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From:
“Muhammad: The Last Prophet”
By: Hajjah Amina Adil - [ Wife of Shaykh Muhammad Nazim Adil al-Haqqani, the spiritual head of the Naqshbandi-Haqqani Sufi Order.]
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Creation of the Light of Muhammad
One day Ali, karam Allahu wajhahu, the cousin and son-in-law of the Holy Prophet asked, “Oh Muhammad, both my parents shall be my ransom, pray tell me what the Lord Almighty created before all other beings of creation?” This was his blissful reply:
Verily, before your Lord made any other thing, He created from His own Light the light of your Prophet, and that Light rested haithu mashaAllah, where Allah willed it to rest. And at that time there existed aught else‑not the Preserved Tablets, not the Pen, not Heaven nor Hell, not the Angelic Host, not the heavens nor the earth; there was no sun, no moon, no star, no jinn nor man nor angel–none was as yet created, only this Light.
Then Allah – glorified be He – by divine decree willed the Creation to be. He therefore divided this Light into four parts. From the first part He created the Pen, from the second the Tablets, from the third the Divine Throne.
Now it has become known that when the Lord had created the Tablets and the Pen, the Pen had on it one hundred nodes, the distance between two nodes being that of two years wayfaring. The Lord then commanded the Pen to write, and the Pen asked,
“Oh Lord, what shall I write?” The Lord said,
“Write: la ilaha illAllah, Muhammadan Rasulullah.” Thereupon the Pen exclaimed, “Oh, what a beautiful, great name is that of Muhammad that it is to mentioned in one with Thy hallowed Name, oh Lord.”
The Lord then said, “Oh Pen, mind your manners! This name is the name of My Beloved, from his Light I have created the Throne and the Pen and the Tablets; you, too, are created from his Light. Had it not been for him, I would not have created a single thing.”
When Allah Almighty had spoken these words, the Pen split in two from awe of the Lord, and the place from which its speech issued became blocked, so that to this very day its nib remains cloven in two and clogged up, so it does not write, which is the sign of this great divine secret. Therefore, let no one fail in veneration and honoring of the Holy Prophet, or become lax in following his shining example, or contravene the noble custom he has taught us.
Then again the Lord commanded the Pen to write. “What shall I write, oh Lord?” asked the Pen. The Lord of the Worlds then said, “Write that which will be until the Day of Judgment!” Said the Pen,
“Oh Lord, with what shall I begin?” Said the Lord, “With these words you shall commence: Bismillah al-Rahman al-Rahim.” In perfect respect and deference, the Pen then set out to write these words upon the Tablets, and it completed writing them in seven hundred years.
When the Pen had written these words, the Almighty spoke and said, “It has taken you seven hundred years to write three of My Names; the Name of My Majesty, My Mercy and My Compassion. These blessed words I have made as a present to the nation of My Beloved Muhammad. By My Majesty I pledge that whenever any servant from this nation pronounces the words of the Bismillah with a pure intention, I will write seven hundred years of countless reward for this servant, and seven hundred years of sins I will erase.”
Now, the fourth part of this Light I have again divided into four parts:
from one part I have created the Throne-bearing Angels (hamalat al-`Arsh);
from the second I have created the Kursi, the Divine court (the upper Heaven supporting the Divine Throne, the `Arsh);
from the third I created all the other heavenly angels;
and the fourth part I have partitioned once more into four: from its first part I made the skies,
from its second I made the earths, from its third I made the Jinn and the fire.
Its fourth part I have again divided into four parts: from one part I made the light upon the faces of the believers; from the second part I made the light within their hearts, imbuing them with knowledge of the divine;
from the third the light upon their tongues which is the light of Tawhid (the Unity of Allah), and from the fourth part I made the different lights of the soul of Muhammad.
This lovely soul came into being 360 thousand years before the creation of the world, { There is No Time in Heaven }
and it was shaped most beautifully and made of incomparable matter. Its head was made from guidance, its neck from humility, its eyes from modesty, its forehead from closeness (to Allah), its mouth from patience, its tongue from truthfulness, its cheeks from love and admonition, its belly from abstemiousness and other worldliness, its feet and knees from following the straight path, and its noble heart was filled with mercy. This much-honored soul was taught with mercy and equipped with all manner of wondrous powers. It was given its message and its prophetic qualities were installed.
Then the Crown of Divine Proximity was placed upon its blessed head, eminent and exalted above all else, embellished with Divine Pleasure and given the pure, holy name of Habibullah (Beloved of Allah).
The Twelve Veils 5
{ 12 Months 12, Constellations, 12 is Mirror for 21}
After this the Lord Almighty, blessed be He, created twelve Veils.
· The first of these was the Veil of Power within which the Prophet’s soul remained for twelve thousand years, reciting Subhana rabbil-’ala (Glory be to my Lord, the Lofty).
· The second was the Veil of Grandeur in which he was veiled for eleven thousand years, saying, Subhanal ’Alim al-Hakim (Glory be to my Lord, the All-Knowing, the Wise).
· Ten thousand years he remained shrouded in the Veil of Kindness, saying Subhana man huwa da’im, la yaqta (Glory to Him who is perpetual, who never ends).
· The fourth veil was the Veil of Mercy, therein the noble soul remained for nine thousand years, praising Allah, saying: Subhana-rafi’-al-`ala (Glory be to the Elevated, the High).
· The fifth veil was the Veil of Bliss, and therein he remained for eight thousand years, glorifying the Lord and saying, Subhana man huwa qa’imun la yanam. (Glory to Him who is ever existent, who sleeps not).
· The sixth veil was the Veil of Munificence; he remained enfolded in it for seven thousand years, praising, Subhana-man huwal-ghaniyu la yafqaru (Glory be to Him who is rich, who never grows indigent).
· Then followed the seventh veil, the Veil of Rank. Here the enlightened soul remained for six thousand years, praising the Lord and saying: Subhana man huwal Khaliq-an-Nur (Glory to Him who is the Creator, the Light).
· Next, He veiled him in the eighth veil, the Veil of Guidance where he remained for five thousand years, praising Allah and saying, Subhana man lam yazil wa la yazal. (Glory to Him whose existence does not cease, who does not vanish).
· Then followed the ninth veil, which was the Veil of Prophethood where he stayed for four thousand years, glorifying the Lord: “Subhana man taqarrab bil-qudrati wal-baqa.” (Glory to Him who draws nigh to His Omnipotence and Immortality).
· Then came the Veil of Eminence, the tenth veil where this enlightened soul remained for three thousand years, reciting praises on the Creator of all Causes, saying, “Subhana dhil-’arshi ‘amma yasifun.” (Glory be to the Owner of the Throne, above all else attributed to Him).
· The eleventh veil was the Veil of Light. There he remained for two thousand years, praying, “Subhana dhil-Mulk wal-Malakut.” (Glory to the Lord over the heavenly and earthly Kingdoms).
· The twelfth veil was the Veil of Intercession, and there he remained for one thousand years, saying “Subhana-rabbil-’azhim” (Glory to my Lord, the Sublime).
Creation of the Beloved 5
Thereafter the Lord created a tree which is known as the Tree of Certainty.
· This tree has four branches. { Power of 4, 4 Nitrogens in DNA}
· He placed this blessed soul upon one of its branches, and it continued to praise Allah for forty thousand years, saying, Allahu dhul-Jalali wal-Ikram. (Allah, Possessor of Might and of Kindness). After it had thus praised Him with many and varied praises, the
· Almighty created a mirror {secrets of 11 and Yaseen}, and He placed it so as to face the soul of Habibullah, and commanded his soul to gaze into this mirror.
· The soul looked into the mirror and saw itself reflected as possessing the most comely and perfect form.
· He then recited five times, Shukran lillahi ta’ala (thanks be to Allah, Exalted be He), and fell down in prostration before his Lord.
· He remained in each sajda for one hundred years, saying Subhanal-aliyyul-azhim, wa la yajhalu. (Glory be to the High, the Sublime, who ignores nothing);
· Subhanal-halim alladhi la yu’ajjalu. (Glory be to the Mild One who hastens not);
· Subhanal-jawad alladhi la yabkhalu. (Glory be to the Generous who is unstinting).
· Therefore the Causer of all Being obliged the nation of Muhammad to perform sajda (prostration) five times a day – these five prayers in the course of one day and night were a gift of honor to the nation of Muhammad.
From the Light of Muhammad 5
Next the Lord created a lamp of green emerald from the Light,{ Al Hay, Al-Nur}
· and attached it to the tree by a chain of light.
· Then He placed the soul of Muhammad inside the lamp and commanded it to praise Him with the Most Beautiful Names (Asma al-Husna).
· This it did, and it began to recite each one of the Names for one thousand years. When it reached the Name ar-Rahman (the Merciful), the gaze of Mercy fell upon it and the soul began to sweat from modesty. Drops of sweat fell from it, as many as there were to be prophets and messengers, each drop of rose-flavored sweat turning into the soul of a prophet. { Divine Love of Heat Gazes and Descends Tanzila, to The coolness of HabibAllah- Salaamun creates that Dew of Humidity}.
"Eternal Station of The Muhammad RasulAllah No Time in Heaven World of Light:"
They all assembled around that lamp in the tree, and the Almighty addressed the soul of the Prophet Muhammad,
“See here this multitude of prophets whom I have created from the pearl-like drops of your sweat.” Obeying this command, he gazed upon them, and as the light of the eye enfolds the object, so the souls of all these prophets were suddenly engulfed in the light of Muhammad, and they cried, “Oh Lord, who has wrapped us in light?” { Muzzamil}
The Lord answered them, “This is the Light of My Beloved Muhammad, and if you will believe in him and confirm his prophetic message, I will grant you the honor of Prophethood.” { Establish Chain of Command- Allah - Muhammad- Then All Messengers answer to Muhammad (s).
Thereupon all the souls of the prophets declared their belief in his prophethood, and the Lord said, “I bear witness to your acknowledgment,” and they all assented. As it is declared in the Holy Quran:
And when God took compact with the Prophets: That I have given you of Book and Wisdom; then there shall come to you a Messenger confirming what is with you–you shall believe in him and you shall help him; do you agree? He said. And do you take My load on you on that condition They said, ‘We do agree.’ God said, ‘Bear witness so, and I shall be with you among the witnesses.’ (The House of Imran, 3:75-76)
Then this pure, holy soul took up its recital of the Most Beautiful Names again.
Muhammad (s) Holy Face:
When it came to the Name al-Qahhar, {Bismillahir-Rahmanir-Rahim, La ilaha ill’Allah, Muhammadan Rasulullah. Kullu shay’in halikun illa wajhahu, al-Wahid ul-Qahhar.}|} its head began to sweat once more from the intensity of His Divine Majesty and Awe, and from these beads of sweat the Almighty created
· the souls of the blessed angels.
· From the sweat on his face, the Almighty created the Throne and the
· Divine Court,
· the Tablets and
· the Pen,
· the sun,
· the moon and
· the stars.
From the sweat of his chest
· He created the scholars, the martyrs and the righteous believers.
From the sweat on his back were made
· the Bayt-al-Ma’mur (the heavenly house),
· the Kabatullah (the Kaba), and
· the Bayt-al-Muqaddas (the Haram of Jerusalem), and
· the Rauda-i-Mutahhara (the Tomb of the Holy Prophet at Madinah), as well as all
· other mosques in the world.
From the sweat on his brows were made the souls of all the believers,
and from the sweat of his lower back (the coccyx) were made the souls of all the unbelievers, fire worshippers and idolaters.
· From the sweat of his feet was made all the ground from east to west, and all that is within it.
· From every drop of sweat the soul of one believer or unbeliever was created.
That is the reason the Holy Prophet r is referred to as “Abu Arwah”, Father of Souls.
· All these souls gathered round the soul of Muhammad, circling round him with praise and glorification for one thousand years;
· then the Lord commanded these souls to look at the soul of Muhammad. The souls all obeyed.
Who Gazed at the Soul of Muhammad 5
Now, those among them whose gaze:
· fell upon his head were destined to become kings and heads of state in this world.
· Those who gazed at his forehead became just chiefs.
· Those who gazed at his eyes would become hafiz of the Word of Allah (i.e. one who commits it to memory).
· Those who saw his eyebrows became painters and artists.
· Those who saw his ears were to be of those who accept admonition and advice.
· Those who saw his blessed cheeks became performers of good and reasonable works.
· Those who saw his face became judges and perfumers, and those who saw his blessed lips became ministers.
· Whoever saw his mouth was to be of those who fast much.
· Whoever looked at his teeth would be of comely appearance, and
· whoso saw his tongue was to become the ambassador of kings.
· Whoever saw his blessed throat was to become a preacher and mu’adhdhin (who calls the adhan).
· Whoever looked at his beard was to become a fighter in the way of Allah.
· Whoever looked at his upper arms was to become an archer or a diver in the sea, and
· whoever saw his neck became a merchant and a trader.
Whoso saw his right hand became a leader, and who saw his left hand became a dispenser (who holds the scales and measures out provisions). Whoso looked at the palms of his hands became a generous person; whoso looked at the backs of his hands became a miser. Whoso saw the inside of his right hand became a painter; who saw the fingertips of his right hand was to be a calligrapher, and who saw the tips of his left hand would be an ironworker.
Whoso saw his blessed chest would be of the learned, ascetic and scholarly. Whoso saw his back would be a humble person and obeying the laws of the Shari’a. Whoso saw his blessed sides would be a warrior. Whoever looked at his belly would be of the contented ones, and whoever looked at his right knee would be of those who perform ruk’u and sujud. Whoever looked at his blessed feet became a hunter, and who saw the bottom of his soles became one of those who take to the road. Who saw his shadow were to become singers and saz (lute) players. All those who looked but saw nothing were to become unbelievers, fire worshippers and idolaters. Those who didn’t look at all were to become those who would declare themselves to be gods, such as Nimrod, Pharoah and his ilk.
Now all the souls lined up in four rows.
· In the first row stood the souls of the prophets and messengers, on whom be peace; in the second row were placed the souls of the holy saints, the Friends of God;
· in the third row stood the souls of the believing men and women;
· in the fourth row stood the souls of the unbelievers.
· All these souls remained in the world of spirits in the presence of Allah Almighty until their time had come to be sent into the material world. No one but Allah Almighty knows how much time elapsed from the time of the creation of the Prophet Muhammad’s blessed soul to his descent from the spiritual world into his physical form.
It is narrated that the Holy Prophet Muhammad asked the angel Jibra'il u, “How long is it since you were created?” The angel answered, “Oh Rasulullah, I don’t know the number of years, all I know is that every seventy thousand years a tremendous light shines forth from behind the Canopy of the Divine Throne; since the time of my creation this light has appeared twelve thousand times.” “Do you know what this Light is?” asked Muhammad. “No, I don’t know,” said the angel. “It is the light of my soul in the world of the spirit,” replied the Holy Prophet r. Consider then, how immense a number it must be if 70,000 is multiplied by 12,000!
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Created Through the Light of Muhammad 5
Praise be to Allah, the Exalted, the Wise; He who created man for Himself, possesses the entire universe.
Oh ye wishing to apprehend the divine secrets! Know then that Allah Almighty laid in the Prophet Muhammad the base for the edifice of the prophets (on all of whom be peace), and that in him He would complete it; and to him He revealed the Glorious Book of the Quran. In it He has made plain his authority, and He has described him in all the holy books, the Torah (Old Testament), the Zabur (Psalms), the Injil (New Testament)and the Furqan (the Quran).
He has made him perfect by giving him the Liwa-al-Hamd, the Banner of Praise, and the Maqam-al-Mahmud, the Station of the Praiseworthy, thereby making him the light of both worlds, messenger to both Jinn and men, and enabling him to attain the secrets of proximity to the divine station by two bows’ lengths, and becoming the king of the world. Peace and blessings be upon his pure and meritorious family and his worthy companions who are pursuing the way of greatest righteousness.
