Short answer
The mainstream Hanafi fatwa is to avoid birthday celebrations, because they are not part of the sunnah and copy a custom of non-Muslim societies. Thanking Allah for another year, making dua and doing good deeds are fine. Some respected scholars allow a simple family meal as a cultural custom with no religious meaning.
Celebrating birthdays as an annual occasion with parties, cakes and candles is not permitted according to the mainstream Deobandi fatwa, because it imitates others and has no basis in the sunnah. Gratitude to Allah, dua and charity on the day are permitted.
The four schools agree on this.
Explanation
Islam gave Muslims two festivals. When the Prophet ﷺ came to Madinah and found people celebrating two days of their own, he said Allah had given them something better: Eid al-Adha and Eid al-Fitr. The scholars took from this that Muslims should not add yearly celebrations of their own design. Read more on Eid.
The Prophet ﷺ did mark the day of his birth, but by fasting. When asked about fasting on Mondays he said it was the day he was born. The Companions never held birthday parties for him or for themselves. The Hanafi muftis add the hadith that whoever imitates a people is one of them, since candles, cake and the birthday song come from non-Muslim customs.
Some respected scholars hold a different view. They see a birthday as a cultural custom ('urf), not a religious rite, and say imitation only applies to what is distinctive of another faith. They allow a simple family meal or a gift, as long as nothing haram is involved. Both views agree that a birthday has no religious reward attached to it.
Practical points:
- Instead of 'happy birthday' you can say BarakAllahu fik or 'May Allah bless your life'.
- If a colleague or relative invites you, decline kindly or attend briefly without joining the rituals, according to the view you follow. Do not cut ties over it.
- Use the day to reflect: one year closer to meeting Allah. You can check your age with the Hijri age calculator.
On the Prophet's ﷺ birthday, see Mawlid.
The evidence
Sunan Abi Dawud 1134
Graded sahih... إن الله قد أبدلكم بهما خيرا منهما يوم الأضحى ويوم الفطر ...
"Allah has given you in place of them something better: the day of al-Adha and the day of al-Fitr."
Muslims have two set festivals.
Sahih Muslim 1162
Sahih... ذاك يوم ولدت فيه ...
"That is the day on which I was born."
The Prophet ﷺ marked his birth by fasting, not with a celebration.
Sunan Abi Dawud 4031
Graded hasan sahih... من تشبه بقوم فهو منهم ...
"Whoever imitates a people is one of them."
Copying the customs of other communities is discouraged.
Where the ruling is recorded
- Fatawa Mahmudiyya, Chapter on customs and innovations. Birthday celebrations are treated as a custom to avoid.
- Iqtida al-Sirat al-Mustaqim (Ibn Taymiyya), Discussion of festivals. Muslims are not to add festivals beyond the two Eids.
This answer is pending review by the scholars on our team. Quran translation by Sahih International. Hadith Arabic from the standard editions of the six books and the Muwatta, with gradings as recorded there; the English is our own rendering. Spotted a mistake? Tell us.