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The Precursors to the Prophet's Mission
Author : Mufti Basem Al-Qudah
Date Added : 18-08-2025

Allah The Almighty Says (What means): "It is He Who has sent amongst the Unlettered an apostle from among themselves, to rehearse to them His Signs, to sanctify them, and to instruct them in Scripture and Wisdom,- although they had been, before, in manifest error;-." [Al-Jumu'ah/2].

Each year, we commemorate the birth of the Chosen One (peace be upon him)—the advent of light that dispelled darkness, the emergence of a spring that transformed barren deserts into flourishing gardens, and the arrival of a spiritual revival that awakened souls once lost in ignorance.

Speaking about the aspects of greatness in the personality of the Messenger (peace be upon him) is difficult for speakers and orators. It is like searching for a ring in a vast desert. Nevertheless: "What cannot be attained in its entirety should not be abandoned entirely." May Allah be pleased with Khalid Ibn Al-Walid (May Allah Be Pleased with), who, when asked to describe the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him), said: "Do you want me to be long or short?" They said: "Be short." He replied: "He is the Messenger of Allah, and the Messenger is according to the One who sent him."

Let us review some of the precursors and signs (Irhasat) of his prophecy (peace be upon him), beginning with those that occurred at his birth:

Among what happened at the time of his birth was the shaking of the palace of Chosroes of Persia and the fall of fourteen of its balconies. This was interpreted as the fall of fourteen of their kings; ten of them fell within four years, and the other four fell during the era of the Islamic conquest. The fire of Persia, which had not been extinguished for a thousand years, was also put out.

Among the precursors were events that happened to him (peace be upon him) when he was a nursing infant in the care of Haleema. Haleema narrated that when the Messenger (peace be upon him) was first presented to her, she turned away, as did the other wet nurses, because he was an orphan. What good, she thought, could come from an orphan? When she found no other child to take, she returned and took this orphan. As soon as she took him, her breasts became full of milk, and their she-camel, which had not given milk for a long time, suddenly became full of milk. Her husband said to her: "By Allah, Haleema, you have taken a blessed soul." Haleema continued: "Then we left, and I rode my she-donkey with him, and by Allah, I outpaced the caravan in a way that none of their donkeys could, so much so that my companions said to me: "O daughter of Abu Dhu'ayb, woe to you! Wait for us! Isn't this the same she-donkey you left with?" I said to them: "By Allah, it is indeed the same one!' They replied: "By Allah, he has a great matter!"

Among the precursors was the splitting of his chest that occurred while he was with the family of Haleema. Haleema narrated: "He was with his brother (Prophet`s brother by suckling/Haleema`s son) behind our houses when his brother came running to me and his father and said: "My Qurayshi brother, two men in white garments have taken him, laid him down, and have split open his belly." I went out with his father—Haleema's husband—towards him and found him standing, his face pale and changed. I hugged him and his father hugged him. We asked him: "What is wrong with you, my son?" He said: "Two men in white garments came to me, laid me down, and split my belly, and searched for something in it, but I don't know what it was."

Among the precursors was the acknowledgment of his prophecy by Bahira the monk, who advised his uncle Abu Talib to be wary of the Jews. When the Prophet (peace be upon him) was twelve years old, he traveled with his people. Bahira the monk was a scholar in that region due to his knowledge and merit. He looked out from his cell and saw a caravan, and a boy was shaded by a cloud. He had never seen such a sight before, so he prepared a feast for them and invited them. He had never cared for them before. When they came, the boy Muhammad (peace be upon him) was not present, so he sent for him. When he came, Bahira scrutinized him and asked him about the Seal of prophecy on his back. He knew then that he was the Prophet promised in the Torah and the Gospel, so he advised his uncle Abu Talib to protect him well and warned him that the Jews might try to assassinate him.

Among the precursors in his youth was Allah's protection of him from attending anything forbidden. One day, he heard the sound of flutes and drums and decided to go to the wedding. He fell asleep and did not wake up until the heat of the next day's sun.

Among the precursors was the trees and stones greeting him (peace be upon him) as he walked in Mecca. [Al-Mu'jam Al-Kabir by At-Tabarani/vol. 2/pp.351].

One of the signs of his perfect character was that his private parts were never exposed. It is narrated that he was participating in the rebuilding of the Kaaba with his people. His people were lifting their garments onto their shoulders to protect themselves from the rough stones, while he was placing the stones on his shoulder without any covering. His uncle Al-Abbas (may Allah be pleased with him) saw him and said: "Why don't you lift your garment over your shoulder so the stones won't hurt you?" The Prophet (peace be upon him) did so, and his private parts were exposed, at which point he fell on his face and was called out to: "Cover your private parts." An angel called to him, and after that, his private parts were never seen again.

Among the signs of his perfect character was that Allah Made him Detest idols and all forms of falsehood, as well as the singing and drinking of wine that the people of Quraysh engaged in. It is narrated from him (peace be upon him): "When I grew up, idols became hateful to me, and poetry became hateful to me. I did not intend to do anything that the people of the Age of Ignorance used to do except twice. Each time, Allah Almighty Came between me and what I intended, and I never intended to pursue poetry after that until Allah Honored me with His Message..." [Al-Shifa' by Al-Qadi Iyad/vol.1/pp.8].

Undoubtedly, this was due to Allah's protection of him (peace be upon him) from anything that would harm his lofty status and high rank.

