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On the Anniversary of Prophet Mohammad`s Birthday
Author : Dr. Ali Al-Qudah
Date Added : 07-04-2024

 

All perfect praise is due to Allah, the Lord of all worlds. I send prayers and peace in a manner befitting the status of the Prince of the Prophets, the Leader of the Messengers. I bear witness that there is no god worthy of worship but Allah, the Guide of the righteous, and I bear witness that Mohammad: our master, prophet, and beloved is the Messenger of Allah and the Seal of the Prophets and Messengers.

 

Peace be upon you, O Messenger of Allah. You are the fulfillment of the prayer of your father Ibrahim: "Our Lord, send among them a messenger from themselves who will recite to them Your verses and teach them the Book and wisdom and purify them. Indeed, You are the Exalted in Might, the Wise." You were indeed this divine call, and how magnificent it is...

 

And you are the glad tidings of your brother Isa (Jesus), when he said: "O Children of Israel, indeed I am the messenger of Allah to you confirming what came before me of the Torah and bringing good tidings of a messenger to come after me, whose name is Ahmad."

 

You are the vision of your mother Amina. When she gave birth to you, she saw as if a light radiated from her illuminating the palaces of Sham (Greater Syria). You were that light illuminating in a night whose sky was clear, waters were sweet, and air was pleasant. Amina bint Wahb gave birth to the best of Allah's creation and the elite of His messengers, Mohammad, peace be upon him. She spread this happy news throughout the universe.

 

May Allah's blessings be upon you, O source of guidance, as gentle breezes blow and nightingales sing their melodies.

 

What can I say about you, O Messenger of Allah, when Allah took the covenant of the prophets, Saying (What means): "And [mention, O Muhammad], when Allah took the covenant of the prophets, [saying], 'Whatever I give you of the Scripture and wisdom and then there comes to you a messenger confirming what is with you, you [must] believe in him and support him.' [Allah] said: "Have you acknowledged and taken upon that My commitment?' They said, 'We have acknowledged it.' He said, 'Then bear witness, and I am with you among the witnesses." 

 

What can I say about you, O Messenger of Allah? My example and yours are like that of a desert Arab who had lost his way in the desert. When the moon rose, he found guidance in its light and said: What shall I say to you, O moon? Should I say that Allah elevated you? Indeed, Allah has elevated you. Should I say that Allah illuminated you? Indeed, Allah has illuminated you. Should I say that Allah honored you? Indeed, Allah has honored you. And what can I say to you, O my master, O Messenger of Allah? Should I say that Allah elevated you? Indeed, He has elevated you (And We have raised high your mention). Should I say that Allah illuminated you? Indeed, He has illuminated you (There has come to you from Allah a light and a clear Book). Should I say that Allah honored you? Indeed, He has honored you (O Prophet, indeed We have sent you as a witness, a bringer of good tidings, and a warner, And one who invites to Allah, by His permission, and an illuminating lamp).

 

Hello on the occasion of the birth anniversary of the Prophet of Allah, Mohammad (peace be upon him), the Messenger of guidance and the true religion, a mercy to the worlds. Allah chose him from among the best of humanity and favored him over all His creation, to reconstruct history, rectify the conditions of human life, and fill the earth with the abundance of his light. Thus, he became like a luminous planet among the stars in the sky. He liberated humanity from the worship of its desires to the worship of its Lord, from prostrating to creations to prostrating to their Creator, who created mankind from clay equally, nurtured gardens from paradise, made rivers flow from rocks, and turned green trees into fire (So why do they not believe?).

 

 

On the birth of the Prophet Mohammad (peace be upon him), the flowers of paradise bloomed with glad tidings and peace before the flowers of transient debris in the world of mortality. The wings of the purified angels encircled the inhabited House, glorifying and praising their Lord, welcoming the precious pearl in a secure corner and the moon born in the house of Allah and the treasured gem from the valleys of Mecca. It is greeted by the care of its extended shade in the sanctuary of Allah, where birds and animals found safety when security was lost among human beings.

