All praise be to Allah and May Allah raise the rank of Prophet Muhammad and protect his nation from that which he fears for them.
Dear Brothers in Islam, Imam Muslim related from the route of Jarir Ibn ^Abdillah, that the Prophet, peace be upon him, said what means: The one who innovates a good innovation in Islam has its reward and a similar reward of those who practice it until the Day of Judgement, without lessening the rewards of those who practice it. The one who innovates the innovation of misguidance carries this sin and the sins of those who practice it until the Day of Judgement, without lessening the sins of those who practice it.

This hadith, which is confirmed and of the sahih classification, is a foundation for proving the validity of the good innovations in Islam. The good innovation is called the liked innovation (bid^ah hasanah).’ The saying of the Prophet, peace be upon him, in the hadith refers to the good innovation as opposed to the bad innovation signifying that it includes those innovations that comply with the Book of Allah and the Sunnah of the Prophet, peace be upon him. Every innovation innovated by the people of knowledge that complies with the Book of Allah and the Sunnah of the Prophet, peace be upon him, is a good innovation, as indicated by the aforementioned hadith of the Prophet .

Some people falsely claim that anything that was innovated after the Prophet, peace be upon him, is an innovation of misguidance. Their statement contradicts the saying of the Prophet, peace be upon him, previously mentioned; and it contradicts the practice of the Companions and their followers.

Among the good innovations which complies with the Religion is celebrating the birth of the Prophet (Mawlid un-Nabiyy) in the month of Rabi^ al-awwal. It was initiated hundreds of years after the Prophet, sallallahu ^alayhi wa salam, and it was not opposed by the scholars.

The honorable, knowledgeable, and righteous ruler: al-Mudhaffar, the King of Irbil (city in the country of present day Iraq), initiated this practice about 900 years ago, and he was praised by Muslim scholars of Islam–among them the Egyptian hafidhs: Ibn Hajar al-^Asqalaniyy and Jalal ud-Din as-Suyutiyy.

Dear brothers in Islam,

To praise Prophet Muhammad in chanting solo or in a group is a good thing that Allah loves and rewards for it. Such an action is not a bad innovation as some claim. Only an ignorant innovator would refute it.
Al-Bazzar narrated in his book that the people from Ethiopia danced (in this context dancing refers to jumping on their legs) and chanted in front of Prophet Muhammad and said: “Abal Qasim (referring to Prophet Muhammad) is a good man”, affirmed by Hafith Ibn AlQattan.
Prophet Muhammad did not object to them for combining dancing with chanting. Praising Prophet Muhammad is a rewardable deed for it is considered as an obedience to Allah the One who ordered us to glorify His Prophet.

So by praising, glorifying and honouring Prophet Muhammad we are obeying Allah. This is in support of group chanting, and the solo chanting is supported by what Hafith Ibn Hajar and As–Suyuti and others narrated that Al-^Abbas the son of ^Abdulmuttalib, Prophet Muhammad’s uncle said to our dear Prophet: “ I would like to praise you in some verses”. The Prophet said what means: “say them, may Allah save your teeth”.

So I went on saying some verses the last of which:
“And when you were born the earth lit up and the horizons were enlightened by you”.
It is also permissible to use instruments such as the Duff (Tamborine) when chanting the praises of Prophet Muhammad. This is the truth about the Chanting and praising the messenger of Allah. This is the belief of all Muslims from the times of Prophet Muhammad.
Allah has praised his Prophet in the Holy Qur’an better than any other praising, in Surat al-Qalam Allah said: وَإِنَّكَ لَعَلَى خُلُقٍ عَظِيْم which means: “You indeed have great manners”.

Dear Brothers in Islam,
There was a good man who was known to praise Allah a lot, after he died he was seen in a dream being asked: “Why didn’t you say something in praising the messenger of Allah?”. He answered in poetry:
“I see any praising of the prophet short no matter how much one would say. When Allah praised him in his revealed book how could people’s praise compare”.
We ask Allah to grant us the blessings of praising Prophet Muhammad and gather us in Paradise with all His Prophets Ameen.