Among the precursors is what Maysarah narrated when he traveled with the Prophet (peace be upon him) on a trade journey for Khadijah Bint Khuwaylid to Sham (Syria). He saw two angels shading him from the heat of the sun in the scorching midday. Also, the Prophet (peace be upon him) sat under the shade of a tree near a monk's cell. The monk saw him and asked Maysarah about him. Maysarah said: "He is a man from the Sacred Precinct, a Qurayshi." The monk replied: "No one has ever sat under this tree except a prophet."

Among the precursors were the true visions just before his mission. He would not see a vision in his sleep by night or by day except that it came to pass like the breaking of dawn. Aisha (may Allah be pleased with her) narrated that the first thing with which the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) began were true visions. He would not see a vision in his sleep except that it would come true like the breaking of dawn. She said: "And solitude was made dear to him, and he would go to the cave of Hira to seclude himself, meaning to cleanse himself from what he saw or heard of the polytheism and falsehood among the people of his tribe, Quraysh."

This is but a small portion of a great many manifestations of human perfection that preceded the mission of the Messenger (peace be upon him). And all praise is due to Allah, The Lord of The Worlds.

References:

1. Sahih Al-Imam Al-Bukhari.

2. Musnad Al-Imam Ahmad.

3. Al-Mu'jam Al-Kabir, Al-Tabarani.

4. Al-Shifa, Al-Qadi 'Iyad.

5. Muhammad, the Beloved (peace be upon him), Abu Bakr Al-Jazairi.

6. Noor Al-Yaqeen, Muhammad Al-Khudari.

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Summarized Fatawaa

What is the ruling on the fasting of a woman who has reached menopause if menstrual blood flows?

If a woman reaches the age of menopause (which is usually sixty-two) and her menses have ceased, then she sees blood after that, and its duration is not less than a day and a night (24 hours), it is menstruation (hayd). If it is less than a day and a night, she is considered as having non-menstrual vaginal bleeding (mustahada), so she fasts and prays. However, she must perform ablution for every obligatory prayer after its time enters, pray immediately, and be treated as a person with a continuous condition. There is no specific end limit for a woman's menstruation; it is possible as long as the woman is alive. And Allah the Almighty knows best.

Does collecting saliva and swallowing it break the fast?

Swallowing collected saliva does not break the fast, but it is an unnecessary and meaningless act.

What is the ruling on offering a sheep as a sacrifice (Udhiyah) if its fat-tail is sound, except that when it was young, the tip of its fat-tail was cut so that it would grow larger? And what is the ruling in case of doubt regarding the amount that was cut?

 
In the Name of Allah, and may peace and blessings be upon our Master, the Messenger of Allah.
 
Cutting a minor, insignificant portion from the tip of an animal's fat-tail (al-alyah) to encourage it to grow larger is not considered a defect, and it does not prevent the animal from being valid for sacrifice (Udhiyah).
 
It is stated in Tuhfat al-Muhtaj (Vol.9/P.352): "There is some scholarly deliberation regarding the common practice of cutting the tip of the fat-tail so that it grows larger. It could potentially be likened to a partial cut of the ear—supported by the jurists' general rule: 'even if it is a small amount.' On the other hand, if it is an exceptionally minor cut, it might have no effect on validity. This is explicitly clarified by the juristic exception to the general rule, which states that cutting a tiny piece from a large limb causes no harm. This latter view is more well-founded.
 
Furthermore, I found that some scholars investigated this matter and concluded: 'It should not affect validity if a custom-sanctioned portion of its fat-tail is removed during its youth to make it grow larger and look better, just as castrating a male animal causes no harm.' However, applying this unconditionally contradicts the established texts of the jurists, as understood from what I have laid out; thus, the restriction I specified is what must be relied upon."
 
Similarly, it is mentioned in Nihayat al-Muhtaj (8/135): "If a small piece is cut from the fat-tail to help it grow larger, the most well-founded view is that the sacrifice remains valid, as was given in a formal legal verdict (Fatwa) by my father [Shihab al-Din al-Ramli], may Allah be pleased with him. This is proven by the jurists' maxim: 'The loss of a tiny piece from a large limb causes no harm.'"
 
In cases where there is doubt as to whether the portion cut was large or small, the animal is still deemed valid for sacrifice. It is noted in Hashiyat al-Shubramallisi ‘ala Nihayat al-Muhtaj (Vol.8/P.135):
 
"This matter requires careful consideration, but the closer and more correct view is that it is valid. This is because soundness is the default state for the animal from which the piece was cut, and it aligns with what usually occurs—namely, that the part removed to help the fat-tail grow larger is naturally very small." And Allah the Almighty Knows Best.

What is the ruling of Islamic Law on following the actions of the imam in prayer and how this following is achieved?

Praise be to Allah, and peace and blessings be upon our master, the Messenger of Allah.
The follower (ma'mum) is required to follow his imam in the actions of the prayer. This "following" (mutaba'ah) means that the follower performs each action of the prayer after the imam has begun it but before he has finished it. For example, the follower bows (in ruku') after the imam has reached the position of bowing, then rises after the imam has risen. The Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, said: "The imam is only appointed to be followed, so when he says the takbir, say the takbir; and when he bows, then bow; and when he prostrates, then prostrate" (agreed upon, i.e., reported by both al-Bukhari and Muslim).
It is stated in Mughni al-Muhtaj (1/505): "Among the conditions of valid congregational prayer (iqtida') is following the imam in the actions of the prayer... meaning that following the imam is obligatory in the physical actions of the prayer, not in its verbal utterances... Complete following (kamal al-mutaba'ah) is achieved when the follower's beginning of an action comes after the imam's beginning of that same action, while the follower's beginning of the action precedes the imam's completion of it" — end of quote, with slight paraphrasing.
And Allah, the Exalted, knows best.

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