Assalamualaikum Warahmatullahi Wabarakatuh
In the
name of Allah, the Entirely Merciful, the Especially Merciful. O Allah! I seek refuge in You from knowingly associating partners with You in any way, and I seek Your forgiveness for that which I do not know. Ameen.
Muhammad s.a.w. is a noble human being who became the last prophet and apostle of Allah s.w.t. Every Muslim is always encouraged to imitate his actions, words, and
all of his nature in everyday life.
The tradition of celebrating the birthday of the Prophet Muhammad is a good bid'ah. In other words, even though it was never done at the time of the Prophet s.a.w., this tradition is recommended to be held because in it there is a side of glorifying and loving the Prophet s.a.w.
There are many sunnah practices to commemorate the birthday of the Prophet Muhammad
s.a.w. This is done solely as an expression of gratitude to Allah s.w.t.
The following are some of the Sunnah of the Prophet's Birthday that can be practiced:
1. Reading Shalawat
One of the sunnah practices to commemorate the birthday of the Prophet Muhammad s.a.w. is to read as many blessings as possible. Sholawat Nabi can be read anytime
starting from morning, afternoon, evening, and night. This is as stated in one of the following verse of the Qur'an:
"Verily Allah and His angels pray for the Prophet. O you who believe, pray for the Prophet and salute him," (Surah Al Ahzab: 56).
2. Sunnah Fasting
The sunnah practice to commemorate the birthday of the Prophet Muhammad is
fasting. Rasulullah s.a.w. always commemorate his birthday by fasting on Monday. This is as stated in one of the following hadiths:
"On that day I was born and the day I was resurrected (or the day the Qur'an was revealed to me)". (HR. Muslim)
3. Dhikr
Praying to Allah s.w.t. is one of the sunnah practices that Muslims can do to
commemorate the Prophet's Birthday. This is done as an expression of gratitude and so that every Muslim always remembers Allah s.w.t. This is mentioned in surah Ar-Ro'd verse 28 which means:
"Those who believe, and their hearts are safe with the remembrance of Allah, remember with the remembrance of Allah, then the heart will feel safe and at ease." (Surat Ar-Ro'd: 28).
4.
Charity
One of the sunnah practices to commemorate the birthday of the Prophet Muhammad s.a.w. is charity. This is done to commemorate the birth of the Prophet as a form of expression of gratitude for the blessings given by Allah s.w.t.
The virtue of being grateful for Muslims is that Allah will increase their blessings and expand their sustenance. This is as stated in one of the surahs of the
Qur'an, Allah s.w.t. said:
"And (remember) when your Lord declared, 'If you are grateful, We will surely increase (favors) to you; and if you deny (My favors), then My punishment will be very painful'," (Surah Ibrahim verse 7).
