Milad un Nabi

﷽

Milad un Nabi

In the name of God, Most Gracious, Most Merciful. Praise be to God, the Cherisher and Sustainer of the Worlds, Most Gracious, Most Merciful, Master of the day of judgment. Thee do we worship and thy aid we seek, show us the straight way, the way of those on whom Thou hast bestowed Thy grace. those whose (portion) is not wrath and who go not astray.

Brothers and Sisters

Thank you so much for your kind invitation for me to talk to you on this grand occasion of the anniversary celebration of the Holy Prophet Muhammad ﷺ. I would like to express my great pleasure to participate in this glorious occasion. God Almighty has sent Prophet Muhammad ﷺ as a mercy to mankind to guide them and to lead them towards the light. His life is a perfect example for all Muslims and for mankind. It has been mentioned in the Holy Qur’an that:

لَّقَدْ كَانَ لَكُمْ فِى رَسُولِ ٱللَّهِ أُسْوَةٌ حَسَنَةٌۭ لِّمَن كَانَ يَرْجُوا۟ ٱللَّهَ وَٱلْيَوْمَ ٱلْـَٔاخِرَ وَذَكَرَ ٱللَّهَ كَثِيرًۭا

"Ye have indeed in the Apostle of God a beautiful pattern of (conduct) for anyone whose hope in God and the Final Day and who engage much in the praise of God."

(Al-Ahzab: 21)

His blessed life is a good example for us because His ﷺ character was ideal, His dealings with others was wonderful, his behavior was excellent and his conduct earned him the title “al-amin - the trustworthy, even before he received the message.

Muhammad ﷺ was born in Mecca. His father died before his birth. He was protected by his grandfather and later by his uncle. He grew up parentless, He worked and traveled. He lived as a human, but not like everyone. He lived a clean and perfect life before. During his Prophethood he said: “My Lord has educated me.”

He was adorned with the spirit of understanding, wisdom and was given the energy and the abilities to be the leader of the world. He is the Messenger of God ﷻ.

His mission is the last message to mankind. The Creator wants it to be a complete religion, so that Allah ﷻ did not only give the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ some miracles but the greatest miracle was the revelation of the Holy Quran which contains the principles which can guarantee happiness to individuals and to entire societies. The first word revealed to Prophet Muhammad ﷺ was “read” and the first verses were:

"Read in the name of The Lord who created, Createth (man) from clot, Read and it is Thy Lord the Most Bountiful Who teacheth by the pen Teacheth (man) that which he knew not."

(Al-’Alaq:1-5)

Allah Almighty ﷻ did not intend that Islam was to be a set of theories or impractical principles. The Holy Quran was revealed over a period of twenty-three years to enable the Muslims to adopt its principles and realize them in their lives; that period in reality was a practical education for Muslims to establish the Islamic society under the care of Prophet Muhammadﷺ. The Holy Quran started with the word “read” because the intention was to eradicate paganism and to transform an ignorant society into an educated and civilized nation whose mission is to guide humanity.

At the end of the third year the Prophet ﷺ received the command “Arise and warn” and it was only then that he began to preach publicly. Before that, he was in private contact with persons whom he trusted and met with at “Dar al-Arqam. It was in private that they worshiped Allah and recited verses of the Quran that had been revealed.

The public call transformed the message into a new stage by God’s decree. The Prophet ﷺ warned, pleaded and threatened Quraysh with punishment from Allah ﷻ if they continued to reject the message of Islam and to ridicule him. His followers suffered torture, starvation and humiliation.

The polytheists labeled the Prophet a “madman” and they boycotted the Muslims. They tried to bring the Prophet ﷺ to a compromise by offering to accept his religion if he were to modify it. They offered to make him their king if he would give up attacking their idolatry. They bargained with him but they failed to get him to compromise with them. They went to his uncle Abu Talib offering him the best of their young men if he allowed them to kill Muhammad ﷺ and get rid of His religion. His uncle refused.

After the Prophet ﷺ saw the suffering and torture of his followers at the hands of Quraysh, he permitted them to make a hijra to the land of Abysiniyya (Ethiopia). He remained in Mecca with a handful of his companions when he traveled to the town of Taif, their people turned against him. Instead he was limited to meeting the people and their leaders who came to perform pilgrimage.

