The earth is not the earth and the heavens, a new garment covers the universe, and the mouth of time smiles and praises, and its ears await the great news, and the supreme birth of the universe, the veil is removed little by little, and then beauty and majesty are as the best that the beholder sees, and the most dazzling that values and days reveal. The noble Prophet Muhammad, may God bless him and grant him peace, was born.
Guidance was born, and all beings are light
And the chains began to collapse continuously, and every deity other than God Almighty seemed to withdraw into itself, and the earth listened to the sky when the fluttering of the angels’ wings resounded in the two worlds, and the highest angels looked at the house of Bint Wahb, where the world was shining with the birth of the noble Prophet Muhammad bin Abdullah bin Abdul Muttalib bin Hashim, the son of the master of the valley, and also the master of existence, and the imam of all existence.
The birth of the noble Prophet, may God bless him and grant him peace, was an exception in the events of the days, for it was the birth of the guided mercy, his mother carried him safely and in peace, and she did not find what pregnant women find of the weight of pregnancy, but rather she spoke about herself as the books of biography narrated: “Ibn Ishaq said: Amina bint Wahb, the mother of the Messenger of God, may God bless him and grant him peace, used to say that she was visited in her sleep when she became pregnant with him, may God bless him and grant him peace, and it was said to her: You have become pregnant with the master of this nation, so when he falls to the ground, say: I seek refuge in God from the evil of every envier, then name him Muhammad. And when she became pregnant with him, she saw that a light came out of her that illuminated the palaces of Busra in the land of Ash-Sham.”
When she gave birth to him, she sent to his grandfather, Abdul Muttalib: “A boy has been born to you. Go and look at him.” So he looked at him and she told him what she had seen when she was pregnant with him, what had been said to her about him and what she had been commanded to name him.
Uthman bin Abi Al-Aas said: My mother told me that she witnessed the birth of Amina bint Wahb, the mother of the Messenger of God, may God bless him and grant him peace, on the night he was born. She said: “There is nothing I look at in the house except light. I look at the stars approaching until I think they will fall on me. When she gave birth, a light came out of her that illuminated the house and the home, until I could see nothing but light.”
Happy Monday of Rabi' al-Aghr
Although the narrators were unable to determine the exact date, it is associated with most Muslims with the twelfth day of Rabi’ al-Awwal, even though the Prophet, may God bless him and grant him peace, did not specify a precise day other than Monday, saying, “That is the day on which I was born, and on which the revelation was sent down to me.”
The historians of the Prophet’s biography review several close dates in the month of Rabi’ al-Awwal, as Ibn al-Athir quotes in his book Al-Kamil from the historian of the biography Ibn Ishaq: “Ibn Ishaq said: The Messenger of God – may God bless him and grant him peace – was born on Monday, twelve nights before the end of Rabi’ al-Awwal, and he was born in the house known as the House of Ibn Yusuf. It was said that the Messenger of God – may God bless him and grant him peace – gave it to Aqil ibn Abi Talib, and it remained in his possession until he died, then his son sold it to Muhammad ibn Yusuf, the brother of al-Hajjaj, and he built his house called the House of Ibn Yusuf, and included that house in the house, until al-Khayzuran removed it and made it a mosque in which to pray. It was said that he was born ten days before the end of it, and it was said that it was two nights before the end of it.”
The birth of the Prophet, may God bless him and grant him peace, was a dazzling event, associated with the memory of the Year of the Elephant, that huge army that Abraha of Abyssinia led to Mecca to demolish its sacred Kaaba, but God repelled it with birds of Ababil that rained down stones and death upon it in droves. This ended the story of the army that was led by blind tyranny to its end, which began at Al-Qalis and ended with rubble and scattered limbs, and heavenly wrath.
Among these various dates, most Muslims chose the twelfth of Rabi’ al-Awwal to be the date for celebrating the anniversary of the Prophet’s birth.
Among the Muslim peoples, there are those who postpone the celebration until the 17th of Rabi’ al-Awwal to celebrate the day of the honorable Aqeeqah, at a time when the customs and traditions associated with this honorable birth are many, although they are united by the constant celebration and display of rituals of love and joy at the birth of the Master of the Prophets.
Just as the difference occurred in time, it also occurred in place. Many Muslims believe that he was born in the place where the Makkah Library building is currently located, located on the eastern side of the Grand Mosque courtyard.
Although there is disagreement about the accuracy of the information confirming that the library of Mecca is the place of his birth, may God bless him and grant him peace, it is certain that he was born, may God bless him and grant him peace, in that area that was called the Banu Hashim tribe, as confirmed by historical sources.
Universal love and constant debate
Muslims do not disagree on their love for the Prophet Muhammad, peace and blessings be upon him. Because of love, they have disagreed for some time about celebrating the anniversary of the Prophet’s birth, and whether it can be called a holiday. Out of love, most Muslims around the world have celebrated the anniversary of the Prophet’s birth for centuries. Also out of love and the need to avoid innovation, others refuse to celebrate, especially those from contemporary Salafi movements, considering it an innovation that the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, and his companions did not do.