Then Allah Almighty spoke thus:
Alif. Lam. Mim. Allah, there is no god but He, the Living, the Everlasting. He has sent down upon thee the Book with the truth, confirming what was before it, and He sent down the Torah and the Gospel aforetime, as guidance to the people and He sent down Salvation. As for those who disbelieve in God’s Signs, for them awaits a terrible chastisement; God is Almighty, Vengeful.
(The House of Imran, 1-4)
· And in a Hadith al-Qudsi He has said: “Were it not for you, I would not have created the universe.”
· It is related by Abdullah bin Abbas that the Holy Prophet said:
“The very first thing that Allah Almighty ever created was my soul.”
“The very first thing that Allah Almighty ever created was my soul.”
· In another place he is reported to have said: “First of all things, the Lord created my mind.”{ AGL}
· In yet another place he is to have said: “I am from Allah, and the believers are from me.”
How many proofs has He not brought to bear that all existent things are from Him, and that he r, is more excellent than all of creation!
The Qutb-al-Muhaqqiqin, the most eminent of those who verify, Sayyidina ‘Ali, has said:
· Before the Lord Almighty created the divine throne and the divine court, Heaven and Hell, the worlds and the skies,
· He created the light of our Prophet Muhammad.
· He created his soul three hundred twenty-four years before He created the soul of Adam u.
Thereafter Allah Almighty created twelve veils, namely:
· the veils of power,
· grandeur,
· kindness,
· mercy,
· bliss,
· munificence,
· high station,
· guidance,
· prophecy,
· eminence,
· awe, and
· the veil of intercession.
Thereafter the Prophet’s r soul remained wrapped in the veil of power for twelve thousand years; and for eleven thousand years it remained within the veil of grandeur. For ten thousand years it remained in the veil of kindness; for nine thousand years in the veil of mercy; for eight thousand years in the veil of bliss; for seven thousand years in the veil of munificence; for six thousand years in the veil of high station; for five thousand years in the veil of guidance; for four thousand years in the veil of prophethood; for three thousand years in the veil of eminence; for two thousand years in the veil of awe; and for one thousand years his soul remained in the veil of intercession.
· After this it stayed on the divine throne for six thousand years.
· Thereafter the Lord Almighty took it and brought it to the offspring of Adam’s u loins.
· From Adam’s u loins it passed to Seth u, from Seth u to Idris u and from Idris u to Nuh u.
· Thus it was transferred all the way down to Abdullah bin Abdul-Muttalib. Finally it came to this world in the city of Mecca
It is reported that the Lord Almighty created a tree from the light of him who is the pride of the world. This tree had four branches, and it was called the tree of certainty.
· The light of Muhammad was manifested as a veil made of white pearls.
· It was placed upon this tree shaped as a peacock, and there it remained for one thousand years,
· steeped in the remembrance of Allah Almighty.
· Then the Lord created the mirror of modesty and placed it opposite the peacock.
· When the peacock looked into the mirror, he beheld a most beautiful face and form in it, and it became shamed before its glorious aspect, and prostrated itself five times.
· Therefore, five daily prayers became incumbent upon us, from that prostration.
· The Lord Almighty trained His gaze upon that light once more.
· From shame, that light began to perspire under the gaze of the Almighty.
· From the sweat upon his brow, the Almighty then created the angels.
· From the sweat upon his face, He created the throne, the divine court, the tablets and the pen, the sun, the moon and the stars.
· From the sweat upon his breast, He created the prophets and the messengers, the holy martyrs and the men of knowledge, and those of righteousness.
· From the sweat on his feet He then created the worlds and what is contained within them, up to the lowest of all stations of Hell and what is in it.
Then the Lord Almighty spoke: “Oh Muhammad, look before you!” Muhammad did so and he saw that all was replete with light.
· The light before him was the light of Abu Bakr.
· The light behind him was the light of ‘Umar.
· The light to his right was the light of ‘Uthman,
· the light to his left was the light of ‘Ali, may Allah be well pleased with them all.
· Then the light of Muhammad began to praise the Lord for seventy thousand years.
· After this, the souls of the prophets were created.
When Allah had created the souls of the prophets, they all spoke
La ilaha illAllah, Muhammad-ur-Rasulullah.
La ilaha illAllah, Muhammad-ur-Rasulullah.
Then Allah created a lamp.
· He placed the soul of Muhammad upon this lamp in the very same shape he was to appear in this world, and he was as if in prayer.
· The souls of all the prophets performed tawaf (circumambulation) around the soul of Muhammad for two hundred thousand years.
· Then the Lord ordered them to look at Muhammad.
· The souls then gazed upon him.
· Whoever gazed upon his head became a king in this world.
· He whose gaze fell upon his forehead became one of the just. He who espied his chest became a man of learning.
· In brief, whichever part of his blessed body the soul cast its gaze upon, it was endowed with just such an art or craft as corresponded to that member.
Thereafter Allah Almighty commanded the people to perform their ritual prayer in the shape of the name “Ahmed”.
· That is to say: the prayer position of qiyam (standing upright) resembles the Arabic letter ‘alif’.
· The ruk’u (bending from the waist) resembles the letter ‘ha’,
· the final position of jalsa (kneeling) resembles the letter ‘dal’.
· (In Arabic the name Ahmad contains these consonants: alif, ha, mim, dal).
Then the Lord Almighty created the Prophet'sesembling in their forms the shape of the name “Muhammad”.
· The head is round, like the letter ‘mim’.
· The two hands resemble the letter ‘ha’,
· the belly again resembles a ‘mim’, and
· the feet resemble a ‘dal’.
And now, oh ye desirous of learning divine secrets! I will now put forth to you the circumstances of the birth of the Holy Prophet , his mission and the revelation of the Quran and its holy words, by the leave of the Almighty Lord, Allah.
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Descent of Nur-i-Muhammad
Narration of Ka’b al-Akhbar
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This narration is from Ka`b al-Akhbar, who was known as Abu Ishaq. Ka`b was of the learned scholars of the Jews and during the blessed lifetime of the Holy Prophet he lived in the land of Yemen
During the Holy Prophet's lifetime I became acquainted with Ka`b and I used to meet him in a number of assemblies. It was his intention to come and attend the association of the Holy Prophet, and without yet having met him, he confirmed that he was indeed the Seal of the Prophets; he frequently describe his characteristics to us. One day he told us that this was going to be the Holy Prophet’s last year, and that he very much wished he could make ready and go to meet him on time. He hastened his preparations and set out on the journey. There came one night, however, when he was seen to dart in and out (of the tent) at frequent intervals during the night, gazing intently at the night sky and weeping copiously.
As it dawned, I addressed him and said: “Oh, Abu Ishaq, what has befallen you? How is it that you have spent the night gazing at the sky and weeping? What hidden wisdom is there in your action?” He turned to me and answered, “During this night the Holy Prophet at Madinah al-Munawwara was transported from this world to the next. I looked at the skies and saw that the gates of Heaven were opened wide to receive him, and I saw all the angels stand in attendance and celebrate his coming with songs of praise and honor. And on the whole earth there is no better place than that place where his blessed remains are to be buried; it is the choicest of all spots in this world.” Thus he spoke and swore by Allah.
I was completely dumbfounded by this explanation and therefore took exact note of the very date and hour when he uttered these words. So when we actually arrived in Madinah, we heard that it was indeed on that very night that the Holy Prophet had departed from this passing abode to that of permanence. But at that time, I did not meet Abu Bakr as-Siddiq; only later, after his death, during the Khalifa of ‘Umar, when I went to see the Khalifa at Madinah, I heard that he was there. I met him and gave him Salams. He looked at me and recognized me, and he honored me by admitting me into his close company.
I then told him and all those assembled of what I had observed of Ka`b ul Akhbar. Everyone present marveled at this, saying he must be a sorcerer, a wizard. But Ka`b who was there with me spoke up and said: “God forbid, I am neither sorcerer nor wizard, Allahu Akbar!” and he took
· from beneath his seat a small box which resembled a white pearl,
· fastened by a golden lock which was sealed with a golden seal.
· He broke the seal and opened the box that revealed a piece of green silk folded up in many folds.
· “Do you know what this is?” he asked the assembly. “I don’t know,” I answered him. He said,
· “In this is wrapped (a volume) of the divinely revealed books of the Torah and the Injil (Old and New Testaments)
· in which the signs and characteristics of the Holy Prophet are set down by the revelation of the Almighty.”
· Thereupon we all cried out: “Oh Abu Ishaq! May Allah Almighty have mercy on you! Do tell us of the very beginning of creation, when the Prophet was created!” We entreated him and he began to speak:
Verily, when Allah Almighty intended to create the most noble of all the sons of Adam u, He spoke to Jibra'il u, the trustworthy angel, ordering him to bring a sufficient quantity of clay from the purest and most exalted place on earth. Jibra'il u, being the highest in command of the sublime heavenly assembly, descended down to earth, and took a quantity of clay from the site of what is now the Holy Prophet's fragrant resting place, as there can be no better place on earth than this site.
· Allah then took this bit of clay and mixed it with the waters of the river Tasnim which flows in Paradise .
· He formed something akin to a white pearl.
· Subsequently, the pearl was dipped into all the various rivers and streams of Paradise and endowed with their outstanding properties.
· It was then shown to all the seven layers of the heavens and the earth, and amid showers of praise and glorification it was made known to all dwellers of Heaven and earth that this substance had found acceptance and high honor in the divine presence,
· and that it was the very best of all created materials.
· Now, when the time had come for Adam u to be created,
· this light was placed upon his forehead, and the sound of a rushing river issued from it.
· Adam u asked his Lord: “Oh my Lord, praised be Thy very mention, what is this voice upon my forehead?”
The Lord answered him, “It is the sound of the praise and glorification of the light of the seal of the prophets, Sayyiduna Muhammad!
· Be mindful of this light and hold it in high respect, and know that it will be passed on to your descendants.
· Therefore, enjoin them to take only pure and virtuous women for their wives, and to refrain from folly and frivolous conduct until the time has come for the owner of that light to enter the world.”
· This he solemnly vowed to undertake, and from that time on the light of Muhammad shone upon his blessed forehead.
It is also said that at the time Adam u was created that light was first placed at his back upon his shoulders. Wherever Adam u went, rows upon rows of angels followed him, gazing at his back, and when he stood still, they stood behind him, praising and celebrating this shining light. Adam u finally addressed the Lord and said, “Oh my Lord, why is it that there are always so many angels gathered at my back, what is the wisdom in this?” The Lord answered him, “Oh Adam u, on your back I have placed the light of Muhammad, and the angels are forever paying their respects to it.”
Thereupon Adam u said, “Oh my Lord, do Thou place this blessed and revered light in front of me, so that the angels are not always behind me.” The Lord granted him this favor and placed the light of Muhammad upon Adam’s u forehead. Now the angels always stood facing Adam u as they revered this blessed light. Adam u perceived the great love and devotion the angels held for this light, until at last he made supplication to his Lord, saying, “Oh my Lord, will You not grant me the privilege of once seeing this wonderful light which all these myriads of angels are incessantly adoring?”
· The Lord heard his prayer and in answer to Adam’s u supplication He placed the light of Muhammad upon the index finger of his right hand (which is called the Shahada finger).
· The finger began ringing the praises of this most auspicious light, and Adam u along with all the angels heard it and named that finger ‘sajah’.
· They then continued to praise the owner of that magnificent light, reciting Salawat upon the most noble and perfect of all prophets, upon whom be peace, and not only the angels, but all of creation began praising the light of Muhammad.
At the time when Adam u and his wife Hawa were by divine command expelled from their blessed abode in the Garden of Eden, their Paradise clothing was stripped from them so that they grew aware of their nakedness and felt shame. They sought to conceal themselves from the blessed angels, and tried to hide behind the trees of Paradise . But the trees refused them, all except the ‘Ud tree (the aloes). Allah Almighty addressed this tree and asked it why it had sheltered Adam u and Hawa whereas none of the other trees had done so. The ‘Ud tree answered, “Oh gracious and merciful Lord! You have placed the light of Your beloved Muhammad upon Adam’s u forehead and You have commanded all of creation to praise this wonderful light as they gaze upon it. Adam u came to me with this light upon him, begging for shelter. For the sake of this hallowed light, how could I refuse him? I felt shame for this blessed light and accepted it into my shade, oh Lord!”
Allah Almighty replied, “Oh, ‘Ud tree! For that you have so honored the light of My beloved, I will cause you to be more highly esteemed by My servants among men than any other tree, and I have made your leaves to be white; however, since you have acted as you did without My leave, you will not be able to give off your much-desired fragrance lest you are burnt to ashes.”
According to another narration: when Adam u and Hawa were stripped of their robes of Paradise and ordered to go down to earth and leave their celestial abode, they looked about at all the marvels and heavenly splendor they were to leave behind, and began to weep bitterly for what they had lost. All the trees of Paradise wept along with them, all except for the ‘Ud tree (the aloes). Allah Almighty addressed that tree, asking it, “Why are you alone of all trees in Paradise not weeping for Adam u and Hawa?”
The tree answered, “Oh my Lord, it is upon Thy command that they leave the Jannah (Paradise ); out of respect for what Thou hast commanded I do not weep for them.” The Lord then said, “For that you have shown respect for my divine command, I decree that on earth they will not benefit from your fragrant essence until they have put fire to your wood.”
The tree then asked, “Oh my Lord, as You have willed me to be burnt, do tell me what is the wisdom of it?” The tree then received this reply: “It is because you have showed no compassion with My Prophet in his need that I have decree for you...”
When Adam u and Hawa stood naked they looked about from which tree they might take a few leaves to cover their nakedness. All the trees surrounding them lifted up their branches away from them and refused them even a single leaf. Desperately they searched, until they came to the fig tree. This tree took pity on them and gave them some of its leaves to cover themselves with. However, no sooner had they taken the leaves from this tree than they turned black and brittle and fell away from them, uselessly. Upon this, they wept even more bitterly than before, and there came to them a call which they heard and understood: “Know that whomever the Lord has stripped of his covering, no one has the power to clothe! The servant forsaken by his Lord can receive no help from any quarter!”
Upon these words, Adam u turned to his Lord, the Almighty Source of All Things, and pleaded with Him to grant them the gift of covering their nakedness. Again they came to the fig tree, and it willingly gave them a few leaves. Adam u shook the tree, and three leaves fell from it. With these Adam u covered himself. He then shook the tree a second time, and this time five leaves fell from it. These Hawa used to cover herself with. From that time onwards, it has been the custom to wrap men’s bodies for burial in three pieces of unstitched cloth, while women are wrapped in five pieces of cloth.
The Lord then said to the fig tree, “Oh fig tree, why did you make Adam u a gift of your leaves?” The tree replied, “Oh my Lord, You had not prohibited it, so I gave them some of my leaves.” The Lord then spoke to the fig tree, “As you took pity on Adam u when My Wrath was upon him, I shall make you very brittle and hollow from within, so that men shall not climb upon you nor use your wood for any purpose, nor will they burn you for fuel. Your leaves I will make brittle and harsh, and no living creature on earth will find them tasty or sweet.”
When the Lord of the Worlds issued His divine command for Adam u to go down from Paradise and settle upon the earth, Adam u in his distress called upon the souls of all the prophets who were to be his offspring, and he called upon the noble soul of Muhammad, the seal of the prophets, to intercede with the Lord on his behalf, and he wept long and much. “What is the hidden meaning of this,” he cried, “that my Lord has created me and placed me in these Paradise gardens, only to remove me now from this abode of bliss and making me to live in the lower world, upon the earth?”
The Lord Almighty answered his wailing thus:
· “Oh Adam! In My majesty and might, I have created you to be My representative on earth; the reason I first set you to live in these gardens of Paradise is this:
· so that from this day on until the Last Day you and all your descendants may look to this realm of bliss as to their real and true native land;
· that they may turn their hearts towards it full of longing and desire, and
· that they may believe in My unity and confirm the message of all My prophets and messengers, and respond in their words and works to My command.
