Refuting some false claims of the celebrators of Al-Mawlid - Second Claim

Second claim: "The Prophet sallAllahu ‘alaihi wa sallam himself glorified his birthday, due to his reply when asked why he fasted on Mondays: "I was born on this day and started receiving the revelation on it." (Muslim). Therefore, he glorified his birthday by fasting on it, and this is a form of celebration."


Refutation: This doubt can be refuted from three different angles:
* The Prophet sallAllahu ‘alaihi wa sallam never regularly fasted on the twelfth of Rabee' Al-Awwal, which is the date that some claim is his birthday, rather, he fasted every Monday, and there are four Mondays in every month. Therefore, celebrating the twelfth of Rabee' Al-Awwal and designating certain acts of worship for it must be considered as an attempt to correct what is thought to be wrong or less than perfect on the part of the Prophet sallAllahu ‘alaihi wa sallam.

* The Prophet sallAllahu ‘alaihi wa sallam did not only fast on Mondays, but in addition, he would also fast on Thursdays, as he said: "The records of deeds are raised (to Allah) every Monday and Thursday, therefore, I like to be fasting at this time.” (Tirmidhi). Moreover, the Prophet sallAllahu ‘alaihi wa sallam did not say that the reason for fasting on a Monday were due to his birth only, but also because of the fact that the records of everybody's deeds are raised to Allah on these days. Therefore, celebrating Al-Mawlid with the excuse that the Prophet sallAllahu ‘alaihi wa sallam used to fast on a Monday is a misunderstanding and a gross exaggeration of the facts.

* The Prophet sallAllahu ‘alaihi wa sallam did not add any form of celebration to his fasting, as those who celebrate Al-Mawlid do. If people intend to express their gratitude to Allah by observing Al-Mawlid and they justify it with the excuse that he used to fast on Mondays, then common sense dictates that they must completely imitate the Prophet sallAllahu ‘alaihi wa sallam in the way that he expressed gratitude to Allah. Many people who celebrate Al-Mawlid do not fast regularly on Mondays and Thursdays as they deem it to be exhausting. On the contrary, they actually prepare and eat more food than usual as part of their celebration.