Though the birthday of the Prophet Muhammad is not an official holiday in Qatar, with no celebrations being organized or time off granted for residents, hotels here said they have been instructed not to serve alcohol in their restaurants today.
Speaking to Doha News, employees at several five-star hotels said that the no-alcohol service rule during the Prophet’s birthday is observed annually in Qatar.
But it still appears to be causing some confusion. For example, a charity gala concert that was supposed to be held by local group Doha Jazz at the W Doha hotel tonight was abruptly canceled yesterday.
On the group’s Facebook page, Doha Jazz said:
“Due to to the prophet Muhammad’s birthday – this event is postponed. More details to follow.”
Qatar’s hotels also go dry during the fasting month of Ramadan, which Muslims are supposed to spend in a more spiritual way, strengthening their faith and doing good deeds.
Across the GCC
Many Muslims in the world mark the birth of the Prophet Muhammad by gathering to recite songs or poetry in his name, review his teachings and donate to charity. Some scholars say this is a way for people to express their love of Muhammad.
However, other Muslims argue that the practice is not part of Islam, as the Prophet himself never celebrated his birthday.
Elsewhere in the Gulf, the UAE annually declares the Prophet’s birthday a national holiday, which fell just two days after a paid New Year’s day holiday there.
But in Saudi Arabia, the Grand Mufti has warned against commemorating the event, saying it was a superstitious practice, Arab News reports.
In a sermon in Riyadh on Friday, Grand Mufti Sheikh Abdul Aziz Al-Asheikh said:
“It is a bida (a sinful religious innovation) that crept into Islam after the first three centuries when the companions and successors of the companions lived.”
The newspaper added:
The sheikh said that those who urge others to celebrate the birthday of the Prophet are evil and corrupt. “The true love of the Messenger of Allah (pbuh) is manifested by following in his footsteps and supporting his Sunnah (traditions) … that is how the love for the Prophet is expressed.”
Thoughts?
It’s a strange thing this rule but we just have to accept it. The fact is no one knows when Prophet Mohd birthday is, in fact we know very little about his life as the first biography was written 200 years after his death and was more of a political work.
Ur a born idiot
Thank you for your kind words, yes we are all born idiots but we have the chance to absorb knowledge and become more more than those who just accept what they are told.
You imply that those who wish to show respect on the Prophet’s birthday in Qatar “just accept what they are told”. Yet, many individuals who are more educated and more discerning about the ideas they accept into their lives than you wish to show respect on this day. You would do yourself a favor by keeping your grossly over-generalized frustrations about organized religion to yourself, and just letting this one go.
It’s not even a holiday in Qatar!
I respect those people that wish to hold those beliefs but my respect does not include what those beliefs contain. If someone told me he believed the earth was flat I would say he is entitled to his opinion but quite frankly his beliefs are absurd.
Let’s face it in lands where apostasy is a capital offence and when you neighbour saudi passes a law equating atheism to terrorism, then that respect does not go both ways does it?
Dude, what are you on about? We’re not talking about the earth being flat, or Rome being established by two wolves, or seven-headed hydras. Nor is there anything in this entire discussion about how laws are made in these countries or what the reasoning behind them might be. If this country were atheist, God forbid, and today was the Great Day of the Atheist Revolution, with all places of worship ordered closed for one day, would you have a problem with it? We’re merely talking about showing respect on this day because it is important to Qatar. I can live with that. Why can’t you?
Why would atheists want all places of worship to be closed down? Atheism doesn’t have a millitany streak like all the major religions to those that don’t share the same views.
We are against indoctrination of children but we are pro choice. Individuals are free to believe whatever they wish, no matter how fanciful that is. Indoctrination of children who have no choice is child abuse and forced circumsion is mutilation of children and should be made illegal, except for necessary medical reasons.
But you are right we are way off topic and I’ll raise a glass of wine to Prophet Mohd whatever day is his birthday
You purport to be someone who stands for freedom of belief, yet you have a personal atheist agenda which you push at every opportunity at these Doha News comments. Just look at where this conversation has gone. You say things like “we”, as if you were the solemn representative of a movement that has come to cast light to where there is darkness, whereas in reality you are a just a random guy with his own ideas. As a Muslim, if I find your comment about drinking and the Prophet offensive. And his name is not Mohd. It is Muhammad, Prophet of God, peace be upon him.
