From the last 1400 years Muslims all over the World have been celebrating Milad-un-Nabi (SalallahoAlaiHeWasallam) with great Joy and Respect in one form or the other.

Commemorating Mehfil-e-Milad is according to Islam.

 Hazrat Muhammad Mustufa (SalallahoAlaiHeWasallam) is the Symbol of Islam and it is not possible to mention Islam without  mentioning the name  and the Sunnah of the Prophet Muhammad (SalallahoAlaiHeWasallam). Allah Ta'ala did a great favor to mankind by sending His  Habib Alaihe salam  towards the humanity as He declared in Quran:

TRANSLATION: “Allah did confer a great favor on the believers when He sent among them a Apostle from among themselves, rehearsing unto them the signs of Allah, sanctifying them, and instructing them in scripture and wisdom, While before that, they had been in manifest error.” (Al-Quran: Surah Ale-Imran, verse-164)

No where in Quran or in Hadiths it is mentioned that commemorating Milad-un-Nabi (salallahoalaihewasalam) on any day specially on twelve Rabi-Awaal is against Islam? On contrary, in Quran Allah Ta’ala Himself narrated the detail of Adam Alai Salam creation and the detail story of the birth of Hadrat Essa (Jesus) Alai Salam. Almost all the messengers of Allah Ta'ala has been foretelling their ummah the coming of the last Prophet Muhammad (salallahoalaihewasalam)

Muhammad (salallahoalaihewasalam) is a vital link between Allah Ta'ala and Mankind and Love of the Prophet Muhammad (salallahoalaihewasalam) is an essential part of one's Iman. Thus Allah Ta'ala commands Muslims to follow (Muhammad (salallahoalaihewasalam) in Quran and Tell His messenger to announce the condition to love Allah as TRANSLATION:"Say: O, people! if you do love Allah, follow me , Allah will love you and forgive your sins" (Surah Ale-Imran, Verse 31).  The direction is double sided. On the one side, One must follow the Holy Prophet (salallahoalaihewasalam)  if one loves Allah Almighty , while on the other, one must follow the Holy Prophet (salallahoalaihewasalam) if one wants to be loved by Allah Almighty. In other words, as far as love of Allah Almighty is concerned, the follow-up of Holy Prophet (salallahoalaihewasalam) is a pre-requisite. This is what Allah Almighty declares. Now listen to what the Holy Prophet (salallahoalaihewasalam) declares: "That is, none of you is Momin (believer) unless I am dearer to him than his parents, his children and all other persons." (Sahiul Bukhari). All other persons would naturally include all relatives, friends, authoroties etc.  It is this divine love that every Muslim Momin feels in their hearts and pay the highest respect to our beloved Prophet (salallahoalaihewasalam)  after Allah Ta'ala and when the month of Rabi-Awwal comes these Ashiq-e-Rasul start celebrating the birth of their master (Aaqa) Muhammad (salallahoalaihewasalam) with great joy in the form of Mehfil-e-Milad.

Unfortunately, among us there are those who mislead innocent Muslim brothers and sisters by calling Mehfil-e-Milad shirk, Bid'at etc, etc and prevent straightforward Muslims from commemorating the birthday of the holy prophet (salallahoalaihewasalam) and thus denied them from receiving great blessing of Allah Ta'ala. Also it has seen that those who object on celebrating birthday of our prophet (salallahoalaihewasalam) when it comes to their own children they forget all shirk and bid'at fatwa and celebrate their children's birthday or Aqeeqa willinglyand don't mind to attend friends or relatives birthdays.

Objective:

The purpose of this literature is to show our Muslim brothers and sisters that commencing Mehfil-e-Milad is not against the sharia but it is in accordance to the spirit of Islam. If some one does not like Mehfil-e-milad it does not mean that celebrating mehfil-e-Milad itself is wrong. In other words if someone does not practice Islam it does not mean Islam itself is bad.

A typical Mehfil-e-Milad consist of the following events. The sequence of events may vary but almost all Milad-un-Nabi (salallahoalaihewasalam) gathering consist of all or majority of the following events. 

