Yâ Hâbib Yâ Sâhib al-Qadam

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The Creator chose Meem
Sallallahu alaihi wa sallam
To inaugurate his ‘kun’

Mustafa into the world arrived
‘Fa Yakun’ has since continued

Mustafa is the ‘Bismi’
To whom all owe praise

All praise to the Merciful Him
Into this cosmos was sent Meem

All praise to the Mighty Him-
Earth so blessed, rest not

All praise to the Wise Him-
Adam’s race chosen, rest not

The world remains alive
As far as sounded is his name

Seasons come and go
His thoughts still glow

O my leader!
My savior
My love
My…

Praising you is my only means
To stay clean from inhuman stains

O Gem of this cosmos
O fragrance of Paradise

Help me, O Beloved
To describe your own greatness

I have no more words
Nor any apt lines

To perfect you praise
I undergo numerous pains

I wish to do justice
To your magnificence

O Beloved!

I wish not everyone know
The love for you I show

I play hide and seek
Such my love not leak

Yet how can I conceal
The thrill of you I feel

Your love is like musk
Its smell spreads fire-like

I have a wretched soul
I live in total disorder

I want to cry
In your love I die

Make me of your clan
May I become human

O Muhammad!

Into this world
I would not have been born
This cosmos with you
Lord did not adorn

3. The Fast of Ashura

Bukhaari and Muslim narrate from Abdullah ibn Abbas that when the Prophet SallAllahu alaihi wasallam arrived in Madinah

‘He found the Jews fasting on the day of Ashura so he enquired about it from them. They replied ‘This is the day in which Allah received Musa and the Bani Israil upon Firawn and we fast in its honour’  (Bukhaari & Muslim)

To this the Prophet SallAllahu alaihi wasallam replied;

‘We are closer to Musa than you and ordered the fast’ (Bukhaari)

In a second narration of Bukhaari the Prophet SallAllahu alaihi wasallam said to the companions

‘You have more right to Musa than them so fast on it’

When the Imam ul Muhaditheen Hafiz Ibn Hajar was asked about the gathering of Milaad, in its permissibity, he referred to this hadith and said;

‘The narration of the Sahihain (Bukaari and Muslim) has the rank of Sanad (proof) in the permissibility of the gathering of Milaad’ (Al Mawrid Ar Rawaa 31)

It is true! If it is permissible to commemorate the day when Allah favoured Musa and his Ummah, how can it be bid’ah and deviation to show gratitude at that time when Allah blessed this Ummah with the greatest favour, about which even Musa said ‘Oh Allah, make me one of his Ummah’ And because the Prophet SallAllahu alaihi wasallam is the greatest blessing it is more important and right for this Ummah to show gratitude. This is what Hafiz Ibn Hajar explained in his own words.

‘This act of the Prophet upon him be Allah’s blessing and Salutation reveals that Allah should be thanked on the day in which His blessing is received or a catastrophe is lifted and He should also be thanked when that day returns. There are many ways of thanking Allah such as worship, prostration, fasting, charity and recitation’ (Al Mawrid Ar Rawaa 31)

After this prelude he turns the readers attention to the fact that all blessings have their respective places but;

‘The greatest blessing of all is the arrival on that day of the honourable Prophet upon him be Allah’s blessing and Salutation’ (Al Mawid Ar Rawaa 31)



An oft quoted objection is;

“The celebration of Milaad is similar to (or an imitation of) the acts of the Jews and Christians who celebrate the day of the birth of Isa as an Eid”

To this we respond in the following way:

The above mentioned hadith should have destroyed such an objection because no one knows the Shariah better than the legislator himself! And according to (the reasoning of) these critics the Prophet upon him be Allah’s blessing and Salutation should have prohibited fasting on the day of Ashura because the Jews fasted on it. But he did not forbid such similarity in good acts! Instead he ordered a show of greater love and directed the companions to fast! So what room is there for such an objection?

