Letters To The Editor

Celebrating Mawlid

Shahid Malik Qadri

Rabi' al-Awwal 23, 14402018-12-01

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While Muslims must express their love for the noble Messenger (pbuh) in all circumstances, there is a strange phenomenon at work in Pakistan. In most major cities, people install lights in streets during the month of Rabi‘ al-Awwal as part of his birthday celebrations. Nothing wrong with that — if this is how people want to express their love. But two points are quite troubling: first, the electricity is stolen. Second, by blocking streets, it greatly inconveniences ordinary people.

Did the Prophet (pbuh) ever teach such habits (nastaghfir-allah)? Is the practice of stealing consistent with celebrating the Prophet’s birthday? Moreover, people who are doing such things show little change in their own behavior. They continue to cheat, lie, and inconvenience others. We should learn the appropriate lessons from the Prophet’s Sirah and not continue to indulge in the antisocial behavior that unfortunately has become far too common these days.

The noble Messenger (pbuh) would remove stones from the path so that nobody would trip over them. He was kind and gentle and people longed to be in his company. Many people who claim to love the Prophet demonstrate traits that repel others. We pray to Allah (swt) to give us proper guidance so that we can learn the correct lessons from the Prophet’s blessed life.

Shahid Malik Qadri
Via email

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