I have no agenda, atheist or otherwise and your right, it’s just me an my opinion. I don’t get offended if you disagree with me but if you get offended by what someone says or believes in that is your problem. You are not the sole owner of being ‘offended’
As for Mohd name I was using the shortened version for ease but I am sure he didn’t use English in his time so his official name would be in Arabic or did the Koran give the official translation in English? I must have skipped that page.
Sounds like it’s not the only thing you’ve skipped.
MIMH is completely right. Religion and the spreading of it is colonisation of the brain. I was born free, and I will die free.
Yay! Be good and that is reward in itself.
If unbridled liberty is your thing, then “knock yourself out”(An American expression).
But first, consider this:
“Know ye that the embodiment of liberty and its symbol is the animal. 336 That which beseemeth man is submission unto such restraints as will protect him from his own ignorance, and guard him against the harm of the mischief-maker. Liberty causeth man to overstep the bounds of propriety, and to infringe on the dignity of his station. It debaseth him to the level of extreme depravity and wickedness…”
Now, which form of life would you rather identify with: The animal of the field, or with those sentient beings that recognize restraint? When exercised properly, “restraint” leads to freedom in the long run.
Just saying.
Well said, and right you are.
You still don’t get it, do you. Just because someone thinks, or thought, that the world is flat doesn’t ipso facto mean they are absurd, despite the fact that their perception was incorrect.
I find that your general attitude on the question of what people believe in, and your summary assumption that they must be absurd, is so symptomatic of a “high and mighty” attitude so many westerners are afflicted with.
The date is a known fact to all historians and never been disputed that the prophet Muhammad PBUH was born in the lunar month of Rabie Al Awal ,3rd month in Islamic calendar, 12th day , even his birth year is verified and linked to a famous year known as the “Elephant year” which is also referred to in the Quran and Arabic historical references due to a famous story related. So unless you can provide authentic solid several references that support your claim don’t provide false information for knowledge is a responsibility and you will be asked someday on this.
Just by making a statement doesn’t make it true. All historians do not say that his birthdate is known, in fact some historians dispute he even existed as protrayed by the Koran and later biographies! You only say that because you believe the Koran is the word of God and it is also your right to hold that opinion. You can have your own opinion but you can’t have your own facts.
If you want to read a good book on the end of late antiquity when islam first arose as a military force and invaded and crushed not only the Persians but the Roman Empire, try In The Shadow of The Sword by Tom Holland. This is a book written from a historical perpesepctive looking at the evidence rather than from a bias religious point of view.
The problem with the study of Islam is as soon as someone tries provide individual evidence for the claims in the Koran or disect the early biographies of Mohd, normally they get shouted down or threatened with violence.
Nonsense. What @MIMH is saying is true. Actually many scholars agree on the date of his death than his birth, which also happened on the 12th of Rabii Awwal. Some scholars advance the date of the 12th of Rabii Awwal for his birth but that is very disputed. Some others said it was the 3rd of Rabii Awwal.
In addition, the fact that it is the same date for his death does not make it a very joyful event.
Read the fatwas of Saudi scholars to understand why it is banned there. In addition to the fact that they consider it an innovation, they also pointed out the issues related to determining his exact birth day.
The issue is not about when the Prophet’s actual birthday might have been, nor about what we know of his life (which by the way is quite a lot). The issue is about showing respect on a day that is important to this country, and probably to the majority of people who live in this country. If you cannot accept this, or you have a problem with alcohol not being available in bars for one day, then it is you that are a “strange thing”.
I’m sorry but you are wrong, we know very little about Mohd’s life, the sources just don’t exist to colloborate the many stories associated with him. Take the hadiths for instance, early Islamic scholars studying them realised most of them were fake, produced by the rulers that came after the early years of islam’s appearance to justify their decisions at the time.
Early islam and the life of the Prophets are very hard to study, especially in the face of violence if something is discovered that doesn’t go with orthodox teaching. Take for example the Saan’na Manuscripts. Orthodox teaching tells you that the Koran is the literal word of God and has never changed by these early versions of the Koran discovered not so many years ago, prove that is not true. Yemen shut down all research into the early Korans when this became apparent.
I’m afraid your comment is full of inaccuracies and misstatements and I hope that people who don’t know much about these things don’t take your words at face value. You’re formulating your ideas to suit your own pre-established views.
I hope they would not just take my word for it and if they are interested they go and find out for themselves. Everything I have stated can be cross checked and referenced. I invite others to do so if they so wish.
Thank you for your invitation, oh great educator of the masses.
It is not for me to educate you or others, it is for you to find out for yourself the truth and learn to think for yourself.
