Books of Islamic history record many events which happened prior to, during and after the birth of Prophet Muhammad (pbuh). Visions were seen and miracles happened, not only in Pre-Islamic Arabia but also around the world. Today, for our Sirat-un-Nabi Programme, I would like to present you a few of these signs and miracles.
The Martyrdom of Prophet John [Yahya (as)]
The forerunner to Jesus (as), the son of the Virgin
Mary, was the Prophet John [Yahya], son of Zakariah (as). He was beheaded by
King Herod, as recorded in the Bible: “And he (Herod) sent, and beheaded
John in the prison”. (Matthew 14: 10)
The Prophecy by Jesus (as) on the Birth of the Father of the Promised Prophet Muhammad (pbuh)
The Prophet John’s body was buried by his disciples, as the Bible states: “And his disciples came and took up the body, and buried it and went and told Jesus”. (Matthew 14: 12).
They tried to wash the blood-stained clothes but the blood-stains would not be washed away. Because Jesus was one of the disciples of Prophet John, they went and reported the matter to Jesus (Matthew 14: 12). Jesus foretold that these blood-stains would not come off the clothes until the date of the birth of the father of the promised prophet. On this day the blood would become fresh and by itself flow off the clothes miraculously, leaving them pure white!
On the date of the birth of Abdullah, the father of Muhammad (pbuh), the Jewish elders in Syria saw the blood-stains become fresh and drip off miraculously from Prophet John’s preserved blood-stained clothes, until they became pure white. Thereupon some of the learned Jews came from Palestine and Syria to Mecca to enquire about this new born child. When they saw the light of the promised one on the forehead of the child Abdullah, they recognized him and said this was indeed the light of the Promised prophet, i.e. Muhammad (pbuh).
Hence, they realized that Abdullah was going to be the
father of the promised prophet as foretold by Jesus in relation to the
blood-stained clothes of John, the son of Zakariah (as).
Attempt to Murder the Father of the Promised Prophet
The Jews of those days, who were famous for murdering their prophets, decided to send an armed band of 90 persons from Syria to kill Abdullah. This incident took place when Abdullah had grown up into a young man, but before he got married. Thus, they conspired to prevent the birth of the promised prophet Muhammad (pbuh), so as to ensure that the prophethood, which had for so long been amongst the children of Isaac, do not change trajectory and go into the Children of Ishmael, i.e. their brethren’s tribe, as foretold repeatedly in the Bible. (Deuteronomy 18: 18, Acts 3: 21-25).
The former verse [from the Old Testament] states: “I shall raise them up a prophet from among their brethren, like unto thee and will put My words in his mouth; and he shall speak unto them all that I shall command him”. (Deuteronomy 18: 18)
One day these assassins got their golden opportunity.
Abdullah had gone out hunting alone in one of the surrounding areas. Wahb bin
Abdul Manaf, his would-be father-in-law, was also out hunting on that day. He
saw from a distance that Abdullah was suddenly encircled on all sides by 90
armed men with drawn swords, all proceeding to attack the defenseless Abdullah.
Wahb Ibn Abdul Manaf and his men rushed to the rescue of Abdullah. But before they
could even take a few steps, he (Wahb bin Abdul Manaf) saw that a number of
horsemen came down from the sky. They slew all the 90 attackers and Abdullah
was saved even before assistance could reach him.
Marriage of Abdullah
Wahb bin Abdul Manaf then took Abdullah safely away from the pile of the 90 corpses to his brother Abdul Muttalib, the father of Abdullah. After relating the incident, he proposed that his nephew Abdullah be married to his young daughter Amina.
Accordingly they were married, and the very night of their marriage, the light of the Seal of all Prophets went from the forehead of Abdullah into the forehead of Amina. This was Friday the 12th of the Lunar month of Jamadi-us-Sani. (Pg. 8, Vol. II, Tafrihul Askia Fil Ahwal Ul Ambia).
Shortly after Abdullah left for Yathrib (now known as
Madinah), he died on the return journey.
The Visit of Angels and earlier Prophets to the Pregnant Mother foretelling that her Child would be the Promised Prophet
Amina informed the household members that she was often being visited by the angels and the previous prophets who announced that the child in her womb was Muhammad (pbuh), the promised prophet, through whom the world would be blessed. They thought that perhaps some evil spirits might be appearing to Amina, so just a few days before the birth, they chained her up, so that the hand-cuffs and the chains made of iron would act as charms to ward off the evil spirit.
