Mercy to the Worlds: Celebrating the Birth of the Holy Prophet (s) & Imam Al-Sadiq (a)
Written by AhlulBayt Islamic Mission
Monday, 24 March 2008
After Prophet Jesus, God sent Muhammad as the Final Prophet and Messenger of
God. With his prophethood, the process of guidance reached its peak and
perfection.
Prophet Muhammad was born in the city of Mecca in Arabia in the family which
traced its lineage to Prophet Abraham through his son Ishmael. At the age of
forty, Prophet Muhammad recieved the first revelation from God through the
Arch-Angel Gabriel.
He called the people of Mecca who were mostly idol-worshippers to the worship of
One God, and to a life based on laws of God which would guarantee peace and
harmony in inter human relationship. Majority of the people of Mecca refused to
accept his message. The small number of his followers did not deter the Prophet
from continuing his mission. Muhammad was fully supported in his mission by
close family members, in particular his wife, Khadija, and cousin, ‘Ali.
The leaders of idol-worshippers of Mecca, who did not want any change in the
status-quo, started a campaign against Prophet Muhammad and the religion of
Islam:
• first they started propaganda against Prophet Muhammad;
• then they started social and economic embargo against Muslims;
• finally they planned to assassinate the Prophet himself.
In the meanwhile, the Prophet’s message found a very receptive audience among
the people of Medina, a city in northern Arabia. So after thirteen years of hard
work in Mecca, the Prophet Muhammad migrated to Medina where he lived for the
last eleven years of his life.
It was in Medina that the Prophet founded the first Islamic community on the
principles of monotheism of the Almighty and brotherhood of the Muslims.
The Splendor of the Prophet of Islam
Previous Prophets mentioned some of the characteristics of the Prophet of Islam
in their heavenly books, giving their followers the glad tidings of his future
appearance. As the Quran says: "Those to whom We sent books (the Jews and the
Christians) know well of Muhammad and his truthfulness, just as they know their
own children, but some of them obstinately hide the truth, although they are
well aware of it." It was under these circumstances that the promised deliverer
Muhammad, upon whom be peace, was born at dawn on Friday, the seventeenth day of
the month of Rabi' al-Awwal, fifty three years before the migration (hijra),
corresponding to the year 570 of the Christian era, in the city of Mecca in the
Arabian Peninsula.
Exemplary Life of the Messenger of Allah
It was in the latter half of the sixth century, when the world was plunged in
utter darkness that the Holy Prophet Muhammad (S.A.W.), was born. The then known
world stood on the verge of destruction, with chaos as the order of the day and
pre-Islamic Arabia was no exception to this, rather it was in the lowest depths
of abysmal darkness; infanticide was rampant, debauchery was looked upon as
chivalrous, drunkenness was a common sight and all forms of evil was glorified.
Holy Prophet in his Youth
All tribes in Mecca were related to each other, thus they created treaties
between each other to insure the security from attacks. However, for a stranger
this was not the case. There was no one to protect a stranger if he had been
oppressed. A man came to Mecca from another town to do some business. Aas Ibn
Wa'el, a citizen of Mecca, purchased the man's materials and didn't pay anything
in return. The man went to the tribe of Quraish and asked for help, but no one
helped him. As a result of this event a group of youth from Quraish gathered and
agreed to stop any oppression on strangers. They named the agreement as "Helf
al-Fodul." Being one of the main members of establishing this agreement, Prophet
Muhammad (S.A.W.) joined the agreement. Later on he regarded it as an excellent
event.
Kindness in the life of the Holy Prophet (s)
The Holy Prophet (S.A.W.) has said, “If gentleness could have been a creature
perceived by eyes then it would have been the most beautiful of all creations of
Allah (SWT)”. (Bihar al-Anwaar)
The Beginning of the Prophetic Mission
Finally the appointed moment arrived, the moment which had been foretold by
previous Prophets to their followers. At the age of forty, the orphan son of
Abdullah attained the exalted station of messengerhood. It was he alone that
time had prepared for guiding the world with his message for only this great and
heavy responsibility could call for such qualities and virtues as he possessed.
