ibn Taymiyyah on Mawlid

Discussion in 'Hanafi Fiqh' started by Sunni Student, Nov 14, 2006.

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  1. Sunni Student

    Sunni Student New Member

    I think we should refrain from Quoting Ibn Taymiyyah's Fatwa on the Mawlid, what his main point is that if those that practice the Mawlid are doing so by not practising a even greater evil then let them practice it, so this clearly shows that he was against it, why do we even need to quote Ibn Taymiyyah there are countless Scholars who have endoresed it including scholars the Salafis respect, such as Ibn Kathir, Ibn Jawzi, Ibn Hajar and many more.


    What I have said above is evident from the following extract of the fatwa


    So honouring the mawlid, and taking it as a festive season (mawsam) which some of the people have done, there is a great reward in it due to the good intention and the honouring of the Messenger (sallallaahu `alaihi wasallam) because of what I have previously stated to you - that it is possible that something be good for some of the people and be denounced/considered to be ugly by the strict believer. This is why it was said to Imaam Ahmad about some of the leaders, that he spent 1000 dirhams upon the mushaf or similar to this. So he replied, ‘leave them, for this is better than them spending it on gold (jewellery).’
     
  2. Saeed Bak

    Saeed Bak New Member

    As-salamu 'alaykum,

    No doubt Ibn Taymiyya were at loggerheads with Ahl us-Sunna wal-Jama'a on a number of issues... Here is an informative article:

    What Do The Scholars Say About Ibn Taymiyya?

     
  3. Strange reasoning

    You should be amazed at the strange reasoning these people bring forth.

    One time I was discussing the mawlid issue with local salafi in our neighbourhood and i quoted Ibn Taymiyya (from Shaikh Hisham Kabbani / GF Haddad's article on Mawlid) and he gave me a strange reasoning.

    He asked me: Is praying more namaz (salah) bidah or not ?
    I said, obviously not bidah. You get more reward for praying more.
    He commented: we just prayed Asr 4 rakats, how about you pray 8 or 16 rakats !! will you get more sawab ? and he kept babbling: isn't this also under praying more ?

    It is true, these people come up with strange reasoning.
     
  4. abu Hasan

    abu Hasan Administrator

    even if you discount the fact that the translation above by 'sunni student' tries hard to force the fatwa in the wahabi straitjacket, it still doesn't revile the mawlid.

    actually, the 'full context' presented here is only half of it; the discussion starts with ibn taymiyyah refuting the practise of rawafiD [he calls them ahl al-ahwa'a] of celebrating the day of 'ghadir khumm' and goes on talking about how eyd is only that which is ordained by shari`ah.

    it is frustrating to discuss with people who keep moving the goalpost. ibn taymiyyah's fatwa is quoted by sunni scholars to say: 'hey, look. even your highest authority does not think it is that bad'.

    and in that context, quoting ibn taymiyyah is perfectly valid. because, he says:

    'as for respecting the mawlid and taking it as a festival [season] - which some people do, they may receive a great reward because of their good intention and respecting the prophet sallallahu `alayhi wa sallam. just like i have mentioned it earlier: some people consider that to be good, which a strict believer may find offensive..' /end quote iqtiDa as-sirat al-mustaqim

    -----
    ibn taymiyyah's reasoning is strange. he is in effect saying: 'okay, if a man does sajdah, he gets a great reward because of his intention to show his humility to his Lord, not just because he bows down'

    'if a man smiles at another muslim, he gets a reward for his intention to show his affection/geniality to another muslim; not because of showing his teeth.'

    or that 'a man gets reward when he fasts because of his intention to obey the Lord, not because he abstains from food and drink..'

    d-uh?

    anyway, ibn taymiyyah says:

    fa ta'aDhim al-mawlid wa't tikhadhihi mawsiman: qad yaf`aluhu ba'ad an-nas wa yakunu lahu fihi ajrun `aDHim li Husni qaSdihi wa ta`aDHimihi li Rasulillah sallallahu `alayhi wa sallam.

