Sermon on the Blessed Birth of the Prophet Muhammad

Before dawn on the 12th of Rabi al-Awwal — which corresponds to 20 April 571 of the Common Era — a divine light rose on the horizon of humanity. The orphan child born that day would grow to be known as al-Amin (the Trustworthy); at forty he would meet Jibril in the cave of Hira; and within twenty-three years he would change the face of the world. This sermon explores the meaning of the Blessed Birth — the answer to Ibrahim's prayer, the character of the Prophet, his mercy to the worlds, and the believer's duty of loyalty to his Sunnah.

The Answer to Ibrahim's Prayer, The Fulfilment of Isa's Glad Tidings

The arrival of the Prophet (peace be upon him) was the meeting point of centuries of expectation. The Qur'an records the prayer of Prophet Ibrahim and his son Isma'il as they raised the foundations of the Kaaba:

رَبَّنَا وَٱبۡعَثۡ فِيهِمۡ رَسُولࣰا مِّنۡهُمۡ يَتۡلُواْ عَلَيۡهِمۡ ءَايَٰتِكَ وَيُعَلِّمُهُمُ ٱلۡكِتَٰبَ وَٱلۡحِكۡمَةَ وَيُزَكِّيهِمۡۖ إِنَّكَ أَنتَ ٱلۡعَزِيزُ ٱلۡحَكِيمُ

Our Lord, send among them a messenger from themselves, who will recite to them Your verses, teach them the Book and wisdom, and purify them. Indeed, You are the Almighty, the All-Wise.

— Surah Al-Baqarah 2:129

Prophet Isa (peace be upon him) explicitly foretold the name of the final messenger:

وَإِذۡ قَالَ عِيسَى ٱبۡنُ مَرۡيَمَ يَٰبَنِيٓ إِسۡرَٰٓءِيلَ إِنِّي رَسُولُ ٱللَّهِ إِلَيۡكُم مُّصَدِّقࣰا لِّمَا بَيۡنَ يَدَيَّ مِنَ ٱلتَّوۡرَىٰةِ وَمُبَشِّرَۢا بِرَسُولࣲ يَأۡتِي مِنۢ بَعۡدِي ٱسۡمُهُۥٓ أَحۡمَدُۖ

And remember when Isa, the son of Maryam, said: "O Children of Israel, I am the Messenger of Allah to you, confirming what came before me of the Torah, and giving glad tidings of a Messenger to come after me whose name shall be Ahmad."

— Surah As-Saff 61:6

When the Companions asked the Prophet about the earliest days of his life, he himself said: "I am the prayer of my forefather Ibrahim, the glad tidings of my brother Isa, and the dream of my mother Aminah. When she was carrying me, she saw in a dream that a light came out from her, illuminating the palaces of Syria." His birth was no coincidence; it arrived on a calendar that had been written for centuries.

The End of a Darkness, The Beginning of a Light

Allah describes the sending of the Prophet as a great divine favour:

لَقَدۡ مَنَّ ٱللَّهُ عَلَى ٱلۡمُؤۡمِنِينَ إِذۡ بَعَثَ فِيهِمۡ رَسُولࣰا مِّنۡ أَنفُسِهِمۡ يَتۡلُواْ عَلَيۡهِمۡ ءَايَٰتِهِۦ وَيُزَكِّيهِمۡ وَيُعَلِّمُهُمُ ٱلۡكِتَٰبَ وَٱلۡحِكۡمَةَ وَإِن كَانُواْ مِن قَبۡلُ لَفِي ضَلَٰلࣲ مُّبِينࣲ

Indeed, Allah conferred a great favour on the believers when He sent among them a Messenger from themselves, reciting to them His verses, purifying them, and teaching them the Book and wisdom — though they had been in clear error before.

— Surah Al-Imran 3:164

The first Muslims who emigrated to Abyssinia described their pre-Islamic society to King Negus in these words: "O King, we were a people of ignorance. We worshipped idols, ate carrion, and committed obscenity. We severed ties of kinship and harmed our neighbours; the strong devoured the weak. Then Allah sent us a Messenger from among ourselves whose lineage, chastity, and honesty we all knew. He called us to worship Allah alone, to abandon the stones and trees our forefathers had worshipped, to speak truthfully, to keep trust, to maintain kinship and good neighbourliness, to refrain from bloodshed and from all that is forbidden. We believed in him, and we accepted what he brought. For this our people turned against us with persecution, and so we have come to your country."

