لَقَدْ جَآءَکُمْ رَسُوۡلٌ مِّنْ اَنۡفُسِکُمْ عَزِیۡزٌ عَلَیۡہِ مَاعَنِتُّمْ حَرِیۡصٌ عَلَیۡکُمۡ بِالْمُؤْمِنِیۡنَ رَءُوۡفٌ رَّحِیۡمٌ ﴿۱۲۸﴾
Assuredly there has come to you a messenger from among yourselves, heavy upon him is your suffering; ardently desirous of your welfare, and to Muslims is most Kind and Merciful.
(Al-Taubah 9, Verse 128)
Have we ever considered to find out about the significance of Milad or Mawlid, or why we celebrate the Milad of our beloved Prophet – may Allah send peace and blessings upon him?
Let us focus on the two things here:
- Everyone who has existed in the past has been there by birth, in other words, all the Prophets and great personalities were also once born then why is it that we only celebrate the birth of our beloved Prophet – may Allah send peace and blessings upon him – and not the birth of other Prophets, even though we have faith in all the Prophets of Allah Almighty and respect and honour all of them, but when it comes to celebrating Milad, we only stick to the celebration of Milad al-Nabi – may Allah send peace and blessings upon. You may have never heard that someone celebrated the Milad of Sayyiduna Adam, Ibrahim, Moosa or ‘Isa – peace be upon them. Why?
- Why is a Muslim never negligent of celebrating Milad al-Nabi – may Allah send peace and blessings upon him? He may have forgotten all about his ancestors and not even remember their names but what is it that keeps us so attached to celebrating the Milad of our Master – may Allah send peace and blessings upon – without fail every year throughout our lives. We may have changed in many ways and many things of ours throughout the history but the Milad of RasoolAllah – may Allah send peace and blessings upon him – and its remembrance and celebration is ever-green. SubhanAllah!
We celebrate Milad when we buy a new house
We celebrate Milad when a child is born in the family
We celebrate Milad when someone is getting married
We celebrate Milad when we do Khatam
So why we as Muslims, along with other things, have not lost the value of Milad in these 1400 years history of Islam?
Answer:
You must have experienced that every newborn child has cried after its birth, as if he is announcing his presence and existence, so to say. You would be surprised to find out that under this very sky, on this same earth, someone so great was born without a cry, for he was born to put a smile one others’ faces. Lo and behold, that newborn was none other than the apple of Bibi Aminah’s eye. When he was born, he did not cry but recited the praise of Allah Almighty and:
سر سجدہء معبود میں رکھ کر یہ حق سے عرض کی
یا رَبِّ ھَبْ لِیْ اُمَّتِیْ یا رَبِّ ھَبْ لِیْ اُمَّتِیْ
Sar Sajda-e-Ma’bood me rakh kar ye Haq se ‘arz ki
Ya Rabbi Hab-li Ummati Ya Rabbi Hab-li Ummati
He placed his head in prostration to Allah and supplicated to him
Oh my Lord, grant me my Ummah, Oh my Lord, grant me my Ummah
رَبِّ ھَبْ لِیْ اُمَّتِیْ کہتے ہوئے پیدا ہوئے
رب نے فرمایا کہ بخشا اَلصَّلٰوۃُ وَالسَّلَامْ
Rabbi Hab-li Ummati kahte huwe paida huwe
Rabb ne farmaya ki bakhsha Al-Salaat-o-Was-Salaam
He was born saying “Rabbi Hab-li Ummati”
Allah Almighty answered his Du’a and said I forgave them. May the peace and blessings be upon our beloved Prophet.
Allahu Akbar!
As soon as he was born he fell in Sajdah and made Du’a; not for himself, not for his family, not for his parents, not for his beloved daughter Bibi Fatimah, not for his beloved grandchildren Imam Hasan and Husain, but for you and I, his Ummah. The first he ever considered and recalled was the thought and worry for his beloved Ummah.
Every Prophet of Allah was born on this earth, but none had this miraculous kind of birth. Every Prophet of Allah came and gave the tidings of his birth prior to his birth. The morning he was born, Sayyiduna Jibreel – peace be upon him – descended with seventy thousand chosen angels and to welcome the beloved Prophet – may Allah send peace and blessings upon him – in this world, all the stars in the sky lowered down a little and idols fell on their faces, the fire of Iran’s place of fireworship was extinguished. Many such miracles took place at the event of his blessed birth.
Rabbi Hab-li Ummati:
Hadrat Sayyiduna Abdullah ibn ‘Umar – may Allah be pleased with them – narrates that once the Holy Prophet – may Allah’s peace and blessings be upon him – recited the verse:
رَبِّ اِنَّہُنَّ اَضْلَلْنَ کَثِیۡرًا مِّنَ النَّاسِ ۚ فَمَنۡ تَبِعَنِیۡ فَاِنَّہٗ مِنِّیۡ ۚ وَمَنْ عَصَانِیۡ فَاِنَّکَ غَفُوۡرٌ رَّحِیۡمٌ ﴿۳۶﴾
“O my Lord! The idols have led many people astray; so whoever followed me, is indeed mine; and whoever disobeyed me – then indeed You are Oft Forgiving, Most Merciful.”