    ----
    this point is quoted not as the final word in the proof of mawlid, but as an additional one. which means, mawlid is permissible, even if ibn taymiyyah had said otherwise.

    Allah ta'ala knows best.
     
    Last edited: Nov 11, 2006
  5. tazkiyya2003

    tazkiyya2003 Active Member

    This statement WHEN QUOTED IN FULL
    actually does not support the mawlid but is against it
     
  6. nik61

    nik61 New Member

    Assalamu alaikum brother Saifullah.
    Don't be too surprise if you discover that the said statement by Shaykh Ibnu Taymiyyah is missing from the book since the la-madhhabis are famous for doing tahreef!
    To my knowledge Shaykh Ibnu Taymiyyah was always a Hanbali and a Qadiri albeit some of his fatwa's contradict the teachings of ahl as-Sunnah.
     
  7. Sunni Student

    Sunni Student New Member

    The Fatwa regarding the Mawlid from Ibn Taymiyyah does exist but if we look at the complete context of what he says he actualy refutes it but has a concept that if those that celebrate it will end up doing something more evil than celebrate the mawlid then no one should stop such people celebrating the Mawlid.

    Thats how they interprate the Fatwa and thats how it seems to me to, Probably the main point of the fatwa for those who accept the Mawlid is where he says that Allah will reward them for there good intentions and for their love.

    Anyway here is the complete fatwa:



    Ibn Taymiyyah says, "…because the Eeds are legislated laws from amongst the laws, so it is necessary to follow them, and not to innovate them, and the Prophet (sallallaahu `alaihi wasallam) had many lectures, treaties, and great events that happened on a number of (documented) days such as the Day of Badr, Hunain, al-Khandaq, the Conquest of Mecca, the occurrence of his hijrah, his entry to Madeenah…and none of this necessitated that these days be taken as days of Eed.

    Rather this sort of thing was done by the Christians who took the days in which great events happened to Jesus as eeds, or by the Jews. Indeed the Eed is a legislated law, so what Allaah legislates is followed, otherwise do not innovate in this religion that which is not part of it.
    And like this is what some of the people have innovated, either in opposition to the Christian celebration of the birthday of Jesus, or out of love for the Prophet (sallallaahu `alaihi wasallam) and in honour of him.
    And Allaah will reward them for this love and ijtihaad, but NOT FOR THE BID’AH of taking the day of the birth of the Prophet (sallallaahu `alaihi wasallam) as an eed - this along with the difference of the people as to when he was born.

    For indeed this (celebration) was not done by the salaf, despite the existence of factors that would necessitate it and the lack of any factors that would prevent them from doing so if it were indeed good. And if this was genuinely good or preferable then the salaf, may Allaah be pleased with them, would have more right to doing so then us, for they had more severe love and honour of the Prophet (sallallaahu `alaihi wasallam) in following him, obeying him, and following his command, and reviving his sunnah inwardly and outwardly, and spreading that which he was sent with, and performing jihaad for this in the heart, with the hand and upon the tongue. So indeed this was the way of the Saabiqeen al-Awwaleen from the Muhajiroon and the Ansaar, and those that followed them in good.

    And you will find the majority of these (who celebrate the birthday) in ardent desire of these sort of innovations - alongwith what they have of good intention and ijtihaad for which reward is hoped for - but you would find them feeble in following the command of the Messenger, that which they have been commanded to be eager and vigorous in, indeed they are of the position of one who adorns the Mushaf but does not read what is in it or reads what is in it but does not follow it. Or the position of one who decorates the mosques but does not pray in them, or prays in them rarely…

    And know that from the actions are those that have some good in them, due to their including types of good actions and including evil actions such as innovation etc. So this action would be good with respect to what it includes of good and evil with respect to what it contains of turning away from the religion in it’s totality, as is the state of the hypocrites and faasiqeen. This has what has afflicted the majority of the ummah in the later times. So upon you is two manners (of rectification):

