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Jazakallah fr replyng. I really respect that yu have done an MA in Islamic Studies. But the people who discuss aqeedah in this much detail are the people who have spent their childhood and most of their adulthood studying the Quran and Sunnah in detail and are basing their understanding on the fiqh of the 4 imaams.

Im sure you will know all this,,,but To give rulings in islam you must 1. Learn arabic in the classical form, it is haraam to draw on 'translations', 2) study kalamallah …because one word in the Quran may be interpreted in several ways. And even then we would still not fully grasp the meaning except those on whom Allah swt has granted that knowledge. 3) You need to understand, and be able to fully implement, all the criteria relating to reaching a ruling. And then don't forget to reach that ruling, you also need to have developed a full understanding of hadith.

In the process of doing all this learning you need to be fulfilling your fard. You mentioned Dr Zakir Naik, with much respect to the speaker…to my knowledge he does not follow any of the four imaams of the ahle sunnah wal jamah. So where is his knowledge derived from, and which scholars has is he sat in the company of learned from…? What was the chain of knowledge that was transferred person to person. Basically from where is he making these rulings?

Look at the blessed sahaba. There were 124,000 sahaba…but only 150 of the sahaba gave rulings about specific things. Why? Because of the complexity f the Quran and Hadith. There reverence for the deen prevented them making rulings with being entirely 100% positive. Bear in mind sahaba, Taabin, and Taba Taabin were from the first three generations blessed by the prophet SAW. The Imaams were from the Taba Taabin. Bear in mind also, the hadith of the prophet which narrates the first generations will be the best of generations. The last generations will be amongst the worst, we are amongst the last generations. How many people in this worst generation are in a real position to make rulings. I am saying this to highlight I full well understand that this generation is not in a position to interpret and create a new 'school of thought.' We just do not have that knowledge.

Relating to innovation. Let me provide you with examples of innovation. The quran was revealed in many parts, in a completely different order to what it is. Was it compiled in the book form it is today during the time of Prophet SAW? No, it was compiled this way after. Why? Because it made it much easier to learn from and transmit in this format, in a single book with longest chapters at the beginning.

In text form, was the Quran revealed with the punctuation in which we see it today (the dhammah, kasrah, fatah)? No. but these were added after to make it easier to transmit and read, it made the book more accessible. There are many examples like this where innovation can be a force for good. There are also many examples where the Prophet SAW observed certain things,, that were seen as in fact positive and could be used as a force for good. The Prophet saw was open minded. The people of the Prophets time did not NEED to celebrate the mawlid because they were so close to them. Lived with them, met there companions, lived there teachings.

Today we are so far away from the teachings of al- islam and the Prophet saw, we need to commemorate the day he was born. This is Allah's SWT most beloved being, the day Allah's most beloved was sent as gift for us…our lowly selves. This is we why mark this special day,, how can this day NOT be SPECIAL?? We cannot love Allah swt if we do not love his most beloved, and there is nothing to prove that you cannot show your love by marking the prophets birthday. For the technicalities of the date, again I would say consult the scholars I have mentioned.

The books of Ibn Kathir re great but to my knowledge there is nothing in tafseer that tells people not to celebrate the birth day of the prophet.

Can I also say, in another post you mentioned saudi arabia as an example of a copuntry that does not celebrate mawlid. The rulers of saudi became wahabi when that movement came to power. Thier aqeedah differs very much to the rest of the arab world, apart from odd couple of shia states. Now the saudi royals, while they oppressively rule the country with their so called islamic 'shariah' engage in drinking, gambling and other acts which are blatantly prohibited by islam. They answer only to america and israel. How can you use them as an example. They undermine the role of the Prophet SAW and keep to themselves a vast amount of wealth. So much wealth that would feed the starving muslim world,,, if they cared. Anyway Allah swt knows best.

Anyway, as I said before I don't think its good to post these things on here and spread divisions, the topic poster was also hurt.. and all she did was show her love for the Prophet saw.. Also these posts are not good for dawah purposes. How does it look if the muslims show disunity. Private message me and we can discuss this more. I will only respond to that now.