That night she beheld an aged man coming to her. He touched the iron of the handcuffs and chains and they broke and fell away from her neck and hands, and she became free. She asked him who he was. The old man replied that he was “Ibrahim Khalilullah” i.e. Prophet Abraham [Ibrahim], the friend of Allah.
Prophet Ibrahim (as) said Allah had ordered him to sacrifice Ishmael (as), who was then his one and only son. At that point in time he had no news of any more children or grand-children. Therefore he had taken Ishmael to sacrifice him in accordance with Allah’s orders. Ishmael (as), however, was saved by Allah’s command and a ram was killed [sacrificed] instead of him. When this happened and his beloved Ishmael was saved, he has prayed to the Creator that this child be blessed with the promised prophet through whom the world would be blessed and which prayer Allah has accepted. This promise of Allah was now going to be fulfilled when the child in Amina’s womb was born.
In the Bible, Genesis 22: 18 confirms that promise to Abraham: “And in thy seed (through this one and only child) shall all the nations of the earth be blessed; because thou hast obeyed My voice”.
Abraham (as) then said to Amina: “The child now in your womb, whose name will be Muhammad is the only prophet from the descendant of my first son and heir, Ismael.”
Abraham (as) explained that the reason for the visit
of angels to her and the earlier prophets were due to the fact that she was to
be the mother of the promised prophet (pbuh). Thus, Amina became the third
woman in the whole of creation to receive direct visit of Angels. The first was
her ancestral grand-mother princess Hagar [Hajra] of Egypt, the second wife of
Abraham. The second was the Virgin Mary [Maryam], the mother of Jesus (as).
The Birth of Muhammad (pbuh)
Amina stated that as soon as the labour pains of child-birth started, an angel came and asked her to drink from a cup in his hand. This drink was whiter than milk and sweeter than honey. As soon as she drank this heavenly drink her pain disappeared and fear left her. (Pg. 43-44, Vol. II, Ajaibul Kasas).
Amina then saw the gates of Heaven open. The angels came down to pay homage to the new babe. Three angels went towards the Ka’aba. One Angel stayed over the Ka’aba, one went to the East and the other towards the West. A light then spread out lighting up the universe. In this miraculous light, Amina stated, she could see distinctly the palaces of Palestine and Syria. (Pg. 18-19, Ashsan-al-Muwa’iz)
Then four unknown ladies appeared miraculously before Amina to attend to the child-birth (Pg. 43-44, Vol. II, Ajaibul Kasas).
The first, who was very tall, said, she was Eve, the mother of mankind. The second was Sarah, the mother of Prophet Isaac (as), and grandmother of Yaqub (as), whose children were the Israelites, to pave the way for the forgiveness of the Jews, if they followed this child, Muhammad (pbuh). The third was princess Hajra of Egypt, the mother of Prophet Ismael (as); she came with Otto (a sweet-smelling essence) from heaven, to express her love for this great grand-child from her descendants which fulfilled Allah’s promise to her husband prophet Ibrahim (as): “the world would be blessed through thy seed”.
The forth was Queen Asiya, daughter of Mazahim. She was the wife of the Pharaoh of the time of Moses. She was that Queen of Egypt who brought up Moses from a little child when he was found floating in the basket on the Nile river. She was the first person in the pharaoh’s court who believed in Allah upon seeing how the small miraculous snake made by the staff of Moses ate up the bigger snakes of the Egyptian magicians; whereupon the enraged Pharaoh tortured her severely, but in spite of this she refused to give up her faith.
Eventually the Pharaoh had her (Asiya) publicly stripped naked and thrown into the fire, thus allowing her to wear the glories of a martyr’s crown. This treatment was also given to those magicians who had converted to the truth taught by Moses (as).
In the spiritual presence and help of these four great nurses was Muhammad (pbuh) born with his foreskin already circumcised miraculously, with his navel cord already separated miraculously from his mother’s body and his body miraculously pure and clean without any kind of blood or filth on it. (Pg. 10-13, Vol. II, Tafrihul Askia Fil Ahwal Ul Ambia).
Thus was Muhammad (pbuh) born on Monday the 12th
of lunar month of Rabi-ul-Awwal at dawn, i.e. the time between the end of the
night and the commencement of daylight, 53 lunar years before Hijrah.