Note that the similarity which Islam forbade is in those beliefs and acts which negate Islam. It is mandatory to refrain from such matters for Allah shall be displeased with anyone who undertakes such similarity.

Further, those aware of the inner secrets of Islam have actually claimed that if the Christians celebrate the day of their Prophets birth then the Muslims should celebrate the day of their Prophets birth with greater fervour! And that this would not be an imitation of the disbelievers but would instead be the living death of satanic forces. Listen to what Imam ul Quraa Hafiz ul Hadith Shaykh Ibn Jazari writes

‘In it (Milaad) is death for satanic forces and life for the believers. And if the Christians take the day of the birth of their Prophet as their greatest Eid then the Muslims have a greater right in honouring the Milaad day of their Prophet’ (Al Mawrid Ar Rawaa 29-30)

Another typical objection:

“The birth of the Prophet SallAllahu alaihi wasallam happened once and that day has passed. This event does not happen each year so what is the need to commemorate it (each year)?”

The response:

The Prophet’s SallAllahu alaihi wasallam action described in the above hadith bears witness to the fact that when the day, in which a specific bounty of Allah occurred, returns it is commemorated in gratitude. This is based on the fact that when the Jews revealed that this was the day in which Allah gave salvation to Musa and the Bani Israeel and destroyed Firawn and his nation the Prophet SallAllahu alaihi wasallam replied that in future he would also fast and ordered the companions to do so. If it was bid’ah to commemorate this day each year would anyone have been more aware of this than the Prophet SallAllahu alaihi wasallam? Rather than forbidding it he established the principle that the day in which a blessing of Allah occurs should be remembered through a show of happiness.

In using this hadith as a basis Shaykh Muhammad Alawi Maliki states

‘The Prophet SallAllahu alaihi wasallam took account of past times in which religious events took place and when those times returned he would honour them by showing happiness in remembrance of the religious event. (This is) for the day became the ‘arena’ for those religious events. The Prophet SallAllahu alaihi wasallam blessed us this principle himself through his actions and words, for example the Sahih hadith in which he saw the Jews in Madeenah fasting on Ashura and ordered the companions to also fast.’ (Muqaddima Al Mawrid Ar Rawaa 10)

All the days that are celebrated in Islam are in reality the remembrance (of something). Take for example the celebration of the Quran’s revelation, it is celebrated each year but the Quran is not revealed each year. Similarly day of Jumaah is in remembrance of Syeduna Adam, other days include the fast of Ashura, Night of Qadr and Night of Baraa’h! When each of these days return they bring back with them all their blessings, so how blessed is the day of the Prophet’s SallAllahu alaihi wasallam birth ?

Milaad and the Sunnah of the Prophet SallAllahu alaihi wasallam

We will mention just three actions of the Prophet SallAllahu alaihi wasallam which our Aslaaf (elders) have used as a basis of the Milaad gathering.

‘In it (this hadith) is a signal towards the fact that it is good practice to fast on the days in which Allah bestowed His servants with a blessing. And surely the greatest blessing upon this Ummah is the appearance of Syedina Muhammad sall Allaahu alaihi wasallam, his mission and his prophethood just as Allah says ‘Undoubtedly Allah favoured the believers when He sent to them the Messenger’. Verily the sending of the Prophet, SallAllahu alaihi wasallam is a blessing greater than the blessings of the creating of the sky, earth, sun, moon, wind, night, day, falling of rain, growing of plants etc. Of course these (latter mentioned) blessings are great blessings for all of humanity, even for those who have rejected Allah and His prophet and show ingratitude for them. But with the arrival of the Prophet, SallAllahu alaihi wasallam all the virtues of this and the next world were completed. Because of him the religion was completed just as Allah had wished it for His servants and whose acceptance would lead to prosperity for the servants in this and the next world.