·        Recitation of Quran-ul-Hakeem

         Hamd-e-Allah Ta'ala

         Naat-e-Rasul (salallahoalaihewasalam)

·        Speeches on the life of the Prophet Muhammad (salallahoalaihewasalam)

         Salat (darood)-o-Salam

·         Dua

          Distribution of sweets or Dinner 

Now I will Analyze each event and see if it is in accordance to Islam or not. The objective is to prove,  if an individual event is in accordance to the Shariah then the whole event collectively is also permissible?

Recitation of Quran-ul-Hakeem

Nobody has any objection in reading or recitation of the Holy Quran.  

Hamd-e-Allah-Ta'ala

Hamd is a way to praise the Almighty Allah Subhana Ta'ala. Every particle in the universe say Tasbeeh of Allah Ta'ala. Zikr-e-Allah is peace of heart for the momin. Nobody has any objection on it.

 Naat-e-Rasul (salallahoalaihewasalam)

  Naat-e-Rasul (salallahoalaihewasalam) is a way to praise our beloved prophet (salallahoalaihewasalam) in the form of poetry or rhymes. Praising Rasulullah  (salallahoalaihewasalam) is not  shirk or bid'at.

Let see how Quran-ul-Hakeem praises the Sahib-e-Quran (salallahoalaihewasalam), therefore we find the following verses in the honor and praise of Muhammad Mustufa (salallahoalaihewasalam) in the Holy Quran: 

·        “And We have exalted for you your remembrance”
(Surah Al-InShirah, V-4)

·        “Undoubtedly, Allah and His Angels send blessings on the prophet the communicator of unseen news, O you who believe! send upon him blessings and salute him fully well in abundance”      
(Surah Al-Ahzab, V-56)

·        “I have sent you as a blessing for the whole Universe”
(Quran Surah #21:107)

        "The Prophet is nearer to his lovers (momin) than their own souls"
(Quran Surah #33:6)

·        "He who obeys the Messenger, indeed he obeys Allah"
(surah: Nisa, verse:80)

·       “Undoubtedly, you have the best in the following of the Messenger,” 
(Surah Al-Ahzab, V-21)

·        "Many a time I (Almighty) have seen, you turn your face towards sky. I will make you turn towards a qiblah (direcetion) that will please you"
(Quran Surah #2:144)

·        "He stood on the uppermost horizon; then drawing near; and was at a distance of but two bows' length or even closer"
(Quran Surah #53:7-9)

·        "Allah did confer a great favour on the believers when He sent among them an Apostle from among themselves."
(Quran Surah #33:56)

·        "Raise not your voice above the voice of the Prophet. Lest your labors should come to nothing without your knowledge"
(Quran Surah #49:2)

·        “Whatever the Apostle gives you accept it; and whatever he forbids you, refrain from. And fear Allah, for Allah is strict in punisment”

 My dear Muslims these are the few verses from the Quran where Allah Ta'ala honors and praises His most beautiful creation Muhammad (salallahoalaihewasalam). The Quran is full of such  Praises and honors for Rasulallah (salallahoalaihewasalam). There are several hadiths where Rasulallah (salallahoalaihewasalam) himself ordered Hasan bin Thabit (radi allah anho) to read poetry in his praise. I wonder what munkir-e-Milad would  be thinking of Allah Ta'ala and Rasulallah now?, but we the lover of Rasulallah (salallahoalaihewasalam) believe that praising anybody within the boundary of Shariah is in fact indirectly praising  Allah Ta'ala who is the creator of all universe. The example is like that if somebody praises a building for its beautiful construction that means indirectly he is also praising the people who were behind this construction i.e. the architect, the designer, the builder etc. If praising somebody is sin or bid'at or shirk then (God forgive) every one of us is committing this sin by praising one's father, mother, son, daughter, teacher, leader or anybody in any aspect. Finally if Munkir-e-Milad proves where in Quran  Allah has drawn a line for praising His prophet (salallahoalaihewasalam), we will stop there but instead Quran said about Rasulallah (salallahoalaihewasalam)  “And We have exalted for you your remembrance” (Surah Al-InShirah, V-4) When Allah Ta'ala raises the remembrance of prophet Muhammad (salallahoalaihewasalam) then who on Earth has power to lower it.