· Thus they will exert themselves to regain their homeland of Paradise .”
Therefore some of the learned in the scriptures have interpreted the saying of the Prophet: “Love of one’s homeland is a part of faith” as referring to Paradise , the original home of man, and this saying is a sign and indication of this secret. Adam u, when he received his Lord’s words, understood His intention and left Paradise behind him.
Adam u descended upon the mount of Sarandib (Sri Lanka
· Shaytan was cast out also, but opinions differ as to where he landed: some say it was at Basra , some say at another place Near Bali , but some even say he alighted at no particular place at all.
· Now, when Adam u and Hawa were expelled along with Iblis, Iblis conceived within himself an evil suggestion.
· “I have succeeded in driving Adam u and his mate out of Paradise ,” he thought to himself,
· “what damage can I do him now that he is coming to earth, what intrigue can I work against him there?”
Wondering about this, he called together all the wild beasts living on earth and told them that Adam’s u advent would result in his progeny peopling the whole earth and hunting all the wild beasts to extinction. “Woe on us,” they cried, “what are we to do?” Shaytan replied, “This is what you must do: gather all together at the spot where Adam u is to descend, and as soon as he arrives, attack him all of you and tear him to pieces. That will be the end of him for all times.”
Thus Iblis excited the wild beasts against Adam u before he came to earth. When Adam u set foot on the ground he found all the animals gathered round him, prepared to attack. Adam u was bewildered at this reception and knew not what to do. The angel Jibra’il u came to him in less than an instant and told him, “Oh Adam, put out your hand and stroke the head of the dog, that you might witness the power of our Lord to effect the strange and wondrous.” Adam u did as the angel counseled him, and no sooner had he touched the dog than it turned against its fellow creatures and fell upon them, so that they dispersed in confusion. Since that day the dog is the enemy of all other beasts of prey, and he attacks them wherever he chances upon them.
Adam u spent his first long years on earth weeping constantly, entreating the Almighty to forgive him and show him mercy. At long last he also prayed to the Lord to reunite him with his wife, Hawa. His prayer was then accepted, and it is written that the Lord Himself inspired in Adam u the words of supplication that made his prayer acceptable:
Thereafter Adam received certain words from his Lord, and he turned towards him.... (The Cow, 35)
The commentators have written much on this subject; here only two of their remarks shall be mentioned. One is transmitted from Sayyiduna ‘Ali who relates that Adam’s u prayer for forgiveness was this:
La ilaha illa anta, subhanaka, Rabbi, a‘amiltu su’an wa zalamtu nafsi wa anta arham-ur-rahimin. (There is no God but Thou, Glory to Thee; my Lord, I have done wrong, I have wronged my own soul, and Thou art most merciful of those that show mercy).
The Holy Prophet says that Allah Almighty will pardon him who entreats Him with these words, even if his sins be as numerous as the foam upon the waves of the ocean, or the grains of the desert sands.
Secondly, Hasan of Basra relates that the words given to Adam u were these verses of the Holy Quran:
...Lord, we have wronged ourselves, and if Thou dost not forgive us, and have mercy upon us, we shall surely be among the lost. (The Battlements, 23)
· When Adam u pleaded to the Lord in these words, Allah Almighty forgave him, and sent down to him from Heaven a house which had been made in Paradise,
· that was called the ‘Bayt al-Ma’mur, the heavenly house.
· Two doors it possessed, one of which opened to the east, the other to the west, and it was set down at the spot where today the Kaba stands at Mecca
· Adam was then commanded through revelation to circumambulate this heavenly house, and he was taught the rites of the Hajj and the Sa’i by the angel Jibra'il u himself.
· After completing the Tawaf and Sa’i,
· he was led out to Arafat to be reunited with Hawa. She had spent the long years of separation looking for him in this place, and as it was the place of meeting and, as it were, re-acquaintance, it was known henceforth as ‘Arafat’ which means ‘to get to know’.
· The angel then asked them what they hoped for from their Lord, and they answered, “We seek nothing but His pardon and forgiveness,” wherefore this place is called Muna (hope, wish, desire).
Now every time Adam u wished to consort with his wife Hawa, they would proceed by purifying themselves and by making preparations so that the sublime light that was housed in Adam’s u body might be transferred to his wife while in a state of purity, and they persisted in these efforts. Each time Hawa became pregnant, she would look at her husband Adam u, and when she perceived the light of Muhammad upon his brow, she knew that she had not yet conceived his successor.
Hawa was pregnant twenty times, and each time she bore him twins, a boy and a girl.
· Until one day she conceived the father of the prophets, Seth u: she then saw the light upon Adam’s u brow disappear from its place only to relocate upon her own.
· She greeted it with great joy and celebration.
· Allah Almighty created Seth u as the only single birth in her womb, as an honor to the light of Muhammad.
· This was an omen to them that the owner of this illustrious light was about to be born into the world and that though he was of mankind, there was none like him and no one matched him in perfection.
· When the child was born, they named him Seth u, and the meaning of this name is ‘gift of God’.
When Hawa had born her son Seth u, she looked at him and saw the light of Muhammad sparkling upon his brow.
· The Almighty also placed a veil between Seth u and Shaytan, so that he was shielded and protected from his wiles.
· The angels circled round the child and honored him, and from the heavens on high a call was heard: “Good tidings to thee, oh earth, and all thy inhabitants!
· The proof of the light of Muhammad has shone forth upon Seth u, it illuminates the heavens and the earth!
· This light will continue to pass from the pure to the pure, until such a time as its rightful possessor will appear in the world of men!”
This heavenly voice was heard every day until the boy Seth u had reached the age of puberty. Adam u then called his son to him, gazed at his forehead and said to him, “Oh my son, truly the Lord of might and glory has promised to me that this light of Muhammad which is upon your brow shall not be taken from the world and shall not disappear. However you must take care that it is passed only to such women as are very chaste and pure, and of outstanding virtue.”
Thereafter Adam u turned to the Lord and prayed: “Oh Allah! I have received a promise from this servant that he will carefully preserve this noble light, and I bear witness to this, his commitment. Oh Lord, wilt Thou not send a witness to confirm this solemn pledge?” The Lord then sent the angel Jibra'il u with a host of seventy thousand angels. They brought with them a piece of white silk from Paradise , as well as a pen from the heavenly pens.
They saluted Adam u and spoke to him, “The Lord Almighty says: Verily, the time is nigh for the light of My beloved Muhammad to travel down through the generations; therefore, prepare and make your bequest to your son Seth. Let him swear a solemn oath that he too will pass this on to his sons, and they to theirs, until the time is ripe for the rightful possessor of this noble light to come into his own. The heavenly angels this day bear witness to this solemn pledge that you undertake, to ensure that this light is carried down through the generations only by those of pure and chaste comportment, who refrain from all manner of lewdness and sinful action and seek to keep the line of transmission untainted. Today this oath is witnessed by the angels and penned down upon this white silk from Paradise .”
Jibra'il u had brought another object from Paradise :
· this was a box in which were kept the descriptions of the great prophets and messengers.
· The piece of white silk was placed therein.
· Next, two crimson robes were brought and Seth u was clothed in them.
· Then a contract of nikah (marriage) was drawn up for him with a woman by the name of Nahwailat al-Baida who in beauty and nature resembled his mother Hawa.
· The angel Jibra'il u performed the nikah ceremony and recited a khutba (sermon) for them and thus they were man and wife.
When this lady now became pregnant from Seth u, she heard a voice calling to her: “Oh Nahwailat-al-Baida! Good tidings to you, you have conceived the successor of that luminous light which is upon your husband’s brow!” Thus she was cheered.
· When she bore the child, they named him Enush. The child was protected from the wiles of Shaytan the Accursed by this noble light. When the boy had grown, his father Seth u said to him, “Oh my son, when you marry, be mindful of selecting a pure and chaste woman, for you are to be my successor.”
· Enush heeded his father’s words, and in time he passed on
· the trust to his son Kan’aan, and he to
· his son Mahalalel, and
· he to Yered, his son.
Yered took to wife a woman named Birra who bore him a son, Enoch who is known to us as Idris u. Yered bequeathed to his son Enoch all the pledges that were written and recorded, and Enoch accepted them from him. He married a woman by the name of Barukhanan, and had a son by her. This son they named Methusalah; and he sired a son named Lamaq. Lamaq was as a lad extremely bright and gifted, and he also was very strong. Lamaq took to wife Kaswir and she became the mother of Nuh u. Lamaq bequeathed to Nuh u all he had; Nuh u married Na’ama and had a son named Sam by her. Upon his brow Nuh u perceived the light of Muhammad, and he bequeathed to him the holy trust that had come to him from the time of Adam u.
Sam had a son by name of Arpachshad, and his son was named Shalach. Shalach married Marhana and had a son by her whom he named Abir. (He was to become the Prophet Hud u). Abir married a woman named Munshaha and had a son by her whom he named Peleg. Peleg had a son named Arghu, and Arghu’s son was named Saruq. Saruq’s son was Nahor. Nahor had a son and called him Terah. Terah married a pure woman named Edna, and their son he named Ibrahim u.
When Ibrahim u came into the world two banners of light were set up, one in the east and one in the west.
· Ibrahim u grew and became aware of a voice coming from his hands that was praising the light of Muhammad which he held in his blessed hands.
· He begged the Almighty to tell him about this voice, and the Lord answered him,
· “It is the voice of the light of My beloved Muhammad, and it is reciting praises of My Glory and Unity.
· Now your turn has come to preserve this light; it has come down to you from the time of your father Adam u, you are the next in line to pass it on.”
Ibrahim u told his wife Sarah what the Lord had told him, and for a very long time she expected the successor to that light to make his appearance through her.
· Until such a time as her maid Hagar conceived the intended heir to that blessed light; then Sarah was stricken with disappointment and jealousy, being deprived of the honor and happiness of bearing the Prophet Ibrahim’s u sole and single heir.
· Her husband consoled her and said, “Don’t give in to sorrow; our Almighty Lord is full of grace and bounty and does not rescind on His promise. It is His decree that you too will be blessed and made glad.”
· So Sarah was patient until Allah’s time was fulfilled and she bore her son Ishaq u.
When Ishaq u had reached the age of maturity,
· Ibrahim u called all his six children to him, gathered them round him and showed them the box which had come to him as inheritance from his forefather Adam u.
· He opened the box for them and in it they saw many small boxes, as many as there are prophets and messengers sent to this world.
· Each of the boxes contained a description of one of the prophets.
The very last box contained the description of the earthly form of the seal of prophets, Muhammad.
· He was shown in the position of Qiyam (standing in prayer).
· On his right side stood Abu Bakr as-Siddiq, and upon his forehead were written these words: ‘he was the first to believe in me’; on his l
· left was depicted ‘Umar ibn Khattab, upon whose forehead were written the words: ‘in his righteousness he fears neither blame nor blamer.’
· Behind him, stood ‘Uthman ibn ‘Affan, and upon his forehead was written: ‘Modesty is his virtue.’
· Before him stood ‘Ali ibn Abi Talib, and upon his forehead was written: ‘His virtue is generosity, and in faith he is the brother of the Prophet Muhammad.’
· All around him stood the sainted uncles and companions and the elders of the community of Madinah, and their names were written upon their depictions.
Ibrahim u showed all his children the family tree and this chain of succession of the Holy Prophets. They saw that henceforth all prophets were to be descended from their brother Ishaq u, with
· one exception: the seal of the prophets was to be born of the line of Ismail .
· The Prophet Ibrahim spoke to his son Ismail , “As you can tell, the pride of all the worlds and seal of the prophets is to descend from your line;
· therefore, take the utmost care for yourself and enjoin upon your sons, to marry only the purest and most virtuous women of your age, so that this unrivalled light may come down through the ages to its rightful owner unsoiled.”
· Ismail u married a woman by the name of Ri’lah and she conceived and bore him a son Qaydar.
· Qaydar grew into a strong and comely youth, the first and best among the spear throwers and a champion wrestler as well.
· Ismail u perceived the light of Muhammad upon his forehead and to him he bequeathed the box he had inherited from his father and made him his heir.
Qaydar, thinking it preferable to marry from the tribe of Ishaq u, chose women from that line, and he married no less than one hundred times. For two hundred years he lived with them, but they bore him not a single child. One day, as he was returning from the hunt, the wild animals assembled round him and addressed him in distinct and eloquent speech. “Oh Qaydar,” they said, “what is it with you? Already you have passed a large portion of your life on earth, how is it that the successor to the light upon your forehead has not yet appeared? Could it be that you have been wasting your time? And what of the solemn pledge you made to your father.”
Qaydar, upon hearing these words, felt hurt and fell into a mood of gloom and foreswore all worldly enjoyments, until he could solve this problem. As he was wandering about in his perplexity, Allah Almighty sent an angel to speak to him who assumed the shape of a man, and said to him, “Oh Qaydar, in a short while Allah Almighty will adorn you with new strength, and you will bring under your dominion great cities and towns. You will also deliver the holy light which is deposited in your safekeeping to a pure woman who is not of the tribe of Ishaq u. Allah demands a sacrifice of you, so that you may be directed towards that woman who is destined for you.”
Qaydar then slaughtered seven hundred rams as a sacrifice to his Lord, and from Heaven descended a fire like a streak of white light and burned his sacrifices. A heavenly voice was heard saying: “Oh Qaydar! Your sacrifice is made and accepted, your prayer is granted. The box you have inherited is with you and guidance shall come to you through your dreams.”
That night Qaydar saw a dream; in it he was told that the prophet who was to be the ultimate heir of the holy light was to come from the pureblooded Arab tribes of Arabia . He was told to go to those tribes and ask for the hand of one lady named Fakhira in marriage, so that through her he might attain his goal. Qaydar joyfully awoke from his dream, praised the Lord and thanked Him. He sent out his scouts and envoys forthwith to all the tribal chiefs of the Arabs to ask for the hand of such a woman. But no one could be found fitting the description.
At long last he himself set out to search among the Arab tribes. He came into the realm of Jurhum ibn Zuhri bin Amir bin Yaru’ bin Qahtan, and learned that this king indeed had a daughter named Fakhira and that she was a woman of modesty and virtue. He asked for her and they were united in marriage. Qaydar traveled back with her to his home country and this lady conceived from him. Qaydar then wished to open the box that had been passed down to him, but a voice was heard coming from it, that said: “Beware and refrain! Only the hand of a prophet may open this chest! Desist, lest harm befall you!” Qaydar heeded the warning and took the box to the son of Ishaq u who was Ya’qub u.
His wife Fakhira meanwhile bore him a male child and they named him Hamil. Hamil grew up, and when he was old enough his father said to him, “Come with me, I will take you to the building which your grandfather Ibrahim has built at Mecca, and I will show the holy sites and teach you the rites.” They set out for the holy house, the ‘Baytullah’, and when they had come to a place known as Sabil which is quite close by the holy house, they encountered the angel of death who had assumed a human form. “Where are you going?” he asked Qaydar. Qaydar answered, “We are going to the holy house of the Lord so that I might show my son the holy places and teach him the rites.” The angel of death said to him, “Come up to me, I have something to tell you in private..” Qaydar stepped up to him, and the angel took from his soul while yet engaged in conversation with him. Hamil saw his father fall and rushed to attack the killer. But the angel of death addressed the young man, “Will you not check at least to see whether he is really dead..?” and while Hamil bent to do so, the angel vanished.
When Hamil looked up and found himself alone, he realized he had been speaking to an angel. Just then, by the grace of God, some people from the tribe of Ishaq came by that place. They attended to the dead man; they washed and prepared him for the funeral, prayed over him and laid him to rest.
