Mawlid Speech 2006
The Greatness of Prophet Muhammad
sallallahu ^alayhi wa sallam
Praise be to Allah, the Lord of the Worlds, to Him belong the endowments and proper commendations. May Allah increase the honor and raise the rank of our Master Muhammad sallallahu ^alayhi wa sallam and his kind Al and Companions and protect his nation from what he fears for it.
Thereafter, dear Muslims Allah said in the Honorable Qur’an, Al-Ahzab,45:
يَا أَيُّهَا النَّبِيُّ إِنَّا أَرْسَلْنَاكَ شَاهِدًا وَمُبَشِّرًا وَنَذِيرًا {45}
This means: O Prophet! Truly We have sent you as a Witness, a Bearer of good Tidings, and Warner,-
An honored and glorified memory is shining these days over the whole world, and is commemorated by the entire Muslim world. It is MAWLIDU-NABIYY, the birth of the best human our Master Muhammad sallallahu ^alayhi wa sallam.
Islamic chant (Madih) groups loudly and joyfully praise the Prophet sallallahu ^alayhi wa sallam, and the poems and speeches stating his good traits and manners are made in spite of Wahhabiyys, who have hatred towards the Messenger of Allah sallallahu ^alayhi wa sallam. On this great occasion let us state some of the great traits and manners of the Master of the humans.
The Messenger of Allah sallallahu ^alayhi wa sallam was born in Makkah in a place called “Suq-ul-Layl”. His father’s name is ^Abdullah the son of ^Abdul-Mutalib, his mother is ‘Aminah Bintu Wahab. Many good things happened to his mother ‘Aminah during her pregnancy with him. She never felt the weight of the fetus, which resulted in an easy carriage. She dreamt of a star falling in her lap, and when she sought interpretation, they told her that she will give birth to the master and the leader of the people.
If she ever sought water from a well, the water itself would rise to her. One time she said: “While I was half asleep, someone came to me and asked me if I felt pregnant. I answered that I did not. Then he told me that I am pregnant with the Master and the Prophet of this nation.” That incident assured ‘Aminah that she was pregnant.
It was also said that when the Prophet’s mother gave birth to him a light came out with him, illuminating what is between the East and the West. The Prophet sallallahu ^alayhi wa sallam landed on the ground resting on his hands, with his eyes opened and looking towards the sky.
He received the revelation in Makkah when he was forty years old, preached Islam as did the prophets and messengers before him. Allah ta^ala gave our Prophet sallallahu ^alayhi wa sallam, the beautiful and great manners which made him notable among his people, who had recognized him as the Truthful and Trustworthy long before he received the Revelation. His people saw that in him when he was: A young boy taking care of sheep, a grown man when he was conducting trades, a worshipper who used to make lot of dhikr, a preacher who was calling people to worship Allah, a leader in the battlefield where his Companions used to seek refuge by him, and as a just ruler who was looking after people with wisdom and good advice. He never committed any vile or bad action neither before prophethood nor after it.
Allah praised him in the Honorable Qur’an:
(وإِنَّكَ لَعَلَى خُلُقٍ عَظِيمٍ)
It means: “Verily, your manners are distinguished and great.“
When Lady ^A‘ishah (may Allah raise her rank) was asked about the prophet’s manners, she said:
“كان خلقه القرءان“
It means: “His manners were all what the Qur’an ordered to do.“
He was described with clemency, patience, and courage. Ibn ^Umar (may Allah raise his rank) said: “I have never seen someone more courageous, more generous, or more submitting to Allah than the Messenger of Allah sallallahu ^alayhi wa sallam.“
The Prophet sallallahu ^alayhi wa sallam used to visit the sick, and to accept the invitation of the rich and poor people. He used to order others wisely with obedience and prohibit them from disobedience. He encouraged forgiveness, pardoning others, and practicing the good conduct that Allah ordered to follow.
The greatness of our Master Muhammad sallallahu ^alayhi wa sallam was not like that of the tyrant kings who would love to enslave people and humiliate them. Ibn Majah related that once a man came to the prophet, when he saw him he was so frightened due to his awe, the Messenger of Allah sallallahu ^alayhi wa sallam said to him: “Take it easy on your self, for I’m not a king; I’m just the son of a lady from Quraysh who used to eat al-qadid.” [Al-qadid is the salted meat which is dried out under the sun.]
