بِسْمِ ٱللّٰهِ ٱلرَّحْمٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ
I would like to enquire about the concept of Meelad! What are the benefits?
In the Name of Allah, the Beneficient, the Merciful.
Peace and salutations upon the Beloved Messenger (peace be upon him)
The Concept of Meelaad and its Benefits:
The Meelaad is actually the narrating of the Holy Prophet’s (peace be upon him) blessed birth with mention of his genealogy, family heritage, or any incident from his illustrious life will be regarded as “Meelaad-un-Nabi”. It can be commemorated in seclusion or in a gathering of people, in poetry or prose, in sitting or standing. Whichever method is practiced, it will contribute to it being known as Meelad-un-Nabi (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam)
It is mentioned in the Glorious Qur’an,
Isa, the son of Mary said, “Send to us a table full of food from heaven, so that it may be an occasion of rejoicing for us, the first and last of us and a sign from You. And provide for us, and You are the Best of Providers”
(Surah Al-Maa’idah Verse 114,)
We see that Nabi Isa (peace be upon him) made the day in which the heavenly Table-Spread (Maa’idah) descended to be a day of Eid and celebration as this is a sign of the favour of Allah ta’aala. If a Prophet of Allah azza wa jal rejoices upon the arrival of food due to it being from the Heaven, then there should be no problem whatsoever in rejoicing upon the greatest favour of Allah ta’aala upon the believers (the Holy Prophet, peace be upon him) as the Qur’an declares this quite clearly,
“Certainly Allah conferred a (great) favour upon the Believers that he sent a Messenger from amongst them who recites to them the Verses and purifies them and teaches them the Book and wisdom and previous to that they were in error”
(Surah Aal Imraan , Verse 164)
According to Allah Almighty, a great favour upon the believers is that He sent the Beloved Messenger unto us. With regards to the favours of Allah, it is stated in the Holy Qur’an,
“And proclaim the Favours of your Lord”
(Surah Ad-Doha, Verse 11)
From the above-mentioned verses, we find that Allah ta aala has commanded us to proclaim his favours upon us, and from all that has been bestowed upon us, Allah azza wa jal mentions his Beloved Messenger (peace be upon him) as his great favour unto the believers.
The Prophet (peace be upon him) also said, “I am the last Prophet to come. I am the dua of Hadrath Ibraheem (peace be upon him) and the glad tidings of Hadrath Isa (peace be upon him) and I am the scene of my mother who saw it at the time of my birth. It was a Noor (light) she saw emanate from her. The light made the building of Syria bright, and she was able to see them.”
(Mishkaat, Vol.2, Baabu Fadhaailis Sayyidil Mursaleen)
In the above-mentioned narration, the Holy Prophet (peace be upon him) made spoke of his genealogy, family heritage, and spoke of the events surrounding his blessed birth. This is accurately what occurs at gatherings of Meelaad-un-Nabi. As far as rejoicing upon his birth is concerned, there are numerous benefits which have been mentioned in the Ahadeeth.
“When Abu Lahab died, some of his family members saw him in a dream and in a very terrible state. They asked him what he had experienced so far, and he replied, “After being separated from you, I did not RECEIVE any goodness. Yes, I receive water from this finger because I used it to free my slave Thuwaibah.”
(Bukhari, Vol.2, Kitaabun Nikaah, Baabu Wa Ummahaatokom)
Abu Lahab was the brother of Hadrath Abdullah (may Allah be pleased with him). On the day Sayyidona Rasoolullah (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam) was born, Abu Lahab’s slave, Thuwaibah came to him and said that a son was born in the home of his late brother, Hadrath Abdullah (may Allah be please with him), Abu Lahab pointed with his finger and said, “Go, you are free.”
Abu Lahab was an infamous kaafir whose notoriety was even mentioned in the Qu’ran. However, through the blessings of expressing joy upon the birth of the Prophet (peace be upon him), Allah was graceful to him. Whenever he experiences thirst due to his punishment, he sucks onto his forefinger (which he freed his slave with) and his thirst is quenched. This occurs in spite of him being a kaafir. We are Mu’mins (believers). He was an enemy of Allah; we are the slaves of Allah. Abu Lahab expressed joy on the birth of his nephew, not on him being the Messenger of Allah. We demonstrate our happiness on the birth of the Prophet (peace be upon him). So, when He is our Master and we are his bondsmen, will Allah ta’aala not bless us all???
Allah and His Rasool know best.
Darul Iftaa
Islamic Lifestyle Solutions
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