This testimony tells us into what kind of ignorance the Prophet was sent, and into what kind of light he led his people. He was not an ordinary reformer; he was "one of Allah's greatest favours upon all people."

Mercy to the Worlds

The purpose of his coming is summarised in two words of the Qur'an:

وَمَآ أَرۡسَلۡنَٰكَ إِلَّا رَحۡمَةࣰ لِّلۡعَٰلَمِينَ

We have not sent you except as a mercy to the worlds.

— Surah Al-Anbiya 21:107

This mercy was for the worlds — not only Muslims, not only humans, but all created beings. When he learned that children had died in a battle, he was deeply grieved. His Companions said: "O Messenger of Allah, but are these not the children of polytheists?" He answered: "Even if they are the children of polytheists, they are still human beings. Because they are children, they bear no sin. Be careful — never kill a child."

When a man came to the Prophet asking him to curse an enemy, he answered with the now-famous words: "I was not sent to curse — I was sent as a mercy to the worlds."

The Qur'an names the special tenderness with which the Prophet was sent to the believers:

لَقَدۡ جَآءَكُمۡ رَسُولࣱ مِّنۡ أَنفُسِكُمۡ عَزِيزٌ عَلَيۡهِ مَا عَنِتُّمۡ حَرِيصٌ عَلَيۡكُم بِٱلۡمُؤۡمِنِينَ رَءُوفࣱ رَّحِيمࣱ

Indeed, there has come to you a Messenger from among yourselves; your suffering grieves him deeply; he is concerned for you; to the believers, he is most kind, most merciful.

— Surah At-Tawbah 9:128

The Best of Examples — His Character Was the Qur'an

When A'isha (may Allah be pleased with her) was asked about the character of the Prophet, she answered: "His character was the Qur'an." Allah explicitly names him as the believer's living example:

لَّقَدۡ كَانَ لَكُمۡ فِي رَسُولِ ٱللَّهِ أُسۡوَةٌ حَسَنَةࣱ لِّمَن كَانَ يَرۡجُواْ ٱللَّهَ وَٱلۡيَوۡمَ ٱلۡأٓخِرَ وَذَكَرَ ٱللَّهَ كَثِيرࣰا

Indeed, you have in the Messenger of Allah an excellent example, for whoever hopes for Allah and the Last Day, and remembers Allah much.

— Surah Al-Ahzab 33:21

His character was not narrated by his words alone but by his life. Even his enemies named him al-Amin — the Trustworthy. On the very night before he emigrated from Mecca to Medina, the Quraysh who plotted against him were still leaving their valuables in his keeping. When a woman of the Makhzum tribe stole and the Quraysh elite sent Usamah (may Allah be pleased with him) to intercede so that the punishment might be set aside, the Prophet said: "Those before you perished because they would apply the most severe punishment to the poor while sparing the rich. By Allah, if Fatimah the daughter of Muhammad had stolen, I would have cut off her hand."

After a battle, while the Prophet was distributing spoils, a man in the crowd pressed against him so heavily that he was almost climbing on his back. The Prophet pushed him away with the stick he was holding, and the stick touched the man's face. He immediately gave the stick to the man and said, "Take your retaliation." The man replied, "O Messenger of Allah, I have no complaint."

Stories

The Black Stone — A Dispute Resolved by the Young "Al-Amin"

The Quraysh were rebuilding the Kaaba. Each tribe had finished its assigned section, and the time had come to set the Black Stone in place. Who would hold this honour? Disputes raged for four or five days, and the tribes nearly came to arms. Finally the elder Abu Umayyah Bani Mughirah proposed: whoever first enters the mosque through the Safa gate at the appointed hour will be the arbiter.

