بِسْمِ اللّٰهِ الرَّحْمٰنِ الرَّحِيْم
الحمد لله رب العالمين الذي منّ علي المؤمنين اذ بعث فيهم رسولا من انفسهم يتلوا عليهم ايته و يزكيهم و يعلمهم الكتاب و الحكمة و ان كانوا من قبلُ لفي ضلال مّبين
From Darkness to Light
Throughout the course of history, Allah سبحانه و تعالی has decreed every moment in precise detail and perfected the equilibrium of creation as the forces of darkness and light collide throughout the universe in both our spiritual and our physical realities. As the devils of the spiritual realm manifest their darkness’ into our reality through the devils of flesh and stone that aim to rule our world with their corruption, Allah سبحانه و تعالی sent forth lights that permeated our world in the form of His Messengers and Prophets علیهم السلام who came to restore balance to the world. As centuries past, countless messengers علیهم السلام rose throughout the earth and fought the Dhulm (darkness and oppression) of Kufr with the Noor (light and liberation) of Imaan. This is the beautiful assistance of Allah سبحانه و تعالی upon his faithful believers, for whom he promised to protect this world as he declared in the Glorious Qur’aan:
الٓر ۚ كِتَـٰبٌ أَنزَلْنَـٰهُ إِلَيْكَ لِتُخْرِجَ ٱلنَّاسَ مِنَ ٱلظُّلُمَـٰتِ إِلَى ٱلنُّورِ بِإِذْنِ رَبِّهِمْ إِلَىٰ صِرَٰطِ ٱلْعَزِيزِ ٱلْحَمِيدِ
“Aleef, Laam, Raa. [This is] a Book which We have revealed to you, [O Muḥammad], that you might bring mankind out of darknesses into the light by permission of their Lord – to the path of the Exalted in Might, the Praiseworthy” (Surah Ibrahim 14:1)
But as the Messengers concluded their missions – returning to their Lord – the faithful slaves of Allah سبحانه و تعالی continued to grow and spread the light of Imaan, as did the forces of darkness that now roamed the in shadows whilst the growing multitudes of their minions on earth continued to sow corruption and strife.
ظَهَرَ ٱلْفَسَادُ فِى ٱلْبَرِّ وَٱلْبَحْرِ بِمَا كَسَبَتْ أَيْدِى ٱلنَّاسِ
“Corruption has appeared throughout the land and sea by [reason of] what the hands of people have earned…” (Surah Ar-Room 30:41)
A world shadowed by darkness and ignorance
It was at this point in time, when almost 600 years had passed since the ascension of the great Prophet ‘Isa علیه السلام who was sent as a beacon to the faithful slaves of Bani Isra’eel. During these years the world had sunk to its greatest period of ignorance yet. A world covered in darkness, where misguidance was widespread and the Shayaateen ruled the earth with Shirk and Kufr. Where idol worship, oppression, tyranny, racism and hatred prevailed. Where rights were trampled upon and justice was seldom served.
A world where dark lakes of swirling water were worshiped and huge blazing flames burning over a millennium of years where ignited and prostrated to. Where unruly rule savaged the earth with rulers like Kisra, looking down upon an oppressed Persia with the eye of his pride and content held up by his fourteen huge galleries of stone. When the blessed house of Allah سبحانه و تعالی – the Kaa’ba – itself felt imprisoned by three-hundred and sixty surrounding idols, devils of stone that were pierced into the ground of the sacred haram at the hands of the devils of flesh. A time when the sacred city of Makkah Al-Mukarramah was overshadowed by ignorance to such an extent that it became known as Ayyaamul Jaahilyyah (The Period of Ignorance). Where power and riches were the monopoly of an elitist few who ensured none other than they should prosper. When the darkness of Shaytaan had become so fervently rooted in the hearts of man, that daughters were buried alive at the hands of their fathers as they screamed out in tears. Where Shirk and Kufr were so firmly embedded that all were forced to worship and believe in that which their hands moulded from clay, with persecution and death the result of believing otherwise.