 

Welcome to this noble orphan, the rich in poverty, rich in treasures of goodness in his message, an orphan and the entire humanity in his care. He is the call of Ibrahim and the glad tidings of Isa... A tree from the desert that shaded the universe and an illiterate sent as a teacher to readers and writers. The foundations of the unjust palace were cracked at his birth, a warning to the oppressors, the dominance of Byzantium. Before the light of monotheism, the fading glow of Zoroastrianism in the house of fire disappeared, and the waves of floating disbelief drowned in the tears of the oppressed...

 

 

That is our Prophet Mohammad (peace be upon him) who demolished the idols of stone in the K'aaba, and Bilal stood on it to dismantle with his call to prayer the idols of humans... What say you about the Lord of the Worlds!

 

He (Allah) has molded his (Prophet Mohammad`s) nature from the glory of the noble Arabs and their genuine fruitful branch. It is not surprising that the son of the desert carries in it a heart wider than its expanse, a soul purer than its skies, and a generosity that kindles fire at the doors of tents during the nights to guide the stranger to shelter, when he finds guidance in the fire. Yet, the son of the desert, with all this generosity, has a fury that erupts like a volcano when it is meant to accept humiliation. He elevates his independence above his life, and he does not compromise the dignity of his blood to protect his honor. You see him advancing, with the back of a horse as his throne, the roar of the lion as his melody, the clang of the spear as his anthem, and his courage seeking victory as its pursuit. He lifts oppression from his land and repels tyranny from his sanctuary.

 

 

O people!

 

This is the Prophet of God, the beacon of creation, and the source of light that illuminated the earth with prostrations... Crowds used to flock to his door, and armies and soldiers would submit to his command. The spoils were plentiful and abundant. Then Ibn Abbas would enter upon him, and behold, he would be praying in a single garment, wrapped around him, seeking protection from the extremes of the earth's heat and cold... His food was barley, his constant companion was vinegar, his provision was contentment, and his mount after Al-Buraq was a camel... He would prefer to lay on a mat on his side, even though he could have the silk of Paradise... Walking beside him would be the poor and needy, and if he wished, he could have been greeted by the shining moon... He abandoned the luxuries of the world, content with simplicity and submission to God...

 

O protectors of Islam, O guardians of al-Aqsa, if you seek peace on earth, follow Mohammad, and ease the burden of the United Nations.

 

May peace and blessings be upon our Master Mohammad, his family, his companions, and all those who follow them in righteousness until the Day of Judgment. Praise be to Allah, The Lord of all The Worlds.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Summarized Fatawaa

What is the ruling on performing the night prayer (*qiyām al-layl*) between the first and second adhān of Fajr? And which is better: delaying the prayer until shortly before the Fajr adhān, or performing it earlier than that?

 