Hamil then returned to his home. He grew up and married a woman, Javda by name, who bore him a son whom they named Lais. Lais in his turn had a son called Hamisa; Hamisa begat Adnan, and this is the chain of descent from our father Adam u to Adnan and the Holy Prophet Muhammad. However, there is no end to dissent and dispute concerning this genealogy. Our Holy Prophet only confirmed the line of succession up until Adnan; he refrained from telling particulars of the family tree before that.
Ibn Abbas relates that from Ishaq to Adnan there were thirty generations, but he did not name them. He said, “If Allah Almighty had wished for these to be known, He would have made His Holy Prophet instruct us about them.” No real disagreement exists concerning the genealogical chain from Adnan to Muhammad’s r father Abdullah. Adnan had a son Ma’add; Ma’add had Nizar. Nizar married Sauda bint Adnan. The sons of Nizar were four: Mudar, Rabi’, Yaman and Ayar. Some sources claim that Sauda bint Adnan was the mother of all four, while others maintain that she was only the mother of Mudar, while his brothers were the sons of her sister, Shafiqa bint Adnan, Mudar was a great hunter and he read and recited with great reverence the scriptures that were handed down from the time of Adam u.
He took very seriously the task of passing on the light of Muhammad, bequeathing it to his son. This he wrote down in the form of a solemn pledge, which he hung upon the Kaba. His sons after him married pure and worthy women to protect the sanctity of the light. Mudar belonged to the nation of Ibrahim u, and the light of Muhammad upon him shone forth brightly so that whoever met him felt love for him in his heart. He also possessed a most beautiful voice.
When Nizar felt death approaching, he gathered his sons around him to give them his blessing and his last advice. To Mudar he bequeathed a tent of red leather, and willed that any other tents of this kind should be his. Thereafter he was known as Mudar the red. Nizar also had a gray horse; this one he gave to Rabi’ and willed all similar horses to be given to Rabi’. Therefore he was called Rabi’ of the horses. Nizar possessed a slave, him he gave to Yaman, and willed that all like him should belong to Yaman. Lastly, he had a black mattress, this he bequeathed to his last son, Ayar, willing all similar ones to be his. He recommended them to go to the seer Af’a who lived in Bahrain
After Nizar had died, dissent arose between the brothers, and they set out towards Bahrain
After a little while they met an Arab mounted upon a camel. They asked him, “Who are you?” He replied, “I have lost my camel and I am looking for him.” Mudar asked the man, “Perchance it was blind in its left eye?” “So it was,” answered the Arab. Then Rabi’ said, “And its right foot was lame?” “Indeed,” said the Arab. Yaman then said, “And was its tail clipped?” “Yes, it was,” said the Arab. Finally Ayar said, “And your camel had run away and was on the loose?” “To be sure, it was,” said the Arab. Then they told him, “Your camel has passed by such-and-such a place, go and find it there.” The man however said, “No, you must have stolen my camel and taken it away, how else could you know my camel so well?”
The brothers denied this and told him they knew all this from the signs of its grazing and they swore to that, but the man would not believe them. “No,” he said, “you have told me all these details about my camel, it must be with you. I demand it back from you.” “We have never set eyes on your camel,” the brothers assured the man again and again. He then asked them where they were headed for. “We are going to Bahrain to see a certain soothsayer named Af’a,” they said, so the man decided to join them, and they rode off together towards Bahrain
When they had arrived at the soothsayer’s, the Arab called out to him, “Oh Af’a, help me, for these four men have absconded with my camel that I lost in the desert.” The wise man then turned to the brothers and asked them, “Since you claim never to have seen the camel, how is it you know so much about it?” Mudar answered, “I knew the camel was blind on its left eye because wherever it had grazed, the grass was eaten only on the right side.” Rabi’ then spoke, “I could tell from its tracks that it was a camel whose right foot was lame: its left footprint was very clear, while the right one was weak and indistinct.” Next Yaman spoke and said, “I knew that its tail had been clipped because it is the habit of the camel to disperse its excrement as soon as it has defecated; this camel had not done so, therefore I knew it must have a clipped tail.” Lastly, Ayar spoke up and said, “I noticed that this camel had been grazing here and there, as it pleased; therefore, I concluded that it had escaped from its owner.”
The wise man Af’a listened to the brothers’ testimony and marveled at their cleverness. He turned to the Arab and told him, “Go now and look for your camel, for these brothers have told the truth, they have not stolen your camel.” Then he said to the four brothers, “Who are you and why have you come?” They answered, “We are the sons of Nizar, and we have a problem which we hoped you could help us with.” Af’a invited them to stay with him the night as his guests, and he would look into their case in the morning.
The seer Af’a set before them a roast lamb to eat and a wineskin full of wine to drink. They sat down to eat and busied themselves with their meal. Their host did not sit down with them but concealed himself in a corner where he could overhear their conversation. He heard Mudar say, “This wine is excellent, but the grapes it is made from grew in a cemetery.” His brother Rabi’ spoke up next, “This lamb is nicely roasted, however the animal was fed on dog’s milk.” The next brother, Yaman, then said, “This is very good bread, only the dough was kneaded by a menstruating woman.” At last Ayar also spoke and said, “Our host, the seer, is a good man, even though he is a bastard.”
Hearing their words, Af’a went out to check the truth of their claims. He asked the man who had brought the wine where the grapes were grown. The man said, “There was no other wine left, so I gave you the wine made of the grapes that grow on your father’s grave.” Next he went to the shepherd and asked him about the lamb. The man told him, “It was a motherless lamb and there were no other ewes left in the herd to suckle it, so I gave it to a bitch who accepted it and suckled it on her own milk. I could have found no better lamb to give you when you asked me for one.”
Next Af’a went to his kitchens and asked about the slave girl who had kneaded the bread dough that day. He found out that it was indeed as the son of Nizar had said. At last he went to his mother and asked about the circumstances of his own birth. “Tell me the truth,” he said to her, “who was my father? Is it true that I am a bastard?” His mother answered him, “Your father was the governor of this province and he was a very rich and powerful man, but he was childless. I feared that after his death a new governor might take his place and that all our fortunes might be ruined. Therefore, one night a guest came to our house, and I spent the night with him. That is how I conceived you, my son.”
Af’a went to a trusted friend and told him about all he had learned. He asked him to go to the strangers and ask them how they came to know all these hidden things. The man went and asked them, but they knew it was their host who had sent him. Nonetheless, they answered him. Mudar said, “Normally, when one drinks wine, all one’s troubles and worries fade away; but with this drink, I found it brought trouble to my mind and it did not quench my thirst. From this I understood that the vine must be growing on a gravesite.” Next Rabi’ answered, “The fat of sheep and goats is found on the upper side of their meat, while the fat of the dog is found below. The fat of this lamb was below, therefore I knew it had been fed on dog’s milk.” Then Yaman spoke, “When you dip bread in gravy, it soaks up the liquid. This bread did not do so, hence I knew that the woman who had kneaded it was menstruating at the time.” Lastly, Ayar said, “I knew that our goodly host must be a bastard, because a lawfully born son will sit and partake of the meal with his guests. This our soothsayer did not do, he kept apart from us and joined us not for the meal, therefore I knew he must be of illegitimate birth.”
Af’a heard their explanations and he wondered much at their sharp wit and sagacity, went to them and expressed his admiration. The brothers then said, “Will you not now hear our case and help us decide our matter?” The seer said, “How can I be of assistance to the likes of you, who possess learning and wisdom in such great measure? Can there be anything you wouldn’t be able to solve for yourselves?”
Then they told him, “Upon his deathbed, our father willed that we should go to you so that you might distribute among us justly what we have inherited from our father.” Af’a then said, “What has your father left you then?” “To one of us he left a red leather tent, and to another a gray horse; to another a slave and to the last he left a black mattress.” Af’a then said, “The message of this bequest is clear to me: as much as there is red gold in my possession, I leave it to Mudar; All the horses, cows, camels and sheep I own are to go to Rabi’. To Yaman I leave all the silver and brocade and costly cloth that I own, and Ayar shall have all my vineyards and fields.” The brothers all accepted this decision and were glad, each with his portion.
Ibn Abbas relates that the Holy Prophet said to his companions:
“Do not be against Mudar and Rabi’, for they became Muslim.”
“Do not be against Mudar and Rabi’, for they became Muslim.”
Following these events, Mudar married a woman named Karima who was also known as Umm Habib, and with her he had a son whom they called Iliyas. Iliyas, like his father, was a believer. In the book Muntaqa, it is related that often a sound akin to the buzzing of bees was heard when Iliyas passed by; this was the sound of the light of Muhammad reciting Talbiya (Labbayk allahumma labbayk).
Iliyas married a woman, Fatha, and begat a son on her, Mudrika. Mudrika married Quz’a and their son was Khuzayma. Khuzayma saw in a dream that he married a certain Barra bint Adwin, who was also called Tabiha. He awoke and found this woman, married her and Kanana was born to them. Kanana in his turn married a lady named Rayhana and they called their son Nadhir. Later he came to be called Quraysh, on account of a dream his father Kanana had one night. In this dream he saw a tree growing out of his back. It had many, many branches and its foliage was green and abundant. The tree grew as high as the sky and spread out into the heavens. Suddenly men of pale countenance appeared and embraced the branches of the tree.
When Kanana awoke from this dream, he went straight to an interpreter of dreams, and told him about it. The wise man said, “Should your dream be a true vision, it means that you are destined to be the forebear of the prophet of the last times. People from all around the world will show him honor, venerate him and follow his religion.”
His people heard about his dream and the interpretation the seer had given it, and all voiced their surprise and said, “Just look at him, this Kanana, he just wants to promote his son Nadhir’s importance and standing among us, whereas he is only a Quraysh.” The term “Quraysh” denotes a small sea fish that chases and eats up other, larger fish and sea creatures. This nickname stuck with Nadhir son of Kanana, pointing to his strength in overcoming obstacles.
Nadhir, who was henceforth called Quraysh, married Hint bint Adwan, and their son was Malik. Malik married Jedlaka bint Harith, and their son was named Fihr. Fihr married Selma Selma Fatima bint Sa’d, and their son was Qusayy. Qusayy married Atiqa bint Murra, and their son was named Hashim.
This was Hashim who is known to us as the felicitous great-grandfather of the Prophet of the last times r, was famed among the Arabs in his own time for his wealth and lordliness. All tribes wished to be connected through marriage to that pureblooded and powerful tribe. Many offered to him their daughters in marriage, even the Emperor of Byzanz, Constantine
In order to secure the honor of being connected to that prophet he wished to marry into that tribe, and he sent out his envoys with many persuasive gifts and promises. But Hashim was mindful of the solemn pledge of his forefathers to marry only women of pure and chaste extraction, therefore he was not tempted or swayed by the Emperor’s proposals. He refused, but he did wonder how to fulfill his pledge and whom to marry. While he was pondering this in a state of indecision, he was shown in a dream the daughter of ‘Umra, Selma
This girl Selma
When Abdul-Muttalib was twenty-five years of age, his father Hashim fell ill and called for his son. “Assemble all the chiefs of the tribe of Nadhir,” he told his son, “the Abdu-Shams, the Bani Mahzum, the Bani Lu’ayni, the Bani Fahri and the Bani Ghalib, and invite them to come here.” Abdul-Muttalib did as his father bade him, and when all were assembled, Hashim addressed them, “Oh ye tribal chiefs of Quraysh! You are directly descended from the Prophet Ismail and Allah Almighty has chosen you to be the custodians of the holy places, the Haram of Mecca. I am the leader of this tribe, so hear today my bequest: all the honorable offices of this custodianship I am passing on to my son Abdul-Muttalib: the banner of Ismail, the distribution of water to the pilgrims and the keys to the holy house, the shrine of the Kaba. Do you all accept my decision and pledge to abide by it?” “We hear and obey,” replied the chiefs of the tribes. Then Hashim passed away and Abdul-Muttalib took his place as ruler and chief of Mecca
No rain had fallen in the lands of the Quraysh for a number of years, and there was a drought. Abdul-Muttalib joined his people filing up Mount Yasira
In a dream it was shown to Abdul-Muttalib that one of the sons of Ismail u had hidden two deer-shaped ornaments in the well of Zamzam, made of red gold, as well as one hundred swords from the time of the prophet-king Sulayman u, and one hundred suits of mail from the time of the Prophet Da’ud u. Abdul-Muttalib was ordered to bring them out of the well in his dream.
When he came before the assembly of the Quraysh and told them what he had seen, they were not pleased and declined to assist him. Abdul-Muttalib at that time had only one son, Harith. He had no way to oppose the ranks of the Quraysh. He went to the holy house of the Kaba and prayed fervently to his Lord, Allah Almighty, invoking as intercessor the light of Muhammad upon his forehead. He vowed at that time that were he to beget ten sons and live to see them grown, and should they be obedient and willing to dig up the old well of Zamzam despite the Quraysh’s opposition; should they, furthermore succeed in this task without losing one drop of holy Zamzam water and unearth the objects he had seen in his dream, then he would sacrifice one of his sons at the threshold of the Kaba, in the Name of the Almighty Lord.
Abdul-Muttalib then married Hala bint Wahhab bint Abdu Manaf, and she bore him Hamza. After her he married Lubba bint Hajari, and through her he became the father of Abu Lahab. His mother died and Abdul-Muttalib married Atila bint Hubaba and she bore him Abbas, and his two brothers.
Abbas relates: One day my father Abdul-Muttalib lay asleep in his chamber when he suddenly started and woke up trembling. Hurriedly he tied his loincloth around his waist and rushed from the house. Wondering where he was going in such a hurry, I followed him hastily, and saw him go to the house of a fortuneteller skilled in the interpretation of dreams. The fortuneteller saw in him the signs of intense fright and asked him what he had seen. Abdul-Muttalib then told him his dream.
“I saw a great white chain rise up at my back,” he said, “which then divided into four branches, stretching to the east, to the west, up into the skies, and down into the ground. While I gazed at this vision, I saw it change into a great green tree of incredible beauty. All sorts of fruit were growing upon its boughs, as are found in all parts of the world. Such a tree of marvels has never been seen before. All peoples of the world bowed down before it, Arabs and non-Arabs alike, and performed prostration. From moment to moment its light grew stronger. Among the people, I saw also the tribe of Quraysh: one group clung to the branches of the tree, while another group gathered round, trying to cut down that beautiful tree. Someone I have never seen stepped forward to prevent them, and he was more beautiful than anyone I have ever set eyes upon.
“I stretched out my hand to take hold of that bit of light, and I ask that beautiful person whose portion of light that would be; he answered me that it would fall to those who were clinging to the branch of that tree. Then I just stood gazing at the beauty of that person, and as I looked on, I saw two great and venerable Sheikhs by the foot of the tree. They, too, were radiant with inner beauty. I asked them who they were, and one of them said, ‘I am Nuh’, the other one said, ‘I am Ibrahim’.”
When my father had finished telling him his dream, the soothsayer went pale. He said, “If your dream is a true one, it means that the Prophet of the last times will come to the world through you. The whole world, East and West, the earth and the heavens will testify to his prophethood and accept to be part of his nation. He will ascend to the heavens during his lifetime (Mi’raj), and in the end he will pass into the other world, and his body will remain to be buried. One faction of the Quraysh will accept his prophethood, while another will not, and they will be vanquished. The radiant person you saw is the religion of Islam; thereby they will be crushed and vanquished. The Prophet Nuh u standing at the foot of that tree means that those opposing that prophet to come will be drowned, as were the people of Nuh, in a flood of trials and affliction. The Prophet Ibrahim u standing at the foot of the tree means that those who follow the coming prophet will be honored by belonging to the nation of Khalil Ibrahim u and will attain their innermost desires. This prophet will bring with him a law that will be safe from later accretions and changes, and on the Last Day it will stand out as incontrovertible proof; this law and this nation will stand until the Last Day has come. This religion is true, and it is light and easy to bear.” That is how the seer interpreted my father’s dream.
