My parents are big on meelads, niyaz and such as it has been passed down thru my dad's side of the family.
So my parents would organize a meelad every year some time in Rab-ul-Awal or some other month depending on what was convenient for most folks. Initially it started out w/ naats/ haamds / hadith recitation. Gradually it turned into more zikr of Muhammad (saw) through hadith, speeches, and anecdotes. We mainly wanted to encourage the younger kids to present at "meelads" as then it would require them to research out difft hadith and stories of Muhammad (saw) and also learn about Islam in the process.
So something that started out as a desi version of the meelad slowly changed into an Islamic night of sorts where people made zikr of the Prophet (saw) and everyone would benefit from such a night of learning. Of course we had an occasional naat or two that a little kid would learn encouraged by her/his mom that everyone enjoyed :-)
It developed into a very nice yearly tradition which eventually faded as kids grew up.
if u have stopped practicing birthdays bcz u think its against islam, than beware that making something haram on you which is not is a sin in itself
its not about what you celebrate , birthdays or whatever event, its about what you do in it
lets say if you have a family dinner and cut a cake on birthdays than i dont think anythings wrong with that , but if you celebrate in an unislamic way it is wrong.
your acts and intentions are what count..not the dates and names (birthdays).
There is thing called "taqwa" according to which you "avoid" something which is doubtful to you. If celebtrating birthdays is doubtful for hareem01 and he avoids it then he is not committing "sin".
I am afraid this thread was not meant to discuss validity of Eid Milaad or lack thereof… but it seems like we want to discuss same thing again and again and again …
Here is my two bits
I bleieve there is nothign wrong in expression of joy and happiness on this day. Just like there is nothing wrong in expression of joy on any day of anyone’s life (wedding, birth, promotion etc)
And most suitable way to celebrate this day it to do pay gratitude to lord who bestowed his blessing on us.
Just like there is no need to convince other person that "look friend I am happy cuz of this, this … reason so you should also express joy ! "
But the other perosn is
And you go again and again trying invain to convince … Or opposite a person say that "*friend dont be happy cuz of bla bla reasons… * "
but I am
It is pure common sense that you dont go around and dictate people’s emotions
but
If you take it as religious ritual then I am sorry it is not an islamic ritual in any sense. Islamic rituals ( Prayers, Fast Haj, Nikah etc ) are well defined and documented. celebrating birthday is not there
In My opinion, this is expression of joy … and no predefined rituals are attached to it. Thats why different people observe it in different manner. best way to express yourself is to praise lord and his prophet and enlighten people about his life and teaching
It is not neccessary that all the people in your neighbourhood are rich … even if they are still it is recommended by prophet to share stuff with them regularly ..
**Blueberry - **As far as i know kids do it for fun and recreation, after kids in neighbourhood gather their pocket money or ask elders for contributions. just like kids make sand castle … they decorate it with their toys, like toy trains, car, fountains and many such things. they prepare it with lot of effort, but it lasts for few hours gets flat before the dawn of next day. They do it becuase it makes them happy, cuase mostly they are poor kids, they dont have limited means for entertainment. If you see such a pahari you will also feel happy
Ok mates…
enough said on the topic. I think it would be really hard for me at least to start explaining each and every point over here and tell you people “why and how” we should celebrate Milaad.
If you can read Urdu then please go through the following link and I hope that it will clarify things.
I do not know whether it is according to sharia or otherwise, the occasion of Eid-e-Millad was always a very great occasion during my childhood! And we eagerly awaited for this.
