Suhbah at a Private Residence
Yukhawalul amin wa yu `amalun khaain... but he said that, “In the Last Days the Trustworthy Ones will be accused to be not trustworthy, and they will consider the one not trustworthy as trustworthy!” Khaain is ‘the one who betrays,’ so you trust the one who betrays and the one who doesn’t betray, they speak against him. So this is what we are seeing today: the good ones become the bad ones and the bad ones become the good ones. Those who are holding our religion, not all of them but some of them, they are betraying us and betraying Prophet (s)! How do they betray the Prophet (s)? By not accepting what Ahlu ‘s-Sunnah wa ‘l-Jama`ah accepts.
Sayyidina Ibn Mas`ood (r) said:
ما رآه المسلمون حسنا ; فهو عند الله حسن , وما رآه المسلمون قبيحا ; فهو عند الله قبيح
Fa ma ra’ahuu Muslimoon hasanan fa-huwa `inda-Allaahi hasan wa ma ra’ahu’l-Muslimoon qabeehun fa-huwa `ind-Allahu qabeehun.[1]
And it is a principle of Islam: whatever the Muslims see as okay, Allah accepts it and it is okay. Mara`a muslimoona hasan fa huwa `inda-Llaahi hasan, whatever the mu’min sees as hasan, to do that is okay to Allah, it is good. In the recitation of the Mawlid of Prophet (s) [at the mention of] when his mother was giving birth, at that moment all Muslims around the world stand up as the beginning of the recitation of the Mawlid is to give respect to the name of Prophet (s).
In respect of a wali, if a wali is reciting the Mawlid, of course he will feel or he will sense the presence of Prophet (s), because it is very simple, as it is said in Islam:
عِنْدَ ذِكْرِ الصَّالِحِينَ تَنْزِلُ الرَّحْمَةُ
`Inda dhikr as-saaliheen tanzilu ’r-rahmah.
When the names of the pious are mentioned Allah’s Mercy descends.
(Sufyan ibn `Uyayana in Imam Ahmad’s Zuhd)
When you mention the name of pious people, rahmah will descend; it means when you mention the name of a wali or a saalih person you will feel goosebumps. What do you think about when you mention Prophet (s), do you think only rahmah comes? Allah will manifest whatever He wants at that moment! That is a principle in Islam that all followers of Ahlu ‘s-Sunnah wa ‘l-Jama`ah know, that when mentioning the name of a pious person rahmah descends. So when you mention the name of Prophet (s), what will descend? Angels will descend with rahmah.
Ibn Mas`ood (r) said, “Whatever the Muslim sees as good, it is good; whatever they see as not good is not good.”
They didn’t say, “It’s not good to stand up,” they say, “You must stand up.” That is why in every Mawlid book there is a praise with two letters in the book when Sayyida Amina (r) gave birth and it is written, “Mahal al-Qiyaam,” to remind you that you stand up there. If you don’t have a wali but you mention the name of Prophet (s), rahmah will descend. So you are standing to that rahmah:
وَمَا أَرْسَلْنَاكَ إِلَّا رَحْمَةً لِّلْعَالَمِينَ
Wa maa arsalnaaka illa rahmatan li 'l-`alameen.
(O Muhammad!) We have sent you not except as a Mercy for all the Worlds. (Surat al-Anbiyaa, 21:107)
“We have sent you as rahmah for human beings,” so when mentioning his (s) name you have to respect and stand up. In the time of the Ottoman Empire, with all the sultans that came, when the name of Prophet (s) was mentioned in their meetings the sultan would stand up in respect to the Sultan of Sultans, Sayyidina Muhammad (s)! The emperor himself would stand up! It is an issue of…why is there a Fatwa Committee? To come to this analysis and to come to the verdict of this issue. That is why the issue of standing up came to the Muslims through a discussion and analyzing of many ahadith together, as I mentioned now two or three hadiths to relate them together: mentioning the name of a pious person brings rahmah; with mentioning the name of Prophet mercy comes; and what Ibn Mas`ood (r) mentioned about when a Muslim sees a thing as good, then it is good with Allah (swt) and what is bad is bad to Allah. So to relate these together or put them together and you come to a conclusion that the majority of Muslims see it is fit and it is acceptable to stand up out of respect when you mention the name of Prophet (s).
So that is what is important, as some want to deviate from that principle, they don’t want that principle, but the majority of Muslims do it, so it means it is correct, as Prophet (s) said:
إن أمتي لا تجتمع على ضلالة فإذا رأيتم اختلافا فعليكم بالسواد الأعظم
My nation will not unite on misguidance, so if you see them differing, follow the great majority.