Only in such a vast enterprise could the energies of that quintessence of all
existence unfold, for the entire being of Muhammad, upon whom be peace, was
prepared to undertake the grave task of prophethood.
The Prophet & Prophetic Tradition
The Prophet as the founder of Islam and the messenger of God's revelation to
mankind is the interpreter par excellence of the Book of God; and his Hadith and
Sunnah, his sayings and actions, are after the Quran, the most important sources
of the Islamic tradition. In order to understand the significance of the Prophet
it is not sufficient to study, from the outside historical texts pertaining to
his life. One must view him also from within the Islamic point of view and try
to discover the position he occupies in the religious consciousness of Muslims.
The Universal Mission of the Prophet of Islam
Islam emerged like a limpid fountain and increased in depth and expanse as time
went by. It finally became a great river passing through various human
societies, irrigating fields in which seeds of humanity were to be planted,
satisfying the thirst of human beings for salvation and justice. It is going on
and will surely continue to do so as long as there are human beings on earth
because human nature is thirsty for this heavenly faith and would perish if it
were denied it.
Muhammad in Early European Sources
Today academics have no problems in admitting the fact that the image of
Muhammad often given in the West prior to the last century and a half; has been
one of pure speculation and slander. In fact many scholars in the west of the
past century such as Karen Armstrong and Montgomery Watt have written essays and
articles or even books regarding the unfair portrayal of our Prophet in Europe.
The Sixth Imam, Ja'far Al-Sadiq (a)
This is an account of the Imam who was in charge (al-qai'im) after Abu Ja'far
Muhammad b. Ali, peace be on them, including who his mother was, the date of his
birth, evidence for his Imamate, his age, the period of his succession (to the
Imamate), the time of his death, the place of his grave, the number of his
children, and a brief outline of the reports about him.
The Teachings of Imam Al-Sadiq (a)
The Imam (A.S.) said: Our followers in secret and openness enjoy a number of
indications with which they are realized. As the man asked about these
indications, the Imam (A.S.) said: These are certain characters the first of
which is that they knew monotheism perfectly, they excelled in the rules of
Allah's oneness, and finally they believed in Allah's oneness and its
description. Then they recognized the outlines, facts, provisions, and
interpretation of faith.
1. Written by Abdulazeez s hussain kad. on 25-03-2008 17:13
Assalamu alikum warah matullahi wabarakatuhu.Ahlan bishahril mustapha(S)habibi rashidun murrash,shidun ,today muslim around the wold celebrate the birth day of the holly prophet(s)and that of imam jafar assadiq(AS) oh ALLAH touch the people care for ur prophet keef dem safe and happy remind them of ur love and bless them ameen .i wish All the muslim around the world happy mauluud,especially shamsul wulaya nasirul mahdi sheik ibrahim zakzaky(H).
2. Written by driton on 26-03-2008 15:35
this is the most beautiful day of the year the birthday of our beloved congratulations brothers
3. Written by Dr ABDULLAHI MUSA SHIA JOS on 07-04-2008 10:09
ASSALAMUALAIKUM i glad to be among the followers of ahlul bait which makes me more curent regd to the family of the noble prophet of islam thanks to ALLAH SWA AND THANKS TO MALAM I ZAKZAKI H A WASSALAM
4. Written by Mardiya abdulazeez salisu kadu on 08-04-2008 13:18
assalamu alaikum,ina matukar farin ciki da alla yakawo mu wannan wata mai al barka watan da aka haifi fiyyayyen halitta annabi sallallahu alaihi wa alihi ,kuma ina taya maulan mu sheik zakzaky h murnar mauluud ,allah ya taima keshi ya biya mashi dukkanin bukatunshi ya bar mu tare da shi ameem.
Write Comment
Please keep the topic of messages relevant to the subject of the article.
Comments posted are the sole opinion of the author and may not necessarily reflect the opinions of AIM.
