Eid-e-Milad un Nabi 1

Adding the first call to prayer on Friday.

(From Sahih Al Bukhari, from Al Sa'ib bin Yazid.) "During the time of the Prophet (s), Abu Bakr (r) and `Umar (r), the call to Friday prayer used to occur when the Imam sat on the pulpit. When it was Othman's (r) time, he added the third call (considered third in relation to the first adhan and the iqama. But it is named first because it proceeds the call to the Friday prayer.)"
Salutations on the Prophet composed and taught by our Master `Ali (r).
The salutations have been mentioned by Sa'id bin Mansoor and Ibn Jareer in Tahzeeb al Aathar, and by Ibn Abi Assim and Ya'qoob bin Shaiba in Akhbar `Ali and by Al Tabarani and others from Salamah Al Kindi.
The addition to the tashahhud by Ibn Mas'ud.
After "wa rahmatullahi wa barakatu," and the Mercy of Allah and Blessings, he used to say, "assalamu `alayna min Rabbina," peace upon us from our Lord. Narrated by Al Tabarani in Al Kabir, and the narrators are those of the sound transmitters, as it has been mentioned in Majma' Al Zawa'id.
The addition to the tashahhud by Abdullah Ibn `Umar.
He added the basmalah at the beginning of the tashahhud. He also added to the talbia, "labbaika wa sa'daika wal khayru bi yadayka wal raghba'u ilayika wal `amalu" This is mentioned in Bukhari, Muslim, et al.
These are some of the developments instituted by the Prophet's Companions, the scholars, and the honorable members of his nation, which did not exist during the time of the Prophet, and which they deemed good. Are they, then, misguided and guilty of bad innovation?
As for the claim that there is no such thing in religion as good innovation, here are some sayings of the brilliant scholars of Islam belying this claim.
Imam Nawawi said in Sahih Muslim (6-21)
"The Prophet's saying every innovation is a general-particular and it is a reference to most innovations. The linguists say, "Innovation is any act done without a previous pattern, and it is of five different kinds.'" Imam Nawawi also said in Tahzeeb al Asma' wal Sifaat,

"Innovation in religious law is to originate anything which did not exist during the time of the Prophet, and it is divided into good and bad." He also said, "Al-muhdathat (pl. for muhdatha) is to originate something that has no roots in religious law. In the tradition of religious law it is called innovation, and if it has an origin within the religious law, then it is not innovation. Innovation in religious law is disagreeable, unlike in the language where everything that has been originated without a previous pattern is called innovation regardless of whether it is good or bad."
Shaykh Ibn Hajar Al Asqalani, the commentator on Al Bukhari, said,
"Anything that did not exist during the Prophet's time is called innovation, but some are good while others are not."
Abu Na'eem, narrated from Ibrahim Al Junaid, said, "I heard Ash-Shafi'i saying,
"Innovation is of two types; praiseworthy innovation and blameworthy innovation, and anything that disagrees with the Sunnah is blameworthy.'"

Imam Albayhaqi narrated in Manaqib Ash-Shafi'i that Ash-Shafi'i said,

"Innovations are of two types: that which contradicts the Qu'ran, the Sunnah, or unanimous agreement of the Muslims is a innovation of deception, while a good innovation does not contradict any of these things."
Al `Izz bin Abdussalam said, at the end of his book, Al Qawa'id, "Innovation is divided into obligatory, forbidden, recommended, disagreeable and permissible, and the way to know which is which is to match it against the religious law."
Clearly we see from the opinions of these righteous scholars, that to define innovations in worship as wholly negative without exception is ignorant. For these pious knowers, among them Imam Nawawi and Ash-Shafi'i, declared that innovations could be divided into good and bad, based on their compliance or deviance with religious law.

