Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) and celebration of his birth day

The month of Rabi al-awwal is the third month of the Islamic calendar, which simply translates as the ‘First Spring’; the month of ‘second spring’ following  after it . The month is well known for containing outstanding milestones in the Islamic calendar; two of which are the birth of the Prophet Mohammad  and the date of his passing away from this world.

This month is eagerly awaited by many Muslims in order to celebrate the auspicious birth of the prophet and Messenger of Allah, the Almighty, Eternal Creator. I would like to offer some light on issues relating to this event, in this short space of my blog, so that the readers may better understand them.

We, as Muslims, no doubt, uphold the coming of the Prophet Mohammad and his prophetic mission as part of the last link to, and the final seal of Allahs' divine guidance to  humanity, after which no further  Prophets and Messengers from God will ever emerge. He arrived at the end of divine guidance, which started with Adam himself, the father of humanity, and was followed by others including the first  great prophet to emerge,  Noah.

God chose Prophet Mohammad to be His last prophet, to convey His full package of complete guidance and to deliver the ‘furqaan’, a criteria of rights and wrongs in the Sight of God. We as Muslims believe that he presents the perfect example of an exemplary life about which God testified in the Quran saying: ‘And indeed you are on the pinnacle of the greatest morality’. 

He lived a perfect human life, an example to be followed by anyone in any possible human situation. The Quran called his exemplary life  ‘al-Uswah al-Hasanah’ (a beautifully modelled character), the ideal balance in human behaviour between God’s guidance and human temptation and lures of this life.

It is an abomination to see how his character is now being tarnished and too often regarded as something petty and no longer worthy of the highest regard.

On the other hand, what we now see in the Muslim world as a celebration of his birthday, often becoming raucous and uncharacteristic of Islamic teachings, is absolutely unwarranted. Our following of the Prophet and the deepness of our love for him must surely oblige us to take his mission seriously and incorporate all that He teaches us into our daily lives.

At a time when most of the world is blaming the chaotic situation of the Muslims on the teachings of Islam, and attaching reasons for it to the character of the Prophet himself, it becomes even more urgent that we study and absorb the beautiful character of our Prophet, so that we can help create the peaceful world that the Prophet struggled so hard in his lifetime to achieve.

What has become of that elegant character that the Prophet epitomised in his daily life, so that people could come out of their ‘Jahiliya’(the Time of Ignorance) and achieve the beautiful characters that would please God? What will make the Islamic character stand out in the world? How can we contribute towards its development? Every Muslim individual is the focus of this obligation by being the first unit in the fabric of the Muslim Ummah. But we continue to celebrate, to dance, to sing and to eat sweets and halawah on this occasion, and it becomes nothing but just another night, after which we return to business as usual in our lives.

Have no illusions, and do not underestimate the fact, that we are under immense onslaught by the opponents of Islam because we are, by our own actions, creating the perfect reasons for them to wage war on us. We may blame them for their islamophobic outbursts, but do we ever think and try to learn from the exemplary life of our Prophet? Why do so many of us no longer want to live by the examples He set? I appreciate that many continue to show their love for our Prophet and recognize the zeal demonstrated by many in defending his character, which, of course, should and must be defended against the slanderous allegations of some ill-minded individuals. However, have we ever tried to understand what that love means to us and what we are defending against?

The celebration of the birth of our Prophet has become a sordid imitation of the celebration of the birth of the Prophet Jesus by the Christians, may Allah be pleased with them both. We have tried to create our own ‘Christmas’ as we seem to be in need, for some reason, of a celebratory occasion.

It would help more if we would highlight, for our own growing generation and for the purpose of combating misconceptions among those who are unaware of the Prophet's beautiful character, why His character matters to us most in this increasingly uncertain world. How can the Islamic character help humanity, and propel us into combining the good of God’s teachings and the remaining good of this world? It should be an occasion to reflect, learn and absorb, on the character of our Prophet, instead of becoming just another ‘Christmas’ celebration, which may make us no better than those who seek to destroy the character of the Prophet.