After this Abdul-Muttalib married Fatima bint ‘Umri bin A’izz, and he had further children with her. Her last child was a son, Abdullah, who was destined to become the father of the Holy Prophet Muhammad. Abdullah was the youngest child of Abdul-Muttalib.
Scholars of the unbelievers of Sham knew that the father of the last Prophet had been born, for they possessed the blessed Prophet Yahya’s u mantle in which he had been martyred, and his blood was upon it yet. Furthermore, in their scriptures they had found a prediction that told them that whenever this dried blood would flow afresh, it would be the sign that father of the last Prophet was born at Mecca
Every morning they would inspect the robe for these traces. The night Abdullah, Muhammad’s r father was born at Mecca, the blood on the cloak became fresh and began to flow anew, as if it has been shed just that night, hence they knew this sign was fulfilled. They took counsel with each other, for they saw this event as a threat to themselves. They said, “If we don’t rid ourselves of this one while he is yet a child, he will grow up and become the father of this Arab prophet. He will then go forth and avenge the blood of Yahya u upon the unbelievers.”
They discussed ways and means of doing away with this boy Abdullah while he was yet a child. In the end they agreed on a plan: under the pretext of a trade delegation, the unbelievers would travel to Mecca Mecca
Abdul-Muttalib now had ten sons, including Abdullah. When they had all reached manhood, they stood by their father and represented an influential faction. Abdul-Muttalib himself was a man of eminence among all the tribes of Arabia , and Quraysh could not oppose him unaided. Abdullah one night had a dream that instructed him to unearth the precious objects that were hidden in the Zamzam well for such a long time, so Abdul-Muttalib and his ten sons began digging at the site. They eventually found all, as Abdul-Muttalib had been told in his own dream long ago. The swords of steel they melted down and made from them a pair of doors for the Kaba, and the golden deer figures they also melted and fashioned from this a golden ornament to place above those doors. Therefore, the first person to use gold on the doors of the Kaba was Abdul-Muttalib, the Prophet's grandfather.
Now, Abdul-Muttalib was also mindful that he had vowed to Allah to sacrifice one of his ten sons, should he be able to complete his task. He therefore drew the lots three times to determine which one of his sons should be sacrificed. Thrice the lot fell upon Abdullah. So it was decided that he should be sacrificed in fulfillment of his father’s vow.
The mother of Abu Talib was from the tribe of the Bani Mahzum. She went to her uncles to tell them of Abdul-Muttalib’s intention. They put their heads together and discussed what was to be done. They took Abdullah aside, and spoke to Abdul-Muttalib: “You are now the chief of the tribes of Quraysh, and if you institute such a practice, it will be done so ever after and become a custom. It is not a good thing to sacrifice your own son in fulfillment of a vow, we implore you not to do so.” Abdul-Muttalib thought about their objections, then he asked them, “What do you suggest I do then?” They replied, “There lives a very wise man at Khaybar; go to him and ask what course you should take.” Abdul-Muttalib went to the soothsayer at Khaybar who was known as Saja. He stated his case and Saja advised him, “Give ten camels for your son, then draw the lots once more. If the lot still falls on your son, increase the number of camels by ten, and keep on doing so until the lot you draw finally falls upon the camels. That number will then be the ransom for your son Abdullah. You will slaughter the animals in his stead.”
Abdul-Muttalib was gladdened when he heard these words and he returned to Mecca
The Holy Prophet's word: “Ana ibn zabihayn”, I am the son of the two (intended) sacrifices, refers to these events as well. One of those intended for sacrifice was his forefather Ismail u, the other his own father Abdullah.
Abdullah saw many visions and experienced many strange things. One day he said to his father Abdul-Muttalib, “I came to a certain place in Mecca
All these things Abdullah told his father when he was yet a child. Abdul-Muttalib told his son, “If your vision is true, it confirms the dream that I saw and had interpreted, according to which you are indeed the blessed child I was promised, and that you will engender the Prophet of the last times r.
Because of all the strange and wonderful events surrounding this child, many of the great and powerful wished to connect themselves through marriage to this family. Abdullah was offered the hand of many a princess. But his father Abdul-Muttalib said, “The girl he marries must be of the tribe of Quraysh,” and he considered none of these proposals seriously. Abdullah reached his twenty-fifth year, and he was in his prime, a model of a youth, and the light of Muhammad shone upon his brow.
Many who saw him were infatuated with him, propositioning him with secret get-togethers and forbidden pleasures, but each time the angels showed themselves to him in their frightful aspect and prevented him from committing any unlawful act, by the grace of Allah Almighty. Abdullah never went to the house of idols, then housed in the Kaba. Each time he even thought of doing so, the idols within cried out with a voice of their own: “Oh Abdullah! Beware, do not come near us! The light of the Pride of all the Worlds r is in your safekeeping, it is the light of the Prophet of the last times, and through his hand all idolatry will be wiped out–he will destroy us and all our worshippers!”
Abdul-Muttalib convened a family council and said to them, “My son Abdullah has now reached the age that he should get married. Already there have been many proposals, but I wish to discuss the question with you. Are there any daughters of the Quraysh who would make a suitable bride for my son?” They answered, “There lives in Madinah a judge named Wahb bin Abdu Manaf bin Zuhra whose daughter Amina would make a suitable bride for your son. She is a model of beauty and modesty and good upbringing, unique among the girls of her generation. Moreover, the scholars insist that both father and mother of the last Prophet be descended from an ancestor named Abdu Manaf. Both grandfathers were named Abdu Manaf, so this condition is fulfilled thereby.”
The family council agreed heartily, and Abdul-Muttalib said to them, “Your words ring good and true. The girl you have suggested is in all respects a perfect match. However, her father has not given her to anyone yet, even though she is known among the tribes for her excellence and virtue; great men of all descriptions, men of fabulous wealth and power have asked for her hand, yet her father has consented to none. We have not the means to match their precious gifts, and if we appear as paupers, he may refuse us, too.”
Thus they held their counsel and were worried and in doubt as to what they should do. But Allah, the Creator of Causes, made the knowledge of the seers and sorcerers of Madinah known through the unbelievers, concerning that sun of comeliness and prodigy of virtue who was to become the father of the last Prophet, and it reached the ears of Wahb, the father of Amina. He received it with great joy in his heart and an immediate surge of affection. He was inspired to wish to marry his daughter Amina to Abdullah, and considered sending a message to this effect to Mecca Mecca
Having thus made up his mind, he set out on his own from Madinah to Mecca Mecca
Word of their planned venture spread through the town, and it came to the ears of the seventy unbelievers who lay in wait for him. Instantly they left the city and went to a nearby hilltop to wait in ambush. Through the grace of the Almighty God, just that very night, Wahb arrived before the gates of Mecca
Abdullah had set out from Mecca
Thus he reflected, when suddenly he saw the seventy unbelievers emerging from hiding with swords drawn. They rushed upon Abdullah to surround him and strike him down. Wahb instantly rose to the occasion; he mounted his camel and ran to Abdullah’s aid. But again he realized that there must be hidden wisdom in these events: if Abdullah was truly destined to be the father of the Holy Prophet, no one could harm him, even if whole armies gathered against him, let alone seventy men. Allah Almighty would make him safe from harm and secure him from all their wiles. If he were not that person, then surely, he would be slain. While these thoughts were still passing through Wahb’s mind, he suddenly perceived a company of tall men on heavenly steeds descending out of the skies. These fighters of the Lord surrounded the attackers, and the unbelievers were struck down even as they raised their sabers, and their heads rolled–all seventy perishing in a mere moment. Abdullah rode on, unscathed. Wahb now mounted his camel and followed him into the city of Mecca
Abdul-Muttalib and his kinsmen were still discussing how to ask Wahb for the hand of his daughter Amina when a messenger came in, announcing the arrival of Wahb himself. Abdul-Muttalib himself rose and went out to meet Wahb. When he had welcomed the guest and made him comfortable, Wahb began, “Oh my friend, Abdul-Muttalib! I have come to you with a far-reaching request. If you permit, I will speak to you of it in front of this honorable assembly.”
“We are at your command,” replied Abdul-Muttalib, “whatever it is, feel free to name it.” Wahb then said, “As you may have heard, I have a daughter, Amina, who is a model of virtue and chastity, she is ranked among the best women of this age. Kings and princes have asked for her hand, yet I consented to none of their offers. Now, Abdul-Muttalib, my friend, I have come to you to tell you that I have decided to give my daughter Amina to your son Abdullah; if this is agreeable to you and if you accept, then let this assembly of nobles witness our agreement and the contract be drawn up forthwith.”
Abdul-Muttalib consented joyfully and a marriage contract was concluded without delay. The wedding feast was prepared and both sides made ready. The wedding took place, congratulations were exchanged, and the couple entered their nuptial chamber on the eve of the first Friday (Thursday night) of the month of Rajab wherefore this night is called “Laylat-al-Raghaib,” which means “night of desires”.
That very night the pure elements composing the light-filled body of Muhammad descended from Abdullah’s loins and settled within Amina’s womb, as a pearl will form in the shell of the sea. The scholars maintain that this event took place while their bodies were in a state of ritual purity.
Sahil ibn Abdullah reports: When the Lord Allah Almighty applied His Will to the creation of Muhammad, He commanded the guardian of Paradise gardens to open wide its gates and to give all inhabitants of Paradise the glad tidings of the coming of the Prophet Muhammad. Messengers were sent out to spread the good news to all who dwelt in the heavens and the earth that this very night the concealed light of Muhammad was to descend into his mother’s womb. Thus the Mercy to the Worlds would be conceived and born to earth.
It is related that at the time the precious elements of Muhammad’s r physical existence were embedded in Amina’s blessed body, a call went out in the spiritual kingdoms of the other world: “Oh blessed ones! Anoint your abodes with perfume and incense and prepare for a feast of holiness! Mark the coming of Muhammad to the lower world with exuberant celebration and joyful festivity!”
In that same night innumerable strange and wondrous events took place of which we can only relate a small number here: the animals in Mecca
That night the wild beasts and birds congratulated one another on the coming of the Mercy to the Worlds. That night the thrones of all the kings of the whole world shook and trembled, the idols fell down upon their faces and broke; the roofs of many churches collapsed and the seers and soothsayers became tongue-tied. All the sorcerers and soothsayers assembled and held counsel, debating the portent of these signs.
They concluded that all these signs heralded the coming of the Prophet Muhammad, the long awaited prophet of the Arabs who that night was conceived in his mother’s womb in the holy city of Mecca
The mother of the blessed Prophet Muhammad would hear a heavenly voice calling to her at the beginning of every month of her pregnancy that seemed to come from above as well as from below: “Blessings upon you and tidings of joy! The felicitous advent of Abu-Qasim to the world has indeed drawn nigh!”
It is related from Amina, the blessed mother of the Prophet:
“I first became pregnant at the beginning of the month of Rajab. One night as I lay sleeping, I saw a very fair-faced man entering my chamber. He gazed at my heart and pointed to the unborn child in my belly, and said, ‘As-salamu alaykum, ya Muhammad! Peace be upon you!’ I asked this person, ‘Who are you, sir?’ He answered, ‘I am the father of mankind, Adam Safiullah, and I have come to give you the glad news that you are now pregnant with the Crown of Creation, the Prince of the Worlds!’
“At the start of my second month of pregnancy, I saw another man enter my room. He was very calm and dignified and shone with great light and beauty. He gazed at my heart and spoke, ‘Peace be upon you, oh much beloved, as-salamu alaykum, oh goal of all desires!’ I asked this person who he was, and he answered, ‘I am the Prophet Seth, oh Amina, and I have come to confirm the joyful auspicious prediction, for you are to become the mother of the most illustrious prophet of all!’
“At the beginning of my third month, again I saw a person of immense beauty and dignified bearing enter my abode, and he too gazed at my heart and spoke, ‘Peace be upon you, oh thou enwrapped in thy robes, (ya ayyuhal Muzammil); as-salamu alaykum, oh thou shrouded in thy mantle, (ya ayyuhal Muddahthir)!’ I then asked this person who he was, and he answered. ‘I am the Prophet Idris, and I have come to bring to you the joyous news that you are pregnant with the prince of all prophets who is invested with Allah’s mercy and compassion.’
“At the beginning of my fourth month of pregnancy a person of dark color appeared in my room who was of gentle gaze and luminous countenance. He looked at my heart and made a sign to the unborn child within me and greeted him thus: ‘Peace be upon you, oh you choicest of created beings!’ I asked this person who he was and he answered, ‘I am the Prophet Nuh, good news and joyful tidings to you, oh Amina, who are to be the mother of the celebrated and victorious Prophet of the last times!’
“In my fifth month, I beheld another person entering my chamber whose perfect grace and enlightened features were awesome. He, too, gazed at my heart and signaled to the unborn innocent within me, greeting him, ‘As-salamu alaykum, oh seal of the prophets!’ I asked this person, ‘And who are you?’ He answered, ‘I am the Prophet Hud, and I compliment you, Amina, on your good fortune of bearing the most praiseworthy of all prophets, who excels in generosity and munificence.’
“In the sixth month of my pregnancy, a person of illustrious aspect and radiant mien entered my room, gazed at my heart and addressed the unborn child within me, ‘Peace be upon thee, oh Messenger of Allah, as-salamu alayk, ya Habibullah (oh Beloved of Allah)!’ I asked this person who he might be, and he answered me, ‘I am the Prophet Ibrahim, oh Amina, the Friend of God, and I give you tidings of your bright fortune: you are to become the mother of a mighty prophet fair to behold.’
“In my seventh month, another winsome person entered my chamber, whose features were gentle and pleasing. This man looked at my heart and addressed the child within me, ‘As-salamu alayk, oh Prophet of Allah, peace be upon you, oh true friend of Allah!’ When I asked this man who he was, he said, ‘I am the Prophet Ismail, oh Amina, the Offering to Allah. I have come to give you the joyous news that you are to be the mother of a mild tempered prophet whose tongue excels in eloquence and whose portion is mercy.’
“My eighth month began, and a man came to my apartment who was of tall build and amiable expression. He gazed at my heart and spoke to the unborn child within me, ‘Peace be upon you, oh Beloved of Allah, oh mighty prophet of the Almighty!’ I asked him, ‘Who might you be, oh noble lord?’ I am Musa, the son of Imran, and I bring you the good news that you are to be the mother of the great prophet to whom will be revealed the holy book of the Quran.’
“At the beginning of the ninth month again a person entered my room whose undergarment was of pure wool. He gazed at my heart and spoke to my child, ‘Peace be upon you, oh Messenger of Allah, as-salamu alayk, ya Rasulullah!’ I asked this person, ‘Who are you?’ and he said, ‘I am `Isa, the son of Maryam, the Messiah. Best of tidings to you, oh Amina, the time is near that you will give birth, so prepare yourself and make ready.’”
In that year when Amina became pregnant, the people endured great hardship from drought and famine, and there had been a great deal of tribal warfare. When Amina conceived, all these troubles suddenly ceased, the Almighty sent down from Heaven the blessing of rain, and their land was refreshed and food prices came down. Because of the relief they experienced in that year, the people took to calling it “the year of the solving of difficulties”. So favorable was this year that all the women who were pregnant gave birth to a son.
When the Holy Prophet was within his mother’s womb for two months, Abdul-Muttalib spoke to his son Abdullah, “Oh my son, within this year you are to become the father of the Arabian prophet whose coming is foretold in all the holy scriptures and who is expected by all in this year of blessings. Both you and I have been shown the high rank and station of this blessed child in our dreams. Therefore, it is only right and proper that we make suitable preparations for the birth of this extraordinary child.
The best form of congratulation I can think of is this: now is the time of the date harvest, and there are no better dates than the ones that grow in Madinah. Hence, I see it fit that you repair to Madinah to gather the best dates you can find and bring them back to celebrate the birth of your son.” So Abdul-Muttalib sent his son Abdullah to Madinah to fetch dates.
