verbally before any further discussion is entered into: 1.

Loving the Prophet () only has one way and that is to follow his Sunnah, obey his command and avoid his prohibition. 2. The Companions, Successor, the Four Imāms and the Righteous Salaf did not know or practice the Mawlid celebration and nor did any text bring their attention to the notion of celebrating the Mawlid. 3. The religion is complete and perfect and no belief, statement or action which brings a person closer to Paradise was neglected by the Prophet () and omitted from the Sharīʿah of Islām. 4. The Prophet () warned against, without exception, every religious innovation through which nearness to Allāh is sought and the Companions, Tābiʿīn and Salaf amplified this warning. 5. The Prophet () passed on to His Lord on 12th Rabīʿ alAwwal in the eleventh year of hijrah as a firmly established historical fact.

As for his birth date it is inconclusive and not agreed upon. 6. The descendants of the Persian Magians and Jews - the of birthday celebrations in Islām from which is the celebration of the Mawlid. They performed this to deceive the Sunnī Muslims. A couple of centuries later, this practice was found encouragement from within Ṣūfī circles. bidah.com  page 39