With a great deal of energy and patience, he did what he could to fulfill his mission. Then he met some residents from the city of Madinah. They took an oath to protect him and this came to be known as the pact of Al-Aqaba. Thereafter, Muslims were permitted to seek refuge in Madinah. After they had all departed, the Prophet himself ﷺ and his companion Abu Bakr traveled to Madinah. That journey came to be known as the Hijrah which marked a clear division in the life of Our Prophet ﷺ and His mission. Until then, he was a preacher only, but in Madinah he ﷺ became a ruler of the state. That state grew to eventually prevail all over the Arab Peninsula.

In Madinah, he ﷺ started another stage and encountered a different set of challenges. He established the fundamentals of the Islamic society and confronted his enemies. Then he received the command of Allah ﷻ that he was permitted to fight his enemies. Many battles took place under the leadership of the Prophet who was educating the Muslims and giving them the best example in conduct and dealing with problems with patience while believing and putting their trust in God. He was explaining to his followers what they should do to please Allah ﷻ, the Creator, and instructing them in the principles of Islam.

During that time, the Holy Quran was being revealed according to the needs of the emerging community and the circumstances which they were facing. In the meantime, the Prophet ﷺ taught His followers the good as distinct from evil and instructed them about matters that Allah ﷻ wants from the creatures and their mission in this life and the promise of what is in store for them in the life to come. In the 9th year after Hijrah Prophet Muhammadﷺ made the farewell pilgrimage. He reminded all Muslims of the duties of Islam and enjoined upon them that one day they would have to meet their Lord who would judge them eAch one according to his work. At the end of the discourse He asked “Have I not conveyed the message?” The people responded in the affirmative. The Prophet said, "O, Allah ﷻ, be thy witness” and with that he accomplished his duty to his Lord ﷻ.

All the Surahs of the Holy Quran have been recorded in writing before the Prophet's ﷺ death and many Muslims had committed the whole Quran to memory. No change has been made to a single word of the Quran. While we are celebrating the birth of Our Prophet Muhammad ﷺ we have an opportunity to listen to others who spoke justly about him. Of course, I cannot in my short time say all they have said, but I will take two examples - one from the West and the other from the East. In addition, they represent different religions and ideologies. The first one is the famous French social scientist, Monsieur Gustave Le Bon, who said:

“Muhammad was the greatest revolutionary leader known to us. He had left an imprint on the whole course of human history which no man after him has been able to efface. Indeed he appeared at the cross-road of human history and changed the course of human history.”

The second quote is that of the Indian Leader Mahatma Gandhi, who said:

“He was a great Prophet, he was brave and feared no man but God alone. He was never found to say one thing and do another. He acted as He felt. It was the rigid simplicity, the utter self effacement of the Prophet, the scrupulous regard for pledge, his intense devotion to his friends and followers, His fearlessness, His absolute trust in God and his own mission, those and not the sword, carried everything before him, surmounted every obstacle.”

Dear Brothers and Sisters

Talking about Prophet Muhammad ﷺ can never be exhausted. Indeed, the most important message for us is to imitate him and practice his sunnah because Allah ﷻ said about him in the Holy Quran:

وَإِنَّكَ لَعَلَىٰ خُلُقٍ عَظِيمٍۢ

"And Thou (standest) on an exalted standard of character"

(Al-Qalam:4)

His life was a practical translation of the Quran and his obedience is an ordinance to all Muslims. Allah ﷻ says in the Holy Book:

وَمَا كَانَ لِمُؤْمِنٍۢ وَلَا مُؤْمِنَةٍ إِذَا قَضَى ٱللَّهُ وَرَسُولُهُۥٓ أَمْرًا أَن يَكُونَ لَهُمُ ٱلْخِيَرَةُ مِنْ أَمْرِهِمْ ۗ وَمَن يَعْصِ ٱللَّهَ وَرَسُولَهُۥ فَقَدْ ضَلَّ ضَلَـٰلًۭا مُّبِينًۭا

"It is not fitting for a believer, man or woman, when matter has been decided by God and His Apostle to have any option about their decision. If anyone disobeys God and His Apostle he is indeed on a clearly wrong path"

(Al-Ahzab: 36)

And we know that a Muslim’s belief is not complete unless he obeys Prophet Muhammad . Not only this, but a Muslim must seek eagerly to please Him. Someone may ask, "how can we obey him while he is not alive?" The answer should be as he said before he died, “I leave you with the Holy Quran and my Sunnah (tradition). You will not be misguided so long as you hold fast and practice them."

