Celebrating the Birth of Prophet Muhammad (SAAWS)
Sara and Abdullah have been married
for a little more than four years. They have a son, Khaled, who became two last
week and they are expecting a girl any day now.
Abdullah is an engineer. He came with Sara
from Syria several years ago. After the death of his father, four years ago, he
brought his mother to live with them.
Yesterday, Sara, with the help of grandma,
(called TaiTai in Syria), prepared a nice dinner for the family; kubbeh, mutabal,
humus, tabuleh, chicken and rice. Of course Sara did not forget the lentil soup.
Abdullah used to say, “Kubbeh without lentil soup is like Rome without the Pope.”
Abdullah came home from work; they
all sat around the dining table. Khaled sat in his high chair with a bib, embroidered
with the phrase, “I love Taitai,” fastened under his chin.
“Abdullah! I heard on the news this morning
that today is the birthday of Prophet Muhammad. Could we spend some time
talking about him?” Sara asked. Abdullah reached out and took a round kubbeh,
took a bite of it, and said, “Mom, Sara, Jazakumullahu khayran, this is a great
kubbeh.”
Abdullah was very happy to celebrate this
occasion by remembering this wonderful man Muhammad, the like of whom never walked
on this earth, the like of whom mothers failed to give birth to.
“Oh yeah Sara! I did forget. Today is
the 12th of Rabi al Awal, the birth day of Prophet
Muhammad. I will start
bringing up some of his special attributes mentioned in the holy Quran.
Almighty Allah called him a ‘Light’
and ‘Lamp Spreading Light,’ to guide people out of darknesses:
‘There has come to you from Allah a
New Light’
‘Oh Prophet! Truly We have sent you
as a witness, as a Bearer of Glad news, as a warner, as one who invites to
Allah’s grace, by His leave, and as a lamp spreading light.’”
Sara looked at Abdullah and said, “I
remember one verse, where Allah asks his Messenger, ‘Have We not raised high
your fame?’ Every time we say ‘La Ilaha Illallah’, we say ‘Muhammadun Rasulullah.’”
“Exactly! You see how Muhammad’s
name is part of the shahada (declaration of faith),” Abdullah said.
Taitai joined in, “I love what Allah
said, addressing his Prophet, ‘Indeed you have the highest morals.’”
“Mom,
it’s all about morals. The Prophet said it himself. He was sent but to complete
the code of morals,” said Abdullah.
Sara
admired how the Prophet treated children and mentioned that once he came to the
mosque for the night prayer, carrying his grandson on his shoulders. Then he
seated him close by and led the prayer. He spent an unusually long time
prostrating during the prayer, which worried some of his followers. Others
thought he was receiving a revelation. After the prayer, he explained to them
that his grandson mounted on his back and he waited for him to get down. Taitai
added, “He also used to carry his granddaughter Umama while praying. When he
prostrated he’d put her down and when he stood up he’d carry her.”
Abdullah
said, “I find this story fascinating; one time the Prophet was in a big
gathering. To his right was a young boy
and to his left were the great Abu Baker and Omar. The Prophet was offered a
drink from a pitcher. He drank a little bit and asked the boy ‘Do you permit me
to pass the drink to Abu Baker and Omar?’ The boy said ‘No way!’” (Muslims
usually pass things to the right. That is why the Prophet wanted the permission
of the boy to pass it to the left. The boy refused, he wanted the blessing of
drinking right after the Prophet. Maybe he thought, by the time it comes around
nothing would be left for him or maybe he wanted to receive a drink directly
from the prophet.)
Taitai
reminded them of the woman who was cleaning the prophet’s mosque. She was dark
skinned and from people who were not considered important in Medina’s
traditional clan society. One time he noticed she was not at the mosque. When he
inquired about her, he was told that she’d passed away. He asked where she was
buried and gathered his companions and offered a funeral prayer for her. How
well he respected people, no matter their social status in the general
community.
Sara
added teasingly, “He was so nice to his wives. He never laid his hand on anyone
of them (he never hit anyone of them).”
“Abdullah!
Did you hear that?” Taitai asked.
