The Birth of the Prophet (SAW)

In this month – the month of Rabi ‘al-Awwal-The illuminating dawn emerged and the best of humanity was born-our Prophet Muhammad the son of AbdAllah ﷺ.

Allah the Almighty says
Al Imran (3) 164: Certainly did Allah confer [great] favor upon the believers when He sent among them a Messenger from themselves, reciting to them His verses and purifying them and teaching them the Book, although they had been before in manifest error.

He is the Messenger of Allah ﷺ through whom Allah purified souls, cleansed hearts, and made him a mercy for the worlds. And a testimony for all creation until the Day of Judgment.

His birth was a breakthrough. Through him Allah guided the lost, taught the ignorant, directed the stray, opened blind eyes, cleared deaf ears, opened hearts, provided abundance after scarcity and granted dignity after disgrace.

He is the messenger of Allah ﷺ, the close friend of the Merciful. There is no obedience to Allah except by obeying him as Allah said:
AnNisa (4) 80: He who obeys the Messenger has obeyed Allah; but those who turn away – We have not sent you over them as a guardian.

The Iman (faith) is not completed except through loving him as the Prophet ﷺ said:
None of you truly believes until I am more beloved to him than his child, his father and the whole of mankind. [Bukhari 15]

He ﷺ was the most beautiful in appearance and the highest in character. And the most faithful in fulfilling a covenant. And the most truthful in speech. And the most benevolent soul. And the most generous hand. And the most forbearing. And the most pardoning.

He is the Messenger of Allah ﷺ whom Allah uplifted his heart, elevated his renown, relieved him of his burden, perfected his religion, fulfilled his oaths. His Lord did not abandon him. Rather He the Exalted found him – an orphan and then sheltered him, lost and guided him and needy and made him self-sufficient. He was given a choice between immortality in this world or meeting his Lord. He chose what is with his Lord.

He is the Messenger of Allah the best of whom walked on this earth. The first to intercede. The Prophet ﷺ said:
“I am the leader of the sons of Adam. I will be the first one for whom the earth will be split open (on the Day of Resurrection), and I will be the first to intercede and the first whose intercession will be accepted.” [Sunan Abi Dawud 4673]

He was eloquent in speech, clear in explaining. He ﷺ was given comprehensive and concise speech. He was given vast wisdom. Abu Hurairah (may Allah be please with him) said:
“I have not seen anything more beautiful than the Messenger of Allah ﷺ . It was as if the sun glowed upon his face.” [Jami AtTirmithi 49, Hadith 4009].

And the Islamic poet Hassan bin Thabit (may Allah be pleased with him), said in praise of the Prophet ﷺ:
And better than you, my eyes have not perceived
And better than you, women have not begotten

He is the beloved Prophet ﷺ , the chosen one, whom Allah the Exalted sent to take the people out of idolatry and darkness into Islam and worshipping Allah alone. And rescue the people from oppression, discord, killing and sins to justice, love and harmony.

The Arabs before his mission lived in utmost ignorance. They lived like animals. They worshiped the idols and drew lots for making decisions. And the strong devoured the weak.

Then Allah allowed the night to disappear, for the dawn to emerge, for the darkness to fade, and for the light to shine. And He the Exalted sent his messenger – the most noble of mankind and gracious and merciful to the believers.

At Tawbah (9) 128: There has certainly come to you a Messenger from among yourselves. Grievous to him is what you suffer; [he is] concerned over you [your guidance] and to the believers is kind and merciful.

Allah selected him for prophethood and chose him for His message.

One of the greatest rights of the Prophet ﷺ due upon us is for us to obey him and adhere to his Sunnah, carry out his commands, follow his path, and emulate his example.

Al-Fudayl bin Ayyaad, (may Allah have mercy on him), said: If the deed is performed sincerely and not performed correctly, then it is not accepted, and if it is performed correctly and not sincerely, then it is not accepted. Performed correctly means in accordance to the Sunnah, and sincerely means solely for the sake of Allah. And he recited:
Al Kahf (18) 110: Say, “I am only a man like you, to whom has been revealed that your god is one God. So whoever would hope for the meeting with his Lord – let him do righteous work and not associate in the worship of his Lord anyone.”

Imam Malik (may Allah have mercy on him) said: The sunnah is like Noah’s ark, whoever rides it is saved and whoever leaves it is ruined. And nothing is suitable for this last part of this ummah except which was suitable for the first part of it.

Allah says in His great book:
Al Hashr (59) 7: And whatever the Messenger has given you – take; and what he has forbidden you – refrain from. And fear Allah; indeed, Allah is severe in penalty.