Abdullah set out on his journey, accomplished his errand and made to return. During the rest stop of the second night he passed away and was buried there. At this all the angels in Heaven became highly perturbed, and spoke to the Lord of the Worlds, “Oh, All-Powerful Lord! How is it that You have made him ‑ who is the noblest of all Your creation and the Pride of the Worlds to whom all dwellers of Heaven and earth owe reverence and praise ‑ how is it that You have chosen to make this superb being a weak and fatherless orphan before he has yet beheld the light of day? What secret significance is there to this?” Thus the angels mourned and wailed. The Almighty Lord Allah spoke to them, “A child has need of his father in this world for protection, training and education. My Beloved however has no need for anyone but Me to teach him all these things. I am his supreme protector, and through Me he is to learn all things he is needful of knowing. Other children will call to their fathers when they are in need of help; but My Beloved will call out only ‘Oh my Lord,’ when he needs assistance, he will ask support and succor from none but Me, Allah Almighty.”
The Holy Prophet himself points to this fact when he says:
Truly, Allah Almighty has taught me, and His was the most excellent teaching.
When Abdullah died, he left a flock of sheep and five camels, as well as an Abyssinian slave woman who was nursing a child at the time. Her name was Umm Ayman. When the Holy Prophet came into the world, this woman, Umm Ayman, became his first wet-nurse. When he had grown up, he gave her freedom and even married her to his adopted son (another freedman) Zayd bin Harith, and she bore him `Usama.
There are differing opinions as to how long his mother carried the Holy Prophet. Some say it was six months, some say seven, or eight or nine months. Ibn Abbas says on this subject that it was nine months. It is also reported that his mother never experienced any of the discomforts of pregnancy, nor the pangs of childbirth that most women go through. The Prophet's mother Amina says:
“The whole duration of my pregnancy I felt none of the weight or pressure that pregnant women often feel. I only realized that I was pregnant from the absence of my monthly courses.
“From my belly there always emerged a beautiful scent, and at night I would hear the voice of dhikr and tasbih (praise and invocation) coming from within. I heard angels’ voices saying to me, “Oh Amina, you who are pregnant with the most excellent creature in all the universe, surely you are most favored of womankind!” In the sixth month of my pregnancy I saw in my dream a person who said to me, “When you have given birth, you must give the babe the name Muhammad and be sure to take the best care of this outstanding being.”
Ibn Abbas relates:
“The heavenly angels descended and surrounded the Prophet's mother Amina on all sides, so that she was placed in the middle and thus protected from the invidious gaze of the Jinn, and so no harm could befall her. Then one of the angels addressed her and spoke, ‘Oh Amina, I bring you good news of the blessed boy you bear, for this son is meant to be the last and the seal of all prophets, and the prince of them all, and a leader of his people. Allah Almighty bears witness to this from his beginning up to the end.
When you have given birth to this blessed child, recite over him these words for his protection:
Bismillahi astar’ika rabbak, wa a’wwadhuka bil-wahid
(In the Name of Allah, I beseech Thy Lord for Thy protection
and I place Thee in the keeping of the One.)
and I place Thee in the keeping of the One.)
Min sharri kullu hasidin wa qa’imin wa qa’id
(From the evil of every invidious one, be he standing or seated.)
Wa kullu khalqin za’id (and whatever other creature)
wa ‘an il-fasadi jahilin wa kullu khalafin fasid
(and from the mischief of the ignorant and every evil consequence)
min nafizhin au ‘abithin wa kullu jinnin marid
(from the meddler or disturber, and from every defiant Jinn)
ya’khudhu bil-murasidin bi-t-turuq-il-muwarid.
(who takes advantage of any easy way of access )
La yadurrahu wa la ya’tunahu fi yaqazhatin wa la manam wa la fi zha’ni wa la fi maqam
(that they may not approach with harm while he wakes or sleeps,
in no circumstance or place)
in no circumstance or place)
Sajis-al-layali wa awakhar-al-ayyam Yad-allahi fauqa aydihim wa hijab-allahi fauqa ‘adiyatihim.
(Allah’s Hand is above theirs, and Allah’s Shield over their misdeeds.)’”
This protective prayer is mentioned also by Muhammad bin Abdullah al Karim ibn Khalid al-Baghdadi, who reports that the Holy Prophet's mother Amina said, “One night in a dream I heard a voice saying to me, ‘Oh Amina, verily Amina, you are to be the mother of the most excellent of all beings and the prince of them all, the last and the seal of all the prophets of Allah. When you have born him, you are to name him Muhammad; and know that in the Torah his name is given as Ahmad. Attach this amulet to him..’ Upon waking I found a page of silver at the head of my bedstead upon which was written: Bismillahi astar’ika wa a’wwadhu bil-wahid.... etc.”
As those versed in holy learning teach us: Any child that has this ta’wiz (amulet) placed upon him will be safe from interference and enmity of the Jinn, by the leave of Allah.
Abul-’Umar said: “Whoever carries upon his person this protective talisman of the Prophet, let him lie down to sleep wherever he wishes and fear not, for no harm can befall him then, for the sake of the blessed Prophet of Allah.”
There is also dispute concerning the month the Holy Prophet was born; most scholars agree that it was the month of Rabi’ al-Awwal. There is also disagreement as to the exact day, but largely it is assumed to have been the twelfth night of the month, though there is dissent concerning even the time of day: some think it more correct to say he was born in daytime. Some, however say there is really no disagreement in this matter at all, but rather that both may be true, in that the hour of the noble and blessed birth of the Prophet Muhammad may have been the early dawn, before the actual rising of the sun. Therefore, those claiming it was nighttime have justifiable point to argue, while those claiming it to have been day are also not wrong, depending on the point of view. At any rate, it seems certain to have taken place in the early hour of dawn.
There is dispute as well concerning which day of the week it was, but it seems most correct to say that it was a Monday. It was a Monday also when the Holy Prophet set out on the Hijra (migration from Mecca Mecca
The religious scholars (‘Ulama) say that the decisive battle in the Year of the Elephant took place when nine days remained to the month of Muharram. Fifty days later was the twelfth of Rabi’ al-Awwal, and it was a Monday. According to some authorities it was the twenty-first day of April, while others maintain it was the second day of that month that the Holy Prophet was born to the world.
Because it was in the month of April that the Pride of Creation appeared in this world, the Lord Almighty blessed the water that rains from the sky during this month in a special way so that it is of particular benefit and usefulness to men, for the sake of His beloved Prophet. The sun stood at the end of the sign of Aries, and the moon in the sign of Libra, and all the planets stood in a place of exaltation at that hour. It was six hundred years after ‘Isa bin Maryam’s u ascension to the heavens, two thousand years after the death of the Prophet Ibrahim u, and six thousand sixty-two years after Adam u was sent down to be the representative of Allah Almighty on earth.
People might ask why was the Prophet born during the month Rabi’-al- Awwal, rather than during Ramadan or one of the holy months; why was he born on a Monday rather than on the eve of Jum’a (the night of Thursday to Friday), or on Laylat-al-Qadr, or the fifteenth of Sha’ban,
or any other holy night? Had the birth of Allah’s Beloved r occurred on one of these blessed days or nights, ignorant people could easily have imagined that the Holy Prophet's eminence and high spiritual station, his extraordinary gifts and special powers were due to his birthday falling on these dates.
or any other holy night? Had the birth of Allah’s Beloved r occurred on one of these blessed days or nights, ignorant people could easily have imagined that the Holy Prophet's eminence and high spiritual station, his extraordinary gifts and special powers were due to his birthday falling on these dates.
However, quite the opposite is the case: any place or date is honored by its being associated with the Holy Prophet. Muhammad was born in the city of Mecca
Finally, he surrendered his noble soul and took up his station in the abode of permanence. His pure body was laid to rest in the soil of Madinah, not in Mecca
--
The Blessed Birth
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When the term was fulfilled and the moment of delivery approached, the holy house, the Kaba at Mecca
While they were thus engaged in finding explanations for this inexplicable happening, they heard a voice coming from inside the Kaba that said, “Oh men of Quraysh! This holy house has not come apart on account of the death of any, but rather because the time of birth has drawn nigh for the Light of this world, the Glory of the world to come, the shining Lamp of Paradise, Muhammad bin Abdullah r to emerge from his mother’s womb. He is to be a great prophet, he will cleanse this holy house of the abominations and idols that are polluting my precincts, and he will make me pure and pristine once more with the light of true faith; I will become the Qibla of his entire nation and the annual pilgrimage will be held on my grounds. Know that it is in honor of his long desired advent that this edifice has cracked and split.”
The night that Muhammad was born, Allah Almighty, Exalted be He, commanded the angels to open wide all the gates of Heaven and of Paradise ; on that day the sun shone with more brilliance, and greater was its light than on other days, and the whole world was gladdened.
Abdullah bin Salam reports: On the night the Prophet was born,
I was sitting together with a learned Jew. He raised his face to Heaven and spoke to me, “Ya Ibn Salam! This very night atMecca
I said to him, “What do these words of yours mean, how do you know such a thing?” He answered me, “I have been watching the skies, and I see now such a light as has not been seen since the world began. That is how I come to know of this event.”
I was sitting together with a learned Jew. He raised his face to Heaven and spoke to me, “Ya Ibn Salam! This very night at
I said to him, “What do these words of yours mean, how do you know such a thing?” He answered me, “I have been watching the skies, and I see now such a light as has not been seen since the world began. That is how I come to know of this event.”
I then entered a dark room, and I saw seventy candles burning in it so that it was brilliantly lit. I knew then that unusual things were happening. When I came to Mecca
The Prophet's blessed mother, Amina, relates: “At the time I was ready to give birth there was no one with me, neither man nor woman attended me (for everyone, including Abdul-Muttalib, had gone to make Tawaf of the Kaba.) I was all alone in the house. Suddenly there was a terrifying noise and I felt great fear. Then a white bird alighted upon my breast and my fear left me, I became calm and no trace of pain or anxiety remained. Next I was handed a cup of sweet white sherbet, and when I drank of it, my heart filled with peace and joy and light. After this, I beheld a number of tall women approaching me, tall and slender as cypress trees, and of astounding beauty. I took them to be the daughters of Abdu Manaf. They came and sat around me in a circle, and I was mostly surprised and wondered how they had come to know of my condition and who had informed them.
While I was yet pondering this question in my heart, one of the ladies spoke and said, ‘I am Hawa, the wife of the Prophet Adam,’ and another one of them said, ‘I am Sarah, the wife of the Prophet Ibrahim.’ Yet another said, ‘I am Asiya, the wife of Fir’aun of Egypt’. And another said, ‘I am Maryam, the daughter of ‘Imran, the mother of ‘Isa.’ The others were introduced as the Huris of Paradise, all of whom had come to usher the Holy Prophet into his earthly life and to welcome him with due veneration.
All the while the noises I had been hearing became stronger and louder and more fearful. Suddenly I perceived a white curtain being drawn from the skies down to the earth, so that I was veiled from the eyes of the Jinn. Then there was a flock of birds with beaks of green emerald and ruby red wings. These birds flew down and fluttered about me so closely that I could feel the beating of their wings upon my skin. They flew round and round me as if in Tawaf (circumambulation). The Lord Almighty then removed the veil from my eyes so that I beheld the whole world from east to west. Three flags I saw them bring down from Heaven: one they planted in the ground in the east, one in the west and one right atop the Kaba. In the heavens that were open to my eyes I beheld men bearing bejeweled vessels of gold, and they assisted at the birth of the blessed child, and I suffered neither pain nor trouble.
And when I looked again, I saw that the child was born circumcised, and that his umbilical cord was cut and he was wrapped in a piece of white silk. He touched the ground with his blessed head, lifted the forefinger of his right hand, and made humble supplication to Allah Almighty. I bent down to hear what he was saying, and these were the words I heard:
Ash-hadu an la ilaha ill’Allah wa inni Rasulullah; Allahu Akbar kabiran, wal-hamdu-lillahi kathiran, wa subhanallahi bukratan wa asilan. Allahumma, ummatiy, ummatiy…
There is a narration from Safiya, the daughter of Abdul-Muttalib:
“I was present the night the Prophet Muhammad was born. At the very moment of birth I saw a great light appear. During the night, I beheld six signs. The first was that the instant the holy child was born. He bent down his head and performed a prostration. The second, that he lifted up his blessed head and spoke clearly and distinctly these words: La ilaha illAllah, inni Rasulullah. The third, that a great light was manifested. The fourth, that when I wished to wash the child, I heard a voice speaking to me that said: ‘Oh Safiya, do not trouble yourself, we have already washed and cleansed him.’ The fifth sign was that he was born already circumcised, and his umbilical cord was cut. The sixth sign was when I looked for something with which to swaddle the child, I noticed upon his back a certain mark. Looking at it closely, I was able to read the words: ‘La ilaha illAllah, Muhammad Rasulullah.”
Safiya also said, “When he prostrated himself, he spoke some words in secret. I bent my ear to his blessed lips to hear what he was saying, and I heard him say: ‘Ummatiy, ummatiy (my nation, my nation).’”
Now let us pause briefly to consider this point: this noble prophet of unequaled rank and highest station prayed to his Lord from the very moment he was born, entreating Him for our sake, for the sake of his nation, while we, who stand in dire need of his prayer and intercession in this world and the next are enveloped in heedlessness. We forsake the example of his radiant and honored Sunna (example) and are negligent in our observance of the Shari’a that we have the privilege of knowing. Day and night we are careless in the recital of Salawat (praises and prayers on the Holy Prophet), being engulfed in our own sloth. How can we be worthy of such lofty intercession?
If we paused to consider this for a moment and reflected on the implications, we would realize that we are totally overcome by our heedlessness, whereas we should busy ourselves constantly with the application of the holy ways of the law, and try to make all our actions accord with the guidance it contains, and to tirelessly recite praises and prayers on the Holy Prophet . May Allah–Exalted be He–effect betterment for us all and improve our state, and grant us success and favor, for the sake of the prince among all the Divine Messengers. Amin.
To continue our narration: Amina the mother of the Holy Prophet recounts: “I then beheld a white cloud in the sky moving towards me, and from it came as if the sounds of horses. This cloud descended and enveloped the little child Muhammad and carried him away out of my sight. I heard a voice calling: ‘We are taking Muhammad, to show him the whole world. We shall encircle it and dive into the depths of the oceans, so that all that lives in and under the earth may know of the advent of this noble being and shall have seen his face and learned of his arrival. Hereafter the world shall be filled with the light of faith; of unbelief and rebellion against the Lord Almighty nothing will remain.’ Thus I heard the voices speak to me.”
“After only a brief moment, that cloud alighted anew, and I saw my son Muhammad again, wrapped now in a piece of green silk, dripping with milk. His face was radiant as the moon on her fourteenth night, and he exuded a fragrance sweeter than that of yellow musk. I then beheld three persons standing aside; one of them held in his hand a jug of silver, another held a bowl of green emerald, and the third held a piece of folded white silk. The latter unfolded this bit of silk and took from its folds a ring so bright it dazzled the eyes of the beholder.
“The first took the baby Muhammad and washed him seven times from the silver jug; then the next person took a ring from the folds of silken cloth and impressed its bezel in a place between the baby’s shoulders. After that he wrapped it up again in the bit of silk. He then took the baby Muhammad from me and held him under his wing for a whole hour,
all the while whispering many secrets into his ears. At last he kissed him upon both his eyes and said, ‘Tuba laka, ya Muhammad, blissful tidings to you, oh Muhammad, in all Allah’s creation, you are the most awesome and venerable of all that serve Him Almighty. Triumph and victory has been given to your companions and your nation. It is you who holds the keys to the castle of bliss.’”
all the while whispering many secrets into his ears. At last he kissed him upon both his eyes and said, ‘Tuba laka, ya Muhammad, blissful tidings to you, oh Muhammad, in all Allah’s creation, you are the most awesome and venerable of all that serve Him Almighty. Triumph and victory has been given to your companions and your nation. It is you who holds the keys to the castle of bliss.’”