Not really, he does make sense in mostly everything he said. You are just writing general terms with no further logical explanations. When you tell someone their comment is full of inaccuracies, you should point these inaccuracies out 🙂 … You claim he needs to be OK with Qatar beliefs. He says Qatar needs to be OK with other people’s beliefs, especially when they are bribing and trying so hard to portray their open-mindedness, “education capital of the middle east” title and their “sports hub” of the world. If they have a problem with other people’s beliefs, then they can just stop their faulty PR and marketing and portray themselves like how Saudi or Kuwait do..
What if during the winter 2022 world cup, the semi final between Qatar and Germany happens to fall on Muhamad’s birthday… I don’t think Germany fans would really care much and neither you nor Qatar should have the right to blame them..
I have nothing to add to what I said. I’m not responsible for your education or your choices in life, nor am I interested in having a conversation about something this profound in the comments of a random news article. I was merely pointing out that his comments are inaccurate and serve his personal agenda.
It does seem you have made you mind up what to believe regardless of evidence and that is your choice. If it makes you happy then that is good, no one wants you to change your beliefs by force or coercion as that would be wrong. You have the freedom of choice to believe what you want to believe.
To what you said? You did NOT say anything of value. You only told one guy that he is wrong and that his statements are inaccurate.
I am sorry but to any non-Muslim, the day when Mohd was born is so insignificant that it is just not important at all… Forcing a Non-Muslim not to drink on that day, is like forcing a Muslim to drink on Christmas…
Respect goes both ways. Your prophet will NEVER blame you if a Non-Muslim is drinking at a hotel!
Your avatar photo, your username and your entire comment are disrespectful of this country, its religion and its culture. There is no need for this. Please, let’s not continue.
God created humans and animals. Equal respect must be given to every animal because God created them. (These are my beliefs and you are welcome to respect them too)
I would love to know how my name (KingofKings) and my comment are disrespectful…
Your picture:
You could have chosen any animal out there, and you could have chosen it to be in any position. You chose a pig’s rear. It’s like going to India and choosing the image of a cow being slaughtered. Why would you do that, even if you don’t share those beliefs? Isn’t it disrespectful?
Your username, from Wikipedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/King_of_Kings#Islam):
In Islam, the term “King of Kings” is reserved for Allah (meaning God, literally translated as “he who is being worshiped”) and is prohibited as a description for a human being. This is to maintain a clear distinction between the created being and his or her Creator. Narrated in Sahih Bukhari and Muslim, from Abu Hurairah that Muhammad said, “Verily, the worst title is ‘King of Kings’; there is no King that has absolute power except Allah”.
…. You could have chosen any imaginable username out there, yet, you chose this one. I don’t know if it was by accident or design.
Your comment – that you’ll have to figure out for yourself.
I hope people can see that there seem to be a group of individuals on this site who are doing some kind of concerted effort to push an anti-religion agenda that, frankly, is disrespectful.
In my culture, we love pigs.. When I was young, my mom got me a very tiny Pig and I raised him at home.. just like a pet..His name was Jombon… So are you asking me to respect your culture by forgetting about mine? Is this what you want me to do?
King of Kings is a 1961 American biblical epic film made by Samuel Bronston.
KingofKings . com is a website for Christians and not Muslims
Kingofkings . com.au is a website of a Chinese restaurant in Australia
So… it is a little less restricted to your context of argument..
Please tell me how my comment was offensive. It might make me a better person in the future If I know..
This is an online forum. No one is pushing any agenda in here, It is just that some people think different than how you do..
I apologise. How could I not see that you would have totally forgotten about your culture and your fond memories of your mother had you chosen any other image than a pig’s rear when coming to Qatar. I also totally overlooked the fact that it is a common practice to choose usernames based on 1960’s biblical films, especially by people who don’t seem very religious.
You are a piece of work.
Hmm,
My username and avatar are part of Disgus. This is a global platform that online forums incorporate as part of their JavaScript code.
Would it make you feel better if it was a camel’s rear? I would happily change it for you, if you promise me that you will start respecting other people’s preferences in life.
I get the pig thing but king of kings has been used by many over the years, including those rulers of the Persian empire way before the Islamic empire. Islam has just done what other religions before it did and steal ideas that would already in use. Islam is not special in using history to support its present claims.
i suppose for me i find the word ‘tolerant’ negative. its implies a lot. worse on the people who say it.
“Due to to the prophet Muhammad’s birthday – this event is postponed. More details to follow.” Did the date of the birthday come as a surprise after the band was booked?