Speeches on the life of Prophet (salallahoalaihewasalam)

  Our beloved prophet Muhammad Mustufa (salallahoalaihewasalam) is the symbol of Islam. No one can talk about Islam without mentioning his name mubarak (salallahoalaihewasalam). He is a vital link between Allah Ta'ala and mankind. No matter how many times we say LA-ILAHA ILLA-ALLAH we will not be a Muslim until and unless we say MUHHAMADUR RASUL ALLAH, even our namaz (which is solely for Allah Ta'ala) will not be completed until we say "ASSALAMO ALAIKA AIYOHUN NABI" in tashhud (while reciting Attaiyaat) , when Allah Ta'ala did not separate His Habib's (salallahoalaihewasalam) name from His name then who are we to by pass him (salallahoalaihewasalam).  If Muhammad (salallahoalaihewasalam) had not come in this world then we would have no Islam, no Namaz, no Zakat, no Ramadan, no kabba and no Hajj. That is why Allah Ta'ala declared in Quran that "Allah did confer a great favour on the believers when He sent among them an Apostle from among themselves, rehearsing unto them the signs of Allah, sanctifying them, and instructing them in scripture and wisdom, while, before that, they had been in manifest error" (Surah: Ale-Imran, verse:164). and ordered believers to rejoice on His bounty as in this verse " And the bounty of your Lord, recite and proclaim" (surah:Ad-Doha, verse:11). Al-hamdolillah, for us believers,  Muhammad (salallahoalaihewasalam) is the greatest bounty (Nemat) (gift) of all and Allah orders believers to rejoice on His bounty therefore we celebrate Eid-e-milad-un-Nabi  (salallahoalaihewasalam)  gatherings and spread the words of Islam by shading light on various aspect of the life of our beloved prophet (salallahoalaihewasalam). Indeed for us believers, Eid-Milad-un-nabi (salallahoalaihewasalam) is a real Eid(joy) because without Muhammad (salallahoalaihewasalam)  there would have been no Eid-ul-fitr or Eid-ul-Adha either! 

Salat (Darood) - o - Salam

In the Quran Allah Ta'ala commands believers to send Salat and Salam to  His Habib Muhammad Mustufa  (salallahoalaihewasalam) as stated in this verse "Undoubtedly, Allah and His Angels send blessings on the prophet the communicator of unseen news, O' you who believe! send upon him blessings and salute him fully well in abundance”  (Surah Al-Ahzab, V-56). In a hadith mubarka  "AbuMas'ud al-Ansari who was shown the call (for prayer in a dream)--narrated it on the authority of Mas'ud al-Ansari who said: We were sitting in the company of Sa'd ibn Ubadah when the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) came to us. Bashir ibn Sa'd said: Allah has commanded us to bless you, Messenger of Allah! But how should we bless you?  He (the narrator) said: The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) kept quiet (and we were so much perturbed over his silence) that we wished we had not asked him.  The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) then said: (For blessing me) say: "O Allah, bless Muhammad and the members of his household as Thou didst bless the members of Ibrahim's household. Grant favours to Muhammad and the members of his household as thou didst grant favours to the members of the household of Ibrahim in the world. Thou art indeed Praiseworthy and Glorious"; and salutation which you know." (Sahi Muslim). In another hadith Allah's Messenger (peace be upon him) said, "Invoke many blessings on me on Friday for it is witnessed. The angels are present on it, and no one will invoke a blessing on me without his blessing being submitted to me till he stops." I asked whether that applied also after his death, and he replied, "Allah has prohibited the Earth from consuming the bodies of the prophets; so Allah's prophet is alive (in their graves) and given provision."(Al-Tirmizi)

Well, the above verse of Quran  and hadiths leaves no choice for Munkir-e-Milad but to send Salat wa Salam on our master Muhammad (salallahoalaihewasalam). But because of animosity toward lovers of Rasulallah (salallahoalaihewasalam), the Munkir-e-Milad object on sending Salat wa salam to our beloved prophet (salallahoalaihewasalam) in standing position and loudly. In reply, we say that no where in Quran or Hadiths, Allah or His Messenger (salallahoalaihewasalam) mentioned in what position we have to send Salat wa Salam and how loud?. It is entirely upto believers in what position and volume he or she invokes salat-o-salam, whether while sitting or laying on bed/floor or standing still or walking, it does not matter. Since we respect our beloved prophet (salallahoalaihewasalam) the most after Allah Ta'ala, it is the demand of this respect that we stand up and send Salat-o-Salam to the Prophet (salallahoalaihewasalam) 