(Suyuti)
“You have to follow the majority of people.” If they agree on something or one thing, you follow it. So they agreed on the Mawlid of Prophet (s). Ibn Katheer was a student of Ibn Taymiyyah and Ibn Qayyim al-Jawziyya. Look at his book. Al-Bidaya wa ‘n-Nihaya in which he has a chapter that is almost 100 pages on the Mawlid of Prophet (s). Did you know that? Ask Shaykh Ahmad Saad. There is one whole chapter on the Mawlid of Prophet (s), Qisat al-Mawlid, and he didn’t call it “Seerah” like our friend who was asked to call it Seerah. I gave you the book yesterday without mentioning the names; it is not Seerah, it is Qisat al-Mawlid an-Nabawi, “The story of the Mawlid of the Prophet (s).” This is how Ibn Katheer has named it in his book, one full chapter, and he is a student of Ibn Taymiyyah.
So what do we say? We say that the majority of Muslims agreed and even Ibn Taymiyyah, Ibn Qayyim al-Jawziyya and Ibn Katheer mentioned it. If he didn’t hear it from his teacher, Ibn Taymiyyah, he would not have put it, is it not? Go and get that, it is many volumes, maybe twelve volumes and it is a nice book. So he mentioned the story of the Mawlid. So if you don’t like it or some people don’t like it, don’t accuse the other of deviation and then put a clip on their website of them standing up when they mention the name of Prophet (s). Of course in every Mawlid recited around the world, if someone reads it they will stand up for the name of Prophet (s), at least for the name of the Prophet (s); we don’t want to say it is for his presence, because they might say, “Oh, how do you know?” So for his name you have to stand up, and the Ottoman emperors, with all that they had done, when the name of Prophet (s) came they stood up. When the adhaan came, they stood up. When “Allahu Akbar, Allahu Akbar” was called, they stood up and that is respect for Allah (swt), that His Name is being mentioned!
Today what do we have of that discipline? It is no more, that discipline is forgotten. Now they want us not to stand when the name of Prophet (s) comes! May Allah (swt) forgive us and open their minds and our minds, their eyes and our eyes, and take that ghaflah, heedlessness from the hearts. I don’t know on the Day of Judgment when Allah will ask us, inshaa-Allah, yaa Rabbee, don’t freeze our tongues! If He asks us (we say), “Yaa Rabbee! We love Your Prophet (s), that is what we are coming with, nothing else!”
What do you want to come with? With your `amal? Your `amal is as if you are making food and putting sugar and salt; you don’t know if it is sour or sweet as it is mixed with good deeds and sins. So you come with what? What did the Bedouin say? “I come with my love for you, yaa Rasoolullah!” Say to Allah (swt), “Yaa Rabbee! I am coming for the love of Prophet (s).” That is why Prophet (s) answered the Bedouin:
يحشر المرء مع من أحب
Yuhshar al-maruw ma` man ahab.
Each person will be resurrected with the one he loves.
People will be resurrected with whom they love, so that is what is important. I don’t know…we believe that our `amal is not going to save us, but Allah’s Mercy and the love of Prophet (s) will save us. How are you going to face Prophet (s), you who deny everything on Prophet (s)? They deny that we must respect Prophet (s) and they tell you, “Don’t do excessive salawaat, it is shirk!” But angels are doing salwaat non-stop on Prophet (s), is it not? It is Allah’s Order:
إِنَّ اللَّهَ وَمَلَائِكَتَهُ يُصَلُّونَ عَلَى النَّبِيِّ يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا صَلُّوا عَلَيْهِ وَسَلِّمُوا تَسْلِيمًا
Inna-Llaaha wa malaa'ikatahu yusalloona `ala 'n-nabiyy, yaa ayyuha ’Lladheena aamanoo salloo `alayhi wa sallimoo tasleema.
Verily, Allah and His angels send praise on the Prophet. O Believers! Pray upon him and greet him with a worthy salutation. (Surat al-'Ahzaab, 33:56)
Allah didn’t say, “Salloo `alayh marra or marratayn,” (i.e. once or twice) but, “salloo `alayh,” continuous! They say, “You are exaggerating too much, you are making shirk! If you recite Salaah `ala ‘n-Nabi ten times it is enough for you, might be one time also is enough!” If you tell them you are reciting it a thousand times they say it is shirk! If you tell them you are doing 10,000, you are finished; they will slaughter you!
May Allah forgive us. May Allah bless us, and bless this house.
Bi hurmati 'l-habeeb, bi hurmati 'l-Fatihah.
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[1] In another riwayah: ما رآه المسلمون حسناً فهو عند الله حسن، وما رآه المسلمون سيئاً فهو عند الله سيء and ما رآه المسلمون حسنا فهو عند الله كذلك وما رآه المسلمون سيئا فهو عند الله كذلك يقصد بالمسلمين صحابة رسول الله قال وقد أجمع المسلمون