STORY ~ The Prophet's (Mohamed Nabi's) Birth

The Year of his Noble Birth:
According to the most correct opinion of the scholars, the Prophet
sallallaahu 'alayhi wa sallam (SAWS) was born in the cityof Makkah in
the year of the Elephant (in the year 570 or 571CE), in the month of
Rabee'ul-Awwal.
The Day of his Birth:
There is an agreement amongst the Scholars that the Prophet (SAWS) was
born on a Monday, since he (SAWS) was asked about fasting on a Monday,
and he said:"On that day I was born and on that day Revelation
descended upon me." (Related by Muslim andAhmad)
However, as regards the exact date of his birth, then the scholarshave
differed about this. Dispite the common belief amongs people that he
(SAWS) was born on the 12th of Rabee'ul-Awwal, yet the only
substantiated fact regarding this date is that it is his (SAWS) death
date .
Imaam an-Nawawee (d.676H) - rahimahullaah- said: "There is on
agreement that he was born on Monday in the month of Rabee'ul-Awwal.
There is a difference of opinion whether this day was the2nd, 8th,
10th or 12th day of the month - and these are the four most well-known
opinions concerning this." 3
Events at the Time of his Birth:
Certain miraculous events are reported to have occurred at the time
that the Prophet (SAWS) was born. However, most of them are not
authentically related, rather they are da'eef (weak) or mawdoo'
(fabricated) and therefore cannot be relied upon as decisive proof;
such as the narration which relates that someof the galleries of
Kisraa's (the Persian King's) palace broke-up and collapsed, that the
sacred-fireof the Magians died-out and that some of the churches on
Lake Saawah (in Syria) collapsed and sank down. (Related by
adh-Dhahabee who said: munkar ghareeb (rejected))
However, it is authentically related that the Prophet (SAWS) said. "I
am a result of the supplication of my father Ibraaheem and the
glad-tidings brought by 'Eesaa 'alayhimus salaam. And my mother - when
she bore me - saw that a light shone out from her, which lit up the
palaces in Syria ... " (Related by al-Haakim and Ibn Katheer said:
"Its isnaad is good and strong.)
Celebrating the Day of his Birth:
Imaam al-Fakihaani (d.734H) - rahimahullaah -said: "Celebrating his
birthday has no basis in the Book (Qur'an) nor the Sunnah, nor is this
action recorded from any one of the scholars of this Ummah; those who
are taken as examples to be followed and whocling to the narrations.
Rather it isa bid'ah (innovotion), which was introduced by the
Battaaloon (a deviated sect from the Faatimids).
As regards to the origins of this newly-invented celebration, then
some of the research scholars have stated that the first person to
innovate this practice was 'Umar ibn Muhammad al-Mulaa in the city of
Mawsil in Iraaq, during the fourth century, as is mentioned by the
Imaam Abu Shaamah (d.665H).
He was followed in this by the likes of Abul-Khattaab 'Umar ibn
Dihyaa: "who was employed in the west, then travelled to Syria, then
he travelled to the city of Irbil in 'Iraaq, during the fourth
century, where he found its king Mudhaffarud-Deen ibn Zaynud-Deen
showing a keen interest in the Milaad (birthday) of the Prophet
(SAWS). So he composed a book for him called at-Tanweer fi
Mawlidis-Siraajil-Muneer; so he recited this to the king who then
rewarded him with one thousanddeenaars."
Imaam Maalik (d.179H) - rahimahullaah - said: 'Whosoever introduces
into Islaam an innovation, and holds it to be something good, has
indeed alleged that Muhammad (SAWS) has betrayed his message. Read the
saying of Allaah - the Most Blessed, the Most High: "This day Ihave
perfected your religion for you, completed My favour upon you and I
have chosen for you Islaam as your religion." [Soorah al-Maa'idah
5:3]. So that which was not part of the religion at that time, cannot
be part of the religion today. And the last part ofthis Ummah cannot
be rectified, except by that which rectified its first part."
Thus, had the practice of celebrating the birthday of the Prophet
(SAWS) been something praiseworthy then: "the Salaf (thePious
Predecessors) - may Allaah be pleased with them all - would have
instituted it. For they were the ones having a greater love and honour
for Allaah's Messenger (SAWS) and a greater zeal for doing good.
Indeed, the most perfect expression of love and honour for him is by
following him, obeying him, carrying out his commands, upholding and
reviving his Sunnah (guidance and example) - both inwardly
andoutwardly - and in spreading his message and striving in this,
withthe heart, the hand and the tongue. Such was the path of the
Companions and those who followed them in goodness (i.e. beliefs and
actions)."