But little did they know, everything was about to change, forever… For Allah سبحانه و تعالی had destined this very time – when the world was at its darkest – for the purest of His lights in creation to rise and illuminate the world in its entirety. For the first time in the story of creation, such a Ni’mah Adheemah (Exalted Blessing) of divine assistance was about to be sent, in the form of a a Prophet and a Messenger so great that he would transcend beyond the spatial borders and time restraints every other messenger was confined to, for he would be a mercy for every time and every space. A light that ennobled the forehead of Sayyidinaa Adam علیه السلام and became the means of openings for him to be re-united with his wife and become the father of mankind (Bayhaqi, Haakim). A light that calmed the heart of Sayyidnaa Nooh علیه السلام amidst the turbulent storms of the flood, ‘ a source of blessing navigating the great Ship (Bayhaqi, Khasaais Al-Kubra). A light which traversed through the greatest spaces and times from pure loins to pure wombs, aiding the greatest of Prophet’s and Messengers in their most triumphant moments and fiercest battles. A light that had now reached Makkah Al-Mukarramah, radiating upon the forehead of one of the youngest sons of Abdul-Muttalib, the noble leader of Quraish.
The Year of The Elephant
During this period of ignorance, a great occurrence took place in Makkah Al-Mukarramah in the opening months of the year 571 AD. When the tyrannous ruler known as Abraha marched upon the city of Makkah with a huge army of soldiers and elephants to destroy the Ka’bah and demolish any remnants of Sayyidinaa Ibrahim’s علیه السلام legacy of true, pure Tawheed. But no match to the power of Allah, his great army and vast elephants were destroyed by the smallest of birds carrying the lightest of pebbles through the will of the king of kings: Allah سبحانه و تعالی. This momentous miracle is recalled in the famously known Surah Al-Feel, “The Chapter of the Elephant”:
أَلَمْ تَرَ كَيْفَ فَعَلَ رَبُّكَ بِأَصْحَابِ الْفِيلِ ﴿١﴾ أَلَمْ يَجْعَلْ كَيْدَهُمْ فِي تَضْلِيلٍ ﴿٢﴾ وَأَرْسَلَ عَلَيْهِمْ طَيْرًا أَبَابِيلَ ﴿٣﴾ تَرْمِيهِم بِحِجَارَةٍ مِّن سِجِّيلٍ ﴿٤﴾ فَجَعَلَهُمْ كَعَصْفٍ مَّأْكُولٍ ﴿٥﴾
“Have you not considered, [O Muhammad], how your Lord dealt with the companions of the elephant? Did He not make their plan into misguidance? And He sent against them birds in flocks, Striking them with stones of hard clay, And He made them like eaten straw.”
(Surah Al-Feel 105:1-5)
This event foreshadowed that this year would be marked in the annals of history, preserved and never to be to forgotten.
The House of Aaminah رضی الله عنها
During the course of these events, Sayyidah Aamina رضی الله عنها, the wife of Abdullah ibn Abdul Muttalib was pregnant in her home close to the vicinity of the Haram, whilst her husband was travelling to earn and provide for his beloved wife, and his blessed child whom he eagerly anticipated. With regular visits and care from Abdul Muttalib, the father of her husband, she eagerly awaited the arrival of her beloved husband, and her beloved child as the days drew closer.
When the World was Illuminated
It was during this course when fifty to fifty-five days after the incident of the elephant, when one night, a change ignited in the air. The eyes of Sayyidah Aaminah رضی الله عنها opened in her home amidst the peaceful open plane of Makkah, and she felt and amazing experience that initiated the birth of her child, unlike the experiences of any other mother. Meanwhile, zooming out of this beautifully serene night in Makkah, the world felt a strong shift manifesting from the spiritual realms which rocked the hearts of the Shayaateen and caused a state of unrest to come over them.
This transpired until the devils of man began to feel its weight, as the mightily conceited Kisra awoke in anguish, and the swirling waters of lake Sawah began to feel a tremor. The Magians in Persia arose to a formidable sight, when their flames quivered uncontrollably. The winds grew stronger and stronger and shocked them all when a thousand-year-old flame suddenly became powerfully extinguished as it swirled into thin air. Mean whilst the vast lake of Sawah was suddenly being sucked into the earth just as the countless forces of Dhulm (darkness and oppression) were trembling to the ground. The huge stone pillars of Kisra’s palace began trembling violently as they started to shatter and fall to the ground, bringing him and his arrogance to ruins.