    1. that your desire be to follow the sunnah inwardly and outwardly, with respect to yourself specifically and those that follow you, and you enjoin the good and forbid the evil.
    2. that you call the people to the sunnah in accordance to ability, so if you were to see someone doing this (celebration) and he were to not leave it except for an evil greater than it, then do not call him to leaving the evil so that he may perform something more evil than this….[a page omitted in which he explains this principle]
    So honouring the mawlid, and taking it as a festive season (mawsam) which some of the people have done, there is a great reward in it due to the good intention and the honouring of the Messenger (sallallaahu `alaihi wasallam) because of what I have previously stated to you - that it is possible that something be good for some of the people and be denounced/considered to be ugly by the strict believer. This is why it was said to Imaam Ahmad about some of the leaders, that he spent 1000 dirhams upon the mushaf or similar to this. So he replied, ‘leave them, for this is better than them spending it on gold (jewellery).’ This despite the fact that the madhhab of Imaam Ahmad was that it is abhorrent to decorate the mushafs, and some of the companions (of Ahmad) interpreted this to mean that the money was spent in renewing the pages and writing. But this is not the intent of Ahmad here, his intention here was that this action had a benefit in it, and it also contained corruption due to which it became abhorrent. But these people, if they did not do this, would have substituted this for a corruption that contained no good whatsoever, for example spending upon one of the books of evil…" [Iqtidaa Siraat al-Mustaqeem 2/618+ my copy has the tahqeeq of Shaykh Naasir al-Aql]
     
  8. huseyin

    huseyin Guest

    Ibni Taymiyyah used to say:Allahu taala has a body and directions.
    reference:Tajad-din us-Subki
    I will get more references about heretic Ibni taymiyyah
     
  9. huseyin

    huseyin Guest

    Ibni Taymiyyah was a heretic nonmadhab .and opinionleader of Salaffis
     
  10. Sword Of Allah

    Sword Of Allah New Member

    Asalamo `alaykum wa rahmatullah brother,

    Does the quote still exist in the book? I cant find it. Maybe the wahabis taken it out. Allah hu alam. There used to be a quote about the mawlid in the majmoo fatawa ibn taymiyya but it has since been edited.

    Ibn Taymiyya was a very devout hanbali and qadiri at that. Ibn Taymiyya's love for Ghauth Al Ahdham Shaykh Abdul Qadir Jilani al-hanbali (Raheemahullah) is evident from his books the most famous being sharh futuh al ghaib[FONT=Times New Roman (Arabic)]فتوح[/FONT][FONT=Times New Roman (Arabic)]الغيب [/FONT]which can still be found in volume 10 of his enourmous 37 volume majmua fatawa ibn taymiyya.
     
  11. Aqdas

    Aqdas Staff Member

    yes that is the quote.
     
  12. Mohammed Azam

    Mohammed Azam New Member

    You mean this quote?:

    Shaikh ul-Islam Ibn Taymiyya's Opinion on the Celebration of the Mawlid
    This is Imam Ibn Taymiyya's opinion about Mawlid from: "the Collected Fatwas," ("Majma' Fatawi Ibn Taymiyya,") Vol. 23, p. 163: "fa-t'adheem al-Mawlid wat-tikhaadhuhu mawsiman qad yaf'alahu ba'ad an-naasi wa yakunu lahu feehi ajra `adheem lihusni qasdihi t'adheemihi li-Rasulillahi, salla-Allahu `alayhi wa sallam"

    "To celebrate and to honor the birth of the Prophet (s) and to take it as an honored season, as some of the people are doing, is good and in it there is a great reward, because of their good intentions in honoring the Prophet (s)."
     
  13. Mohammed Azam

    Mohammed Azam New Member

    Actually, he claimed to be a Hanbali.
     
  14. huseyin

    huseyin Guest

    he has a book called 'sirat-el mustakim.everyboody knows that ibni teymiyye was a nonmadhab
     
  15. Aqdas

    Aqdas Staff Member

    Assalamu 'Alaikum!

    Many people quote from a book called 'Iqtida as-Sirat al-Mustaqeem' which is attributed to ibn Taymiyyah. Apparently a quote is therein that shows support for the celebration of the Prophet's birth.

    Is the quote actually there? Is it his book?
     

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