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How Can Muslim Women Celebrate the Prophet’s Birthday?

11 September, 2024
Q Could you please tell me how Muslim women especially those living in majority non-Muslim countries can celebrate the Prophet’s birthday? Are there things to avoid?

Answer

Zeinab Al-`Alawani
11 September, 2024

In the Name of Allah, Most Gracious, Most Merciful.

All praise and thanks are due to Allah, and peace and blessings be upon His Messenger.

In this fatwa:

Muslim men and women should epitomize the example of the Prophet (peace be upon him) in their daily lives. Muslim women can celebrate the Prophet’s birthday by increasing dhikr and offering salutations upon the Prophet (peace be upon him), gathering Muslim ladies and educating them about the manners of the Prophet as well as by studying the Prophet’s seerah.

Responding to the question, Zainab Al-`Alwani, Instructor of fiqh and Islamic studies, Graduate School of Islamic and Social Sciences, Leesburg, Virginia, states:

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Celebrating the Prophet’s birthday is neither a Sunnah nor an obligation. However, people have got used to expressing their love for the Prophet (peace be upon him) in a moderate way on his birthday. If your intention is as such, then I may suggest some activities to do on that day.

Things to do on Prophet Muhammad’s birthday

1- Increase your dhikr and salutations for the Prophet (peace be upon him) on that day.

2- Gather Muslim ladies and educate them about the best manners of the Prophet (peace be upon him), how he was a role model for the whole mankind, how he treated women, etc.

3- Study the seerah of the Prophet (peace be upon him) with your family and choose certain incidents that relate to the present time.

4- Increase reading the Quran and duaa on that day.

While doing all these activities, you should never think they are Sunnah, but always entertain the feeling that you are remembering the greatest legacy the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) left behind and you are showing your love for him.

Things to avoid on Prophet Muhammad’s birthday

1- Any kind of innovation or exaggerating in expressing the love of the Prophet (peace be upon him).

2- Any song that would describe the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) with some shirk concepts.

3- Any violations to his Sunnah or teachings.

Allah Almighty knows best.

Editor’s note: This fatwa is from Ask the Scholar’s archive and was originally published at an earlier date.

Muslim women Seerah Prophet's Birthday
About Zeinab Al-`Alawani
Dr. Zainab Alwani is the Founding Director of the Islamic Studies program at Howard University School of Divinity (HUSD). She is the Associate Professor of Islamic Studies and the chair of the Religious Studies Master of Arts program at HUSD. She is an Islamic scholar, researcher and community activist. Dr. Alwani is also the first female jurist to serve on the board of the Fiqh Council of North America and currently serves as the Council’s Vice-Chair. She is a member and a board member of various national organizations including, Muslim Women Lawyers for Human Rights KARAMAH, and the American Academy of Religion. Dr. Alwani is currently serving as the Editor-in-Chief of the Journal of Islamic Faith and Practice. Her research focuses on Quranic studies, Islamic jurisprudence, the relationship between civil and religious law in the area of family, women and gender, and inter-religious relations.