The video below depicts the ceremony that was held in Chechnya almost a year ago to unveil the cup that supposedly belonged to the Prophet Muhammed (saw) and was passed down to Ali ibn Abu Talib. The Chechen leader quite visibly broke down in tears as he unveiled the cup to his people. This video was sent to me earlier this week by a facebook friend. The cup had apparently been flown into the Chechen capital Grozny from London where it was kept by unnamed descendants of the Prophet Muhammed (saw)'s cousin, Ali ibn Abu Talib.
According to newspaper reports, the Chechen government confirmed that anyone from the public will be allowed to drink water from the cup on the birthday of the Prophet Muhammed (saw).
I personally have a few issues with this whole story. Firstly, I tried obtaining information about the cup itself. There is no legitimate proof that acknowledges the authenticity of the cup.Whilst doing a Google search on the utensils the Prophet Muhammed (saw) utilized, I came across these two ahaadith.
Asim ibn Al-Ahwal, who belonged to the Tabieen generation that followed the Prophet’s companions, says: “I saw the Prophet’s cup at Anas ibn Malik’s house. It had a crack and Anas pulled it together with a chain of silver. It was a good, wide cup made of fine, thin wood. Anas said to us: ‘I gave the Prophet to drink out of this cup so many times.’ Ibn Seereen says: ‘The cup had a ring of iron and Anas wanted to replace it with one made of gold or silver, but Abu Talhah, (Anas’ stepfather), told him not to change anything the Prophet had or did. Therefore, Anas left it as it was.’” (Related by Ahmad and Al-Bukhari.)
Ibn Abbas reports: “The governor of Alexandria sent a cup made of glass to the Prophet and he used it to drink.” (Related by Ibn Saad and Abu al-Shaykh.) This was part of the gift the ruler of Egypt sent to the Prophet (saw) in reply to his message calling on him to believe in Islam. The Egyptian ruler recognized the Prophet (saw) but decided to remain Christian.He however still wished to maintain a good relationship with the Prophet Muhammed (saw). Therefore, he sent him a gift to demonstrate his good will.
The cup shown in the video looks very similar to a jade like ornamental stone cup..Whilst I am pleased that there were thousands of people who took to the streets to show their love for the Prophet Muhammed (saw), I firmly believe that this whole fiasco was simply a political ploy on the part of the government. There has been reports of the Chechen leader trying to revive an Islamic way of life in the region. However, putting up a show of this magnitude without any proof or evidence to support his theory that the cup had indeed belonged to the Prophet (saw) is just outright ludicrous and bizarre in my opinion. I firmly believe that he is not reviving Islam in the region but rather leading people astray. It is a complete act of bidah or an innovation to allow the public to drink out of the cup. There is no religious significance or reward that is attained by drinking water out of this cup. Another important point to make mention here is that the Prophet (saw) never ever celebrated his birthday.In fact celebrating the Prophet's birthday is also a huge bid3a and an innovation in itself. There is no evidence in the Quraan or the hadith that points to the fact that the Prophet Muhammed (saw) celebrated his birthday. This grave innovation was initiated after the death of the Prophet Muhammed (saw) by King al-Muzaffar Abû Sa’îd Kawkabûri, the King of Irbil, at the end of the sixth century or the beginning of the seventh century AH, as was mentioned by the historians such as Ibn Khalikân and others. Abû Shâmah said: the first person to do that in Mosul was Shaykh ‘Umar ibn Muhammad al-Malâ, one of the well-known righteous people. Then the ruler of Irbil and others followed his example.
Al-Hâfidh Ibn Kathîr said in al-Bidâyah wa’l-Nihâyah (13/137), in his biography of Abû Sa’îd Kawkabûri:“He used to observe the Mawlid in Rabî’ al-Awwal and hold a huge celebration on that occasion … some of those who were present at the feast of al-Muzaffar on some occasions of the Mawlid said that he used to offer in the feast five thousand grilled heads of sheep, ten thousand chickens and one hundred thousand large dishes, and thirty trays of sweets … he would let the Sûfîs sing from Dhuhr until Fajr, and he himself would dance with them.”
Ibn Khalikân said in Wafiyât al-A’yân (3/274):“When it is the first of Safar they decorate those domes with various kinds of fancy adornments, and in every dome there sits a group of singers and a group of puppeteers and players of musical instruments, and they do not leave any one of those domes without setting up a group (of performers) there.The people give up work during this period, and they do no work except going around and watching the entertainment. When there are two days to go until the Mawlid, they bring out a large number of camels, cows and sheep, more than can be described, and they accompany them with all the drums, songs and musical instruments that they have, until they bring them to the square… On the night of the Mawlid there are performances of nashîds after Maghrib in the citadel.”
Our world leaders today should all be taking gold medals in acting. Breaking down in tears, getting all emotional and swaying the sentiments and emotions of the masses is what they use in order to stay in power. Whilst there has been several reports of the good work that Ramzan Kadyrov has undertaken and fulfilled in terms of building Masaajids and trying to revive the spirit of Islam in the region, using artifacts that have no authenticity to stir up the emotions of the public is just downright nonsensical and foolish in my opinion. If he really wishes to seek the admiration of his people he needs to follow the sunnah of the Prophet Muhammed (saw). He needs to emulate the lifestyle of the Prophet Muhammed (saw). This is what will gain him ultimate love and respect from his people.What are your thoughts on this one?
