Should Muslims celebrate Mawlid? Understanding the scholarly disagreement

Recognised Sunni authorities genuinely differ. Egypt’s Dar al-Ifta permits and commends commemoration through lawful activities. The Saudi scholar Shaykh ‘Abd al-‘Aziz ibn Baz rejects the annual observance as an introduced religious practice. Their disagreement concerns religious evidence and how it applies to a recurring occasion, not whether Muslims should love the Prophet ﷺ.

This article explains those approaches; it does not issue a RUKN fatwa or decide which authority you must follow. It concentrates on selected Sunni sources, rather than claiming to represent every Muslim tradition or every detail of the debate. For a ruling about your own participation, consult a qualified scholar you trust and describe the actual event.

First, what do we mean by Mawlid?

In this discussion, Mawlid means the commemoration of the birth of Prophet Muhammad ﷺ. It is commonly associated with Rabi‘ al-Awwal and, in many communities, its twelfth day. The exact birth date is disputed: even Egypt’s Dar al-Ifta, which supports commemoration, acknowledges disagreement about it. The twelfth should therefore not be presented as an uncontested historical certainty. Dar al-Ifta on the date

Three different questions can become tangled together. Is learning the seerah good? Is an annually recurring commemoration religiously legitimate? Are the activities at a particular gathering permissible? Answering the first does not automatically settle the second or third.

The annual observance also needs to be distinguished from the birth itself. Dar al-Ifta’s historical account locates commemorative gatherings in later Islamic centuries; Ibn Baz emphasises their absence from the practice of the earliest generations. It is misleading to describe the annual festival as an established practice of the Companions. This limited historical point does not, by itself, decide the legal disagreement: the authorities differ over what follows from that later development. Dar al-Ifta’s account; Ibn Baz’s argument

The shared foundation: love, blessings and following

The Qur’an commands believers to send blessings and greetings of peace upon the Prophet ﷺ. It also connects love of Allah with following the Prophet ﷺ. These are continuing religious commitments, not obligations restricted to a birthday anniversary. Qur’an 33:56; Qur’an 3:31

In an authentic report narrated by Anas, the Prophet ﷺ teaches that faith requires loving him more than one’s parent, child and all other people. This report appears in Sahih al-Bukhari, in the Book of Belief. It establishes the importance of love; it does not itself prescribe an annual celebration. Sahih al-Bukhari 15

Keeping that distinction clear helps prevent an unfair argument: declining Mawlid does not, by itself, establish a lack of love. Equally, a Muslim following a permissive scholarly opinion should not automatically be portrayed as indifferent to the Sunnah. The disagreement needs to be addressed through the reasoning of the authorities involved, rather than assumptions about people’s hearts.

Why some recognised authorities permit it

Egypt’s Dar al-Ifta regards lawful commemoration as an expression of gratitude, love and honour. Its reasoning connects the occasion with recognised good deeds rather than treating every local custom as acceptable. Its published discussion also identifies al-Suyuti’s Husn al-Maqsid fi ‘Amal al-Mawlid as an earlier work supporting commemoration. That is an attribution through Dar al-Ifta, not a claim that every earlier scholar agreed. Dar al-Ifta’s permissive position

A separate Dar al-Ifta ruling by Nasr Farid Wasil sets out practical boundaries. It calls for educational gatherings that teach Islamic history, character and guidance, with observance of Islamic teachings and avoidance of prohibited conduct. Permission is therefore qualified: a good purpose does not make everything done under the name of Mawlid acceptable. Dar al-Ifta’s conditions, fatwa 3622

Jordan’s General Iftaa Department gives another institutional example. Its fatwa describes Qur’an recitation, seerah, encouragement to follow religion, lawful praise and supplication. It treats food and sweets as optional additions, not conditions of commemoration. It also distinguishes the customary use of the word Eid for an anniversary from a legally prescribed festival with its own special rites. Jordan, fatwa 3155

Taken together, these rulings explain the conditional permissive approach: the gathering is understood as a way to encourage already recognised religious goods. That summary should not be mistaken for permission to invent obligatory rituals or guarantees of reward for particular customs. Nor does it show that all scholars accept the underlying classification.

