Articles

Why do we Celebrate Prophet Mohammad`s Birthday?
Author : His Grace Shiekh Abdulkareem Al-Khasawneh
Date Added : 18-02-2024

Why do we Celebrate Prophet Mohammad`s Birthday?

 

 

Behold, the month of the birth of our Master and the Messenger has come, and its moon has risen anew. Its light has illuminated the hearts of the faithful, who were raised under the light of obedience, worship, and faith. At this time of every year, our mosques, homes, and countries are illuminated with the celebration of the birth of the Master of Humanity, may Allah bless him and grant him peace. Rather, our hearts, souls, and minds rejoice with love and joy at his birth, may Allah bless him and grant him peace. His birth is not like any other occasion, nor is it a mere passing event in the course of history. Rather, it is the birth of a nation that was united after division, reconciled after enmity, and in which justice was established on earth after injustice and tyranny. It is the descent of mercy upon the worlds after cruelty had prevailed and filled the hearts of people, and the shining of a light that covered the earth after darkness had prevailed. Allah says {What means}: "And hold fast, all of you together, to the cable of Allah, and do not separate. And remember Allah’s favour unto you: How ye were enemies and He made friendship between your hearts so that ye became as brothers by His grace; and (how) ye were upon the brink of an abyss of fire, and He did save you from it. Thus Allah maketh clear His revelations unto you, that haply ye may be guided," {Al-Imran, 103}.

 

On the anniversary of the birth of our Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, hearts celebrate with joy the Prophetic radiance and  mercy that illuminated the darkness of ignorance, so the universes were lit with his light. How can our hearts not celebrate when the stars of the sky celebrated him and increased their brilliance, the thrones of Kisra fell, and the fire of the ignorant Magi was extinguished? The world rejoiced with the coming of good after it was drowned in the darkness of idolatrous worship, atheistic and kufr beliefs. Allah the Almighty says {What means}: "O Prophet! Lo! We have sent thee as a witness and a bringer of good tidings and a warner. And as a summoner unto Allah by His permission, and as a lamp that giveth light. And announce unto the believers the good tidings that they will have great bounty from Allah."{Al-Ahzab, 45-47}.

 

He, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, is our refuge in our distress and hardship, and our safety from the worries and miseries of the world. Through him, we intercede with Allah the Almighty to have mercy on us when our actions prevent us from acceptance. Through him, Allah the Almighty removes the burden, and with his mention, the ambition rises. We celebrate him because he is the mercy sent down, the blessing bestowed, and the means of salvation. "We haven`t sent you except as a mercy to the worlds." (Al-Anbiya, 107). So, all humans, jinn, and worlds are blessed by him, may Allah bless him and grant him peace. "And Allah would not punish them while you are among them, nor will Allah punish them while they seek forgiveness." (Al-Anfal, 33).

 

Through his blessings, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, our sins are forgiven, our worries are removed, and our debts are paid off. The companions knew his right and his worth, so one of them said: I will make much Salah for you. Therefore, he had the pure good news from Allah and His Messenger: (Then your problems would be solved and your sins would be forgiven.) (Sunan al-Tirmidhi).

 

We celebrate our Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, because through him we have become a great nation after being a burden. We have become honorable after being humiliated. Through him, we rose from the dust to reach the heights of the sky. A nation was established on the scales of truth, justice, and equity among people. We were guided by his Sunnah to the best of words and the best of deeds. We came to know our Lord, established our religion, and spread the fragrance of love among us. Allah sent down with him the Quran, a book of guidance, light, and distinction, by which people are brought out of darkness into light. "So those who believed in him, honored him, supported him, and followed the light which was sent down with him - it is those who will be successful." (Al-A'raf, 157). He is our leader and the witness with our Lord to our faith, obedience, and love for him. "Then how will it be when We bring from every nation a witness and We bring you as a witness over these?" (An-Nisa`, 41).

 

We celebrate our Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, because the entire universe celebrated him, his arrival, and the light that was before him when Gibreel descended to him in the Cave of Hira. Our Lord honored him by the Night of Isra`, so he led the prophets in prayer in the Al-Aqsa Mosque. Then, he ascended to the high heavens and the angels greeted him with the most beautiful welcome. " The heart lied not (in seeing) what it saw. Will ye then dispute with him concerning what he seeth ? And verily he saw him yet another time By the lote-tree of the utmost boundary, Nigh unto which is the Garden of Abode. When that which shroudeth did enshroud the lote-tree, The eye turned not aside nor yet was overbold. Verily he saw one of the greater revelations of his Lord." (An-Najim, 11-18).

 

We celebrate him, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, because he is one of the first things we will be asked about in our graves, and the first thing we will resort to when we are resurrected. He is the one on whose foot we will be gathered, and we will call on him for help on the Day of the Great Stand, when hopes are cut off, and deeds are spread out. "On the Day when a man will flee from his brother, his mother and his father, his wife and his children. On that Day, every man will have enough concern to make him forget others." (Abasa, 34-37). On the Day when voices will be hushed before the Most Gracious, and you will hear nothing but whispers. The Lord Almighty will call out to him: (O Mohammad, raise your head, intercede and you will be interceded, ask and you will be given.). When every prophet will say, "Myself, myself," and our Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, will cry out, "My people, my people."

 

In conclusion, when we enter Paradise, it will be the most beautiful way to celebrate our Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace. What is higher and more honorable than accompanying our Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace? This is the ultimate goal of the Companions and the Dua` of the righteous, and the wish of all Muslims. The Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said: "A person will be resurrected with the one he loved." We ask Allah Almighty to gather us with our Prophet at the Hawd and to drink from his hand a sip after which we will never get thirst again. May all Muslims and we be in his company in Paradise, whose width is the heavens and the earth.

 

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 women to gather in one of their homes to pray Tarawih?

Yes, it is recommended (mustahabb) for women to pray Tarawih in congregation if they gather, even if it is not in the mosque.
In fact, praying at home is better for them, as it avoids the potential concerns associated with going to the mosque.

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.

Is it permissible for a woman to perform the obligatory prayer immediately after the adhan and before the Iqamah is performed in the mosque?

 

Praise be to Allah, and peace and blessings be upon our Master, the Messenger of Allah.
 
Yes, it is permissible for a woman to perform the obligatory (Fard) prayer immediately after the Adhan (call to prayer) and before the Iqamah (call to commence prayer) is performed in the mosque. And Allah the Exalted knows best.

Is it permissible to include others in the reward of one`s sacrifice?

 

In the Name of Allah, and may peace and blessings be upon our Master, the Messenger of Allah.
 
It is permissible for the person offering an Udhiyah (sacrificial offering) to include others in the spiritual reward of the sacrifice. However, it is not permissible for multiple people to jointly share the purchase price of a single sheep or goat, unless one person gifts the money to the other.
 
It is stated in Mughni al-Muhtaj (6/137) by Al-Khatib al-Shirbini:
 
"If a person includes someone else in the reward of his sacrifice and slaughters it on his own behalf, it is permissible."
 
It should be carefully noted that including someone else in the reward of one's sacrifice is completely distinct from offering a sacrifice on behalf of someone else. And Allah the Almighty Knows Best.