“Mom!
I would never ever hurt Sara!” replied Abdullah.
Taitai
and Sara laughed. They remembered how Abdullah had stood up to his best friend
and scolded him when he shoved his wife in front of them.
Taitai
then said, “I remember a hadith (narration), I’d like to share with you. When
rasulullah (The Messenger of Allah) read what Abraham supplicated, ‘He who
follows me is one of me and he who disobeys me (is going astray) - But You are
indeed oft-Forgiving, Most Merciful’. And what Jesus prayed, ‘If you punish
them, they are your servants, and if you forgive them, verily You, only You are
the All-Mighty, the All-wise’
He,
Muhammad, understood that the two great messengers, Abraham and Jesus, were
asking forgiveness even for those who chose not to follow them. He then raised
his hands, cried and pleaded, ‘My nation, My nation’. Then Allah sent Angel
Gabriel to comfort him and assure him that Allah would be pleased with him and with
his nation.”
Abdullah
said “Mom! That shows how much he loves us, how much he loves his ummah
(nation).” Then he added “Don’t forget that every prophet was given a special wish
and every prophet used his wish except Muhammad. He saved his wish as a shafa’a (intercession) for his ummah on the Day of Judgment.
It will be honored for everyone who dies without associating anything with
Allah.”
“Abdullah! Remind us of shafa’a,” Sara
demanded.
Abdullah
explained, “On the Day of Resurrection, all mankind will be brought in one gigantic
plain area. The sun will get very close to them. They will be sweating, scared
and waiting for the grand trial. They wish to know their fate and get it done
with it. We don’t know how long they will stay like that in a state of
uncertainty. They will form a delegation. This delegation goes to Adam, then
Noah, then Abraham, then Moses, then Jesus. They will plead for their
intercession. Each one will say, ‘Myself, myself, I’m worried about myself’, and
will refer them to the others. Then finally they go to see Muhammad. He will respond
‘I’m for it, I’m for it.’
Muhammad
goes under the throne, prostrates, praises Allah and waits. Then he will be
ordered, ‘Oh Muhammad! Raise up your
head. Ask! You will be given. And intercede! Your intercession will be
accepted.’
His
intercession will help those whose good deeds are equal to their bad deeds to
enter Paradise. People ordered to go to the Hell will be pardoned, by his
intercession, before even entering Hell. Those who end up in Hell will be released
to go to Paradise, as a result of his continued intercession.”
Sara
then asked, “With all of what the Prophet did for us, and is willing to do for
us in the Day of Judgment, how can we thank him?”
Abdullah
thought about it for a few seconds and before he answered, Taitai started, “In
fact he asked us to do only one thing for him; he said, when you hear the athan
(Muslim call for prayer) repeat after him then at the end of the athan, he told
us to pray for him. For every blessing we ask Allah for him, we get, in return,
ten blessings from Allah. What a bargain! Then he asked us to ask Allah to
grant him ‘AlWaseela’, a place in Paradise reserved for one person and he
wishes it to be for him. He promised that he who asks for ‘Alwaseela’ for him
will earn his intercession.”
As
they were finishing dinner the call for magrib prayer came from the computer
and they all in unison repeated after him. After it, they invoked blessing upon
Muhammad. Then supplicated, "Allahumma Rabba hathihid-Daawatit tammah, wassalatil Qa imah
ati Muhammadan al waseelata wal fadeelah, wa ib'ath-hu maqaman
mahmoodan allathee wa'ad-tah, innaka laa tukhliful-me'aad."
(This translates to"Oh Allah, Owner of
this perfect call and Owner of this prayer to be performed, grant Muhammad al
waseelah (a place in Paradise) and al
fadeelah (a rank above the rest of creation) and send
him upon a raised platform which you have promised him. Verily, You never fail
in Your promise.")Taitai, Sara and Abdullah agreed that there was so much more to say about the Prophet. This was a wonderful way to celebrate the birth of Prophet Muhammad.
(Peace and Blessing of Allah upon prophets Muhammad, Abraham, Noah,
Moses, Jesus and all other prophets.)