Why other recognised scholars oppose it

Ibn Baz’s official fatwa takes a different starting point. He argues that the Prophet ﷺ, the rightly guided caliphs and the early generations did not institute this observance, despite their knowledge and devotion. In his assessment, establishing it as a recurring religious celebration is an impermissible innovation. His objection is to the observance itself, not merely misconduct that might accompany it. Ibn Baz’s ruling

This position invokes the authentic report narrated by ‘A’ishah in which the Prophet ﷺ rejects introducing into religion what does not belong to it. The report is found in Sahih al-Bukhari. Another authentic report, in Sahih Muslim’s account of sermons, warns against religious innovations. These texts supply a central principle in the opposing argument. Sahih al-Bukhari 2697; Sahih Muslim 867a

Importantly, Ibn Baz also addresses a proposed mosque gathering devoted to seerah on the anniversary, without making the day a holiday. He still rejects it as a Mawlid observance, while recommending teaching the birth and life of the Prophet ﷺ within ordinary seerah lessons in schools and mosques. Removing problematic entertainment or other prohibited conduct would therefore not resolve his underlying objection. Ibn Baz on an educational anniversary gathering

A fair account must preserve that distinction. The opposing position cannot accurately be reduced to opposition to bad behaviour at festivals, just as the permissive position cannot accurately be reduced to approval of whatever a festival happens to contain.

What does the Monday-fasting hadith establish?

One frequently cited report deserves particular care. Abu Qatadah narrates that the Prophet ﷺ was asked about fasting on Monday and replied: “It is (the day) when I was born and revelation was sent down to me.” The report is authentic, recorded in Sahih Muslim in the Book of Fasting. Its immediate subject is Monday fasting. Sahih Muslim 1162e

Dar al-Ifta draws from this a principle of expressing gratitude for the birth through lawful devotional acts. In its discussion of commemoration, it extends that reasoning to forms of gratitude such as feeding others and remembrance of Allah. Dar al-Ifta’s explanation

For readers, the important distinction is between the wording of the report and the legal inference drawn from it. The hadith expressly concerns a weekly fast. It does not expressly direct Muslims to establish an annual gathering on 12 Rabi‘ al-Awwal. Recognising that limit does not dismiss the permissive scholars’ argument; it identifies where interpretation enters. Similarly, quoting a general prohibition of innovation does not eliminate the need to explain why a particular gathering falls within that prohibition.

The core question is therefore how to classify the annual observance: as a permissible arrangement for established acts of devotion, or as a new religious occasion requiring specific evidence. This is an explanatory summary of the cited disagreement, not a new ruling. Presenting both arguments also does not claim that they are equally persuasive to every scholar, or that a numerical consensus exists on either side.

How to approach a real invitation

If you are deciding whether to attend, a useful question for a trusted scholar is more precise than “Is Mawlid allowed?” Explain what will happen, how the occasion is understood and what participation involves.

For example:

• Is it an annual religious observance, an ordinary seerah class, or a family meal associated with the date?
• What will be read, taught or recited? Are the reports and claims reliably sourced?
• Are particular practices presented as compulsory or as carrying a special reward without evidence?
• Will attendance interfere with obligatory prayer or other responsibilities?
• Are there particular activities that need their own ruling?

These are practical questions for consultation, not a checklist that turns a disputed observance into an agreed one. A scholar following Ibn Baz’s approach may object to the annual observance even when its contents are otherwise unobjectionable. A scholar following Dar al-Ifta’s approach will still need to consider whether the actual activities meet its conditions.

Accuracy also matters when sharing material. The Prophet ﷺ warned against deliberately attributing falsehood to him. An attractive quotation or moving story should not be circulated as hadith merely because it appears on a Mawlid poster or supports a preferred position. Ask for the source and its scholarly assessment. Sahih al-Bukhari 3461

Disagreement without contempt

The Qur’an prohibits ridicule, defamation and offensive nicknames. Those standards matter when a family or mosque differs over this issue. A discussion of Mawlid should not become a licence to accuse other Muslims of disbelief or to claim knowledge of their sincerity. Qur’an 49:11

Respect does not require pretending that the legal disagreement is unimportant. It means stating a position accurately, recognising whose scholarship one is following, and avoiding claims that go beyond the evidence. A person may decline an invitation courteously; an organiser can explain the scholarly guidance behind an event without presenting attendance as a test of love.

So, should Muslims celebrate Mawlid? The responsible answer depends on the scholarly authority followed and, for authorities permitting it, the nature of the observance. RUKN’s role here is to make those distinctions understandable and direct readers to qualified guidance, not to replace it. Whatever decision you reach, learning the seerah, sending salawat and following the guidance of the Prophet ﷺ belong throughout the year.