At the appointed time, the first person to enter was the Prophet. As one, the elders of Quraysh said: "He is al-Amin. We agree to his arbitration. This is the trusted one — Muhammad." He listened to them, then asked for a cloak to be brought. He placed the Black Stone in the middle of the cloak with his own hand, and asked the leaders of each tribe to lift it together by holding the edges. They lifted the Stone close to its place, and the Prophet himself set it into the wall.

The First Encounter with Jibril — The Cave of Hira

At forty years of age the Prophet would withdraw to the Cave of Hira on a mountain near Mecca, where he would worship for many days at a time. In the month of Ramadan in the year 610 CE, the angel Jibril came to him there. The Prophet recounts that moment: "The angel said to me, 'Read.' I said, 'I cannot read.' He then took me and pressed me until all my strength was gone. He released me and said, 'Read.' I said, 'I cannot read.' This happened three times, and then he said: 'Read in the name of your Lord who created — created man from a clinging substance. Read! And your Lord is the Most Generous.'"

The Prophet returned home trembling and said to his wife Khadijah (may Allah be pleased with her): "Cover me, cover me." Khadijah said: "By Allah, Allah will never disgrace you. For you maintain the ties of kinship, repay the debts of those in difficulty, help the poor, honour the guest, and stand up for the truth." Khadijah's words show that beautiful character is a comfort even before faith arrives.

— Sahih al-Bukhari, Bad' al-Wahy, no. 3

The Prayer in Itban ibn Malik's House

Itban ibn Malik (may Allah be pleased with him), a Companion of the Battle of Badr from the Ansar, had lost his sight. He came to the Prophet and said: "O Messenger of Allah, I lead the prayer for my neighbourhood. When it rains, the valley between us floods, and I cannot reach the mosque. I would dearly love it if you could come to my house and pray, so that I could take the spot where you prayed as my place of prayer." The Prophet said: "I shall do so, if Allah wills." The next morning he came with Abu Bakr to the house, asked Itban: "Where would you like me to pray?" and led two units of prayer where Itban indicated.

This account shows how the Messenger of Allah answered the request of a weakened, helpless brother with a concrete and humble yes.

— Sahih al-Bukhari, al-Salah, no. 425

Putting Loyalty to the Sunnah Into Practice With VAAZ

In the VAAZ app, the 99 Beautiful Names of Allah collection explains Ar-Rahman, Ar-Ra'uf, and Al-Wadud — names that frame the merciful register through which Allah sent the Prophet. The dua archive gathers the forms of salawat upon the Prophet along with the morning and evening dhikr.

To love the Prophet is part of faith itself. He said: "By the One in whose hand is my soul, none of you truly believes until I am more beloved to him than his father and his child." And the only sound measure of that love is the revival of his Sunnah: "Whoever revives my Sunnah has loved me, and whoever loves me will be with me in Paradise."

To mark the Blessed Birth with sweets and recitations is a beautiful custom, but the deeper commemoration is to remember his character and renew the resolve to follow his Sunnah. For the practice of salawat, see Sermon on Salawat; for accounts of his life, see Prophet Stories Sermon. As Allah says: "Say: If you love Allah, then follow me, and Allah will love you and forgive you your sins" (Al-Imran 3:31).

References

1. The Noble Qur'an, Surah Al-Baqarah 2:129.
2. The Noble Qur'an, Surah As-Saff 61:6.
3. The Noble Qur'an, Surah Al-Imran 3:31 and 3:164.
4. The Noble Qur'an, Surah Al-Anbiya 21:107.
5. The Noble Qur'an, Surah At-Tawbah 9:128.
6. The Noble Qur'an, Surah Al-Ahzab 33:21.
7. Sahih al-Bukhari, Bad' al-Wahy, hadith no. 3 (the first revelation in Hira).
8. Sahih al-Bukhari, Kitab al-Salah, hadith no. 425 (the prayer at Itban's house).
9. Sahih Muslim, Kitab al-Iman (the believer loving the Prophet above all).
10. Ibn Ishaq – Ibn Hisham, al-Sirah al-Nabawiyyah, the speech before Negus.
11. Qadi Iyad, al-Shifa bi-Ta'rif Huquq al-Mustafa.
12. Presidency of Religious Affairs, The Life of the Prophet Muhammad.

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