To Parade or Not to Parade?

That's not the question. The question is whether we remember and try to emulate him and what he stood for.

I suppose Guan Eng has reasons good enough not to allow maulid parades. Maybe it's because people (Muslims, rather) have lost the essence of  remembering Prophet Muhammad (s.a.w). Nevertheless, I doubt if Guan Eng cares what the Muslims believe in or not. It may be because it costs too much before and after the event for the local government to bear. I don't know. However, Ustaz Asri (of Perlis)put it quite nicely: there's no need for (any) religious parades or processions at all! Quite nicely -- no cost incurred prior, and no rubbish in the aftermath.

I believe remembering Rasulullah can be done minus the parades. The ceramahs or discussions about the significance of Rasulullah's mission on earth can still continue. But more than that is the ongoing reverence in private. Through the years of having parades or congregating in stadiums, with almost all of the participants having normally been coerced to take part, the essence of the maulid is lost.

I believe the day is to be remembered, as Prophet Muhammad is the last prophet who brought the final, and complete teachings of Islam. One of his main aims was to inculcate good akhlaq (manners) to the ummah. A famous hadith is that someone had asked Aishah (the Prophet's wife) what the akhlaq of Rasulullah was, and she answered: the Quran. One of Rasulullah's hadith was that none shall enter Paradise except one who has got good conduct. 

I recently looked up in a few books about his akhlaq, and what this 'good conduct' was, and was reminded that it encompasses a wide range of adab. Not easy to emulate. To me, it will be and has been a very daunting task. 

Let me just highlight a few from a long list: to give up pride, haughtiness, bad treatment of enemy, amassing wealth, enmity, and so on. 
He was forgiving.
He used to select the easier of two things. 
He used to be the first to give salam to anyone he met.
He was humble and modest.
He used to visit the sick, mend his own shoes, help his wives in their house chores...

Oh, dear. Parading is the easy part, practicing the teachings is the other.