al-Mawrid fi Amal al-Mawlid
- Author died
- 734 AH
- Editions
- Dar al-Asimah
Al-Mawrid fi Amal al-Mawlid (The Inflow on the Practice of the Mawlid) is a legal treatise written by the Maliki jurist Taj al-Din al-Fakihani (d. 734 AH / 1334 CE) analyzing and ruling against the practice of celebrating the Prophet’s birthday (Mawlid).
Background and Context
The work is also cited under the title al-Mawrid fi al-Kalam ala Amal al-Mawlid. Al-Fakihani composed the treatise in response to repeated inquiries submitted by a group of people concerning the gatherings held in the Islamic month of Rabi al-Awwal under the name of the Mawlid, asking whether the gathering possessed any foundational basis in Islamic law or constituted a religious innovation (bidʿah).
Contents and Legal Arguments
Al-Fakihani states at the outset that he knows of no basis for the Mawlid in the Quran or the Sunnah, nor was its practice reported from any of the scholars of the Muslim community who serve as exemplars in religion. He assesses the practice by subjecting it to the five normative legal rulings (al-aḥkām al-khamsah):
- It is not obligatory (wājib) by consensus.
- It is not recommended (mandūb), because a recommended act requires a legal demand from the Lawgiver, whereas the Mawlid was not sanctioned by the Shariah, nor was it practiced by the Companions, the Successors, or the scholars.
- It cannot be permissible (mubāḥ), because introducing an innovation into religion is not permissible by Muslim consensus.
Having excluded the first three categories, he concludes that the Mawlid falls between being disliked (makrūh) or strictly prohibited (muḥarram), and divides its actual practice into two forms:
- A gathering free of illicit acts: Where an individual finances a gathering from his personal funds solely for his family and companions to eat food together without committing sins. Al-Fakihani classifies this scenario as a disliked and reprehensible innovation (bidʿah makrūhah wa-shanāʿah), since none of the early righteous jurists performed it.
- A gathering involving illicit acts: Where wrongdoing enters the event, such as singing, the use of musical instruments (such as tambourines and pipes), mixing of men and women, and dancing. He designates this category as unambiguously forbidden (muḥarram).
Al-Fakihani concludes the treatise by noting that the month of Rabi al-Awwal is the month of the Prophet's birth as well as his death, meaning that rejoicing in it holds no greater justification than mourning.
Reception and Scholarly Responses
The treatise became one of the primary historical references for scholars arguing against the observance of the Mawlid. Jalal al-Din al-Suyuti quoted the entire text of al-Fakihani's work in his own treatise, Husn al-Maqsid fi Amal al-Mawlid (later incorporated into al-Hawi lil-Fatawi), where he disputed al-Fakihani's premise that innovations are confined only to the disliked and forbidden, argued for the category of commendable innovation (bidʿah ḥasanah), and offered scriptural analogies to support celebrating the event. Ibn Hajar al-Haytami similarly recorded al-Fakihani's critique of the Mawlid alongside al-Suyuti's detailed rebuttal.
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