Consequently fasting on the days these blessings were received from Allah is a beautiful deed. And this is part of renewing thanks for the blessing and the day of Ashura is an example of this’

1. The Fast of Monday

The beloved Prophet SallAllahu alaihi wasallam fasted every Monday.
Syeduna Qataada asked him about this and he replied;

‘This is the day in which I was born and in which it (Quran) was revealed’ (Muslim, Book of Siyaam)

Using the above hadith to evidence the Milaad gathering Shaykh Muhammad Alawi Maliki writes that through this action ‘he (highlights) the greatness of the day of his birth; the gratitude on it to Allah for the greatest blessing upon him and the Fadhl of his presence being good fortune for all those present. And all this greatness was expressed through fasting. And this too is what the Milaad gathering is - even if it has a different appearance, its purpose is the same – whether it be a fast or distributing food or gatherings for the Dhikr and Salaat upon the Nabi or listening to his honoured
Shamaail (characteristics)’ (Muqaddima, Mawrid arRawaa 9-10)

In other words, the underlying basis of all these actions is the same, to thank Allah for His greatest blessing.

Shaykh Ibn Rajab Hanbali writes that this hadith proves it is Mustahab to fast on the days in which a blessing of Allah is received. And the greatest blessing for the Ummah is the arrival of the Prophet SallAllahu alaihi wasallam.

‘In it (this hadith) is a signal towards the fact that it is good practice to fast on the days in which Allah bestowed His servants with a blessing. And surely the greatest blessing upon this Ummah is the appearance of Syedina Muhammad sall Allaahu alaihi wasallam, his mission and his prophethood just as Allah says ‘Undoubtedly Allah favoured the believers when He sent to them the Messenger’. Verily the sending of the Prophet SallAllahu alaihi wasallam is a blessing greater than the blessings of the creating of the sky, earth, sun, moon, wind, night, day, falling of rain, growing of plants etc. Of course these (latter mentioned) blessings are great blessings for all of humanity, even for those who have rejected Allah and His prophet SallAllahu alaihi wasallam and show ingratitude for them. But with the arrival of the Prophet SallAllahu alaihi wasallam all the virtues of this and the next world were completed. Because of him the religion was completed just as Allah had wished it for His servants and whose acceptance would lead to prosperity for the servants in this and the next world. Consequently fasting on the days these blessings were received from Allah is a beautiful deed. And this is part of renewing thanks for the blessing and the day of Ashura is an example of this’
(Lataaif ul Ma’arif : 189)




2. Sacrificing an Animal in gratitude in Madeenah

Imam Suyuti writes that he believes the proof of Milaad to be found in the hadith is the Prophet’s SallAllahu alaihi wasallam act in Madinah of sacrificing an animal, in gratitude to Allah, in happiness of his birth. Some claim this act was Aqeeqah but Imam Suyooti rejects this by explaining that the Aqeeqah of the Prophet SallAllahu alaihi wasallam had been performed by the Prophet’s SallAllahu alaihi wasallam grandfather Syedina Abd’ul Muttalib.

‘The Aqeeqah is not repeated so this act of the Prophet SallAllahu alaihi wasallam has to be interpreted as a display of gratitude to Allah for making him the Rahmat ulil Alameen and to make it permissible for his Ummah’ (Husn ul Maqsad fi Amal il Mawlid 196)


To be continued -

Love and its pangs are enough to live by;
There is enough emotional food in a love-sick heart’s cry.
If you need a religious poet as your guide;
"Hassan bin Thabit’s footprint is enough" say I.

When the beloved cameth; There were very special arrangements made to
welcome this unique guest. Allah granted His creation favour after
favour, but never seeked claim, recognition nor recompense, but when it came to
granting His creation His beloved; He said; "Undoubtedly, Allah did a
great favour to the Muslims" *

It was the spring of humanity; there were echos of the welcoming
greetings in the dales and valleys.

The Angels and the Skies were singing happy songs in their own ways
like nightingales.

On the Heavens above and the Earth below there was a festive
celebration; The dazzling lights came down smiling and the fragrant
perfumes went up on this occassion.

