Articles

Enhancing the Prophet`s Birth Anniversary in the Hearts of Children
Author : Dr. Ahmad Al-Harasees
Date Added : 30-01-2023

Enhancing the Prophet`s Birth Anniversary in the Hearts of Children

 

The Prophet`s birth anniversary is a golden opportunity to instill his love in the hearts of future generations in general and children in particular. This is since humans by nature are inclined to love those that do good to them, join the role models, and seek the practical and realistic model to emulate.

This anniversary paves the way for parents and educators to highlight the Prophetic role model with all its manifestations, potentials, morals, mercy and attributes through dwelling on his noble biography, dealings, and skills.

The first step to this end is achieved through instilling love and attachment to the Prophet (PBUH) in the hearts of these children as well as reading his biography on frequent basis. These steps generate love towards the Prophet (PBUH) since, as it is said: when you love someone or something, you mention them a lot. In addition, this love represents the second part of the testimony of faith (…And I bear witness that Mohammad (PBUH) is His slave and Messenger).

Love is proof of perfect faith since Anas reported God’s messenger as saying: "None of you believes till I am dearer to him than his father, his child, and all mankind." {Bukhari}. Loving and emulating the Prophet (PBUH) constitute a strong shield against taking evil individuals of society as role models.

As part of celebrating the Prophet`s birth anniversary, we can draw up a methodology or a simple brief plan to achieve the goals, meanings, and secrets of this great anniversary to arrive at a spiritual connection between Prophet Mohammad (PBUH) and this generation. Based on this, we can do the following:

Glorifying this anniversary and the merit of this day through showing the merit of the Prophet (PBUH) and that he is the chosen one and was sent as mercy to the Worlds. Almighty Allah Says {What means}: "Say: "In the bounty of God. And in His Mercy,- in that let them rejoice": that is better than the (wealth) they hoard." {Younis/58}.

We can also explain to them that the Quran teaches us to remember this day since Allah The Exalted Said {What means}: "We sent Moses with Our signs (and the command)."Bring out thy people from the depths of darkness into light, and teach them to remember the Days of God." Verily in this there are Signs for such as are firmly patient and constant,- grateful and appreciative." {Ibrahim/5}. This is in addition to the fact that the Prophet (PBUH) himself has celebrated this day. Abu Qatadah (May Allah Be Pleased with him) reported: "The Messenger of Allah (PBUH) was asked about fasting on Mondays. He said: "That is the day on which I was born and the day on which I received Revelation." [Muslim].

 

Another practical method is gathering household members to talk about his attributes and biography.

It is no secret that it is highly important to attend the celebrations held at mosques and Quran centers. These usually include religious guidance and prophetic chants within a joyful atmosphere.

Moreover, we could organize competitions in which questions concerning the Prophetic biography are asked and prizes given. In other words providing moral and material motivations.

This is along with encouraging the children to send prayers upon the Prophet (PBUH) on frequent basis and clarifying the reward for this great deed both in this world and the next. This can also be encouraged through giving a monetary prize no matter how small it is in order to promote the spirit of competing in doing good deeds.

This anniversary is an excellent opportunity and a high rank since it derives its greatness from the person whose birthday is being celebrated and that is Prophet Mohammad (PBUH). It is one method to instill meanings of love and affection towards this great Prophet (PBUH) in the hearts and minds of the children.

The purpose is to connect this generation with Prophet Mohammad (PBUH) and educators are at liberty to choose the method that they see fit to achieve the aforementioned goals and objectives. And all perfect praise be to Allah The Lord of The Worlds.

 

Article Number [ Previous | Next ]

Read for Author




Comments


Captcha


Warning: this window is not dedicated to receive religious questions, but to comment on topics published for the benefit of the site administrators—and not for publication. We are pleased to receive religious questions in the section "Send Your Question". So we apologize to readers for not answering any questions through this window of "Comments" for the sake of work organization. Thank you.




Summarized Fatawaa

Is it permissible for a woman to offer the obligatory prayer after Adhaan (call for prayer), and before Iqamah (The announcement that the prayer is about to begin) in the mosque?
 