Dua

There are categories of Munkir-e-Milad, some believe in Dua, some not and some have become so advanced in their beliefs that they say since Allah Ta'ala knows every things there is no need for Dua. (Astagfirullah). On the contrary, in Quran Allah ta'ala commands the believers to make Dua as stated in the following verses. "When my servants ask thee concerning Me, I am indeed close (to  them): I litsen to the prayer (dua) of every suppliant when he calleth on Me" (surah: baqra, verse:186). In another verse Allah Ta'ala said "Call on your Lord with humility and in private" (surah Al-Ahraaf, verse 55). Even our beloved Prophet (salallahoalaihewasalam), who is free of all kinds of sins and faults, used to make dua all the time. Are we superior than our master Muhammad (salallahoalaihewasalam) that we feel no need of any dua? Let us see what Allah Ta'ala said about those arrogant and ignorant  people who feel they do not need to invoke any dua, thus Allah said in surah Momin (Gafir) "And your Lord says: Call on Me; I will answer your (prayer): But those who are too arrogant  to serve Me will surely find themselves in Hell - in humiliation!". (surah: Momin, verse 60). In another place Allah said "When the suffering reached them from Us, why then did they not learn humility? On the contrary their hearts became hardened, and Satan made their (sinfull) acts seem alluring to them." (surah:Al-Inaam, verse 43). 

Distribution of sweets or dinner

I don't know what kind of objection Munkir-e-Milad have on distribution of sweets or eating dinner. Don't they eat in  Weddings or Walimas or Aqeeqas or Fund raising dinners or Birthdays or Aameen or in any other parties? The Mehfil-e-Milad can also be commemorated without any sweet distribution or having dinner. This is not a must part of the Mehfil, if one cannot afford or does not want to serve food, he or she can celebrate Milad-un-Nabi without serving food to their guests. The distribution of sweets or dinner is carried out as a token of love. The dinner is served just for the convenience of guests so that they don't have to cook at 11 or 12 midnight when they get back home.  

Conclusion

My dear Muslim brothers and sisters, the above explanation from Quran and Hadees for each component of the Mehfil-e-Milad clearly proves that holding such kind of gathering is not against Islam but actually it is accordance to the very spirit of Islam where Muslim brothers and sisters get to gather and listen words of Allah Ta'ala and His habib (salallahoalaihewasalam).

In the same token other gatherings like Lailatul Qadr, Shab-e-Barat , Shab-e-Meraj , Shab-e-Qadar , Geewarwhee-Shareef  etc where speeches on Allah and His messenger (salallahoalaihewasalam) are given, are gathering of khair  (virtues) and should be attended by all Muslims. If some one does not celebrate these gathering then he would not receive the barakah (blessings) of these mehfils but he should not  stop others from attending these mehfils and he should not preach against these mehfils and should not label these gathering as shirk, kufr or bid'at because all these gatherings are gatherings of Khair where Zikr of Allah, Zikr of Rasulallah and Seerat of Aulia-e-Allah are delivered.

This is the job of Satan and his companions to stop people from attending these kinds of blessed gatherings and called these mehfils bid'ats.

Three major objections regarding mehfil-i-milad

Objection #1
Mehfil-e-Milad was not in the days of the Prophet (salallahoalaihewasalam) therefore it is a Bid'at  (i.e. new innovation).

Objection #2
Suadi Arabia does not celebrate Milad-un-Nabi therefore it is wrong to celebrate Mehfil-e-Milad. This is an Indian thing.

Ojection # 3 12^th Rabiawwal is also the day when Muhammad (salallahoalaihewasalam) passed away, therefore it is the day of mourning and not of celebration.