Islamic history books mention that the first person to do this was the ruler of Irbil, King Al-Muzaffar Abu Saeed Kukbari bin Zain Al-Din Ali bin Buktukin, one of the glorious kings and generous leaders. He had good works, and he was the one who built the Al-Muzaffari Mosque at the foot of Qasioun, as Al-Suyuti said.
Ibn Kathir elaborates on the story of this king’s celebration of the birth, saying, “He used to celebrate the honorable birth in Rabi’ al-Awwal and celebrate it with a huge celebration. Sheikh Abu al-Khattab ibn Dihya wrote a volume for him on the birth of the Prophet, which he called “Enlightenment on the Birth of the Herald of the Warner,” and he rewarded him for that with a thousand dinars.”
As for Al-Hafiz Ibn Hajar, he attributes the celebration of the Mawlid to innovation, but he follows the action with the intention and purpose when he says, “The origin of the celebration of the Mawlid is an innovation that was not transmitted from any of the righteous predecessors of the three centuries, the Companions, the Followers, and the Followers of the Followers. However, it has included good things and their opposites. So whoever seeks out the good things in his celebration and avoids their opposites, it is a good innovation, otherwise it is not.”
Between celebration and good innovation, Muslims walked for centuries without the dispute over the twelfth of Rabi’ al-Awwal having a major impact, before it later expanded with the last century into endless intellectual and jurisprudential battles.
Among the contemporaries, the head of the Scholars Center in Mauritania, Sheikh Muhammad al-Hasan Ould al-Daddu, takes a complex position regarding the Noble Birth, where he bases his opinion on:
- The birth of the Prophet is a remembrance of joy for the Prophet, may God bless him and grant him peace, and joy for him and his birth, may God bless him and grant him peace, is part of honoring and respecting him. As for considering it a holiday and dedicating it to a known act of worship, this is an innovation.
- Reiterating the memory of the birth is an educational need to remind Muslims of the Prophet, may God bless him and grant him peace, after the warmth of love and longing that distinguished the first generation of followers after the noble companions had subsided in souls.
- The day of the Prophet’s death, may God bless him and grant him peace, cannot be mathematically identical to the twelfth day of Rabi’ al-Awwal in the year 10 AH, which negates the suspicion that those celebrating the anniversary of the birth celebrate the day of the death of the great Prophet, may God bless him and grant him peace.
Festival of Praise Across the Centuries
The honorable birth of the Prophet enriched the Arabic and dialectal literature in the entire Islamic world with fresh poetry and beautiful melodies, and the Mawlid song and mawwal had an everlasting influence that transcended time.
It can be said that what was written about the Noble Prophet in all the languages of the Islamic world are collections of love and prophetic longings, and Imam Al-Busiri represents the title of the first prophetic praise, especially his two poems, Al-Hamziyah and Al-Burda, which represented the highest level that poets later wove on their model.
How did the prophets ascend to your level? O sky, no sky has ever reached it.
How wonderful is the necklace of nobility and pride… in which you are the orphaned, unshakable one.
And a face like the sun shining from you… A bright night revealed it
The night of the birth of the Prophet, which was a day of joy and pride for the religion.
And the good news came in succession from the phone calls that…the Chosen One had been born, and congratulations were due.
And the palace of Kisra collapsed, and were it not for… a sign from you, the building would not have collapsed.
And every house will be a fire, and in it there will be distress and calamity from its extinguishing.
As for the Turkish poet Suleiman Çelebi, he made the Mawlid the focus of his long poem, which exceeded 800 verses, and was called the Ship of Salvation. It became, among the Turks, an icon of praise, perfumed with it the Mawlid sessions and the circles of praise, which were among the most prominent walls that protected Turkey’s identity in the face of the violent storms of secularism.
His mother, how wonderful is the one who gave birth to… a pearl brought out from the depths of the sea
Abdullah's husband and Amina.. her pregnancy has completed the passage of time
Those who saw it saw it with their own eyes… and those who did not see it told the story
His Lord chose him, the best beloved… Whatever illness he had, he became the doctor.
Oh, what happiness after him… Whoever saw, I wish I knew his dew
By God's will, he has become the perfect one… and he was the most preferred over all people.
Amidst the fragrant longings and the eternal celebration, the memory of the Prophet’s birthday remains the title of the greatest Islamic joy, and the firmest bond that unites all Muslims, their countries, peoples and sects in the love of the Prophet Muhammad, may God bless him and grant him peace. Even if they differ regarding the celebration of his memory, they agree that it is the starting point of Islam and mercy. “Say: ‘Then in the bounty of God and in His mercy – in that let them rejoice. That is better than what they accumulate.’”