It is related by Ibn Abbas: The night the Holy Prophet was born, all the idols in the Kaba fell from their places and broke to pieces. At that time a voice was heard calling out from the unseen, and it said: “Woe and perdition on Quraysh, for the glorious and trusted Prophet has come in truth, embellished with adornments from the loftiest gardens of Paradise . Lat and Uzza and all other idols are now finished and done for, Iblis himself is imprisoned.”
The Kaba itself was inwardly hung with golden lamps from Paradise, and all creatures of the heavens and the earth, the youths and the maidens from Paradise , all created beings other than mankind rejoiced and gave each other the glad tidings. “Oh Muhammad,” they wished, “may Allah make you happy and always pleased, for there is no creature born with greater honor than you, and none that is more excellent. Never have the angels celebrated the birth of any created being as they now celebrate your birth into this world!” Between Heaven and earth there were raised pillars of support, and all were made of precious stone, and not one of them was alike unto another.
It is reported by Ka’b-al-Akhbar: One of the miracles of that night was a fish that lived in the sea, and its name was Zalmusa. This fish had seventy heads and seventy tails, and a single scale on his back could have held seventy mountains and plains, the smallest of which would have been the size of Jabil Qubais (a hill in Mecca
The Holy Prophet's illustrious grandfather was at the Kaba when Amina gave birth, and she sent him word of the glad event, inviting him to come and see her newborn son. Abdul-Muttalib relates: “I was at the time within the building of the Kaba. There I witnessed how the walls of the building themselves began to shake and tremble with joy, calling out to each other: ‘The Lord Almighty has bestowed great honor on us that we might see the coming of the prophet who will cleanse us of the filth of these idols!’ I was amazed at hearing this, and I understood then that you must have given birth, and that these words heralded the importance of the child you had born.”
Amina reports: Later, when he looked upon my son Muhammad, he said, “Praise be to the All-Powerful Lord that He has granted me such an auspicious grandchild!” and he praised him with a great many praises, while from the child’s blessed body such a beautiful scent issued forth that it filled the whole town of Mecca as if with the fragrance of musk and amber.
Voices of praise and rejoicing were heard throughout the town, even to the house of Abu Lahab, the Prophet's uncle. While he lay sleeping, voices from the unseen filled his room and the smell of musk and amber pervaded the air. From this he awoke, greatly perplexed. A slave girl, Thauba, was sleeping by his side. To her he turned to ask what she made of these strange sounds and voices. Thauba answered, “Good news and tidings of joy to you, oh Abu Lahab! Your brother Abdullah’s wife Amina has born a son. Muhammad. From his blessed body issues this perfumed cloud and this wonderful fragrance. The sounds you hear are the voices of those who inhabit the regions between Heaven and earth, heralding the birth of this miraculous child.”
Abu Lahab was pleased at the good news she gave him and he said to her, “Ya Thauba, for that you have given me joyful tidings, I shall give you your freedom. Go to the house of the mother of Muhammad and offer your services as a wet-nurse, for you too, are nursing a child, named Masruj.” So Thauba went and became the wet-nurse for Muhammad. For seven days his mother Amina gave him milk, after that Thauba came and nursed him until he was given to Halima as-Sa’adia.
It is related that some people saw Abu Lahab in their dreams after he had died. When they asked him how he fared in the afterlife he replied, “Woe is me! Was I not the uncle of a great and distinguished prophet? Would that I had believed in him and become one of the blissful dwellers of Paradise gardens! Ah, but I chose to be his greatest enemy, persisting in error and disbelief, so that I am one of the damned of Hell.
However, there are two grants of mercy that I receive over and above all the other inmates of the Fire: from the night linking Sunday to Monday up to the following night, my punishment is alleviated; and when I place my two fingers in my mouth on that day, a cool drink of water issues forth from between my index and middle fingers that soothes my torment.”
That blessed night all idols in the entire world fell from their pedestals and shattered to bits, and Shaytan’s throne was overturned so that it hung downwards and he fell off it. The angels then caught hold of him and imprisoned him for forty days in the forty seas. Finally, he contrived his escape, and he came up to the Mount Abu Qubais and let out a mighty scream. Hearing him yell, all the devils and Ifrit came flying and gathered round, asking him, “What is it with you that you scream so loud?” He answered them, “Such a terrible destroyer has been sent down upon you as you have never known or seen before. What is more, against this plague there is no remedy.”
The devils were all shocked, and asked, “Who is it?” Shaytan replied, “It is the Prophet Muhammad, mighty and glorious, the son of Abdullah, son of Abdul-Muttalib who is born in Mecca
In that blessed night the fires of the fire worshippers that had been continuously burning for a thousand years went out, and not a trace remained of heat or fire–their hearths became cold as ice, colder than the fiercest winter’s cold.
In the lands of Persia there flows a great stream, the Euphrates . In the region of Kasane there lies a place called Sawa by the banks of this great river, and formerly there lived in this town a large number of Christians and Jews. They had built their churches and monasteries there and were recognized and highly esteemed. Now the night the Holy Prophet was born in Mecca
Now the king of the region was termed Khosroes, and the king in those days was Kaykubad Nushurevan. In that night, fourteen of his twenty-two palaces and domed mansions crumbled and fell, and there remained only eight standing. That night also his throne tumbled and fell, and the king himself had a terrifying dream. In the morning when he woke, he called for all his dream interpreters and diviners, and when they were assembled at his court, he asked them to tell him about the dream he had seen that night. He said to them, “I will not tell you what I dreamt, you will tell it to me. If you are not able to do this, what good is your interpretation to me? I will dismiss you all, if you fail me.”
They answered, “Oh King, not one of us can know about your dream, but there lives a man called Satih, no one but he can inform you of it.” This Satih lived in the land of Bahrain
This Satih lived in Bahrain
Now, King Nushurevan was one of the very chosen servants, for he was the just king whom the Holy Prophet referred to when he said, “I came to this world in the time of one very just king.” Nushurevan decided to send an envoy to Bahrain Bahrain
To this Satih said, “The King Nushurevan has seen a frightful dream. In his dream he saw the approach of an army, riders of Arabian steeds and Hijin camels, filling the whole city of Mada’in
“And this is the meaning of these signs: in the town of Mecca
(Still, certain ones among them would yet attempt to fly up and steal some secret knowledge, but the angels will chase them away with heavenly missiles called ‘shihab’, which are shooting stars, as we see up to this very day.)
“So,” Satih continued, “the Lord of Knowledge has been manifested, and the meaning of King Nushurevan’s dream is this: the Arabian horses and Hijin camels signify his companions, the companions of the Prophet whom the Almighty is about to send. The camels being led out of the city means that the companions of this Prophet will come and take the city and expel them from within it.”
Next Satih explained to him, “The meaning of the eight domed mansions that did not crumble, is this: King Nushurevan will be succeeded by eight kings, then his kingdom will be conquered by the armies of Islam. The dying down of the fires of the fire worshippers and the drying up of the waters around Sawa signifies that the light which is with unbelievers will be taken from them and their fount will run dry. The prophet who is to come will fill the whole world with his light and become a messenger to all peoples, and these dreams and happenings are signs of his advent.”
When he had spoken these words, the seer Satih paused for a while and wept bitterly. He then said, “There remains only very little time for Satih to live, he will not live to see the coming of this light of a new age; so Satih weeps from longing, unfulfilled.”
The king’s emissary Abdul-Massih heard these words and took note of them; then he returned to his king, Nushurevan, and told him of what he had heard and seen.
There were a great many signs announcing the birth of the Holy Prophet Muhammad. As the light of Muhammad was passed from father to son from the time of Sayyiduna Adam u, each time a woman conceived a prophet to be, this light would appear on her forehead and linger there until the child was born. So also the mother of the Prophet Muhammad experienced many strange and wonderful things during her pregnancy. She received revelations of the divine and angelic messages that would fill many books, and yet only a fraction would have been told, for these wonders are limitless.
The night of the Prophet's birth was such a great and holy night that for all those who were wakeful during that night it was as if they had been awake for the Night of Power (Laylat al-Qadr).
Therefore it is recommended to make special celebrations and to light the lights on the minarets. All the lands of Islam are to rejoice and engage in festivities, for every Muslim should be glad to remember the birth of the Prince of Prophet's with love and devotion. The blessed companions of the Prophet made special celebrations and honors for the Prophet's children. The learned scholars have thought it in order to make special arrangements for the descendants of the Prophet, by holding banquets in their honor, for the benefit of the poor and indigent, for widows, orphans and students (which is commendable on any other day as well.) For instance, a banquet could be held, a sermon read, Quran recited, a Mawlid held and the assembly treated to sweets or sherbet. All this is considered very meritorious, and our Lord rewards all our good deeds.
More Events Surrounding the Noble Birth of the Prophet 5
In the kingdom of the West, al-Maghrib there lived a king. In that country, kings were called Emir, and as all Arabs of that age, this king, too, worshipped idols. It so happened that this Emir had a daughter who was born with a disturbing handicap, so that the king was ashamed to let this child be seen in public. He had her locked away and confined to underground chambers of the palace, where she was looked after by slave girls and never seen outside the palace. At night she would scream and rave and make such terrible sounds that the windows were always kept tightly shut, so nobody would hear this dreadful noise.
Nevertheless, the Emir was very sad and dispirited on account of his daughter’s misery, and he tried with all his might and means to find help for her. He sacrificed to the idols, he fasted and prayed the whole night through, he lit candles in the temples, he vowed many a solemn vow, gave alms to the poor; he implored the idols to do something to heal his daughter and free her from this piteous condition–but what could the idols do?
One evening he retired with his wife to their apartments and they stepped out on their roof to look at the stars. Now this king had a small statue of an idol that he always carried around with him. As they were gazing at the night sky, it was as if the skies suddenly were rent asunder and a light shone forth, illumining all the world. They saw the trees and flowers of their garden even the stones bow down and prostrate themselves. “La ilaha ill’Allah, Muhammad-ur-Rasulullah”, everything was saying, and the king and queen witnessed it. They looked at one another and said, “Did you hear and see what I have heard and saw?” When they assured each other that they had both witnessed these strange things, the queen said, “This is exceedingly wondrous, let us ask the idol what this means.” They turned to look at it and they found it hanging upside down, its head to the ground and its feet up in the air, for it was at this very moment that the idols in the whole world were reversed in their places and smashed to bits.
Next they heard a voice issue from that figure: “Between Safa and Marwa a child is born, our unbelief is cast down and done for.”
The truth has come, and falsehood has vanished away, surely falsehood is ever certain to vanish. (The Night Journey, 81)
This voice caused them great consternation, for never had the idol spoken before this time, after all it was nothing but a stone, and this they knew well. But only now did they realize that this was no object to be worshipped, and together they called out, “Oh speaker whom we hear speaking from this dry stone, who is it?” Again the voice was heard, and it said, “It is Muhammad, the Holy Prophet who has come to the world in the Last of Times; he is born this very night between the rocks of Safa and Marwa, at the holy house of the Lord, the Kaba, and it is for him that all eighteen thousand worlds were created, that the whole universe was called into being.” The king then asked, “Why is this idol of mine standing on its head?” The voice explained that it was happening to all idols this night, for their time was over and the Truth had come and all falsehood was revoked.
The Emir then said to his spouse, “Oh wife, we must go out and find this prophet and accept his creed, so that he will pray for us and cure our unfortunate child.” Before he had finished speaking, his wife turned around and said, “Oh, see here, this is our daughter!” The king turned to look, and there was his daughter standing behind him, a lovely young girl, without blame or blemish. The king was speechless with surprise, and when he could speak again, he said, “Oh my daughter! What is this? What has happened to you? Where have you left your chains, your ranting and raving, all the signs of your insanity? How is it you are no longer convulsed and tormented with pain, what has become of our hideous disease – how has it come about that you are entirely healed?”
The girl answered, “Oh my father, here I stand before you, just as I am and was meant to be. What happened to me is this: I had just fallen asleep when I beheld a person of radiant appearance enter my room. As soon as I espied him, I thought, ‘Oh you who are so bright and beautiful, have you no healing power with which to treat my sorry condition?’ This person then answered me and said, ‘I will teach you a prayer; if you recite this, you will be healed.’ ‘What prayer is this prayer,’ I asked, ‘and who are you?’ ‘I am an angel,’ he said, ‘and I have just come from visiting a newborn child, together with all the other angels. The prayer I have come to teach you is this: Oh Allah, for the sake of Your Holy prophet who is born this night, make this affliction, this pain and plague go away from me! Then you must blow upon your hand, and wipe your whole body with your hand. Continue praying and wiping yourself until no more disease remains upon you.’ Thereupon I awoke and looked about and saw that the whole room was filled with light; I remembered what the angel had said, so I did what he had told me. I prayed, then wiped my hands over my face and my whole body. My fetters fell off from me, my reason returned, I became whole and clean, and in this state I have come before you, oh my parents.”
Her father, the king, heard her story and said, “We must quickly set out and find this miraculous prophet at once.” So they each mounted a Hijin camel, taking only scanty provisions with them and set out, the three of them, telling no one of their destination. They didn’t even know themselves where they were bound, as the distance between the Maghrib and Mecca is vast, but they were so impressed by the miracle they had experienced that this never crossed their minds, they just left their kingdom behind and set out for far away Arabia . When they had gone some way, all at once a heavy sleepiness came over them that left them no choice. While they slept, the angel Jibra'il u came and took their camels’ halters, and folded the earth up underneath them. Before noon of the next day they reached Mecca , whereas it is a camel journey of eighty and more days from the Maghrib to Mecca
Arriving at Mecca
At last they consented and let him in; he bent over the child, kissed his blessed feet, then let out one scream, before he fell senseless to the ground and expired.
For when he had perceived the first sign, his heart began to glow; then he saw the child once and longed to see him again. When he saw him the second time, his heart blazed with the fire of love and he surrendered his soul, which the angels carried off to Paradise without delay.
Muhammad bin Khatim reported:
“There once lived a man in Egypt
“This pious man had a neighbor who was from Ahl al-Kitab (People of the Book). Once his wife asked him, ‘I’ve been wondering what it means that our neighbor makes a great feast every year and invites all the destitute people he can find and treats them in such a magnificent way, what is the occasion?’ Her husband answered, ‘It is the night of the birth of their prophet which they always celebrate in gratitude and remembrance of the event.’
“That night this woman saw in her dream a person of very beautiful and light-filled aspect, he was awesome and his face radiant as the sun. He was surrounded by a great number of companions whose faces were like the morning star. All the shining people were headed for the house of the neighbor who always gave the feast. In her dream, the woman was irresistibly drawn to this beautiful appearance, and she asked one of the companions, ‘Who is this person, I have never seen anyone so sweet and full of love?’ The companion answered her, ‘This noble being is the Pride of Creation, the Prince of all mankind,
the Messenger of God, the Beloved of Allah, Muhammad. All these companions have come to pay their respects and to show him honor.’
the Messenger of God, the Beloved of Allah, Muhammad. All these companions have come to pay their respects and to show him honor.’
“The woman thought to herself, ‘I will ask this companion whether I can wait for him, whether I can approach him when he comes out and ask him my question.’ She asked the companion if she could address the Prophet when he came out, and ask him her question. He replied, ‘No need to wait outside, just go on in. There is room enough, no one is going to prevent you from reaching his blessed presence. You may ask whatever you need to know, he will not turn you away, nor will he leave your questions unanswered.’
