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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.

 

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Summarized Fatawaa

What is the ruling on undoing braids of hair during the ritual bath?

It is not a condition to undo braids if the water reaches all the hair and penetrates to its base. If the water does not reach except by undoing the braids, then it is obligatory to undo them for the water to reach. And Allah the Almighty knows best.

The Jurisprudential Significance of the Ḥadīth: "Whoever says, at the conclusion of the Fajr Prayer, while crossing his legs, before speaking..."
"Whoever says, at the conclusion of the Fajr prayer, while crossing his legs, before speaking: 'Lā ilāha illā Allāh, waḥdahu lā sharīka lah, lahu al-mulku wa lahu al-ḥamdu yuḥyī wa yumītu wa huwa ʿalā kulli shayʾin qadīr' ten times — ten good deeds will be recorded for him, ten bad deeds will be erased from him, he will be raised ten levels, he will spend that day in protection from everything disliked and guarded from the devil, and no sin will be able to befall him on that day except associating partners with Allah" — does this noble ḥadīth apply to the imam, and what is meant by "extraneous speech"?

All praise is due to Allah, and peace and blessings be upon our master the Messenger of Allah ﷺ.
It is recommended for both the imam and those praying behind him to recite, immediately after the final salām, the specific remembrance reported in the sunnah to be said before turning away from one's place of prayer. The imam then leaves his praying spot, and the act of "turning" is fulfilled when the imam faces the congregation — even without physically leaving his spot — by positioning his right side toward them and his left side toward the qiblah, and this applies even while he is engaged in supplication.
Al-ʿAllāmah Ibn Qāsim al-ʿAbbādī states in his Ḥāshiyah ʿalā al-Tuḥfah (Vol.2/P.105): "It is most virtuous for the imam, once he has given the salām, to rise from his place of prayer immediately afterward." He adds that an exception must be made for the remembrances that are specifically required to be recited before he turns away. He then notes, citing Sharḥ al-ʿUbāb: "Yes, an exception to this rising immediately after the salām applies to the Fajr prayer, due to the authentic report that the Prophet ﷺ, when he prayed Fajr, would remain seated until the sun rose." He further cites, from al-Khādim, the ḥadīth concerning one who recites, at the conclusion of the Fajr prayer while still in the position of crossing his leg to rise: "Lā ilāha illā Allāh, waḥdahu lā sharīka lah..." and the rest of the well-known ḥadīth. He comments that this makes explicit that this particular remembrance is to be recited before the worshipper turns his legs to leave, and the same applies to Maghrib and ʿAṣr, as reported in those contexts as well.
What is meant by "speech" in the relevant ḥadīth is extraneous worldly speech that is not called for after the prayer and for which there is no legitimate excuse. The remembrances reported to be recited upon concluding the prayer, however, do not fall under this category of extraneous speech, since they are themselves required by the sharīʿah.
Al-ʿAllāmah ʿAlī al-Shabrāmalsī states in his Ḥāshiyah ʿalā al-Nihāyah (Vol.1/P.551): "If someone greets a person with salām while he is occupied with reciting this remembrance [i.e., 'Lā ilāha illā Allāh...'], should he return the greeting — without this causing him to forfeit the promised reward, since he is engaged in an obligatory matter — or should he delay returning the greeting until he finishes, this being a legitimate excuse for the delay?" He continues: "I say: the more likely view is the former, and the prohibition on speech is to be understood as applying to extraneous speech for which there is no legitimate excuse. Based on this, should the worshipper give precedence to this remembrance ('Lā ilāha illā Allāh...') or to reciting Sūrat al-Ikhlāṣ ('Qul huwa Allāhu aḥad')? This requires consideration, though it is not unlikely that the remembrance takes precedence, given that the Lawgiver urged hastening to it through his words 'while crossing his leg.' This is not considered ordinary speech, since it is not extraneous to what is required after the prayer."
Accordingly, it is recommended for both the imam and those praying behind him to recite this remembrance and to give it precedence over the other remembrances of the prayer, ensuring it is said before they move from their place. And Allah the Almighty knows best.

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Praise be to Allah, and peace and blessings be upon our Master, the Messenger of Allah.
 
The Istikhara prayer (Prayer for seeking guidance) is a Sunnah. It consists of two units (rak’ahs) performed outside of the obligatory prayers, after which the person supplicates with the traditionally narrated du’a. It is permissible to perform it before or after the Witr prayer, as the Istikhara prayer is recommended at all times except during the disliked times—the periods in which prayer is prohibited. This is because its specific reason (the Istikhara and supplication) occurs after the prayer itself, and any prayer with a subsequent reason is not permitted during the prohibited times. It should be noted that the two rak’ahs of Istikhara are not fulfilled by performing only one rak’ah, nor by a prostration of recitation (Sajdat al-Tilawah), nor by a funeral prayer (Janazah). And Allah the Exalted knows best.

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