Miraculous Happening after Birth
Immediately upon birth, the child Muhammad (pbuh) miraculously did prostration to Allah and recited in a clear voice with his right hand index finger raised, as if in the act of giving evidence [Tashahhud] (Pg. 13 Vol. II, Tafrihul Asika Fil Ahwal Ul Ambia) and said the following words: “Ashhadu alla illaaha ill-al-laahu; Anna Muhammadur Rasulullah”; Ya Rabbi habli Ummati”. [I give evidence that none is worthy of divine worship except Allah. I am Muhammad, the Messenger of Allah. O Sustainer (of the Universe)! Bless me (and) those who follow me].
At once Allah spoke to his beloved as one speaks face
to face with his friend and replied: “I have blessed you (O Muhammad) and
those who follow you. O Angels, be witness of the fact that when he has not
forgotten his followers upon his birth, then how he can forget them on the Day
of Judgement?”
After the adoration of Allah and giving evidence of His Oneness, the child Muhammad (pbuh) picked up miraculous a handful of earth from the ground in his tiny fist. When this incident was related to Abu Lahab (the uncle of the Holy prophet), he foretold that one day this child would become the ruler of this world.
Three angels appeared. One of them took a seal and marked the right shoulder and handed over the child to the mother (Pg. 13, Vol. II, Tafrihul Askia Fil Ahwal ul Ambia).
When Amina looked upon the face of the child it was shining like a full moon and perfume of the finest otto was coming from the body as foretold in The Song of Solomon (5: 8-16.)
White clouds then appeared inexplicably and covered
him and took him away saying: “O animals on the face of the earth, fishes in
the seas, and the trees remember the name of this child Muhammad (pbuh), and
recognize him well. He has combined in himself all the wonderful and good
qualities that were in all the prophets that have come on earth from Adam to
Jesus”. When the cloud returned and replaced the child, he was clothed in
green silk.
Incidents Experienced by Abdul Muttalib at the Time of the Birth of Muhammad (pbuh)
Abdul Muttalib, the grandfather of Muhammad (pbuh) and some other Meccans, were at the Ka’aba at this early hour before dawn. All of a sudden they were surprised to see the walls of the Ka’aba bow miraculously before “Makam-e-Ibrahim” [Station of Ibrahim], a construction near the Ka’aba, where Ibrahim (as) had stood and prayed during the building of the Ka’aba.
Then miraculously the Ka’aba spoke as follows: “Allah is the Greatest, Allah is the Greatest, He is the Sustainer of Muhammad, who will purify the Ka’aba from idols and idolatry and restore it to (its honored position of) the House of Allah. Amina has just given birth to this child”.
Abdul Muttalib hearing the walls of the Ka’aba talk and seeing all the idols fall ran home to verily if his daughter-in-law has given birth to a child. He did not find the light of prophethood shining from Amina’s forehead. He thus knew the child was already born, so he asked Amina: “Please show me, where is my grandchild?”
Amina replied that Muhammad was in the next room but nobody could see him for three days, as the angels and the dwellers of heaven were paying homage to the child.
Abdul Muttalib tried to force his way into that room
but he was confronted by an angel with a drawn sword, who told the grandfather
not to advance any further and that he could not see the child until the
spiritual dwellers of heaven had completed their visit of the blessed child.
Abdul Muttalib wanted to tell the Meccans but he was struck dumb, strangely for three days just as Zakariah (as) had been struck dumb at the time of the birth of his son prophet John (as). So, Abdul Muttalib could not tell anybody for three days about the miraculous bowing of the Ka’aba and the reverence of his grandchild by the inhabitants of heaven.
After three days Abdul Muttalib took his grandchild to
the Ka’aba and named him Muhammad (pbuh). As soon as this child was taken to
the Ka’aba for the naming ceremony the four corners of the wall of the Ka’aba
miraculous spoke and declared: “There is none worthy of divine worship
except Allah and Muhammad is the Seal of Prophethood”.
Incidents in Persia at the Time of the Birth of Muhammad (pbuh)
At the date and the time of the birth of the Holy Prophet
Muhammad (pbuh) the following miracles took place:
1.
The
fire in the Magi temple of the Zoroastrians which had been alight for thousands
of years became quenched for the first time in recorded history. It had always
burned ever since it was lit in the days of King Nimrud.