“The woman then went inside and beheld the blessed presence r, surrounded by his companions, may Allah be well pleased with them all. She then approached the Holy Prophet and said, ‘Ya Muhammad!’ The Holy Prophet turned towards her and answered, “Labbayk, I am here with you.” She then said, ‘How can it be that a great, much-honored personality such as you, the Prophet of Allah Almighty, deigns to speak to a plain and undistinguished person such as me, answering me with ‘Labbayk’, particularly as I am not even of your religion?’
“The Holy Prophet then said to her, ‘No sooner had I seen your face that I knew that the Lord has singled you out for the guidance of Islam. He has honored you with the light of Islam, therefore I answered you with Labbayk.’ Again the woman said, ‘You are a noble prophet and surely you hold high and lofty stations in the Divine Presence; what can be the wisdom and secret of your appearance in a place and neighborhood such as ours?’
“Again the Holy Prophet spoke to her, ‘Out of love for us the owner of this house has invited this gathering of people of good will and sound heart, from among the needy and indigent, as from among the readers and reciters of the Holy Quran. He has expended large sums of money in order to feed them all lavishly. He has shown largesse and generosity, therefore, by the leave of Allah Almighty, I too have come to visit him and have so entered his house. In recognition of my coming to this man’s house, the Lord has vouchsafed to all its visitors safety and freedom from tribulations for a whole year, and He showers blessings and all manner of favors upon all those present at this time.’
“The woman then said, ‘What would happen if I, too, entered your religion and prepared such a feast for you; would you consent to come to my house?’ The Holy Prophet smiled and said, ‘Yes, I would come to your house also.’ The woman then said, ‘Hereby I renounce the religious creed I have clung to up till now, as it is obsolete, and I say: Ash-hadu an la ilaha illAllah, wa ash-hadu annaka Rasulullah’, and thus she entered the fold of Islam. Similarly she vowed to prepare a great feast and to expend a large amount in the way of Allah. In the morning when she woke from this dream, she found herself bathed in light, her heart radiant with the faith she had found, and she waited for further manifestation of divine guidance.
“When her husband had gone out that morning, she went before a judge to make official her conversion to Islam. She was ready to hold a great celebration in honor of the Holy Prophet and declared that she was prepared to follow his guidance from that day on. At this very moment she saw her husband coming to her, asking her how many sheep and chickens she required to be slaughtered, and what else she might need.
“The woman was confused and could not understand, until he explained to her that he had seen the same dream as she had that night, and that he too had been granted the honor of entering into Islam. The Holy Prophet had said to him, ‘You have no possessions of your own, so you may assist your wife in going out and buying what is needful for the Mawlid she intends to prepare; thus you will have the merit of the good deed.’ Hearing this, the woman was even happier than before, and they both made their new faith openly known.”
Therefore, if the mere presence of a pious neighbor who spends of his wealth for the love of the Prophet is of such benefit to others who happen to live in the vicinity, if it is sufficient to bring to such a one the great favor of becoming Muslim and the mercy and guidance of Islam, how much more reward is coming to the person who hosts the Mawlid? How much unlimited favor will be bestowed on him! This story should serve as advice and as a reminder. May Allah Almighty guide us all to the love and veneration of His Holy Prophet, and give all the Muslims who are yet to come their fair shares, Amin.
Allahumma salli wa sallim wa barik ‘alayh.
Halima as-Sa’adia, the Prophet’s Nurse
After the Prophet's mother Amina had been with her infant for some time, all the while witnessing all manner of miraculous events and signs, the time came when, according to custom, the child was to be given to one of the Bedouin women of the desert, so that he be nursed and weaned in the clean air outside the heat of the crowded city. Bedouin women would come from afar to the town, from their distant mountain pastures and desert dwellings, to look for infants to take home and nurse for a fee. The children would stay with them for up to four years, then they were returned to their parents. The Holy Prophet also had a wet-nurse, and her name was Halima as-Sa’adia, Halima of the tribe of Sa’ad who came from the Najd .
The year of the Prophet's birth had been a year of severe drought, and both men and animals suffered greatly, finding neither food nor drink. The animals gave no more milk, and many perished of thirst. When the time had come for the nursing women to go to town in search of suckling infants, her companions came to Halima to ask whether she would come with them to find a child, for she too was nursing a baby at the time. Halima was doubtful that she was able to make the journey, for her only donkey was so weak from deprivation that it could barely totter along. The other women had already departed by the time she made up her mind to make the journey after all, and she know longer could see them ahead of her on the road. When she finally did arrive in Mecca
Halima said to them, “So I have come too late, are there no more children left to be nursed?” They answered her, “So it is, there is no one left except this one baby which none of us wanted to accept. It is a fatherless child, and the family is not able to pay us our fees, so we left him there. Come back with us, and join us on the road.” “No,” said Halima, “I will go on, now that I have come this far, and I might as well have a look at that child nobody wanted.”
So while the other women set out on their homeward journey, Halima went to the place where people would come to look for nurses. There she met Abdul-Muttalib who asked her who she was. She replied, “I have come late, all my friends have gone home already while I am still hoping to find a nursling. They say there is one child left.” Abdul-Muttalib said, “Surely that can only be my grandson. His father has died, therefore we cannot afford to pay very much, so no one wanted to take him on, even though she would have been blessed eternally, had one of those women agreed.”
“Well, let me look at him,” said Halima, and she followed him to the house and beheld the sleeping child. She took him onto her lap and uncovered his face. He smiled at her and when he opened his eyes, their light flashed up to the heavens. Instantly she made up her mind. “Even if you give me nothing at all,” she said, “I will take this child with me and nurse it.” She uncovered her right breast and gave him to drink, and though she had only little milk, it was enough to satisfy the child. They gave her food and she ate; then she prepared to give him her left breast, but the child declined by raising his eyebrows, as if to say, “No, I will not drink this, another has the right to the milk of this breast.” Halima understood from this sign what he was saying. His mother Amina said to Halima, “Go and take my child and look after him well; it may be that you will see many wonders and strange things while he is with you, but whatever you see, let no one know about it, tell no one what you have witnessed, for he has many enemies who seek to harm him.”
They gave her what they could, and she took the infant in her arms. As she relates in her own words, “Even though I was so weak I could barely hold myself upright, I was so elated with joy when I held the child that I ran out like a lioness, back to my old donkey who was suddenly suffused with new strength and sped along like a Buraq. I even caught up with the caravan of my friends who already had gone ahead of me quite a while ago. They all wondered at the change that had come over me; whereas I was almost too weak to walk and my riding beast was ailing, now I came charging along like a lioness and my donkey had become as strong as a mule.”
“We are waiting here for the fortune tellers to arrive to tell us of these children’s destinies,” they told her, so she took her place in line and waited with them. When the chief diviner came he looked the crowd of people over, then he looked up at the sky. All at once he let out a yell and cried, “Quick, over here, we have found him, right here in our midst!” For in reality, the diviner was one of the unbelievers who had slipped into a disguise, as it was known that the women would be passing by this place. Everyone looked to see who it was, and the crowd grew restive. A general confusion took hold of it during which Halima fled unnoticed into the hills, with the child and the donkey. She paused when she thought herself alone and in safety, when suddenly she realized that she was surrounded by one hundred warriors, all armed with poisoned swords. “What shall I do now,” thought Halima and inwardly prayed while gazing at the child. She saw him raise his gaze to Heaven, as if giving a sign, and suddenly a sword came from above, and in no time they were all chopped to pieces.
Halima then continued on her homeward journey, and when at last she reached her house, she was extremely tired, so she fastened a cradle in a tree and laid the baby to sleep in it. Umm Habiba, a woman who was blind, came over and said to her, “Oh Halima, you have been to Mecca
Halima led her to the tree from which she had strung up the cradle, and when Umm Habiba sniffed his lovely scent, she cried out and said, “Ah, if only I had eyes with which to behold this child!” The child Muhammad raised his hands from his cradle, and as she bent over him, he touched the blind eyes of Umm Habiba with both his index fingers. No sooner had he touched them, that her blindness left her eyes and she could see. “Halima,” she cried, “guard well the secret of this child, for now I can see with my own eyes!” From that day on she became a faithful servant to the household and helped with all the chores and duties around the house. She now knew this child was unlike all other children.
The whole time the holy child lived with her, she saw and heard many amazing things. She grew to love him exceedingly, more even than her own natural children. In time he began to speak, and his first words were these:
La ilaha ill’Allah, wahdahu la sharika lak; lahul-mulk wa lahul-hamd wa huwa ‘ala kulli shay’in qadir.
Halima’s children used to take the sheep and goats out to pasture and Muhammad would go with them. But since the day he had come to them, wherever they took the flock, a strip of fresh green pasture would appear all around them, and the ground was always moist as if it had recently rained, whereas all around them it was the same barren desert as before. Her sheep and goats would return with bloated udders, and the household was blessed as never before.
The other villagers would wait to see where she would lead her goats, then they told the children to follow them so that they might also partake of this miraculous sustenance. One day, when Muhammad had grown into a little boy, he asked Halima, “Mother, where do my brothers and sisters go every day? They go out every morning and I would like to go with them.” “Oh my son,” she said, “they go out with the sheep and goats every day and lead them to pasture.” “Please let me go along,” pleaded the child, until at last Halima tied a belt around his middle, gave him a stick to hold in his hand, strung a leather bag across his shoulder and sent him out with his brothers to herd the flock. They led him out with the other children to the edge of the fields and followed him with their eyes for as far as they could see. Their hearts and minds were uneasy from love and care and worry about him.
Around noon the children came running to the house, screaming that something had happened and told the parents to come right away. A great bird had swooped down, they said, and had taken their Quraysh-brother up into the air and deposited him atop a great boulder. Anxious and alarmed they ran to that place, where they found the child Muhammad, on top of the rock, as the children had said. As they were looking, he sat up and rubbed his eyes, as if he had just woken from a deep sleep.
However, it was no bird that had taken him away, but the angel Jibra'il u who had been ordered to take him and to wash his heart. The traces of the operation were still visible as silken stitches upon his breast. This was the first operation on his heart; the second was to happen later, during his ascension to the heavens (Mi’raj). In every human heart there is a spot of black blood that is called the part of Shaytan, which consists of fear and evil suggestion. The angel had come to Muhammad and told him that he must remove this spot, that it was not right for him, and he opened his heart and performed the operation.
The troubled parents took the boy home and resolved never to let him go out again with the other children. When they came home at nightfall, they told their parents of all the wonderful things they had seen and heard while their Quraysh-brother was out with them that day. All the rocks on the ground had given their greetings, they said, when he went by, saying, “as-salam alaykum, ya nabi-ullah”, and all the trees bent their boughs low as he passed, as if in prostration.
They had gone as far as a certain valley, where all of a sudden a terrible mountain lion had sprung out before them. The children had run off in fright, calling to Muhammad to hide himself as well, but Muhammad had not moved from his spot, he just stood and watched. “The lion came up to him,” they said, “and were afraid that this would be the end, that the lion would just devour him, but nothing of the sort happened. Instead, the lion kneeled down before him, bowing low, and began to lick his feet. It seemed to be telling him something, and then we saw it lift one of its paws, which we could tell was hurt, maybe broken.
The Quraysh-boy looked at the paw and set it straight, then he stroked it and it was healed. The lion then fell down at his feet again and kissed and licked them, and Muhammad stroked its head, as if it were a great cat. Slowly the lion retreated, having expressed his gratitude and thanks, and when it was out of sight, we came out and saw that Muhammad was unhurt. It was after this that the great bird swooped down and carried him away, it was then that we were afraid for him.”
Halima then said, “If his enemies hear of these strange and wonderful happenings, they will surely trace him to our tents and take him from us by force. We have no way to protect him then.” Therefore, they decided to take the boy back to his family in Mecca, even though it pained them to let him go, so dear had he grown to his foster family.
When Muhammad was either two or four years old, according to varying narrations, his mother Amina suddenly fell ill and died. He was now completely orphaned and his grandfather, Abdul-Muttalib took him into his care. He took him along wherever he went, and never let him out of his sight. When Muhammad was eight years old, Abdul-Muttalib fell ill and called for all his sons (ten in all, four of whom who were still living: Abu Lahab, Abu Talib, Hamza, Abbas), as well as for the dignitaries of Mecca, for Abdul-Muttalib was the head of the tribes of Mecca.
He said to them, “This is my bequest. It is clear to me that this is my final illness and that I will not rise from my sickbed again. My one worry is in whose care to leave Muhammad, this fatherless child of your brother Abdullah.” Hamza spoke and said, “Oh my father, leave him with me, I shall look after him better than after my own soul.” But his father answered him, “Oh Hamza, you have no children of your own, hence you cannot know the value of a child.” After that Abu Lahab spoke up and said, “I will look after him, father.” Abdul-Muttalib said, “You already have too many children, you will not be able to look after him well.” Abbas was still a young man and unmarried, so Abu Talib offered to take him in. His father then said, “Now my soul is at rest, I give you this boy as a trust. Treat him with more care than you treat your own children, and for the sake of my memory, do nothing to undermine his noble nature, and if you wish to please me, show him the same honor and respect that you have always shown me.” He repeated this last wish several times until he passed away.
After his death, Abu Talib took the boy into his household and left nothing undone regarding his care and upbringing. He personally did not accept the faith of Islam during the lifetime of the Prophet, but he never failed to show him respect and honor, he always shielded him from his enemies and did everything in his power to protect him whenever he could.
After Abdul-Muttalib’s death, the Prophet Muhammad lived with his uncle Abu Talib until his marriage to his wife, Khadija. When Muhammad had been with him for about a year, Abu Talib planned to travel to Sham on a business trip. Muhammad was then nine years old, and he begged his uncle to take him along, but Abu Talib refused, saying, “Your are only a boy, stay here at home with my brother, Abbas while I am away.”
When the time of parting had come, Abu Talib was about to mount his camel, his whole household assembled round him, bidding him farewell. Among them stood also the boy Muhammad, his nephew, and he wept bitterly. “Oh uncle,” he cried, “please take me with you!” Abu Talib’s heart burned when he heard the boy pleading, he relented and allowed Muhammad to accompany him after all.
They traveled along until they came to the town of Basra, a town in the border region of Sham. Outside the settlement there was a hermitage where a Christian monk named Buhayra stayed. He was a very learned man who had read a great many books, and he had read about the signs of the prophet who was to come. At his place the caravan of Abu Talib stopped for the night. The next day they let the camels loose to pasture, while the men rested awhile. Everyone was pursuing his leisure, and the boy Muhammad went to look at the loads and the bales of cloth they were carrying along.
Now the day was at its hottest, a scorching sun in a cloudless sky, however just above the boy’s head, a small fluffy white cloud appeared that shaded him and little else. The monk Buhayra happened to open the door of his hermitage and looked the sleeping men over. He saw Muhammad moving about, went to him and asked him about himself. He asked him his father’s name and his mother’s name, and Muhammad told him all he knew. The monk Buhayra found everything he had read in his books confirmed. He then asked the boy to remove his shirt, and on his back, between the shoulder blades, he found the sign he was looking for, the seal of prophethood.
He returned to Abu Talib and asked him how the boy Muhammad was related to him. Abu Talib said, “He is my son.” Buhayra then said, “That cannot be, the boy’s father cannot be among the living.” Abu Talib then admitted that he was his deceased brother’s son. The monk then asked, “Where are you going with him?” Abu Talib answered that he was taking him to Sham, to the merchants and market places. Buhayra then said, “This boy is worth more than all the crowds of the city, for he is destined to become one of Allah’s Holy Prophets. We find revealed in the scriptures the description of his signs and marks. For seventy years I have been waiting for this prophet to appear. By God, do not take this boy to Sham, for the unbelievers will take him from you, since they dread his coming. But however much they try, they will not be able to kill him before his time, for I have read in my books that his death will be occasioned by his eating poisoned goat’s meat, and that he will die several years after having eaten it. Still, take him back to Mecca
Abu Bakr was traveling in the same caravan with Abu Talib, and he sent Muhammad back to Mecca Mecca
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