The Birth of the Holy Beloved Prophet Muhammad (PBUH)

The month of Rab’ee Al Awwal is the month in which our Beloved Prophet (Sallallahu alaihi wa sallam) was born. Allah Most High has made His birth distinguished.  To express the towering status and grandeur of the Holy Prophet (Sallallahu alaihi wa sallam), Allah Most High sent down innumerable blessings and caused such a glad atmosphere that the year of the Prophet’s birth is remembered as the year of joy and delight.

There is a verse in the Holy Quran:

I swear by this city (Mecca). Surah Balad (90:01)

In this verse of the Holy Quran, Almighty Allah swears by Makkah.

Now, somebody might think that Almighty Allah did so because Makkah is one of the greatest centers of spirituality. It is such a city that great signs of Allah’s power are present there. The Ka’aba is in that city, the heavenly black stone Hajr Aswad, is there, the Hateem and Meezaab-e-Rahmat are in that city, the Maqam Ibraheem is there. Indeed, Makkah has all these distinctions. But Almighty Allah doesn’t swear by Makkah for these reasons and distinctions.  When the Holy Prophet (Sallallahu alaihi wa sallam) was born and He made Makkah His residence, then Almighty Allah swears by Makkah for this reason.  Thus, Almighty Allah says:

I swear by this city (Mecca),

(O My Esteemed Beloved,) because you are residing in it. Surah Balad (90:1, 2)

Let us see what wonderful signs were revealed by Allah on this birth which the Lord swears by.

There is a Hadith in Jame’ Tirmidhi:

Translation: Hadhrat Abu Hurairah (May Allah be well pleased with him) narrates that the Companions entreated the Holy Prophet (Sallallahu alaihi wa sallam): O Prophet of Allah (Sallallahu alaihi wa sallam)! When did Prophethood become compulsory for you? The Holy Prophet (Sallallahu alaihi wa sallam) said: (I was a Prophet) when Adam (May peace be upon him) was yet between soul and body. (Jame’ Tirmidhi, Hadith No. 3968)

The Holy Prophet (Sallallahu alaihi wa sallam) came last among all the Prophets (May peace be upon them), but His radiance (Noor) was created before the universe itself.

As the Holy Prophet (Sallallahu alaihi wa sallam) said:

Translation: The first thing that Allah created was my radiance.

The great scholar of Islam, Hadhrat Shah Abdul Haq Muhaddith Dehlwi (May Allah shower His mercy on him) had declared this Hadith rigorously-authenticated (Sahih) in Madarij Un Nubuwwa, Vol. 2, Pg. No. 2

There is a Hadith in Musannad Abdur Razzaq, Mawahib Ladunniya and Seerat Halabiyya:

Translation: It is narrated on the authority of Hadhrat Jabir bin ‘Abdullah Ansari (May Allah be well pleased with him), he says: I asked the Holy Prophet (Sallallahu alaihi wa sallam): O Prophet of Allah (Sallallahu alaihi wa sallam)! May my mother and father be sacrificed for you! Tell me what did Allah Most High create first of all? The Holy Prophet (Sallallahu alaihi wa sallam) said:  O Jabir! Verily Allah Most High created the radiance of your Prophet before anything else. Then by the will of Allah, that radiance would travel wherever it wanted. At that time, there was neither the Protected Tablet (Lauh) nor hell; neither the heavens nor the earth; neither the moon nor the sun neither genies. (Al Mawahib Al Ladunniya Ma’a Haashiya Zurqani, Vol. 1, Pg. No. 89; As Seeratul Halabiyya, Vol. 1, Pg. No. 31)

Almighty Allah created the radiance of the Holy Prophet (Sallallahu alaihi wa sallam) before everything else and graced that radiance in many ways.  When that radiance stayed in the back of Hadhrat Adam (May peace be upon him), it made the angels prostrate to him. In the same way, this radiance was transferred to Hadhrat Nooh, Hadhrat Ibraheem and Hadhrat Ismail (May peace be upon them) and honored them all.

Translation: The truth is that the angels were ordered to prostrate to Hadhrat Adam (May peace be upon him) because the radiance of the Holy Prophet (Sallallahu alaihi wa sallam) was in the forehead of Hadhrat Adam (May peace be upon him). (Al Tafseer Al Kabeer, Surah Baqarah – 253)

That radiance reached Hadhrat Abdul Muttalib (May Allah be well pleased with him) passing through pure backs and pure wombs. Thus, it is given in Mawahib Ladunniya:

Translation: When the Quraish would be assailed by a famine, then would take Hadhrat Abdul Muttalib (May Allah be well pleased with him) by the hand and go atop the mountain of Thabeer and supplicate Allah through him and pray for rains of mercy. Through the blessings of the radiance of the Holy Prophet (Sallallahu alaihi wa sallam), Almighty Allah would send rain and satiate them.  (Al Mawahib Al Ladunniya, Vol. 1, Pg. No. 155)

The birth of the Holy Prophet (Peace be upon him)

Just see, what happiness and delight had Almighty Allah spread before the coming of the Holy Prophet (Peace be upon him)! A feeling of joy and gladness permeated everything. The sun was further brightened. The stars had come nearer the earth. Everywhere radiance was seen. The angels were present for welcome. Hazrat Maryam and Hazrat Aasiya (May peace be upon them) had come with the damsels of paradise to have the honour of serving Him. In the honour of the arrival of the Absolute Radiance, the sky was illuminated. In the honour of the coming of Absolute Beauty, the earth and the heavens were beautified. Flowers were blooming. Cool breezes were warming the heart and the soul. Not only the senses but even the faith was made fragrant by them. In yearning of the Beloved, the waves of the sea rose sky high. The mountains drew themselves up proudly.

Thus, the whole creation was waiting for His arrival for whom the universe was set up, for whose sake creation was brought into existence.

Now the wait was over. The powerful, authoritative Prophet, the Emperor of the Prophets, the sympathizer of the poor, the Beloved of the Lord Almighty is coming. He is the one for whose arrival Hazrat Ibraheem (May peace be upon him) had prayed. He is the one of whose coming glad tidings were given by Hazrat ‘Isa (May peace be upon him). He is the one whose status and excellence was written in all the heavenly books.

55 days after the incident of the People of Elephants, on 12th Rab’ee Al Awwal, on Monday, which corresponds to April 20, 571 AD, at the crack of dawn, the Holy Prophet (Peace be upon him) illuminated the earthly worlds with His presence.  There was surge of happiness in the whole world.

Source: http://www.ziaislamic.com/