What if I do not believe in this specific profit and what if I like to drink on weekends? I respect all religions but my question is would God or Muhamed punish Qatari people if I (non-believer) drink on his birthday? I am not being sarcastic.. I would truly like to know the reasons on why these people do not allow others to practice their freedom?
Also, would the profit be ok with people enslaving thousands and racism and bribery and all sorts of misconduct and just pick on non-believers drinking in a 5 star hotel on a Saturday?
This is so confusing.. I hope some Qatari person can shed some light…
Who said that you can’t drink? Who is stopping you? you can still practise your freedom and drink in your house. The government only stopped serving alcohol for 1 day and for a valid reason. Similarly, France banded Negab (face veil) for good and you don’t see us complaining. It is their decision and we respect it. We Qataries support & respect the government decision. Why can’t you show some respect to our religion and traditions?
Banning Negab was mostly for security reasons and it only happened after many cases of racism and discrimination took place against those wearing that negab. (France, England, etc)
My question was: You are Muslim and you are not allowed to drink, which is fine. But what if I am NOT Muslim? what if I do not believe that your profit existed? Why do I have to not drink in a hotel?
I respect your religion and I respect your traditions. But why can’t you respect mine too? .. If I drink, I would not be drinking with you or any Muslim or even forcing anyone to drink. It would be me in a hotel drinking… how is this an insult to your traditions??
Second paragraph….hmm..yes what would the prophet think? Or would he turn a blind eye because the good boys and girls of Qatar didn’t allow the expats a drink or ten at the W?
Weird !
Non Christians ( for example ) never protested as to why shops are closed during Christmas holiday! they never thought it was meant to restrict their freedom to buy stuff or meant to starve them to death. I don’t see any Muslim who confiscated your right to drink ( at your own place ), yet you are talking about enslaving , bribery, racism .. etc. It would be better to comment when you are sober as I think your stock is not yet over, and you have no issue drinking in your room. Furthermore, banning alcohol in a Muslim country is not as racist as banning Muslims from schools for wearing Hijab . It would’ve been announced a public holiday, so that non Muslims could show respect for this occasion the same way Muslims don’t mind a Christmas holiday in a Muslim country.
I’m sorry, I don’t understand the issue here. Out of respect for those sections of the indigenous Muslim population who do recognise today as the birthday of the prophet Mohammed, peace be upon him, the bars are closed… And????
Didn’t we just endure the rather more hyped and commercialised celebrations of the birth of Jesus? Again, the actual date being unknown, 25th December was adopted by the early Christians to line up with the old pagan festival of Yule – probably because the evangelists might have been able to convert pagans to beleive in one God, but couldn’t prise them away from celebrating Yule. Again, many Christian sects do not agree that the birth of Christ should be celebrated – on the basis that Christ himself did not observe it – and in fact do not celebrate their own birthday.
I think I understand the wisdom behind associating the prohets birth with the known date of his death… In a sense, his death was his re-birth.
Either way, recognised or not. It is right and proper to show respect and observe the traditions of Islam – even if it is only one day.
But how is it that if a Non-Muslim drinks alcohol on this very day it is considered not respectful? How does it insult you or any Muslim if a Non-Muslim drinks booze in a hotel that you are NOT present in on that day? It is not disrespectful if a Muslim at a Xmas party refuses to drink wine. Why is the opposite insulting?
OK,firstly, I am Christian, not Muslim. For both faiths, the basic teaching is “beware pleasures of the flesh,for they lead to ruin” The Catholic approach to this is to preach the words – but then invent a vehicle for instant forgiveness for those that are unable to resist. They call it “confession”… The Muslim approach is to remove the temptation altogether.
That being the case, you are not offending anyone by consuming alcohol on this, or any other faith day…. But SELLING alchohol…. Making tempTion available -is disrespectful.
Correct on the birth of Jesus if he did really exist at all. Christianity once adopted by the roman empire adopted a number of pagan festivals and wove them into Christianity, it made it easier for the indigenous populations of Europe to accept
Belgium cafe at intercon was open yesterday
Belgian sorry
I don’t understand why we engage or bother: historian vs believer? come on.
I humbly request the writer of this article to address the beloved Prophet Mohammed (PBUH) with due respect by adding salam after the name.
I would go even further and politely ask that we stop using acronyms especially related to someone of great apparent importance to you. Just saying…3 more seconds to write “Peace Be Upon Him” won’t disrupt anyone’s daily agenda.