Moreover, the following Prophetic saying is known even to common Muslims, let alone scholars: "He who inaugurates a good practice (sunnatun hasana) in Islam earns the reward of it, and of all who perform it after him, without diminishing their own rewards in the least." Therefore it is permissible for a Muslim to originate a good practice, even if the Prophet didn't do it, for the sake of doing good and cultivating the reward. The meaning of inaugurate a good practice (sanna sunnatun hasana) is to establish a practice through personal reasoning (ijtihad) and derivation (istinbat) from the rules of religious law or its general texts. The actions of the Prophet's Companions and the generation following them which we have stated above is the strongest evidence.
The ones prejudiced against celebrating the Prophet's birthday have paved the way for their falsehood by deceiving the less-learned among the Muslims. The prejudiced ones claim that Ibn Kathir writes in his Al Bidaya wal Nihaya (11-172) that the Fatimide-Obaidite state, which descends from the Jew, Obaidillah Bin Maimoon Al Kaddah, ruler of Egypt from 357-567 A.H., innovated the celebration of a number of days, among them, the celebration of the Prophet's birthday. This treacherous lie is a grave insult to the scholarship of Ibn Kathir and the scholarship of all Islam. For in truth, Ibn Kathir writes about the Prophet's birthday in Al bidaya wal nihaya [13136]
"The victorious king Abu Sa'id Kawkaburi, was one of the generous, distinguished masters, and the glorious kings; he left good impressions and used to observe the honorable Mawlid by having a great celebration. Moreover, he was chivalrous, brave, wise, a scholar, and just." Ibn Kathir continues, "And he used to spend three hundred thousand Dinars on the Mawlid." In support, Imam Al Dhahabi writes of Abu Sa'id Kawkaburi, in Siyar A'laam al nubala' [22-336] "He was humble, righteous, and loved religious learned men and scholars of Prophetic saying."

Following are some sayings of the rightly guided Imams regarding the Mawlid.
Imam Al Suyuti, from Alhawi lil fatawi, wrote a special chapter entitled "The Good Intention in Commemorating the Mawlid," at the beginning of which he said,

"There is a question being asked about commemorating the Mawlid of the Prophet in the month of Rabi' Al Awal: what is the religious legal ruling in this regard, is it good or bad? Does the one who celebrates get rewarded or not?" The answer according to me is as follows: To commemorate the Mawlid, which is basically gathering people together, reciting parts of the Qu'ran, narrating stories about the Prophet's birth and the signs that accompanied it, then serving food, and afterwards, departing, is one of the good innovations; and the one who practices it gets rewarded, because it involves venerating the status of the Prophet and expressing joy for his honorable birth.

Ibn Taymiyya said in his book Iqtida' Al Sirat Al Mustaqeem (pg. 266)

"Likewise, what some people have innovated, in competition with the Christians in celebrating he birth of Jesus, or out of love and veneration of the Prophet⦣128;榱uot; and he continues "⦣128;洨at the predecessors didn't do, even though there is a reason for it, and there is nothing against it." This is a saying of someone who set fanaticism aside and sought to please Allah and his Prophet. As far as we are concerned, we commemorate the Mawlid for no other reason but what Ibn Taymiya said, "Out of love and veneration of the Prophet." May Allah reward us according to this love and effort, and may Allah bless the one who said, "Let alone

what the Christians claim about their Prophet, and you may praise Muhammad in any way you want and attribute to his essence all honors and to his status all greatness, for his merit has no limits that any expression by any speaker might reach."

In the same source previously mentioned, Al Suyuti said,

"Someone asked Ibn Hajar about commemorating the Mawlid. Ibn Hajar answered, "Basically, commemorating the Mawlid is an innovation that has not been transmitted by the righteous Muslims of the first three centuries. However, it involves good things and their opposites, therefore, whoever looks for the good and avoids the opposites then it is a good innovation.' It occurred to me (Al Suyuti) to trace it to its established origin, which has been confirmed in the two authentic books: Al Sahihain. When the Prophet arrived in Medina he found that the Jews fast the day of Aashura; when he inquired about it they said, "This is the day when Allah

drowned the Pharaoh and saved Moses, therefore we fast it to show our gratitude to Allah.' From this we can conclude that thanks are being given to Allah on a specific day for sending bounty or preventing indignity or harm." Al Suyuti then commented, "What bounty is greater than the bounty of the coming of this Prophet, the Prophet of Mercy, on that day?"

"This is regarding the basis of Mawlid. As for the activities, there should be only the things that express thankfulness to Allah, such as what has been previously mentioned: reciting Qu'ran, eating food, giving charity, reciting poetry praising the Prophet or on piety which moves hearts and drives them to do good and work for the Hereafter."

These are the derivations that those opposed to Mawlid call false conclusions and invalid analogies.
Imam Mohammed bin Abu Bakr Abdullah Al Qaisi Al Dimashqi.
Jami' Al Athar fi Mawlid, AlNabiy Al Mukhtar, Al lafz al ra'iq fi Mawlid khayr al khala'iq, and Mawlid al sadi fi Mawlid Al Hadi,