(Ibrahim 14, Verse 36]
He then recited:
اِنۡ تُعَذِّبْہُمْ فَاِنَّہُمْ عِبَادُکَ ۚ وَ اِنۡ تَغْفِرْ لَہُمْ فَاِنَّکَ اَنۡتَ الْعَزِیۡزُ الْحَکِیۡمُ ﴿۱۱۸﴾
“If you punish them, then indeed they are Your slaves; and if you forgive them, then indeed You only are the Allah Almighty, the Wise.”
(Al-Maidah 5, Verse 118]
Thereafter the Holy Prophet – may Allah’s peace and blessings be upon him – raised his blessed hands and cried out, “O Allah! My Ummah, O Allah! My Ummah, O Allah! My Ummah.” And he also began to weep.
At that moment, Allah Almighty commands Jibra’eel, “O Jibra’eel, go to Muhammad and ask him what it is it that is making him weep?” (Although Allah Almighty knows everthing).
Jibra’eel Ameen then approached the Holy Prophet – may Allah’s peace and blessings be upon him – and inquired, “and whatever concerns the Holy Prophet – may Allah’s peace and blessings be upon him – has for his Ummah, he mentions to Jibra’eel Ameen who conveys this message to the Allah Almighty.
The Allah Almighty declared, “O Jibra’eel! Go back to Muhammad and say to him that I will indeed make him well pleased about his Ummah and will not allow him to become sad.” (In regard to his Ummah entering Jannah).
It is also mentioned that one night, the Holy Prophet – may Allah’s peace and blessings be upon him – spent the entire night weeping and reciting the verse in Surah Maidah all the time.
There is no doubt that the tears shed by the Holy Prophet – may Allah’s peace and blessings be upon him – was for his Ummah and not personally for himself. After all, he is the beloved of Allah Almighty. Whatever we receive from the Divine Court of Allah Almighty, all this is received through the blessing of the Holy Prophet – may Allah’s peace and blessings be upon him.
It is mentioned that the Holy Prophet – may Allah’s peace and blessings be upon him – used to always display such concern for his Ummah at every moment. At one time, he made Du’a for his blessed wife and asked her whether she was pleased with this. She replied that why should she not be pleased with his DU’A. The Holy Prophet – may Allah’s peace and blessings be upon him –then stated, “I swear by Allah, that this is the same Du’a I make for my Ummah after every Salaah.”
(Majmu’a Bazzaaz)
Now, to answer the question that we Muslim forgot many things but not the celebration of his blessed birth is because the first thing he remembered at the time of his birth was us, his Ummah, so how can be so ungrateful to our beloved Prophet – may Allah send peace and blessings upon him 0 to forget him on his own birthday, the occasion when he missed us, and then continued to make Du’a only for our sake. It is mentioned in Tafseer al-Husaini that about 700 times Allah Almighty commanded him to ask for anything and all these times, he never asked even one thing for himself, all he ever asked was Rabbi Hab-li Ummati! He was heard making the same Du’a when the Sahaba were lowering him in his blessed grave after he had passed away. Allahu Akbar!
ہَلْ جَزَآءُ الْاِحْسٰنِ اِلَّا الْاِحْسٰنُ ﴿ۚ۶۰﴾
What is the recompense of goodness, but goodness!
(Al-Rahman 55, Verse 60)
And this is why we do not forget his Milad.
Our Creator Allah Almighty taught us to honour His Messenger – may Allah send peace and blessings upon him – and the extent we should go to:
وَ تُعَزِّرُوۡہُ وَ تُوَقِّرُوۡہُ
And pay respect to him and honour him
(Al-Fat’h 48, Verse 9)
Qaadi ‘Iyaaz Al-Maaliki – may Allah be pleased with him – stated when explaining the meaning of the first imperative word mentioned in the verse:
“Overstress and go beyond the norm when it comes to honoring him.”
Even a dog is grateful to its master for just a piece of bread, so it is only humane that we pay our respect in the court of our beloved Master – may Allah send peace and blessings upon him – who lived to love us and to save us from the pit of hell.
He will not forget us even on the Day of Judgment and will miss us at every step of the way in the hereafter when we will be at the brink of destruction and need him the most:
عزیز بچے کو جس طرح ماں تلاش کرے
خدا گواہ یہی حال آپ کا ہو گا
Azeez bachche ko jis tar-ha maa talaash kare
Khuda gawaah yahi haal aap ka ho ga
Like how a mother looks for her beloved child
Allah is our witness, this will be the situation of our beloved Prophet – may Allah send peace and blessings upon him
He will look for us on the bridge of Siraat (Pul sirat), at Mizan, and he will to lengths to save his Ummati even from the gates of hell.
Now, DOES it suit us to ever forget his Milad???
No, never!
If we are true Muslims, then we will never forget his Milad. This is the reason that a Muslim may forget everything but not the Milad of his Master.
Maulana Fazlur Rahman Ganj Muradabadi’s Love for Milad:
It is a fact that whoever has the Noor of Iman in his heart will never raise an objection against the celebration of Milad of our beloved Prophet – may Allah send peace and blessings upon him. He was a great scholar of Islam and also a great saint of his time.
