Answer
Wa`alaykumas-salamuwa rahmatullahi wa barakatuh.
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:
1- As Muslims, after Allah, we love the Prophet (peace be upon him) more than anyone else. We can express this love in permissible ways. It has great benefits for Muslims in the present.
2- It is permissible to commemorate the event of Prophet Muhammad’s birthday by studying his biography and morals and teaching them to others, both Muslims and non-Muslims.
3- We should make use of this occasion to introduce the Prophet’s example and life to non-Muslims.
4- Furthermore, Muslims should perform optional good works that are always permitted in Islam.
5- However, even better would be to seize the opportunity to educate ourselves and others about the great benefactor, the Messenger of mercy and express love for him by following in his footsteps.
In his response to your question, Sheikh Ahmad Kutty, a senior lecturer and Islamic scholar at the Islamic Institute of Toronto, Ontario, Canada, states:
Practical Tips
You have raised an important issue. Let me list some of the things we can do in order to use this occasion positively to enhance the cause of Islam. We can:
1- Organize lectures, seminars in order to discuss the life and examples of the Prophet (peacebe upon him) to educate people of all levels.
2- Include permissible forms of Islamic art, such as nasheeds, songs, and poems that freely express our love for the Prophet.
3- Organize nasheed concerts.
4- Arrange competitions in essay or article writing, lectures, nasheeds, etc.
5- Organize a large scale campaign of feeding the poor and distributing foods to those in need.
6- Use the event to include everyone, all groups of Muslims would be invited, regardless of their sectarian divisions.
7- Organize outreach programs to educate our host communities about the mission of mercy that the Prophet represents.
Allah Almighty knows best.
Editor’s note: This fatwa is from Ask the Scholar’s archive and was originally published at an earlier date.