The Carnivals of Ignorance  

Like the worshipers of Christ, other people are just as capable of inventions or adapting traditions to suit their desires.

When the Hindu people of India became Muslims, many failed to shed the customs of their old religion. For example, 'Muslims' in the sub-continent are still
clinging on to the caste system and believing in the miraculous powers of saints. This belief is very similar to the worship of minor deities still practiced by Hindus today.

The Muslims who spread around Europe have also been influenced by, the host cultures, sometimes to their detriment. When their children are growing up, they want to give them 'equivalent' festivals so that they do not feel left out.

Something which possibly began with an innocent custom of sending greeting cards and celebrating the Eid festival 'just like Christmas' leads onto establishing traditions with far-reaching consequences.

The 'Milad-ul-Nabi' or the Birthday of the Prophet ceremony is one such tradition, which will have momentous impact on future generations. In a matter of decades this misguided tradition could easily become a major event, 'just like Christmas', and it would not be surprising if 'Muslims' who venerate the prophet today, become his worshippers tomorrow. The very thought is abhorrent but the probability is all too real.

The people who believe in one God are not free from danger of idolising the prophet. In fact even when they say: "We ultimately return to our Lord." Yet they set up idols from among His servants. Indeed the human being is unappreciative". (Al-Zukhruf 43:14-15)

The prophet Muhammad never celebrated his own birthday, so it is doubtful if he would have condoned other people ritualising it.

The observance of the prophet's birthday is no less than a show of ignorance. Ignorance of the prophet's teachings and ignorance of the Quran.

Although the Quran is a consistent and detailed source of information, many naive people give preference to self appointed leaders. The insincere leaders invent traditions and mislead people by using false Hadith, saying attributed to the prophet Muhammad, to support their views.

History shows that 'hadith' were only compiled about 200 years after the death of the prophet, and the vast majorities were rejected as fabrications by the compilers themselves. E today scholars accept t many of the 'hadith' were invented in order to justify some opinion or school of thought. The fact that some people accept false 'hadith' is recorded in the Quran. "Some people uphold vain hadith in order to divert others without knowledge from the path of God, and to create mockery out of it. These have deserved humiliating retribution". (Luqman 31.6)

The celebrations to mark the birth of Muhammad is festival which would have found no favour with the prophet The prophet, as God's messenger was commanded to act in accordance with the Quran: "Follow what is revealed to you from you Lord; God is cognizant of everything you do". (AL Ahzaab 33.2)

Muhammad is also commanded to confirm this: "Say ( Muhammad), "...l simply follow what is revealed to me...". (AL An'aam 6.50)
The prophet Muhammad obeyed the revelations of God and Muslims should do the same.

The Milad-ul-Nabi celebrations give prominence to or prophet, an action which the Quran explicitly forbids and commands Muslims to say:
"We make no distinction among any of His messengers". (Al-Baqarah 2.285). Furthermore, if Muslims make such a differentiation and compromise their belief by choosing a middle path between two faiths, such as adopting traditions, to suit their own culture, then they no longer remain Muslims:
"Those who disbelieve in God and His messengers, and make distinctions among God and His messengers, and say, "We believe in some and reject some, "and try to follow an in-between path: these really are disbelievers, and we have prepared the disbelievers a humiliating doom". (Al-Nisaa 4.150)

To make any discrimination amongst the prophets is to exalt one above the others, when in fact Muhammad was a "human being like us" (Al-Kahf 18:110) although as a prophet he was an "honoured servant of God" (Al-Anbyaa 21.26).

The Prophet Muhammad's mission was not different from the other messengers, in the following verse he is commanded to:
`Say: "I do not bring anything new; I bring the same message as previous messengers. I have no idea what will happen to me or you. I only follow the inspiration given to me. I am no more than a manifest warner". (Al-Ahqaf 46.9).

Chapter Al-Kahf verse 110 highlights that Muhammad is a human being. The verse ends by warning people to "never idolize anyone besides God". This is explicitly a caution for everyone no to exceed in their love for the prophet, and not to express their adoration in a manner which can be misconstrued as idolisation.

People who concede their faith or intermix it with another are really disbelievers. On judgement day God will say:
"Did the disbelievers think that they can get away with idolising My servants besides Me? We have prepared hell for the disbelievers as an abode." (Al-Kahf 18.102).

All the messengers had only one duty:
"They (the prophets) said, "Our Lord knows that we are messengers to you. Our sole function is to deliver the profound message." (Ya Seen 36.17).

In chapter Al-Jinn verse 72.23 even Muhammad was commanded to say: "my sole mission is to deliver the declaration from God and His messages."

Muslims must honour all messengers of God, and of course, due respect must be give to the prophet Muhammad.

This respect should be shown by accepting and practicing his teachings, which are contained in the Quran, God's message to mankind. The prophets, whose only pursuit is to deliver God's message intact, never asked to be venerated or idolised: "It is not possible for a human who God had blessed with the scripture and wisdom, and prophethood, that he should tell the people to idolise him besides God. Rather, he would say, "You shall devote your worship to the Lord, in accordance with the scripture that you study and preach." (Ali-Imran 3.79)

The majorities of the people follows invented traditions and are therefore misguided. The Quran verifies this in chapter six, Al-Anaam, verse 116, that most people only follow conjecture and imitating them will only divert us from the path of God.

Although the majority of people will fervently defend their belief in the Quran, their ignorance of its teachings becomes obvious. Because of their lack of knowledge they are grasping at false traditions. To accept unfounded customs as Islamic is to reject the Quran.

As mentioned in chapter Al-Furqan verse 30, the prophet Muhammad will show his disappointment in the hereafter, saying that his people have abandoned the Quran.

Muhammad was no less than one of God's most esteemed Messengers. And no more. The best we can do is to follow the examples set by him as clearly shown in the Quran.