Source:
According to newspaper reports, the Chechen government confirmed that anyone from the public will be allowed to drink water from the cup on the birthday of the Prophet Muhammed (saw).
I personally have a few issues with this whole story. Firstly, I tried obtaining information about the cup itself. There is no legitimate proof that acknowledges the authenticity of the cup.Whilst doing a Google search on the utensils the Prophet Muhammed (saw) utilized, I came across these two ahaadith.
Asim ibn Al-Ahwal, who belonged to the Tabieen generation that followed the Prophet’s companions, says: “I saw the Prophet’s cup at Anas ibn Malik’s house. It had a crack and Anas pulled it together with a chain of silver. It was a good, wide cup made of fine, thin wood. Anas said to us: ‘I gave the Prophet to drink out of this cup so many times.’ Ibn Seereen says: ‘The cup had a ring of iron and Anas wanted to replace it with one made of gold or silver, but Abu Talhah, (Anas’ stepfather), told him not to change anything the Prophet had or did. Therefore, Anas left it as it was.’” (Related by Ahmad and Al-Bukhari.)
Ibn Abbas reports: “The governor of Alexandria sent a cup made of glass to the Prophet and he used it to drink.” (Related by Ibn Saad and Abu al-Shaykh.) This was part of the gift the ruler of Egypt sent to the Prophet (saw) in reply to his message calling on him to believe in Islam. The Egyptian ruler recognized the Prophet (saw) but decided to remain Christian.He however still wished to maintain a good relationship with the Prophet Muhammed (saw). Therefore, he sent him a gift to demonstrate his good will.
The cup shown in the video looks very similar to a jade like ornamental stone cup..Whilst I am pleased that there were thousands of people who took to the streets to show their love for the Prophet Muhammed (saw), I firmly believe that this whole fiasco was simply a political ploy on the part of the government. There has been reports of the Chechen leader trying to revive an Islamic way of life in the region. However, putting up a show of this magnitude without any proof or evidence to support his theory that the cup had indeed belonged to the Prophet (saw) is just outright ludicrous and bizarre in my opinion. I firmly believe that he is not reviving Islam in the region but rather leading people astray. It is a complete act of bidah or an innovation to allow the public to drink out of the cup. There is no religious significance or reward that is attained by drinking water out of this cup. Another important point to make mention here is that the Prophet (saw) never ever celebrated his birthday.In fact celebrating the Prophet's birthday is also a huge bid3a and an innovation in itself. There is no evidence in the Quraan or the hadith that points to the fact that the Prophet Muhammed (saw) celebrated his birthday. This grave innovation was initiated after the death of the Prophet Muhammed (saw) by King al-Muzaffar Abû Sa’îd Kawkabûri, the King of Irbil, at the end of the sixth century or the beginning of the seventh century AH, as was mentioned by the historians such as Ibn Khalikân and others. Abû Shâmah said: the first person to do that in Mosul was Shaykh ‘Umar ibn Muhammad al-Malâ, one of the well-known righteous people. Then the ruler of Irbil and others followed his example.
Al-Hâfidh Ibn Kathîr said in al-Bidâyah wa’l-Nihâyah (13/137), in his biography of Abû Sa’îd Kawkabûri:“He used to observe the Mawlid in Rabî’ al-Awwal and hold a huge celebration on that occasion … some of those who were present at the feast of al-Muzaffar on some occasions of the Mawlid said that he used to offer in the feast five thousand grilled heads of sheep, ten thousand chickens and one hundred thousand large dishes, and thirty trays of sweets … he would let the Sûfîs sing from Dhuhr until Fajr, and he himself would dance with them.”
Ibn Khalikân said in Wafiyât al-A’yân (3/274):“When it is the first of Safar they decorate those domes with various kinds of fancy adornments, and in every dome there sits a group of singers and a group of puppeteers and players of musical instruments, and they do not leave any one of those domes without setting up a group (of performers) there.The people give up work during this period, and they do no work except going around and watching the entertainment. When there are two days to go until the Mawlid, they bring out a large number of camels, cows and sheep, more than can be described, and they accompany them with all the drums, songs and musical instruments that they have, until they bring them to the square… On the night of the Mawlid there are performances of nashîds after Maghrib in the citadel.”
Our world leaders today should all be taking gold medals in acting. Breaking down in tears, getting all emotional and swaying the sentiments and emotions of the masses is what they use in order to stay in power. Whilst there has been several reports of the good work that Ramzan Kadyrov has undertaken and fulfilled in terms of building Masaajids and trying to revive the spirit of Islam in the region, using artifacts that have no authenticity to stir up the emotions of the public is just downright nonsensical and foolish in my opinion. If he really wishes to seek the admiration of his people he needs to follow the sunnah of the Prophet Muhammed (saw). He needs to emulate the lifestyle of the Prophet Muhammed (saw). This is what will gain him ultimate love and respect from his people.What are your thoughts on this one?
