12 Rabiul Awwal the third month of the Islamic calendar is known as the birthday of Prophet Muhammad SAW. Muslims in different parts of the world are celebrating with a variety of religious activities. How is history?
There are various versions of the history of the tradition of Maulid Nabi SAW. The commemoration of the Prophet Muhammad SAW was mentioned first in the 8th century AD, when the birthplace of Prophet Muhammad SAW was converted into a mosque by Al-Khayzuran, the mother of the Abbasid Caliph's fifth, Harun ar-Rashid.
Another version states that the Prophet's Mawlid was first introduced by Abu Said al-Qakburi, an Irbil governor, in Iraq during the reign of Sultan Salahuddin Al-Ayyubi (1138-1193).
There is also the opinion that his idea came from Sultan Salahuddin. The goal is to awaken the love of the people to the Prophet Muhammad, and to increase the fighting spirit of the Muslims who were facing the Crusade against European Christian troops in the struggle for the city of Jerusalem.
So far there are still differences of opinion among Muslims regarding the tradition of Maulid Nabi celebration. Some are allowed and some are prohibited.
A number of scholars who allow, among others, Muhammad Alawi al-Maliki, Gibril Haddad, Zaid Shakir, and Yusuf al-Qaradawi. Those who call this celebration as heresy, among others, Muhammad Taqi Utsmani, Abd Al-Aziz bin Abdullah bin Baz.