This was the powerful scene on this night when the realms of darkness were withering away and the Shayaateen were in fear of that which they could not bear to challenge. And it is at this moment we transition back to the city of Makkah, where a beautifully elated Ka’bah witnesses three-hundred and sixty idols shaking with fear in an otherwise overwhelmingly serene night, whilst Sayyidah Aaminah رضی الله عنها is sat in her home nearby, anticipating the imminent arrival of the pure light within her, whose mere emergence sent shockwaves through the realms of darkness.
The Dawn of Fajr
During the dawn of Fajr on this beautiful night, Allah سبحانه و تعالی sent to this world His greatest gift, His most exalted creation, His most beloved slave and the purest of His lights in all of creation: Our Prophet ﷺ.
In that esteemed moment that marked the pinnacle of history, Sayyidah Aaminah رضی الله عنها gave birth to the purest and most beautiful baby boy as she witnessed a striking light that emanated from within her. A light with such velocity, that it radiated through the surrounding streets and homes, beyond the wider mountain passes of Makkah and charged thousands of miles in a single instant, all the way till it lit up the palaces of Busra and Shaam.
Behold! There entered into this world in most awe-inspiring manner the unlettered Prophet, Muhammad, Ahmad, Haamid, Mahmood, Qaasim, Aaqib, Faatih, Yaseen, Taha, Mujtaba, Mustafa, Habeebullah, Safiyyullah, Nabiyullah, Rasoolullah! Muhammad ibn Abdullah! Sallallahu Alayhi Wasallam!
The Leader of the Prophets and Messengers, the greatest of the Arabs and Non-Arabs. The mercy to all of mankind, the defender of the weak and oppressed, the essence of beauty in creation. The seal of Prophethood and the conclusion of Truth.
He ﷺ graced this world as his mother gazed into his beautifully captivating eyes full of purity and light, as he ﷺ looked up to the heavens whilst raising his blessed index finger to proclaim the light of Tawheed, which he was sent to purify the world with.
And thus Allah سبحانه و تعالی illuminated this world with the light of His Greatest Servant and Messenger, Our Beloved Master Muhammad ﷺ!
قَدْ جَآءَكُم مِّنَ ٱللَّهِ نُورٌۭ وَكِتَـٰبٌۭ مُّبِينٌۭ
”There has come to you a light from Allah, and a clear Book” (Surah Al-Ma’idah 5:15)
The Date of His Blessed Birth
Year: 571 AD
Our Beloved Messenger of Allah Muhammad ﷺ was born into this world 571 years after the birth of Sayyidina Isa عليه سلام.
Month: Rabi’ Al-Awwal
Date: The most prominent and universally adopted opinion is the 12th of Rabi’ Al-Awwal, whilst some of the most rigorously authenticated opinions include 8th or 9th of Rabi’ Al-Awwal.
