Expressing Delight for the Birth of the Light

This exceptional work, Expressing Delight for the Birth of the Light ﷺ, stands as a luminous contribution to the contemporary discourse on devotional practice and Islamic legal theory.

Comprising two critical texts:

1. Ḥusn al-Maqṣid fī ʿAmal al-Mawlid by al-Imām al-Ḥāfiẓ Jalāl al-Dīn al-Suyūṭī,
2. and Iẓhār al-Surūr li Mawlid al-Nūr by Prof. Dr. Muḥammad bin Yaḥyā al-Ninowy

The volume synthesizes classical authority with modern precision. 

Shaykh al-Ninowy’s contribution is particularly noteworthy for its dual structure.

The first part offers a deeply rooted theoretical affirmation of the permissibility and ethical virtue of expressing joy for the Prophetic birth. Drawing upon Qur’anic ethos, the authentic Sunnah, and legal theory principles, the author clarifies that while the gatherings themselves are not wājib (obligatory) nor sunnah (emphatically encouraged) in fixed form, they fall firmly within the domain of the mubāḥ (neutrally permissible). The expression of joy, he argues, is not in format but in meaning — the expression of love and gratitude to Allah Ta’ala for sending His final Messenger

The second part is a methodical dismantling of the fourteen main objections raised against such gatherings and expressions of joy, especially those couched in appeals to bidʿah. Shaykh al-Ninowy does not merely rely on solid scholarly accepted principles but grounds every counterargument in rigorous application of ḥadīth sciences and uṣūl al-fiqh. His handling of the concepts of Bid’ah, tark, mustahdathāt, al-salaf, and ʿal- ibādāt tawqīfiyyah demonstrates remarkable nuance. He not only defines the terminologies but critiques their polemical weaponization by some modern movements.