And Allah said:
AnNoor (24) 54: Say, “Obey Allah and obey the Messenger;

And Allah informed that guidance and success is through obeying him ﷺ:
Al Araf (7) 157: So they who have believed in him, honored him, supported him and followed the light which was sent down with him – it is those who will be the successful.

And Allah warned about disobeying the commands of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ:
Al Ahzab (33) 36: It is not for a believing man or a believing woman, when Allah and His Messenger have decided a matter, that they should [thereafter] have any choice about their affair. And whoever disobeys Allah and His Messenger has certainly strayed into clear error.

And Allah says:
AnNoor (24) 63: So let those beware who dissent from his [the Prophet’s] order, lest an affliction strike them or a painful punishment.

It is incumbent upon a Muslim to follow the Sunnah of the Prophet ﷺ to act upon it, to obey it, and to abide by it. The Prophet ﷺ said:
So you must keep to my Sunnah and to the Sunnah of the rightly guided caliphs, those who guide to the right way, Cling on to it firmly. [AtTirmithi 266]

And he ﷺ said:
Whoever turns away from my Sunnah is not of me. [Sunan an-Nasa’i 3217]

From the Prophets ﷺ rights due upon us is that we should read his biography, listen to his narrative and reflect upon his life. For he ﷺ is our role model in all matters:
Al Ahzab (33) 21: There is certainly for you in the Messenger of Allah an excellent example for anyone whose hope is in Allah and the Last Day and [who] remembers Allah often.

For in his ﷺ biography is a cure for the hearts, rectification for the minds and remedy for the souls. His life is the practical application and the applied interpretation and the living model of the Noble Quran as Aishah (May Allah be pleased with her) described him as a Quran who walked on this earth.

Oh Muslims: And from the Prophet’s ﷺ rights upon us is to love, revere and venerate him:
AtTawbah (9) 24: Say, (O Prophet) “If your parents and children and siblings and spouses and extended family and the wealth you have acquired and the trade you fear will decline and the homes you cherish are more beloved to you than Allah and His Messenger and struggling in His Way, then wait until Allah brings about His Will. Allah does not guide the rebellious people.”

Urwa bin Masoud who represented the disbelievers in the Al-Hudaybiyah treaty related to his people upon his return:” By Allah, my people, I have visited kings and princes and have visited Caesar, Kisra and Negus. By Allah, I have never seen a king who is more venerated by his companions as the companions of Mohammad venerate Mohammad. By Allah, he does not spittle expect that one of them grabs it in their hands and rubs it on his face and body, and if he commands them they carry out his command, and if he makes wudu it is as if they are on the verge of fighting for the water that he used, and if they speak in his presence they lower their voices and they do not fix their glance on him out of reverence for him.”

Loving the Prophet ﷺ is not something that is simply said. Or claims that are declared. Rather, loving him ﷺ means obeying him and following him. And respecting his commands and prohibitions. Allah says in the Quran:
Al Imran (3) 31: Say, [O Muhammad], “If you should love Allah, then follow me, [so] Allah will love you and forgive you your sins. And Allah is Forgiving and Merciful.”

Celebrating his ﷺ birthday does not increase the Prophet ﷺ in honor or elevate him. Because his honor and stature are unsurpassed. For he is the leader of mankind and the most honorable of creation.

Celebrating the birthdays of the great and righteous is a custom that Muslims took from the Christians of Levant and Egypt when they observed them celebrating the birth of Jesus (peace be upon him). They imitated them thinking that this is a veneration of the Prophet ﷺ while forgetting that the Prophet ﷺ prohibited imitating them especially with regards to their religious occasions and celebrations.

The Prophet ﷺ said:
Whoever among you lives after me will see many conflicts. So, you must adhere to my Sunnah and to the Sunnah of the rightly guided caliphs who guide to the right way. Cling on to it firmly. Beware of newly invented matters [in the religion], for verily every innovation is misguidance. [Tirmithi 266]

And the Prophet ﷺ said:
The best generation is my generation, then those who follow them, then those who follow them. [Jami atTirmithi Book 49, Hadith 4232]

Let us ask ourselves: How is our adherence to the Sunnah? How diligent are we in obeying the commands? Are we cautious not to cross the limits? How many Sunnahs have we adopted? How well do we stay away from the prohibitions?

How much of the Sunnah do we know about? How much do we know about the Prophet’s life?

No matter how we answered these questions, we should commit to learning even more about the Sunnah and putting it into practice by studying the Prophet’s ﷺ life, his interactions, how he treated his family, his way with his companions, his conduct with his adversaries. And get to know about his daily life, how he used to eat, how he used to sleep how he used to conduct all his affairs.

May Allah grant us steadfastness in religion and guide us to demonstrate our love of the Prophet by following his sunnah, obeying his commands and staying away from his prohibitions.

Ref: