The view that fasting on the day of a child’s birth is an innovation, because it was never taught or practiced by the Prophet Muhammad SAW, is incorrect and contradicts the interaction of the Salaf scholars with the Qur’an and Hadith.

Masani The birthday of a child is one of the noble Islamic traditions and has been carried out by Muslims since ancient times. Here are the legal bases and arguments:

Basically, what a mother does is pray for her child to find safety and happiness in this world and the hereafter. This needs to be done as recommended by Al-Qur’anul Karim so that Muslims always pray to Allah SWT to be blessed with pious families and offspring and to be leaders of pious people.

God said:

وَالَّذِينَ يَقُولُونَ رَبَّنَا حَبْ لَنَا مِنْ اَزْوَاجِنَا وَذ ُرِيَّاتِنَا قُرَةَ Aْيُنَا مِ اَزْاجِنَا وَذ ُرِيَّاتِنَا قُرَةَ أَعْيُنَي ِعَلَمْتَعِينَ ِمَا مًا (٧٤). Surah Al-Furqan.

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“And those who say: “O our Lord, grant us our wives and our descendants as a delight to (our) hearts, and make us priests for those who fear God” (QS. al-Furqan: 74) .

Explanation of Al-Quran Verses

The verse above explains one of the characteristics of a good servant of God, which is to always beseech God to be blessed with offspring and descendants who worship God and do not associate Him with anything and become leaders of pious and pious people. Al-Hafizh Ibn Kathir said in his Tafsir when interpreting the verse:

message: message: message َبِهِمْ وَذُرِّيَّاتِهِمْ مَنْ يُطِيْهُ وَيَعْبُدُهُ وَحدَهُ l God bless you: a ): Aَئِمًَّ يُقِبتَنَةِ هُداةً مُهْتَدِيْنَ وَدُعَةً إِلىَ ال ْخَيْرِ, فَأَحَبُّوْا اَ نْ تَكُوْنَ عِبَادَتُُهُمْ ِِعَادَتُهُمِ مَعلَهُمِ مَعلَبَلَةَ دِهِمْ و love يْرِرِمْ بِالنَّعِ, وَذَلكَ اَك ْثَرُ ثَوَابًا, وَأَحْسَنُ مَآَب ًا.

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“Allah intends with this verse for those who always ask God to bring forth from among their children and descendants those who obey Him and worship Him alone, there is no partner for Him… Whereas God said: “And make us imams for the pious. ”, is a leader who is an example of goodness, a guide who gets guidance, a call to goodness. They like if their worship continues with the worship of their children and descendants, and their guidance flows to others, and in this way there will be more rewards and better rewards.”

The Prophet SAW also said about the importance of having pious children.

عَنْ أَبِى هُريْرَةَ َنَّ رَسُولَ اللہْ َصَلَّمَ قَالَ « إِذَا َMATَ الإِنْسانُ انَقَطَعَ عَنْهُ عَمْلَ عَنْهُ عَمَلَ وَلَدٍ صَالِحٍ يَدْعُو ل َهُ». Muslim narration

“On the authority of Abu Hurairah, the Prophet SAW said: “When a person dies, his deeds cease except for three things. It is charity that continues to flow, beneficial knowledge and pious children who always pray for it.” (HR. Muslim [4310]).

The hadith above gives the message that it is important for a person to prepare before death, which is to increase charity, spread useful religious knowledge and educate children to be pious children who always pray for them. Among the efforts that must be made by parents, so that their children become pious children, is to always pray for them, because parents’ prayers for their children will always be answered by Allah SWT. The Prophet SAW said:

عَنا َلَيْهِ وَصَلَّمَ ( ثَلَاثُ دَعَوَاتٍ يُسْتَجَابُ لَهُنَّ لَ شَكَّ فِيْهِنَّ دَعْوَةُ المَدَعلَمْ ِ وَدَعْ وَةُ الْوَالِدِ لِوَلَدِهِ ). Narrated by Ibn Majah

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“Abu Hurairah said: “The Messenger of Allah, may God bless him and grant him peace, said: “There are three requests that Allah SWT will surely grant.” “That is the prayer of the persecuted, the prayer of the traveler and the prayer of a father for his son.”

This hadith was narrated by Ibnu Majah [3862]and rated as Hasan by Jalaluddin as-Suyuthi in al-Jami’us Shaghir and al-Albani, a Salafi-Wahhabi scholar, in his book Silsilatul Ahadith as-Sahihah [596].

In another hadith it is mentioned:

Insya Allah: Allah: Allah اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَصَلَّمَ يَقُوْلُ: « دَُاءُ الْوَالِدِ لِوَلَدِ Home

“Anas bin Malik said: “I heard the Messenger of God say: “The prayer of a father for his son is like the prayer of a prophet for his people.”

