Shaykh Muhammad Masum Naqshbandi(r.a)'s Opinion on Mawlid-un-Nabi (saws)

Shaykh Muhammad Masum Naqshbandi (r.a) d.2007

The Celebration of the Birthday of the Prophet (saws)

"The purpose of this Milad gathering is to celebrate a long-standing ceremony.It dates back to the first generations of Muslims, namely to the tabi'un (the successors-namely the generation who came after the companions (sahaba) of the Prophet (saws). It is a festival that has continued to be a means of reminding the community of Islam of the teachings,outstanding qualities and traditions of the Messenger (saws).And also it has been a way that Muslims have kept alive the awareness of both the tribulations of the noble Prophet of Islam (saws) as well as the sacrifices his companions endured in order to transmit the divine commands and instructions generation after generation all the way down to us "
"Since the subject we are discussing is the festival of the birthday of the Prophet (saws) and his veneration, it is not inappropriate to mention a few lines from the poetry of Shaykh Sa'di of Shiraz (r.a).

God praised and venerated you
Gabriel (humbly) kissed the ground to magnify you
The high heavens are ashamed before your stature
You were created when Adam was still but water and clay
From the beginning the origin of existence was you
Everything that came into being derived from you
I do not know what to say about you
since you are beyond whatever I can say about you
In confirming you, sufficient is the exaltedness of "Were
it not for you (Were it not for you,I would have not created the cosmos)
In praising you ,sufficient are (the surahs) Ta'Ha and Ya Sin
How can this defective S'adi describe you?
May blessings be upon you,O Prophet and peace!"

Excerpts from "The Celebration of the Birthday of the Prophet (saws)" published in Remembrance.(Proceedings of First Annual International Milad-un-Nabi Conference,1994,Chicago,Edited by Dr. A.A. Godlas )