Yes, it is permissible for a woman to offer the obligatory prayer immediately after the Adhan and before the Iqamah in the mosque. And Allah Knows Best.

Is it obligatory to have the intention for each day of fasting, or is one intention sufficient for the whole month?

The intention is obligatory for each day of Ramadan because each day is an independent act of worship separate from the others.
The intention must be made at night before the break of dawn, as the Prophetﷺ said: "Whoever does not intend fasting at night, there is no fast for him." [An-Nasa’i] 
And he also said: "Whoever does not firmly resolve to fast before dawn, there is no fast for him." [At-Tirmidhi, Abu Dawood, and An-Nasa’i]
Whoever wakes up and eats Suhoor while mindful of fasting has made the intention. Likewise, one who firmly intends at any moment during the night to fast the next day has also fulfilled the intention.

What is the ruling on one who vows to fast a specific or non-specific year? Are the two Eids, the days of Tashreeq, Ramadan, and the days of menstruation and postnatal bleeding included in them? And do these days break the consecutiveness if it was intended?

Praise be to Allah, and peace and blessings be upon our Master, the Messenger of Allah.
 
If someone makes a vow (Nadr) to fast a specific, designated year, this vow does not include the days of Eid, the days of Tashreeq (the three days following Eid al-Adha), Ramadan, or the days of menstruation (Hayd) and postnatal bleeding (Nifas). Furthermore, there is no requirement to make up (Qada) these specific days.
 
However, if someone vows to fast a year that is not specifically designated (i.e., any twelve-month period) and stipulates that the fasting must be consecutive, they are bound by that condition. They must not fast on the days of Eid, during Ramadan, or during menstruation, but they are required to make up these days afterward—with the exception of the days of menstruation and postnatal bleeding, which do not need to be made up.
 
It is stated in Hashiyat al-Bajuri ‘ala Sharh Ibn Qasim ({Vol.2/P.606): 'If one vows to fast a specific year, the Eid, Tashreeq, Ramadan, and days of menstruation or postnatal bleeding are not included. This is because Ramadan does not accept any fast other than its own, and the others do not accept fasting at all. Therefore, they do not enter into the vow, and no makeup is required for them because they are legally excluded—contrary to Al-Rafi’i regarding menstruation and postnatal bleeding.
 
If one vows to fast a non-designated year: if they stipulated consecutiveness (Tatuabu’) in their vow, they must fulfill it; otherwise, they are not bound to it. Consecutiveness is not broken by the days that do not enter into the specific year vow (Eid, Tashreeq, Ramadan, menstruation, and postnatal bleeding). However, one must make up the days missed—excluding the time of menstruation and postnatal bleeding—immediately following the end of the year. As for the time of menstruation and postnatal bleeding, it is not made up, contrary to Ibn al-Rif’ah, who argued that it must be made up just like Ramadan.' And Allah the Exalted knows best.

What are the legal and religious consequences for a charitable organization in the event that a sacrificial animal is damaged or spoiled after slaughter?

All praise is due to Allah, and may peace and blessings be upon our Master, the Messenger of Allah.
Charitable organizations entrusted with slaughtering sacrificial animals (uḍḥiyyah) and distributing their meat on behalf of their owners are obligated to safeguard the meat from spoilage, damage, theft, and any other harm. This is because such organizations act as agents (wukalā') on behalf of those offering the sacrifice, and an agent holds what is entrusted to them in trust (amānah) — whether they receive a wage for their work or act on a voluntary basis.
If the sacrificial animal is damaged after slaughter during the processes of packaging, transportation, or storage due to negligence or oversight — whether on the part of the organization's own staff overseeing the operation, or on the part of third parties contracted by the organization such as transport or shipping companies — then liability falls upon the negligent party, who is required to compensate for the value of the sacrifice. It is not permissible to cover such compensation from the organization's other donor funds.
However, if the damage to the sacrificial animal occurs without any negligence in its preservation and storage on the part of any party involved in the transportation, shipping, or storage process, and is instead attributable to force majeure circumstances beyond their control, then no financial liability is borne by any party in such a case. And Allah Almighty knows best.