The light emitted by his radiant face created moonlight for Humanity;
The night was resplendently lit through a multitude of mirrors that
brightly shone great palaces seemed small from afar, infront of this light.

The sky felt over awed and the stars became dimmer and dimmer;
Truly His better then sun like radiant face eclipsed the stars that twinkle;
The Moonlight and starlight looked like shadows in his Sunshine.

The Ka’abah dressed herself most immaculately to welcome her
bridegroom with pride; Hubal, Lat and all the other dust was thrown
face down.

The clouds spontaneously advanced and the hearts engaged in a peacock
dance; To honour the prophet in a creative stance the Ka’abah gazed at
him in a lyrical trance.

The happy hills smiled and their elegant tops stood out in the space; the shoots of green grass and grains of desert sand rhythmically moved with grace.

The fresh looking and well clad rivers ran through the well trimmed bowers; It was a rare visual feast of stormy waves, rushing waterfalls and bubbling showers.

The old white floor of moonlight was removed as it was not stain free the heavens and earth was decked; The one Most precious to Allah had arrived amongst his creation, More precious to to us than our lives was he to be, On which our humble hearts were to lay, the heavenly damsels and the wings of the angels lay.

The moon was to soon split, the trees to speak, the animals made prostration;
God be praised! You are the focal point of his entire creation. 

That moment was indescribably exciting, when the angels, pure and wise, gathered round him and dressed him as the bridegroom of Earth and Paradise.

Syeda Amina Smiled, from her was to be emitted a light, that was going to be distributed among beggars with generosity. The moon and the sun begged most eagerly for this charity.

Falling at the prophet’s feet is mankinds fate;
May on the that day my heart like mercury evaporate. 

Let us tell everyone our beloved is here! he will help the helpless through his compassion;
Give this good news to those who are grief ridden! 

May Allah never deprive me of the love of His messenger;
May ill luck never rob me of my heart’s real pleasure.
 
—————————————————-
Notes

The Favour granted to humanity -

Laqad manna Allahu AAala almumineena ith baAAatha feehim rasoolan min anfusihim yatloo AAalayhim ayatihi wayuzakkeehim wayuAAallimuhumu alkitaba waalhikmata wain kanoo min qablu lafee dalalin mubeenin

Kanz-ul-Eeman
Undoubtedly, Allah did a great favour to the Muslims that in them from among themselves sent a Messenger who recites unto them His signs and purifies them and teaches them the Book and wisdom, and necessarily before that they were certainly in apparent error.

English(Yusuf_Ali)
Allah did confer a great favour on the believers when He sent among them an apostle from among themselves, rehearsing unto them the Signs of Allah, sanctifying them, and instructing them in Scripture and Wisdom, while, before that, they had been in manifest error.
Surahe Aal-Imran(3) Ayat 164

Muhammad bin Khatim reported:

“There once lived a man in Egypt who every year on the night of the Prophet’s sallAllahualayhi wa sallam birthday used to arrange a great festivity, and invite the poor and orphans and widows to his feast. There would be Quran readings, litanies of praise would be recited and Mawlids sung, and a banquet was prepared in honor of the Holy Prophet sallAllahualayhi wa sallam.

“This pious man had a neighbor who was from Ahl al-Kitab (People of the Book). Once his wife asked him, ‘I’ve been wondering what it means that our neighbor makes a great feast every year and invites all the destitute people he can find and treats them in such a magnificent way, what is the occasion?’ Her husband answered, ‘It is the night of the birth of their prophet which they always celebrate in gratitude and remembrance of the event.’

