Re: Milad-un-Nabiy Celebration (al-Mawlid) a well accepted good Islamic practice
Mufti Taqi Uthmani writes:
As I explained in my article on celebration of Eid-e-Milaad-un-Nabi, holding a meeting to discuss different aspects of the life of the Holy Prophet Sall-Allahu alayhi wa sallam is a very meritorious act for which the Muslims should strive to the best of their ability. But confining this discussion to the events of the birth of the Holy Prophet Sall-Allahu alayhi wa sallam and restricting it to a particular date and holding attendance at such meetings as necessary or obligatory for every Muslim renders this practice as bid’ah or innovation. Mostly the meetings of Maulid today are of this type. Therefore, contemporary Ulema of Deoband have declared it a bid’ah.
If the life of the Holy Prophet Sall-Allahu alayhi wa sallam is made subject of a meeting, and the meeting is free of the above mentioned defects, nobody can call it a bid’ah. It is in this context that some scholars of the past have allowed the practice.