He once had a visitor who considered Milad as an evil innovation. He entered and sat down without greeting and abruptly spoke like a mouthpiece of Khawarij, “Did the Sahaba celebrate Milad?”
Maulana Ganj Muradabadi asked, “First of all tell me what really happens during the Milad shareef? Do people utter vulgar words in a Milad?”
“No”, replied the questioner.
Maulana then asked, “Do we beat drums at Milad?”
“No”, replied the questioner.
Maulana asked again, “Do people utter words of disbelief or speak indecent words at Milad?”
“No, none of this kind of vile occurs at the gatherings of Milad”, replied the questioner “There is lighting at Milad and gatherings are organized in a decent fashion, people gather there and recite the Holy Quran, recite Naath and then they discuss the beautiful qualities, miracles and Sunnah of the Holy Prophet – may Allah send peace and blessings upon him, and then it is concluded by the recitation of Salat-o-Salaam followed by the distribution of sweets and a meal.”
Maulana then remarked, “So it means that Milad is organized to praise the Holy Prophet – may Allah send peace and blessings upon him, is that so?”
“Yes”, replied the questioner “Only for the sake of praising the Holy Prophet – may Allah send peace and blessings upon him.”
Now, Maulana goes in a state of jalaal and says, “If Milad means the praise and remembrance of the Holy Prophet – may Allah send peace and blessings upon him – then I say that the Sahaba – may Allah be pleased with them – also celebrated Milad in their time as well. It definitely occurred during their period as well but with the only difference that today, people do lighting and organize the Milad and praise him whereas the Sahaba did Milad standing in the scorching desert heat of the sun under shining swords. People offer sweet in today’s Milad gathering but the Sahaba offered their heads in the battlefield, all in the name of Sayyiduna Muhammadur Rasoolullah – may Allah send peace and blessings upon him.”
سر کٹاتے ہیں ترے نام پہ مردانِ عرب
Sar kataate hain tere naam pe mardaane Arab
The brave men of Arabia offer their heads in your Name ya RasoolAllah!
Maulana explained it even further to make things crystal clear, “You yourself acknowledge that Milad is synonymous to the remembrance of RasoolAllah – may Allah send peace and blessings upon him, yet you still question whether the Sahaba did Milad in their time? Do you not know that the Sahaba remembered RasoolAllah – may Allah send peace and blessings upon him – when they were at home, outside and even in the battlefields all they did was mentioned the praises of RasoolAllah – may Allah send peace and blessings upon him.
Have you not read in the books of Jihad that when Sahaba gathered in the battlefield to fight, the first thing the Islamic Commander of Sahaba would do is address the infidels and say, ‘We were infidels and associated partners with Allah, worshipped idols, we sinned by committing murders and robberies, we drank liquor and other haram things and were cursed before this but then Allah Almighty showered upon us his mercy and sent the Final Messenger – may Allah send peace and blessings upon him – to us who taught us the blessed Kalimah La Ilaaha illAllah Muhammadur Rasoolullah. He instilled the Oneness of Allah in us and made us aware of the greatness of Allah’s Prophets, taught us Islam and made us righteous. I therefore invite you to recite the Kalimah and take shelter under his mercy or at least acknowledge the greatness of Islam, pay your taxes and lead a peaceful life under the protection of Muslim soldiers. If you still do not agree then be prepared to fight with sword.’
The Sahabi actually made the Milad of RasoolAllah and then they jumped into the battlefield to offer their heads in the name of RasoolAllah.”
This man who had considered Maulana a bid’ati and had come here to label him as such to his face but when he heard this response from the Maulana he was absolutely dumb founded and caught off guard. He acknowledged the greatness of Milad, that it is not Bid’ah. His eart opened up and became receptive of spirituality by the spiritual gaze of this great WaliyAllah. He made Taubah and became the Mureed of Maulana:
کوئی اندازہ کر سکتا ہے اس کے زورِ بازو کا
نگاہِ مردِ مؤمن سے بدل جاتی ہیں تقدیریں
Koi andaza kar sakta hai us ke zor-e-baazu ka
Nigaahe marde Mo’min se badal jaati hain TaqdeereN
How dare one underestimates the power of a true believer
His one glance is enough to change people’s destiny
قُلْ بِفَضْلِ اللہِ وَبِرَحْمَتِہٖ فَبِذٰلِکَ فَلْیَفْرَحُوۡا ؕ ہُوَ خَیۡرٌ مِّمَّا یَجْمَعُوۡنَ ﴿۵۸﴾
Say you, ‘Only Allah’ grace and only His mercy, on it therefore let them rejoice. That is better than all their wealth.
(Yunus 10, Verse 58)
There can be no happier occasion in the life of a believer than to celebrate the Milad (blessed birthday) of the beloved Prophet – may Allah send peace and blessings upon him. The Muslim who is blessed with true Iman will definitely celebrate the Mubarak birth of the Holy Prophet – may Allah send peace and blessings upon him – on the 12th Rabee’ al-Awwal shareef.
MUSJIDUL HAQ 
Leave a comment