“That night this woman saw in her dream a person of very beautiful and light-filled aspect, he was awesome and his face radiant as the sun. He was surrounded by a great number of companions whose faces were like the morning star. All the shining people were headed for the house of the neighbor who always gave the feast. In her dream, the woman was irresistibly drawn to this beautiful appearance, and she asked one of the companions, ‘Who is this person, I have never seen anyone so sweet and full of love?’ The companion answered her, ‘This noble being is the Pride of Creation, the Prince of all mankind, the Messenger of God, the Beloved of Allah, Syedina Muhammad sallAllahualayhi wa sallam . All these companions have come to pay their respects and to show him honor.&rsquo;<br /><br />&ldquo;The woman thought to herself, &lsquo;I will ask this companion whether I can wait for him, whether I can approach him when he comes out and ask him my question.&rsquo; She asked the companion if she could address the Prophet when he came out, and ask him her question. He replied, &lsquo;No need to wait outside, just go on in. There is room enough, no one is going to prevent you from reaching his blessed presence. You may ask whatever you need to know, he will not turn you away, nor will he leave your questions unanswered.&rsquo; <br /><br />&ldquo;The woman then went inside and beheld the blessed presence r, surrounded by his companions, may Allah be well pleased with them all. She then approached the Holy Prophet&nbsp;sallAllahualayhi wa sallam and said, ‘Ya Muhammad!’ The Holy Prophet sallAllahualayhi wa sallam turned towards her and answered, &ldquo;Labbayk, I am here with you.&rdquo; She then said, &lsquo;How can it be that a great, much-honored personality such as you, the Prophet of Allah Almighty, deigns to speak to a plain and undistinguished person such as me, answering me with &lsquo;Labbayk&rsquo;, particularly as I am not even of your religion?&rsquo; <br /><br />&ldquo;The Holy Prophet&nbsp;sallAllahualayhi wa sallam then said to her, ‘No sooner had I seen your face that I knew that the Lord has singled you out for the guidance of Islam. He has honored you with the light of Islam, therefore I answered you with Labbayk.’ Again the woman said, ‘You are a noble prophet and surely you hold high and lofty stations in the Divine Presence; what can be the wisdom and secret of your appearance in a place and neighborhood such as ours?’

“Again the Holy Prophet sallAllahualayhi wa sallam spoke to her, &lsquo;Out of love for us the owner of this house has invited this gathering of people of good will and sound heart, from among the needy and indigent, as from among the readers and reciters of the Holy Quran. He has expended large sums of money in order to feed them all lavishly. He has shown largesse and generosity, therefore, by the leave of Allah Almighty, I too have come to visit him and have so entered his house. In recognition of my coming to this man&rsquo;s house, the Lord has vouchsafed to all its visitors safety and freedom from tribulations for a whole year, and He showers blessings and all manner of favors upon all those present at this time.&rsquo;<br /><br />&ldquo;The woman then said, &lsquo;What would happen if I, too, entered your religion and prepared such a feast for you; would you consent to come to my house?&rsquo; The Holy Prophet&nbsp;sallAllahualayhi wasalaam smiled and said, ‘Yes, I would come to your house also.’ The woman then said, ‘Hereby I renounce the religious creed I have clung to up till now, as it is obsolete, and I say: Ash-hadu an la ilaha illAllah, wa ash-hadu annaka Rasulullah’, and thus she entered the fold of Islam. Similarly she vowed to prepare a great feast and to expend a large amount in the way of Allah. In the morning when she woke from this dream, she found herself bathed in light, her heart radiant with the faith she had found, and she waited for further manifestation of divine guidance.

“When her husband had gone out that morning, she went before a judge to make official her conversion to Islam. She was ready to hold a great celebration in honor of the Holy Prophet sallAllahualayhi wa sallam and declared that she was prepared to follow his guidance from that day on. At this very moment she saw her husband coming to her, asking her how many sheep and chickens she required to be slaughtered, and what else she might need. <br /><br />&ldquo;The woman was confused and could not understand, until he explained to her that he had seen the same dream as she had that night, and that he too had been granted the honor of entering into Islam. The Holy Prophet&nbsp;sallAllahualayhi wa sallam had said to him, ‘You have no possessions of your own, so you may assist your wife in going out and buying what is needful for the Mawlid she intends to prepare; thus you will have the merit of the good deed.’ Hearing this, the woman was even happier than before, and they both made their new faith openly known.”

