CELEBRATION OF BIRTHDAY: ISLAMIC PERSPECTIVE By Lawal A. Kolawole

 Assalamu Alaikum Warahmatullah Wabarakatuh,

In the name of Allah, the Gracious, the Merciful.

All praise is due to Allah the Lord of the world.

Inshallah, in this blog post we shall be talking on the Islamic Approach to Birthday celebration.

First and foremost, when talking of birthday celebration, what do we mean? 'Birthday celebration' contains two different key words which are; 'Birthday' and 'celebration'.

Birthday, as defined by Oxford Dictionary, is the day in each year which is the same date as the one which you were born. That is to say, the day on which someone was given birth to which connotes the same date. The latter keyword is defined as the special event that people organize in order to celebrate something. 

Coming to think of how birthday celebrations are done these days, is it allowed or not from the Islamic vista point?

This post will be giving us details on the Islamic approach to birthday celebration. Please read with care to get the point fully.

It is imperative to know that popularity of something doesn't make it right neither does its rarity make it wrong; great caution must be taken to validate an act or do otherwise.

The question of birthday celebration in Islam is a point of different misconceptions since time immemorial. Some believe that there is no wrong in it, while some believe otherwise. The irony is that both parties have their reasons and facts for making their choices. Which of the parties is right is the question answered in this article. 

On the face of history, we have never seen where any prophet of God celebrated his birthday. We might have heard of some sects of Muslims that celebrate the birthday of the Holy prophet (May the peace and blessings of Allah be upon him). They call it Mauludun-nabiyy. They believe that the Holy Prophet of Islam himself pioneered it, even though many others base their doing it on saints and sages of the past. One indubitable fact is that the first occurrence of birthday celebration was not with the intent of excessive and irrational merriments which is the order of birthdays today.

According to Wikipedia, "The history of the celebration goes back to the early days of Islam when some of the "TABI'UN" began to hold sessions in which poetry and songs composed to honour Muhammad(saw) were recited and sung to the crowd. It has been said that the first Muslim ruler to officially celebrate the birth of Muhammad (SAW) in an impressive ceremony was Muzaffar al-Din Gokbori (d. 630/1233)".

(http://en.m.Wikipedia.org >wiki).

Such time difference as over six centuries after the Prophet's demise points directly to the truth of the matter: neither the Prophet nor his contemporaries and immediate companions did birthday celebrations!

However, what did the Holy prophet (SAW) do on his birthdays? On one occasion the companion of the prophet (SAW) asked: "O' prophet of Allah why do you fast on Monday and Thursday". The prophet replied; "I fast on Monday because that was the day I was given birth to..." 

This shows that the holy prophet spent his birthday in righteousness by fasting. Why don't we inculcate this habit in ourselves on our birthdays if we really want to follow the footsteps of the Prophet of Islam (SAW)? 

Since the firm entrenchment of 'Maulud Nabiyy', a lot of people have been so misled that they conclude they too can celebrate their birthdays as they want. That is why a sect of Islam (Ahmadiyya Muslim Jamaat) initiated the act of commemorating birthdays in another, but not unislamic, approach: 'Siratun-Nabiyy' (i.e. Biography of the Prophet) where people come together to become enlightened as to how the Holy prophet lived his life and as to how we can emulate his holy personage to our own spiritual advantage. This, although, displaced the unnecessary singing and dancing on his birthday, it is yet to be acknowledged on a wider spectrum. So unfortunate it is how Muslims are dining comfortably on the table of misguidance!

Many people celebrate birthday extravagantly forgetting that as they are plus one, they are also minus one. In fact some people go to the extent of borrowing money to celebrate their birthday. If we remember that as we are plus one we are also minus one, that is as we add age our death also moves closer, why don't we pass this day in prayer, fasting  and seeking forgiveness of our sins from Allah?

Moreover, spending extravagantly has been prohibited in Islam. Islam teaches us to do everything moderately. Instead of spending the money we used in celebrating birthday to do all kind of worthless things, why don't we use it to assist the needy ones?

Allah says;

وَآتِ ذَا الْقُرْبَى حَقَّهُ وَالْمِسْكِينَ وَابْنَ السَّبِيلِ وَلاَ تُبَذِّرْ تَبْذِيرًا

"And give thou to the kinsmen his due, and to the poor and wayfarer, and squander not thy wealth extravagantly"  (Qur'an ch. 17 vs 27)

This is the saying of Allah that has ordained us to give to the needy ones and also not to spend wastefully. Muhammad (saw) is also reported to have said:

خير الأمور أوسطها   

The best of things is the one done moderately.

 To wit, Islam teaches moderation in everything!

Dear brothers and sisters, the message I'm trying to pass across is to be moderate in everything we are doing. We should follow the footsteps of the Holy prophet of Islam (SAW) by praying, giving Sadaqah and fasting if Allah gives us the capability to do so instead of partying on our birthdays, which may result in immoral behavior and extravagant spending.

We pray that Almighty Allah guide us to the right path. (Amin)

Masalam