My dear friends, any simple person with lack of religious knowledge can easily be deceived by the above three objections and fall into Munkir-e-Milad trap. I will refute the above three objections so that when Munkir-e-Milad try next time to mislead our innocent Muslim brothers and sisters they won't fall into their web. There are hundreds of books already written by the scholars of Ahle-Sunnat-wal-Jamat on topics of Bid'at and Celebrating Milad-un-Nabi, I am not going to write another book on Bid'at but to give you just basic definitions and examples and leave upto you to decide whether the claim of munkir-e-Milad is applied on Mehfil-e-Milad or not?.

REPLY TO OBJECTION #1
Mehfil-e-Milad was not in the days of the Prophet (salallahoalaihewasalam) therefore it is a Bid'at  (i.e. new innovation).

Mehfil-e-Milad was always there, today may be the way we celebrate is different but the message is the same that is to spread the teachings of Quran and Sunnah. In the days of the Prophet(salallahoalaihewasalam) and Sahaba Kiraam (Radi-allah-anhum) every day was like celebrating Mehfil-e-Milad (Quran and Sunnah Mehfils). 

Rasulallah (salallahoalaihewasalam) himself celebrated his own birthday by fasting on every Monday. When he was asked why he fasts every Monday? Prophet (salallahoalaihewasalam) replied " I was born on Monday and Quran was also revealed on that day " (Hadith: Sahi-Muslim)

Those who opposed to Mehfil-e-Milad reference a hadees from Miskhat Shareef in which the Prophet (salallahoalaihewasalam) said "Whosoever introduces a new belief in our religion which contradicts with it is rejected."  He also said "Beware of innovations, for every innovation (Kullu Bid'at) is misguidance."  But those hypocrate Munkir-e-Milad never cite another hadees from the same book which is in favour of good innovations, thus a Hadith in Miskhat under Babul-I'lm says: "He who sets a good precedent in Islam, there is reward for him for this (act of goodness) and a reward for him also who acts according to it subsequently, without any deduction from their rewards and he who sets in Islam an evil precedent there is upon him the burden of that, and the burden of him also who acts upon it subsequently, without any deduction from their burdens." From this Hadith we see that to introduce a nice way in Islam which is in accordance with the Holy Quran and Sunnah will induce rewards and to do vice versa will provoke punishment.

If we assume that every new innovation is Bid'at then what the munkir-e-Milad has to say about the following new innovations which were not existed at the time of Prophet (salallahoalaihewasalam).

·        Compilation of Quran

     ·        Adding first call to prayer on friday

              Taraveeh prayer with jamaat

              Compilation of books of hadiths

    and so on ... 

SOME GOOD BID'ATS IN OUR DAILY RELIGIOUS ACTIVITIES (BID'AT-E-HASANA)

We will now see that no worship in Islam is void of Bid'at-e-Hasana.

IMAAN: Every Muslim child is taught Imaan-e-Mujmal and Imaan-e-Mufassal whereas no such categories or names for Imaan were in practice in the age of the Holy Prophet (sallal laahu alaihi wasallam) or the three blessed generations after him.(*)

(*) By the three blessed generations we mean the ages of the Sahaba, the Tabe'een and the Tab'e Tabe'een.

KALIMAH: Every Muslim memorises six Kalimahs. These six Kalimahs, their enumeration and their sequence that, this is the first Kalimah, this the second, etc. are all Bid'ats which were not there in the commencing period of Islam.

QURAN: To divide the Holy Quran into thirty Paras (sections) and to divide the Paras into Rukus, to put the I'raab (expressions such as Zabbar, Zer, Pesh) in the Holy Quran and to have the Holy Book printed by offset in the press are Bid'ats which could not be traced in the commencing era of Islam.

HADITH: To collect the Hadith in book form and state the chain or narrators and to characterise the Hadiths by saying this is Sahih, this is Hassan or Da'if, Mu'addaal or Mudallas, etc. and to establish the commands with the help of Hadith such as Makruh, Mustahab, etc. are all appreciable Bid'ats which were not in practice in the blessed age of Rasulullah (sallal laahu alaihi wasallam).

PRINCIPLES OF HADITH (USUL-E-HADITH):

This whole branch of knowledge along with its rules is itself Bid'at Hasana.