We should study the Holy Quran and the Prophetic traditions very carefully to know what is our duty in this life. I believe that it is unreasonable that Allah ﷻ would create mankind just for us to live and die. What is the difference then between us and other animals? What is the benefit of the mind which we have? I believe the purpose of our being is greater than eating, drinking, sleeping and so on.

Our original duty in this life is to worship Allah ﷻ to Whom everything belongs. Worshiping is not only to say prayers, but also to do righteousness which is detailed in the Holy Quran and the Sunnah and every Muslim should not miss them. This righteousness has been included in Surah Al-’Asr, Time Through the Ages:

"By (the token of) time (through the ages)

verily man is in loss, except such as have

faith and do righteous deeds and (join together)

in the mutual teaching of truth and of patience and constancy"

If we speculate on life as a business bargain, there will be possibilities of gain and loss. The gain will not be obtained easily and many efforts should be made and a lot of sacrifices may be offered. So if we like to get the best we should have faith, lead a good life, direct and encourage others to step on the path of truth and constancy. A Muslim cannot be alone, cannot live only for himself. If he did so he could not fulfill his whole duty whatever good he has, especially in the moral and spiritual realm. He must concern himself with his family, his relatives and his society, so that they may see the truth and stand by it with patience and hope, unshaken in constancy amidst the storms and stresses of outward life. It is the unparalleled way to attain our objective and fulfill our duties. The Muslim individual must be the most useful citizen to his society, his country, his nation and mankind, as well as to the Muslim community.

So long as Muslims act according to the Islamic teaching, Allah ﷻ reveals in the Holy Quran:

كُنتُمْ خَيْرَ أُمَّةٍ أُخْرِجَتْ لِلنَّاسِ تَأْمُرُونَ بِٱلْمَعْرُوفِ وَتَنْهَوْنَ عَنِ ٱلْمُنكَرِ وَتُؤْمِنُونَ بِٱللَّهِ ۗ وَلَوْ ءَامَنَ أَهْلُ ٱلْكِتَـٰبِ لَكَانَ خَيْرًۭا لَّهُم ۚ مِّنْهُمُ ٱلْمُؤْمِنُونَ وَأَكْثَرُهُمُ ٱلْفَـٰسِقُونَ

"Ye are the best society that hath been raised up to mankind, Ye enjoin the right conduct and forbid the wrong and ye believe in Allah"

(Ale-Imran: 110)

Unfortunately, the Islamic nation now is in a state of backwardness. They are not occupying their rightful place in the world because they are abandoning Islam and are not holding fast to its teaching in spite of the fact that Islam is suitable everywhere and forever, and it is only that people misunderstand or abuse its teachings.

Brothers and Sisters

Your religion is great and you can only appreciate this when you understand it, and knowledge is the pat to belief and to the worship Allah ﷻ who says:

إِنَّمَا يَخْشَى ٱللَّهَ مِنْ عِبَادِهِ ٱلْعُلَمَـٰٓؤُا۟ ۗ

"Those truly fear God among his servants, who have knowledge."

(Fatir: 28)

And He ﷻ reveals:

وَمَا يَسْتَوِى ٱلْأَعْمَىٰ وَٱلْبَصِيرُ

"Those blind ˹to the truth˺ and those who can see are not equal."

(Fatir: 19)

This means that the one who does not seek the truth is like a person who is blind.

Note: This talk was the first speech that Ustadh Ahmad Ehwas delivered in Guyana in March 1977 at the Youm-an-Nabi event organized by the Joint Islamic Society and held at St. Rose’s High School. Ustadh Ahmad would usually print multiple copies of his talks and give them to the brothers whom he believed would benefit from them. Faisal Baksh held onto the hard copy that was given to him. He scanned it and the text was edited by Nazim Baksh to help readers appreciate and perhaps benefit from the ideas and concepts that Ustadh Ahmad introduced to the Muslim community in Guyana.