Many Muhaditheen (scholars of hadeeth) and historians hold the opinion that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ was born on the 8th of Rabi’ Al-Awwal. Some also report the miraculous birth occurred on the 9th
Day: Monday
Our Beloved Master Muhammad ﷺ was born on a Monday as mentioned in a Hadith on the authority of Sayyidinaa Abu Qatada RA, in which it was mentioned that the Beloved Messenger of Allah ﷺ was asked about the merits of fasting on Mondays, to which he ﷺ replied:
ذَاكَ يَوْمٌ وُلِدْتُ فِيهِ وَيَوْمٌ بُعِثْتُ
“That is the day I was born, and the day I was sent.” (Sahih Muslim)
Sayyidah Aminah رضی الله عنهاs account of the blessed birth
عَن اسحاق بن عبد الله ان ام رَسُول الله صلى الله عَلَيْهِ وَسلم قَالَت لما وَلدته خرج من فَرجي نور أَضَاء لَهُ قُصُور الشَّام فولدته نظيفا مَا بِهِ قذر
Ishaaq bin ‘Abdullah narrates from Sayyidah Aaminah رضي الله عنها: That when Rasulullah ﷺ was born, she saw a light emanating from within her that illuminated the palaces of Shaam, and he was born exceptionally clean and dirt-free. He did not have the normal effects of after-birth or any form of dirt on his blessed body ﷺ. (Ibn Sa’d)
سَمِعْتُ عُثْمَانَ بْنَ أَبِي الْعَاصِ، يَقُولُ: أَخْبَرَتْنِي أُمِّي، قَالَتْ: «شَهِدْتُ آمِنَةَ لَمَّا وَلَدَتْ رَسُولَ اللهِ صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ، فَلَمَّا ضَرَبَهَا الْمَخَاضُ نَظَرْتُ إِلَى النُّجُومِ تَدَلَّى، حَتَّى إِنِّي أَقُولُ لَتَقَعَنَّ عَلَيَّ، فَلَمَّا وَلَدَتْ، خَرَجَ مِنْهَا نُورٌ أَضَاءَ لَهُ الْبَيْتُ الَّذِي نَحْنُ فِيهِ وَالدَّارُ، فَمَا شَيْءٌ أَنْظُرُ إِلَيْهِ، إِلَّا نُورٌ»
In a narration from the mother of Sayyidina ‘Uthmaan bin Abul-‘Aas رضی الله عنه, Sayyidah Fatimah bint ‘Abdillah رضي الله عنها says: “During the blessed birth of Rasulullah ﷺ I was with his mother Aaminah رضي الله عنها. I clearly noticed the whole house radiating with Noor (brilliance) and I also saw the stars stooping so low down that I thought they would come crashing down onto me.” (Tabarani)
Miraculous Events that occurred on the night of the Blessed Birth
Various miraculous events occurred on the night of the blessed birth, many of which have been narrated in the books Hadith and Seerah, such as:
- As our Beloved ﷺ came to this world an earth-tremor struck the palace of Kisra causing the fourteen towers of the palace to crumble.
- The fire that was perpetually blazing for over a thousand years in the Persian fire-temple abruptly extinguished itself.
- Lake Sawah also unexpectedly dried up.
- A beaming Light shone all over Arabia.
- All the idols shook around the Ka’bah.
(Bayhaqi, Ibn Hisham)
All these events coincided at the time when The Messenger of Allah ﷺ was born and showed the impact and greatness of Our Beloved Prophet ﷺ and message that was coming with his emergence.
A Poetic rendition of the Blessed Birth
The great scholar Al-Habib Umar ibn Al-Hafiz حفظه الله تعالى it beautifully illustrates the experiences of Sayyidah Aaminah رضي الله عنها through poetic rendition in his Diyaa’ Al-Laami’:
وَحِيْنَمَا حَمَلَتْ بِهِ آمِنَةُ
لَمْ تَشْكُ شَيْئًا يَأْخُذُ النِّسْوَانَا
And When Aaminah رضي الله عنها was pregnant with him
She did not complain about anything that befalls (pregnant) women.
وَبِهَا أَحَاطَ الاُّطْفُ مِنْ رَبِّ السَّمَا
أَقْصى الْأَذَى وَالْهَمَّ وَالْأَحْزَانَا
For Gentleness from the lord of the Heavens encompassed her
And barred from her all harm, worry, and sadness.
وَرَأَتْ كَمَا قَدْ جَاءَ مَا عَلِمَتْ بِهِ
أَنَّ المُهَيْمِنَ شَرَّفَ الأَكْوَانَا
She saw (in a vision) as was narrated to us.
That the Guardian (Allah) was going to Honour the Creation.
بِالطُّهْرِ مَنْ فِيْ بَطْنِهَا فَاسْتَبْشَرَتْ
وَدَنَا المُخَاضُ فَأُتْرِعَتْ رِضْوَانَا
Through the pure one who was in her womb, so she Rejoiced!
And the time for labour drew near, so she was filled with pleasure!
May Allah make this a means of giving birth to the true love of His beloved Messenger Muhammad ﷺ in our hearts and lives and may He keep us firm upon the Sunnah of the Pure One. May He grace us with the Shafaa’ah (Intercession) of His Beloved ﷺ at every station until we reach Jannah together…
Join us tomorrow as we continue to journey through the Seerah with the next article “The Orphan Prophet ﷺ“