Therefore, if the mere presence of a pious neighbor who spends of his wealth for the love of the Prophet sallAllahualayhi wa sallam is of such benefit to others who happen to live in the vicinity, if it is sufficient to bring to such a one the great favor of becoming Muslim and the mercy and guidance of Islam, how much more reward is coming to the person who hosts the Mawlid? How much unlimited favor will be bestowed on him! This story should serve as advice and as a reminder. May Allah Almighty guide us all to the love and veneration of His Holy Prophet sallAllahualayhi wa sallam, and give all the Muslims who are yet to come their fair shares, Amin.

Amina Khatun, Muhammad’s mother dear:

From this oyster came that lustrous pearl.

After she conceived from ‘Abdallah

Came the time of birth with days and weeks.

As Muhammad’s birth was drawing near

Many signs appeared before he came!

In the month of Rabi’al-awwal then

On the twelfth, the night of Monday, look,

When the best of mankind was born-

O what marvels did his mother see!

Spoke the mother of that friend: “I saw

A strange light; the sun was like its moth.

Suddenly it flashed up from my house,

Filled with world with light up to the sky.

Heavens opened, vanquished was the dark,

And I saw three angels with three flags.

One was in the East, one in the West,

One stood upright on the Ka’ba’s roof.

Rows of angels came from heaven, and

Circumambulated all my house;

Came the houris group on group; the light

From their faces made my house so bright!

And a cover was spread in mid-air,

Called ‘brocade’-an angel laid it out.

When I saw so clearly these events

I became bewildered and confused.

Suddenly the walls were split apart

And three houris entered in my room.

Some have said that of these charming three

One was Asiya of moonlike face,

One was Lady Mary without doubt,

And the third a houri beautiful.

Then these moonfaced three drew gently near

And they greeted me with kindness here;

Then they sat around me, and they gave

The good tidings of Muhammad’s birth;

Said to me: “A son like this your son

Has not come since God has made this world,

And the Mighty One did never grant

Such a lovely son as will be yours.

You have found great happiness, O dear

For from you that virtuous one is born!

He that comes is King of Knowledge high,

Is the mine of gnosis and tauhid [monotheism].

For the love of him the sky revolves,

Men and Djinn are longing for his face.

This night is the night that he, so pure

Will suffuse the worlds with radiant light!

This night, earth becomes a Paradise,

This night God shows mercy to the world.

This night those with heart are filled with joy,

This night gives the lovers a new life.

Mercy for the worlds is Mustafa,

Sinners’ intercessors: Mustafa!’

They described him in this style to me,

Stirred my longing for that blessed light.”

Amina said: “When the time was ripe

That the Best of Mankind should appear,

I became so thirsty from that heat

That they gave me sherbet in a glass.

Drinking it, I was immersed in light

And could not discern myself from light.

Then a white swan came with soft great wings

And he touched my back with gentle strength.

And the King of Faith was born that night:

Earth and heaven were submerged in light!”


Then begins the great Welcome, which all nature extended to the newborn Prophet, whose coming they had expected with such longing, a welcome to the Friend of God in whose intercession at Doomsday all can trust:


Welcome, O high prince, we welcome you!

Welcome, O mine of wisdom, we welcome you!

Welcome, O secret of the Book, we welcome you!

Welcome, O medicine for pain, we welcome you!

Welcome, O sunlight and moonlight of God!

Welcome, O you not separated from God!

Welcome, O nightingale of the Garden of Beauty!

Welcome, O friend of the Lord of Power!

Welcome, O refuge of your community!

Welcome, O helper of the poor and destitute!

Welcome, O eternal soul, we welcome you!

Welcome, O cupbearer of the lovers, we welcome you!

Welcome, O darling of the Beloved!

Welcome, O much beloved of the Lord!

Welcome, O Mercy for the worlds!

Welcome, O intercessor for the sinner!

Only for you were Time and Space created…