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“Allahuma salli ala Mohammad wa Al-e Muhammad“
O' God! Shower thy blessings on Muhammad and the descendents of Muhammad
The horizon was on the verge of brightness of dawn but still a mysterious silence prevailed over the city of Mecca. All were asleep. Only Amina was awake, feeling the contractions she had been expecting. Gradually the contractions became stronger. Suddenly Amina saw several unknown women in her room. The room was filled with light and there was fragrance in the air. She wondered who they were and how they had entered her room through closed door.Soon her baby was born, and thus after several months of waiting, Amina had the pleasure of seeing her child in the early dawn of the 17th Rabi-ul-Awwal. (As reprted in Biharul Anwar). The Prophet (s.a.w) was born the same year as Abraha decided to destroy the Ka’bah.
The Holy Qur'an narrates this incident in Feel (elephant) Sura:
Have you (O Muhammad (Peace be upon him)) not seen how your Lord dealt with the Owners of the Elephant? [The elephant army which came from Yemen under the command of Abrahah Al-Ashram intending to destroy the Ka'bah at Makkah].
Did He not make their plot go astray?
And sent against them birds, in flocks,
Striking them with stones of Sijjîl.
And made them like an empty field of stalks (of which the corn has been eaten up by cattle).
All were overjoyed with the child’s birth. But when Mohammad (SAW) illuminated Amina’s dark and silent room of prayer, his young father” Abdullah”, was not present. ‘Abd-Allah, had passed away before he was born.
Prophet’s blessed birth gave rise to numerous wonderful incidents in the sky and on the earth, especially in the East, the cradle of civilization.
On that blessed night, the Persian monarch Anushiravan’s magnificent place, which incarnated a false fantasy of power and eternal monarchy and upon which people looked with fear and awe, trembled. Fourteen of its turrets collapsed, and the fire in the fire-temple of Persia, which had been flaming for 1000 years, was suddenly extinguished.
So the humiliated worshippers of that false, destructive object of worship, whose minds had been blocked by the obstacles of prejudice and false imitation and who thus could not reflect upon nature took notice of the truth and were attracted toward a totally different direction. The drying out of the Savah Lake awakened the people of another great region.
For many centuries it had been customary among the Arabs to give their new born children to women from the tribes around the city to be wet-nursed. This was done so that their children would grow up in the fresh air and natural environment of the desert and also learn the eloquent Arabic dialect whose purest form was to be found at that time in the desert.
For the reason and since Amina had no milk to feed her child, Abdul-Muttalib, his grand father and guardian, felt it was necessary to employ an honorable, trustworthy lady to look after the child of his dear son, Abdullah. After making appropriate enquiries, he selected Halima, who was from Bani Sa’d tribe (a tribe famous for bravery and eloquence) and who was rated among the most chaste, noble women. Halima took the infant to her own tribe and looked after him as though he were her own child. The Bani Sa’d tribe had long been suffering from famine in the desert. The dry desert and lack of rain had added much to their poverty and misery. But from the very day he entered Halima’s house, good fortune and blessings entered with him. Her life, which had been filled with poverty and destitution, suddenly changed into happy and prosperous one. The pale faces of Halima and her children became rosy and full of life. Her dry breasts swelled with milk, and the pasture of the sheep and camels of that region turned fresh and green, whereas before he came to their tribe, people lived in poverty and faced many difficulties.
The Prophet (SAW) was just six years old when his mother, Amina, left Mecca for Madina to vist her relatives and to pay respectful visit to her husband’s grave. He accompanied his mother on that trip. But after visiting her relatives and Abdullah’s grave, on her way back to Mecca, Amina passed away at a place name Abwa. Thus, the prophet (SAW) had lost both his mother and father by that tender age when every child needs a father’s affection and mother’s embrace.
Just as the Prophet’s (SAW) birth and the events that followed his blessed birth were extra ordinary and suggestive of his majesty and supreme character, so his behavior and manner of speaking in childhood also made him different from other children. Abdul Mattalib realized this fact and respected his majesty greatly.
Abu Talib, the Prophet’s (SAW) uncle used to say:
“we have never heard any lies from Mohammad (SAW), nor have we seen him misconduct himself or make mischief. He never laughs unduly nor speaks idly and he is mostly alone.”
Muhammad (SAW) went through the difficulties of orphan hood in his childhood with the support of his high-spirited grandfather, Abdul Muttalib, and his affectionate uncle, Abu Talib.
As time went on, Mohammad (SAW) grew up and his childhood gave place to youth, he received affectionate care and attention from Abu Talib, who, due to his moral attitude and in obedience to his father’s emphatic order, protected and supported him. To the Prophet (SAW), Abu Talib was an affectionate father, a loyal uncle and a compassionate preceptor.
In this time prophet (SAW) went along with his uncle “Abu-Talib” to Syria. One day the Qurash Caravan was nearing Basra, Bahira, a devout monk, caught sight of it through his monastery’s window. He observed that Caravan shaded by a little cloud that kept pace with it. Bahira came out of the monastery, stood in a corner and instructed his servant, ’Go and tell them that today they are all my guests’.
All came to him but the Prophet (SAW), who was standing beside the property and equipment of the caravan. Seeing that the cloud has ceased to move. Bahira asked his guests, ’Are all the members of caravan present here’? They answered, ’All but a youth who is youngest’, Bahira said, ’Tell him to come as well’. So he was asked to come to the monk’s room. The keen eyes of Bahira noticed that cloud over his head moved with him. Taken by surprise, Bahira kept staring at the young boy. When the meal was over, the pious monk told him, ’I have a question to ask you and you must swear by Lat and Uzza to answer my question’.
Mohammad (SAW) said, ’These two you have asked me to swear by are the most detestable things to me’. Bahira said, ’Swear by Allah to answer my question’.
He said, ’Ask your question’.
After a short interview with him, Bahira knelt down before him and started kissing his hands and feet, saying, ’If I live till you start your divine mission, I will most faithfully aid you and fight your enemies. You are superior of all Adam’s off springs”. He further said that he is predestined to become a Prophet (SAW), and the angel of inspiration will come down and make divine revelations to him’.
The Holy Prophet of Islam (SAW) possessed the magnificent status of prophecy and divine leadership, but his manners is dealing with the people and his way of life were so simple .
The holy Prophet of Islam (SAW) spoke in short, meaningful sentences and was never seen or heard to interrupt anybody’s speech.
The Prophet of Islam (SAW) did not care to sit down in the seat of honor, in gatherings, and on entering any place would sit down in the first empty seat available.
He did not let anybody stand up before him and treated others most respectfully. Forgave people’s mistakes or their misconduct.
Sayings of The Holy Prophet (SAW)
· Wealth properly employed is a blessing; and a man may lawfully endeavor to increase it by honest means.
· Whosoever visits a sick person, an angel calls from Heaven: "Be happy in the world and happy be your walking; and take your habitation in Paradise."
· The ink of the scholar is more holy than the blood of the martyr.
· To acquire knowledge is binding upon all Muslims, whether male or female.