FIQH: Now a days all the matters in our daily life depend upon this knowledge because it contains the rules and commands for everything which may come across our lives, but this field of knowledge also is Bid'at Hasana.

USUL FIQH AND I'LM-E-KALAAM: These two branches of knowledge too, along with their principles and injunctions are all Bid'at Hasana.

SALAAT: It is Bid'at-e-Hasana to intend for praying Salaat by proclaiming the intention loudly or to pray the 20 Rakaah Tarawih prayer in congregation during the Holy Month of Ramadaan.

FASTING: At the time of breaking fast (Iftaar) to say the Du'a: "O Allah, for Thee have I Fasted and in Thee I believe and upon Thee I trust and with the food given by Thee I open my fast" and to intend for fasting by saying this Du'a audibly at the time of SEHRI: "O Allah, I intend to fast for Thy sake tomorrow" are all Bid'at Hasana.

ZAKAAT: To give Zakaat with the currency which is currently used such as coins and paper notes is Bid'at because these were not in vogue in the commencing centuries of Islam.

HAJJ: To perform Hajj by travelling in aeroplanes, ships, cars, lorries, buses and to go to the field of Arafaat by car or bus are all Bid'ats because such conveyances had not been invented in that age.

 

When Bid'at has been introduced in such things as Imaan and Kalimah then how will we succeed in abstaining from it. So we will have to agree that all Bid'ats are not Haraam and only those Bid'ats are Haraam which contradict the Kitaab and Sunnah.

 BID'AT IN WORDLY AFFAIRS: Now a days we see around us such new inventions that could not be found in the first three centuries of Islam and we got so much accustomed to them that life would be very difficult without them. Everyone is compelled to use these things such as trains, cars, aeroplanes, watches, electricity, and hundreds of other things, without which we cannot imagine how life would be. But all these things are Bid'ats and cannot be traced back to the blessed age of Rasulullah (sallal laahu alaihi wasallam) or the Sahaba.

What the Munkir-e-Milad has to say about these modern day bid'at which are now become the part of our religious activities for example:

·        Use of Loud Speakers and Microphone for conducting Daily and Friday prayers and delivering speeches.

·        Organizing Fund Raising dinners in Hotels for building Mosques, Madrassa etc. Why do not they issue fatwa of shirk, Kufr and Bid'at for practicing the above new innovations in Islam. Please don't tell me you Munkir-e-Milad don't use Loud speaker and don't organize or attend Fund Raising Dinners.

SOME MODERN DAY BAD BID'ATS (BID'AT-E-SAI'YYA) WHICH ARE AGAINST ISLAM AND SHOULD BE AVOIDED BUT HAS BEEN PRACTICED BY MUNKIR-E-MILAD. UNFORTUNATELY SOME OF OUR INNOCENT MUSLIMS FALLS INTO THEIR TRAP! 

·        Offering prayers with head's uncovered i.e not wearing cap while offering prayers.

·        Offering only fard part of the Namaz.

·        Make no Dua after Namaz.

·        Anounce the beginning of Ramadan, Eid-ul-Fitr, Eid-ul-Adha in advance without sighting the Moon.

·        Eating Haram burgers etc by invoking Bismillah on it so that it becomes halal. 

Each of the above action is a new bad innovation in Islam i.e. Bid'at-e-Sai'yya, because by adopting these actions one is not only introducing new innovation in Islam but also at the same time he is abolishing the Sunnah of our Prophet (salallahoalaihewasalam)  which in fact is direct violation of the commands of Allah Ta'ala.

REPLY TO OBJECTION #2
Suadi Arabia does not celebrate Milad-un-Nabi therefore it is wrong to celebrate Mehfil-e-Milad. This is an Indian thing.