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STORY ~ Sister Naasira bint Ellison, a convert to Islam Hudaa, Jamaica, New York

Since the height of the feminist movement in the late 70's there has
been a magnifying glass placed over the status of Muslim women.
Unfortunately, the magnifying glass that has been used is an unusual
one. Unusual in the sense that it is very selective about which items
it will magnify; other items it will distortto such a degree that they
will no longer look familiar. I remember once reading in an "in depth"
article about the lives of Muslim women. This article "explained" that
at any time a man can divorce his wife by simply stating"I divorce
you, I divorce you, I divorce you". This article can lead anyone
ignorant of the Islamic ruling regarding divorce to believe that in
less than five seconds the woman is left with no husband and is left
to care for herself (and possibly children) by any means necessary.
The question that immediately popped up in my mind was, "Did the
author innocently write that out of sincere ignorance or was itanother
of the many attempts to degrade the religion of Islam and its
followers (muslims)?" It may be my own paranoia, but I tend to believe
it was the latter of the two.
The truth of the matter is that Islam has the most humane and most
just system of divorce that exists. Firstly, many options are taken
and tried before coming to the decision of the divorce. If the man and
woman decide that theycan no longer live together successfully as a
husband and wife, the husband (in most cases, not always) pronounces
the divorce by saying "I divorce you". At this point the waiting
period begins. The waiting periodlasts for three menstrual cycles to
assure the woman is not pregnant. This period allows the couple time
to think about what they are doing and if this is what they really
want to do. There are no lawyers involved to antagonise an already
delicate situation.
In the case that it is realised, that the woman is pregnant, the
waiting period lasts the entire time she is pregnant. During the
waiting period (whether the woman is pregnant or not) the man is
obligated to provide food, clothing and shelter to the woman as he did
before the divorce pronouncement. If the couple carries the divorce
through to the birth of the child and the woman suckles the baby, the
man is obligated to feed and clothe both his ex-wife for the time the
woman suckles (the maximum being two years). Afterthis weaning, the
child will be provided for by the father until he/she is no longer in
need of support.
It is quite ironic that in such an"advanced society" as America, there
are divorce cases in which women are being forced to pay alimony to
their ex-husbands. Canthis and many other things we know about the
American system of divorce compare to the Islamic system of divorce?
I have also read stories wherein itis stated that women are forced to
marry men without their consent. This in no way resembles the marriage
system inIslam. In Islaam the woman marries the man of her choice. She
may even marry someone that her mother and/or father objects to. The
point is that it is the woman who makes the final decision as to whom
she will marry. Once the man and the woman decide that they are
interested in one another for marriage, a dowry is decided upon. A
dowry is not a brides price but, it is a gift from the groom to the
bride. They agree upon a gift that is affordable by the groom. In the
time of the Prophet (sas), often things such as livestock and money
were given. This is a wise decision in the event that a woman becomes
divorced or widowed, she has some financial security to fall back on
even if it is for a limited amount of time. Once the man and woman are
married, the man is required to clothe, feed, shelter and educate her
(or allow her to be educated) in the same manner as he does himself.
The last distorted image that I willcover is that of the Muslim
women's dress. The western influenced media portrays our dress to be
outdated and oppressive. Needless to say however, I differ with these
adjectives. Our dress code does not hinder us from doing anything
productive in our lives. Muslim women maintain a varietyof jobs, non
of which are devalued nor hampered due to their dress code. And as for
the timing of muslims women's dressduring these contemporary times,it
seems most appropriate due to decreasing morals in the world today.
For those who say that Islamic dress is outdated, they speak from
great ignorance. The decreasing morality and trials of this time makes
Hijaab even morein need.

