It is also to be noted that certain maliki jurists considered it disliked to fast on the day of mawlid as it is an eid of the muslims.
I tend to agree. Feasting is what would appeal to children and new generation, as a start in inculcating the spirit behind commemorating Milad and imbuing the love of the Prophet ﷺ. My original motivation for posing this query was to understand whether there should be any feeling of guilt in encouraging children (and inviting family/friends) to partake in Milad feast (as opposed to encouraging them to fast). One work-around (as Surati suggested) is to fast in the day and feast after dusk. Personally speaking, my fondest recollection of Milad celebration during my childhood days is degh/niyaz/shirni distributed after the Milad ceremonies!
Maybe it was Imam ibn al-Haj Maliki who answered the question: why wasn't any act of worship stipulated for the milad? Reply: RasulAllah ﷺ came as a mercy. So nothing was made fard for this day in terms of worship. I think, it should be made a day of eid with new/washed clothes, scents and feasts. So that our children can see the greatness of it.
Fasting is worship in it's own right and I don't suppose feasting is. In any case, the habits of modern people in relation to food is unhealthy, both physically and spiritually. Additionally, most people seem to feast everyday (I would posit eating three times a day has been unknown throughout human history for the vast majority of the world's population and thus everyday is a type of feast for us) so should our focus on this day not be on worship, fasting and feeding the poor of the Ummah of the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him? This seems the better way to show our love, I think.
fasting wins hands down for a lot of reasons that seem appropriate to me, main one being that the Prophet salAllahu 3alaihi wa sallam himself expressed gratitude to Allah for his blessed birth by this very act of fasting. also i don't think distributing food (or money or supplies) to poor comes under feasting.
Well it doesn’t have to be an either or thing. You can still fast and distribute niyaz/fatiha delicacies + enjoy in moderation when you break your fast. Maximise the sawaab?
This is more of a survey question than a strictly fiqh query (although fiqh inputs are welcome as well). So opinions from all are solicited. Which is the superior way of celebrating Milad un-Nabi (Sallallahu Alayhi Wasallam)? Is it better to fast on the day or is it better to feast (i.e. consuming & distributing niyaz/fatiha delicacies)? Fast or Feast? What do you think is superior (from sawab point of view)?