This hadith was narrated by al-Hafizh Abu Nu’aim in Tarikh Ashbihan (vol. I, p. 185), and ad-Dailami in Musnad al-Firdaus (vol. II, p. 212). [3037]), and weakened by Jalaluddin as-Suyuthi in al-Jami’us Shaghir.

The above hadith gives the message that a father’s prayer for his son will surely be answered by Allah. Here some may ask, what about a mother’s prayer? The scholars answered, if the father’s prayer for his son is answered by God, of course the mother’s prayer is answered by God more than the father’s prayer, because the child’s obligation to the mother is greater than the father’s, moreover, the mother’s love usually exceeds the father’s love (See, al -Imam at-Thibi, al-Kasyif ‘an Haqaiqis Sunan, p. 1717; al-Imam al-Munawi, Faidhul Qadir Syarhil Jami’is Shaghir, vol. III, p. 303; and ‘Ali al-Qari, Mirqatul Mafatih Syarh Misykati Mashabih, vol. V, p. 130).

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So, the way to make it easier for this prayer to be answered is to pray after doing charity. In historical records it has been written that Imam al-Ghazali’s father was actually not a great scholar. However, every time he attended religious studies, he always prayed that his son would become a pious and pious person. His prayer was finally answered, and al-Ghazali became a great scholar with the title hujjatulIslam.

Prioritizing good deeds, before praying, so that prayers are quickly answered, has been presented by scholars. Among others, al-Hafizh Ibn Hajar al-‘Asqallani said:

God willing, may God bless you. يُمْكِنُ أَنْ يُسْتَدَلَّ لَهُ بِمَا سَيَأْتِي قَرِيبًا مِنْ قِص َّةِ الثَّلَثَةِ أَصْحَابِ ْغَار

“(Before praying to God you should) draw closer to God with various virtues that you are able to do, because this has an influence on the acceptance of prayers as found in the hadith of the Prophet SAW. This can be postulated by the upcoming hadith about the story of three people trapped in a cave.” (Al-Hafizh Ibn Hajar al-‘Asqallani, al-Talkhikh al-Habir, vol. II, p. 305).

Scholars also explain about people whose prayers will be answered by Allah SWT. Sheikhul Islam Zakariya al-Ansari said:

God bless you, God bless you, God bless you, God bless you (شيخ الإسلام زكريا الانصاري, تلخيس الأزهية في احمك الأدعية, ص ٦٤).

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“Among the prayers that are answered are the prayers of a Muslim for his brother who is in another place, the prayer of a fasting person, a just leader, the oppressed, the elderly, a traveler. , pious people, people in critical situations like drowning people, children who are devoted to their parents, people who are sick and people who remember Allah until they fall asleep.” (Shaykhul Islam Zakariya al-Ansari, Talkhish al-Azhiyah fi Ahkam al-Ad’iyah, p. 64).

In the explanation above, it is explained that among the prayers that are answered are the prayers of those who are fasting and the prayers of the elderly. In addition to relying on previous hadiths, this is also based on the following words of the Prophet Muhammad SAW:

عَنا God-willing, God-willing: God: God: order of God: order: order َدَعْوَةُ الْمَظْلُوْمِ.

“Abu Hurairah RA said: “The Messenger of God SAW said: “Three people whose request will not be refused. It is the person who fasts when breaking the fast, the just leader and the prayer of the oppressed.”

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This hadith was narrated by al-Tirmidhi [3598] and decided it Hasan, and Ibn Majah [1752]and authenticated by Ibn Hibban (al-Ihsan, [3428]).

Messenger of Allah’s message

This hadith instructs that a person who wants his prayers to be answered should pray while fasting. A father, not to mention a mother, who wants his child to be a pious and successful child, should pray to God, because their prayers will surely be answered by God. Moreover, praying while fasting, of course the hope that is answered will be stronger and faster, based on the hadith above. Whether he fasts on the day of his child’s birth, or fasts on other days. Fasting on the day of the child’s birth, or on other days, to ask the child to become a pious and successful person, is not considered heresy, even recommended based on the generality of the hadiths above. In the ushul fiqh law it is explained:

InsyaAllah, insyaAllah, insyaAllah.

“Indeed, a verse or a hadith, if its generality covers a matter, then it shows that the matter is indeed prescribed.”

The hadith that explains the acceptance of the prayers of parents and the prayers of those who fast, is general and includes fasting and prayer on the day of the child’s birth and others, so prayer and fasting on that day are also prescribed, based on the generality of the above hadith. This is also the basis for the validity of charity (in the form of money, food and so on), followed by certain prayers, whether or not it coincides with birthdays, weddings and so on. God bless you.