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ADVISE ~ Wisdom: The Poem of Zuhayr

I haven't delved into classical poetry for a while now, so here's one
I liked from a while back (with some basic explanations and thoughts
of my own).
It's a small excerpt from the famous mu'allaqah poem of Zuhayr ibn Abi
Sulmah . He was apoet from the Jahili period (the era before Islam)
who had his own well-celebrated mu'allaqah. Interestingly, it is said
that he would only recite and announce his poems after one complete
year had passed in which he spent perfecting it – hence he was
nicknamed 'Sahib al-Hawliyat'
He says in his poem:
سَئِمتُ تكاليف الحياة ومَن يَعِش *** ثمانين حَولاً – لا أُبا لك – يَسْأم
I have come to hate the burdens of life, and whoever lives
For eighty years will surely come to hate and tire of them
وأعْلَمُ عِلمَ اليوم والأمسِ قبله*** ولكنني عَن عِلمِ ما في غَدٍ عَمِ
I know the reality of today and that of yesterday before it
But of the realities of tomorrow, Iam blind and ignorant
ومَن يَكُ ذَا فضْلٍ فَيَبْخَلْ بفَضْلِه *** على قَوْمِه يُسْتغنَ عَنه ويُذْمَمِ
Whoever possesses goodness butproves miserly to his people
Then they shall prove sufficient of him, and he shall be humiliated
The theme of 'Nasihah wal-Hikam' (Counsel and Wisdom) starts to take
shape here with Zuhayr telling people that fadhl (virtue, possessions,
wealth etc) is something that a person is gifted with and thus it's
not proper to be miserly with it, withhold it from society, or prevent
helping others by it etc. It's interesting he says على قومه ('to his
own people'), because the first benefactors of our gifts should be
those closest to us i.e. family, community etc. By spreading one's
talents, possessions and goodness (whether materialistic and tangible
like wealth or conceptual like uprightness), a community becomes
stronger, progresses forward and allows people to live well.
ومَنْ هابَ أَسْبابَ المَنايا يَنَلنَه*** وإنْ يَرْقَ أسبابَ السماء بِسُلَّمِ
Whoever fears the causes the death, shall only be met by them
Even if he ascends to the heavensupon a built stairway
Death is written for us all, even though the causes and ways maybe
different for us. Courage and the act of delving into the heat
ofbattles, taking up challenges and defending one's tribe have always
been seen to high calibre traits. So the more fearless a person is,
the higher of a status they occupy among their people. This is Zuhayr
effectively saying not to fear the causes of death because those who
fear a certain cause of death will no doubt be met by it. And there's
no running away from death even if you took a staircase to the
heavens. This is a true concept and belief reflected in the Qur'anic
verse:
"Wherever you may be, death shall overtake you, even if you should be
within towers of lofty construction…" [al-Nisa: 78]
ومَن يَجعَلِ المَعْروفَ فِي غَيرِ أهله *** يَكُنْ حَمْدُه ذَمَاً عَليه ويَندَمِ
And whoever pays good duty to those who do not deserve it,
Then his act of praise becomes blameworthy and he shall come to regret
Paying good duty to people and giving them credit is a standard which
we all must live by. However there are times when our act needs to be
reviewed depending on who exactly we are dealing with. Hence it's not
a proper measure of our intellect if we give pay high credit to
someone who does not deserve it in the least, rather we should just
let them be without harming them. It is only those who deserve it that
should attain our key attention, service and goodness; otherwise we'll
come to regret the fact that we perhapswasted our efforts on one
personwhen there was someone else more deserving of all that effort.
ومَن لم يَذُدْ عَن حَوضِه بِسِلاحِه*** يُهَدَّمْ ومن لا يَظلم الناس يُظلم
And whoever does not defend his water well with his weapon
Will be overpowered; and whoever does not oppress shall be oppressed
This poem was written in the Days of Jahiliyyah (Ignorance) and so you
can really see the nature and outlook of the people at that time.
There were no governing laws and no accountability except those simple
standards set out by tribal chiefs. Effectively, it was 'each man to
his own' or 'each tribe to their own' and in the poetic lines above
you can understand what Zuhayr is alluding to. He is saying that
whoever does not protect his own possessions will lose them to others;
and the scene he sets is that of a water well. Historically in the
desert and openfields, the tribes would usually settle around sources
of water and build a well which sustained them. Without this well, the
tribe will die off due to lack of water. Now what would happen if
another tribe tried to take possession of that well? Yes, you got it:
Warfare (now now, don't be surprised, leading countries doit in our
times too; but it's oil rather than water!).
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