All praise is due to Allah, and peace and blessings be upon our master, the Messenger of Allah.
The time for night prayer (qiyām al-layl) begins after the Maghrib prayer and lasts until the second adhān of Fajr. The best time for it is the last third of the night, and best of all are the fourth and fifth sixths of the night. If the night is divided into two halves, the latter half is better.
Whoever intends to pray at night is encouraged to delay the Witr until he has prayed the night prayer. If he knows that he will not wake up, it is better for him to pray and perform Witr before sleeping, so that he does not miss both the night prayer and the Witr.
It is stated in Mughnī al-Muḥtāj (Vpl.1/p.462): “I say: The voluntary prayer of the night, that is, the absolute voluntary prayer (al-nafl al-muṭlaq), is better than the absolute voluntary prayer of the day, because of the report in Muslim: ‘The best prayer after the obligatory prayer is the night prayer.’ In another narration of his: ‘In the night there is an hour that no Muslim man meets while asking Allah for any good of this world and the next except that He gives it to him, and that is every night.’ It is also because the night is a time of heedlessness. I restricted the voluntary prayer to the absolute kind following the commentator, although what the ḥadīth and the underlying meaning require is that the night rawātib be preferred over the day rawātib, since the jurists preferred the two rakʿahs of Fajr over everything except Witr. The middle of the night is better than its two ends if it is divided into thirds, because heedlessness is greatest then and worship is hardest. If he wishes to pray during some third, the best is the fourth and fifth sixths, based on the ḥadīth in the two Ṣaḥīḥs: ‘The most beloved prayer to Allah the Exalted is the prayer of Dāwūd: he would sleep half the night, stand for a third of it, and sleep for a sixth.’ Then the latter part is better than the first if he divides it into two halves, because of the saying of Allah the Exalted: ‘And in the hours before dawn they would ask forgiveness’ [al-Dhāriyāt: 18], and the report of the two Shaykhs: ‘Our Lord, Blessed and Exalted, descends,’ meaning His command descends, ‘to the lowest heaven when the last third of the night remains, and says: Who calls upon Me, that I may answer him? Who asks of Me, that I may give him? Who seeks My forgiveness, that I may forgive him?’”
It is also stated in ʿUmdat al-Sālik (p. 60): “It is better to perform it [the Witr] immediately after the sunnah of ʿIshāʾ, unless he has tahajjud, in which case it is better to delay it so that he performs Witr after it. If he performs Witr and then wishes to pray tahajjud, he prays two rakʿahs at a time and does not repeat the Witr, nor does he need to cancel it with a single rakʿah before the tahajjud. It is recommended that he not deliberately pray after it.”
Qiyām al-layl is a term applied to any prayer performed at night. Tahajjud, on the other hand, refers to the night prayer that follows sleep, whether it is prayed after Maghrib or after ʿIshāʾ, or the prayer performed after ʿIshāʾ without sleep. On this basis, the Witr is also called tahajjud, since it is only prayed after ʿIshāʾ.
It is stated in al-Majmūʿ (Vol.4/p.84): “The sound position, as stated in al-Umm and al-Mukhtaṣar, is that the Witr is called tahajjud.”
It is stated in Nihāyat al-Zayn (Vol.1/p.114): “Among the absolute voluntary prayers is qiyām al-layl. If it is performed after sleep, even during the time of Maghrib and after having prayed ʿIshāʾ early (taqdīman), it is called tahajjud.”
And it is stated in Ḥāshiyat al-Bujayrimī ʿalā al-Khaṭīb (Vol.1/p.418): “His statement: ‘(the night prayer)’: the genitive construction (iḍāfah) carries the sense of fī, meaning a prayer in the night. His statement: ‘(it would be more fitting)’: the reason it is more fitting is that the night prayer includes both tahajjud and other prayers.” And Allah Almighty knows best.

What is the ruling on performing the standing (qiyām) and bowing (rukū‘) portions of the prayer normally, while performing the prostration (sujūd) seated due to knee pain?

All praise is due to Allah, and peace and blessings be upon our master, the Messenger of Allah ﷺ.
If performing sujūd (prostration) in prayer causes the worshipper pain in the knees, then it is permissible for him to perform it through gesture (īmā') while seated, since Allah, Glorified and Exalted is He, has lifted hardship from His servants. On the authority of ‘Imrān ibn Ḥuṣayn (raḍiyallāhu ‘anh), he said: "I suffered from hemorrhoids, so I asked the Prophet ﷺ about [how to perform] the prayer, and he said: 'Pray standing; if you are unable, then sitting; and if you are unable, then on your side.'" [Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī]
If the valid excuse later subsides, the worshipper is then obligated to perform the prayer with all its pillars and conditions fully observed — including standing, rukū‘ (bowing), and sujūd (prostration). And Allah, the Exalted, 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.

Which takes precedence: the 'aqīqah or the uḍḥiyyah?

All praise is due to Allah, and may peace and blessings be upon our Master, the Messenger of Allah.
The 'aqīqah is an act of worship through which a servant draws closer to Allah the Almighty in gratitude for the blessing of a newborn child. It is a confirmed Sunnah for those who are financially capable, and Allah does not burden any soul beyond what it can bear.
However, the uḍḥiyyah takes precedence, as it is a confirmed Sunnah established from the Prophet ﷺ through stronger and more numerous narrations — indeed, the Ḥanafī scholars hold it to be obligatory. Furthermore, its time is narrow and limited, expiring with the passing of the days of Eid, whereas the 'aqīqah may be delayed until one becomes financially capable of performing it.
And Allah Almighty knows best.

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