This is very unfortunate that in wordly affairs we are mentally impressed by the Westerners and in religious affairs we are impressed by the Arabs. Quran-ul-Hakeem has been revealed in Arabic and coincidentally Saudi Arabians speaks Arabic and our Holy places are in Suadi Arabia, We have natural respect for these but it does not mean that they are the only champions or authority of Islam. On the contrary, no where in the Quran and Hadees, Allah and His Rasul  said that Muslims have to follow Saudia Arabia or Arabs or non-Arabs. Every where in Quran and Hadees it is stressed on Muslims to follow Allah and the Sunnah of our beloved prophet (salallahoalaihewasalam). Also don't forget the last sermon of our master Muhammad (salallahoalaihewasalam) delivered in the Hajj-ul-wida where he (salallahoalaihewasalam) stated that Arabs has no superiority over non-Arabs and Non-Arabs have no Superiority over Arabs, You are all equal except by piety and good action. It is the present day Saudi Arabia's goverment  does not celebrate the birth of our Prophet (salallahoalaihewasalam). Otherwise if you  go just beyond 75 years back  in history of Saudi Arab when it was Hijaz-al-Muqaddas (in the period of Ottoman empires) you will find how enthusiastically Arabs of that time had been celebrated Milad-un-Nabi (salallahoalaihewasalam)  Even now a days except Saudi Arabia and its few ally, the whole Arab world Egypt, Syria, Lebanon, Iraq, Jordan, Morocco, Algeria, Nigeria, Tunisia, Yemen, Sudan, Libya etc commemorate Milad-un-Nabi (salallahoalaihewasalam) one way or the another. Allah has ordered us to follow His messenger (salallahoalaihewasalam) and not to follow any particular country.

 REPLY TO OBJECTION #3
12^th Rabiawwal is also the day when Muhammad (salallahoalaihewasalam) passed away, therefore it is the day of mourning and not of celebration.

From last fourteen hundred years scholars of Islam from all schools of thought has a concenses that the birth date of our beloved prophet Muhammad (salallahoalaihewasalam) is 12^th of Rabi-awwal. However, there is a disagreement on the date when Rasulallah (salallahoalaihewasalam) passed away. Some says 2^nd, some says 3rd RabiAwwal. So the date of birth is not the same as the date of his departure. Therefore 12^th of Rabi-Awwal is not the day of Mourning but it is the day of celebration. Lets for a second if we assume that 12^th rabiawwal is also the date when prophet Muhammad (salallahoalaihewasalam) died, then every muslim knows that in Islam Mourning on death is only allowed for three days (see hadith books for reference) and it is now more than fourteen hundred years since our prophet (salallahoalaihewasalam) has gone , so we should celebrate his bithday instead of mourning. Also Rasulallah (salallahoalaihewasalam) said in a hadith that his coming is blessing and his leaving is also blessing. His leaving is also blessing because of the fact that every Friday the report of his ummat is being presented to him. Rasulallah smiles when he sees good deeds of his ummah and make dua of forgiveness to Allah Ta'ala when he sees bad deeds of his ummah.

And finally, it is the belief of Islam that prophets of Allah are alive in their graves and receives all the blessings of Allah ta'ala. (don't compare the wordly life to that in the grave. It is totally different). For me our Kalima LA-ILAHA-ILLA-ALLAH, MUHAMMADUR-RASUL-ULLAH. (i.e. There is no god but Allah, Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah). Is enough to believe that our Prophet Muhammad (salallahoalaihewasalam) is alive in his grave because "Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah"  and not  "Muhammad was the Messenger of Allah" because you don’t use "is" for dead person. For the sake of our readers here are some references from Quran and Hadiths which proves that  the hayat-un-Nabi (salallahoalaihewasalam).

 ·        “I have sent you as a blessing for the whole Universe”
(Quran Surah #21:107)
Comment: If a person is dead then how come he will do blessing. He has to be alive in order to do blessing. Muhammad (salallahoalaihewasalam) is "Rehmatullil Alameen" therfore He is alive otherwise this is contradicting to Quran.

·        Allah's Messenger (peace be upon him) said, "Invoke many blessings on me on Friday for it is witnessed. The angels are present on it, and no one will invoke a blessing on me without his blessing being submitted to me till he stops." I asked whether that applied also after his death, and he replied, "Allah has prohibited the Earth from consuming the bodies of the prophets; so Allah's prophet is alive (in their graves) and given provision."(Al-Tirmizi)

·        Hadith: "After my death, visiting my shrine is like visiting me when I am alive"

·        Hadith: "A person who performs hajj and then visits my grave will have visited me when I was alive"