2.
Fourteen
towers of the Royal palace of Nausherwan, the Emperor of Persia, broke and
fell.
3.
The
famous stone, on which the fabulous throne of Persia was kept, cracked.
4.
The
deep and fast flowing river Sawa in the Persian Empire dried up instantly.
5.
The
river Samawa in the Persian Empire which had been dry for the past thousand
years or more started flowing immediately.
6.
The
Tower of the palace on the river Tigris, which was so strongly built that
nothing could damage it for hundreds of years, broke and fell to the amazement
of all without any logical reason.
7.
Emperor
Nausherwan had a dream that very night in which he saw Arabian camels drag away
the Iranian horses across the Tigris and being spread throughout Persia.
Nausherwan was very much frightened and grief-stricken at all these portents and asked for their interpretation. He was told that a child had been born in Arabia, whose followers would overrun Persia and convert his people to this child’s (Muhammad’s) religion during the reign of the fourteenth king of Persia from him.
This was fulfilled when the forces of Islam during the
period of Umar bin Khattab, the second Khalifa, defeated the Persian during the
reign of Yesjerd, the fourteenth King from Nausherwan in the year 31 AH.
Universal Celebration on the Birth of Muhammad (pbuh)
Not only did the angels of heaven, the trees and the
mountains celebrate the birth of Muhammad (pbuh), but all animals and all the
obedient creatures of Allah also celebrated on the night of the birth of
Muhammad (pbuh). In fact the whole universe rejoiced at his birth. But this was
only a spiritual rejoice and in thanksgiving to Allah.
Wrong Celebration of the Birthday of the Best of Mankind
Today, it is sad to see that the birthday of the Best of Mankind (pbuh) is wrongly celebrated by millions around the world. Instead of rendering praise to Allah and inculcating in themselves the pure and righteous example of the Holy Prophet of Islam (pbuh), many of the Muslims have followed the accursed way of the People of the Book [Jews and Christians] who went astray and they followed them in all their cultures, and introduced those same cultures in the pure Deen of Allah.
Today, giant cakes are being prepared and people in thousands chanting “Happy Birthday to you Rassoollullah”. Is this Islam, O Muslims? Is this a righteous celebration of someone’s Janam Din [Birth Day]? Personally, the Holy Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) never celebrated his own
birthday, but I don’t condemn anyone sharing some good time in family by doing
all righteous deeds and praise of Allah in thanksgiving that such a day has
come in the life of that person that Allah has graced him to live to such an
age, and gifts in Islam is never a sin, but on the contrary, it builds up
strong bonds. But what is condemnable is following the non-believers in all
their wrong rituals and going beyond the limits of the permissible in Islam.
Today, many Muslims have exceeded all limits in the
remembrance of someone’s birthday, especially so, for the birthday of the Holy
Prophet Muhammad (pbuh). Such a blessing for mankind came to earth to destroy
all false practices and to re-establish one’s bond with Allah. Why do the
Muslims then live and practice falsehood and leave behind the permissible? Why
do the Muslims forsake the remembrance of Allah? Is doing Nafl
[voluntary] prayers and reading the Holy Quran and talking about and practicing
the righteous words and practices of the Holy Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) not
better than indulging in the non-islamic practices of birthdays?
Turn to Allah and thank Him for having made you Muslims and a follower of Muhammad (pbuh). Never try to imitate the wrong practices of the ancient people who do not believe in the prophethood of Prophet Muhammad (pbuh). Talk on his life and behaviour, and imbibe in yourselves those same invaluable values. Try not to imitate foolish people who have forgotten the essence of the teachings of Allah, the essence of Islam, but imitate the practices of the best of mankind and make him your role model. This is the best gift you can give the Holy Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) when you strive to follow and implement his teachings and that you be blessed with his company in the hereafter, when he will see that his Ummah is a blessed Ummah who has obeyed him and not followed the footsteps of the Satan and become astray. Be good, do good, be polite and strive to become a true Muslim, inculcating true Islamic values in yourselves and in others so that you may be blessed to be among his righteous followers, and not those who were Muslims in name only. Insha-Allah, Ameen.
---Sirat-un Nabi Speech delivered by Imam- Jamaat Ul Sahih Al Islam Hazrat Khalifatullah Munir A. Azim (aba) of Mauritius on 23 October 2021~17 Rabi’ul Awwal 1443 AH.