His greatness was not like that of the oppressor leaders who cause mischief on earth, those who are blood thirsty and are delighted to cause harm to the weak. When the Messenger of Allah sallallahu ^alayhi wa sallam entered Makkah with the banners of victory waving over his head, the people of Makkah were staring at him with frightened hearts; he said to them: “What do you think I would do to you ?” They said to him: “A generous brother who is the son of a generous brother.” He said to them: “You are free.” This is the greatness which prevails over oppression and tyranny.
The greatness of our Master Muhammad sallallahu ^alayhi wa sallam was not like that of the arrogant rich people who have no pity or mercy towards the poor and needy. He was known for his great generosity. Once a man came to him asking for some support, the Prophet sallallahu ^alayhi wa sallam gave him sheep which were grazing between two mountains, that man went to his people and said: “O people embrace Islam, for Muhammad gives as much as the one who does not fear poverty.”
This great Prophet which we are commemorating today his birth is the one who taught us the tawhid, he is the one who taught us that Allah does not resemble his creations, he is the one who taught us that Allah exists without a place and warned us from committing blasphemy. Allah the Exalted sent him as a mercy to the humans and jinn, lots of people were saved by his call. He said:
أنا أول شفيع يوم القيامة وأنا أكثر الأنبياء تبعًا يوم القيامة”
It means: “I am the first one who intercedes on the Day of Judgment, and I am the prophet with the most followers on the Day of Judgment.“
His saying: “I am the prophet with the most followers on the Day of Judgment.“, is because some of the prophets will come with only one believer in their call.
We, do not feel shy at all of celebrating the birth of the Prophet sallallahu ^alayhi wa sallam, at the same time we do not feel shy either of spreading the True Belief, the belief of the Prophet and the prophets before him. We are so proud to be among Ahlus-Sunnah wal-Jama^ah who carry the belief of the Companions and their followers.
We are among the hundreds of million of Muslims who commemorate the birth of the Master of all of the children of Adam our Prophet Muhammad sallallahu ^alayhi wa sallam. What is wrong with celebrating the birth of this great human, this great prophet? This practice was well known among the Muslims after the third Hijriyy century and is still observed until our present time . This great Prophet came with a great shar^ (law) indicating: The lawful (halal), the unlawful (haram), the obligatory (wajib), the recommended (sunnah), the disliked (makruh), the valid (sahih), the invalid (batil). The one who learns the personal obligatory knowledge and passes it on to his parents, wife, kids, beloved ones, neighbors has won a lot.
Dear Muslims do attend the Religious Knowledge sessions and implement what you learn so that you will be complete and true followers of the Messenger of Allah sallallahu ^alayhi wa sallam. However, chanting and praising the Messenger of Allah sallallahu ^alayhi wa sallam, and putting decorations without performing the obligations and avoiding the prohibitions is not what the Messenger of Allah sallallahu ^alayhi wa sallam loves for us. What he loves for us is to perform the obligations and to avoid the prohibitions. While we say that we stress on our disagreement with the Wahhabiyy sect, who deem unlawful celebrating the birth of the Messenger of Allah sallallahu ^alayhi wa sallam (Mawlid). They also say that it is not permissible to aggrandize the Prophet sallallahu ^alayhi wa sallam, they have no foundation to their claim; they do not even have one religious proof to their false claims. Allah said in Surah Al-A^raf verse 157:
(فَالَّذِينَ ءَامَنُواْ بِهِ وَعَزَّرُوهُ)
In this verse Allah praised those believed in the Prophet sallallahu ^alayhi wa sallam and aggrandized him.
(عَزَّرُوه) means: “aggrandized him.” This verse negates the claim of those wahhabiyys who have hatred towards the Prophet sallallahu ^alayhi wa sallam and at the same time do not feel shy from likening Allah to his creations.
We also disagree with those singers who perform the unlawful singing without performing the obligations and avoiding the prohibitions.
Learning the rules of the Religion and spreading it amongst the Muslims is a very important matter, so do not just attend the Mawlid celebrations to listen to the chants while not learning the personal obligatory knowledge; because knowledge protects you whereas you protect money. So be eager to acquire that knowledge and do not be among those whom the Devil makes fun of due to their ignorance.