Rabi’ul Awwal

ْ ْ ‫لق ْد کان لك ْم فی رس یول الل ا ْسوۃ حسنۃ لم ی‬

‫کان ی ْرجوا الل والیوم‬ ‫ن‬ َِ َ َ َ َ ُ ِ ِ ُ َ ِ ُ َ َ َ ََ
َ َ َ َ ُ َ َ َ
‫ی‬
‫ک ِث ر‬ ‫ْا‬
﴾۱۲﴿ ‫یا‬ َ َ ‫الل‬ ‫ر‬ ‫ک‬ ‫ذ‬ ‫و‬ ‫ر‬ ‫خ‬
ِ ‫ال‬
َ َ َ َ َ
Allah Taála declares, “There certainly is an example in Allah’s Messenger for he who fears
Allah and the last day and remembers Allah abundantly” (Surah Al-Ahzab, verse:21)

Rasulullah (sallallahu álaihi wasallam) said:

“He who holds firm to my sunnah when corruption is rampant in my Ummah will
attain the reward of a hundred martyrs.”

(Al-Bayhaqi fi-Zuhd; “hasan” –sound- according to Hafidh ibn Hajar; see:

HidayaturRuwat, Hadith:174)

Sayyiduna Anas radhiallahu ánhu reports that Rasulullah sallallahu álaihi wasallam
affectionately advised him:

“Whoever cherishes my sunnah, indeed cherishes me and whoever loves me will be

with me in Jannah.”
(Sunan Tirmizhi, Hadith:2678. Classified as “hasan” –sound- by Imam Tirmizhi
rahimahullah)

Sentimental events
The above and other such verses and Ahadith are frequently heard and recited during
the month of Rabi’ul-Awwal, the month in which the birth and demise of Rasulullah
(sallallahu álaihi wasallam) occurred.
Huge gatherings are held, sentiments are elevated and hearts become soft upon hearing
the details of these events. Resolutions of adhering to the sunnah are made, and love for
Rasulullah (sallallahu álaihi wasallam) is increased

As muslims, we believe that every sunnah of our beloved Prophet sallallahu álaihi
wasallam is filled with noor (divine light) and blessing of Allah Taála. Therefore, the
illustrious Sahabah radhiallahu ánhum and Muhaddithun (Scholars of Hadith) took great
pains in preserving the noble Ahadith and sunnah of Rasulullah (sallallahu álaihi
wasallam). Through their sacrifices Allah Taála has facilitated a huge amount of
literature in which the sacred hadith is preserved up to this day so that it can be adopted
even by the Ummati (follower) of the 15th century of Islam.
But alas! How pitiful is the condition of that “lover” of Rasulullah (sallallahu álaihi
wasallam) who resolved to adopt more sunnats of his beloved the previous year, but
failed to do so thus far?

One who discards the sunnah is warned severely by Rasulullah sallallahu álaihi
wasallam with the words:
“I curse him, Allah curses him and so does every Prophet of Allah”
(Mustadrak Hakim, vol.1 pg.36; Hidayatur Ruwat, Hadith:105. Considered “sahih”-
authentic- by Imam Hakim rahimahullah)

This clearly highlights the cause of most of the social mishaps prevalent in the Muslim
community today.

How can the blessing and mercy of Allah be found in that home whose inhabitants
abandon the sunnah of Rasulullah sallallahu álaihi wasallam?
Rabi’ul-Awwal has dawned once again, this time for the 1487th time’ since the birth of
Rasulullah (sallallahu álaihi wasallam). During this long period, there were many who
took such resolutions and stuck by them thereby attaining the virtues promised by Allah
and his Messenger (sallallahu álaihi wasallam) as well as the success of both the worlds.
There is no certainty as to how many more Rabi’ul-Awwals we will witness. Hence let not
the procrastination of shaytan dominate us. Lets make an effort and also seek the
assistance of Allah sincerely for the strength to adopt every sunnah of our beloved
Master (sallallahu álaihi wasallam) before it is too late.

Comprehensiveness of the sunnah

The sunnah of Rasulullah (sallallahu álaihi wasallam) is not restricted to acts or places of
worship only. Instead, it is comprehensive and covers all aspects and situations of life
such as ones social and moral conduct, business dealings, one’s dressing etc. It also
applies to all places whether the Masjid, business place, the home or even while one is
on journey. In every situation, one should draw guidance from the lifestyle of Rasulullah
(sallallahu álaihi wasallam) thereby turning habits into acts of worship.
Not seasonal
The study of the seerah (lifestyle of Nabi sallallahu ‘alaihi wasallam) is not only for Rabi’ul
Awwal, rather it should be done throughout the year.

Every muslim should endeavour to study the complete seerah at least once in his or her
lifetime under the guidance of a qualified ‘alim (scholar)
(www.al-miftah.com)

The Month of Rabi’ al-Awwal

‫بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم‬

The Month of Rabi’ al-Awwal & the Sunna of the Noble Prophet (peace and blessings be
upon him)
A thought-provoking discourse of Mufti Muhammad Taqi Usmani ‫ دامت برکاتہم‬delivered
on Friday, 7th Rabia’ul Awwal 1437 AH/ 18 th December 2015, at Masjid Baitul
Mukarram, Karachi; and rendered into English by Maulana Muhammad ibn Adam ‫حفظہ‬
‫ اللہ تعالی‬of the UK.
‫ ونعوذ بالله من شرور أنفسنا ومن سيئات‬،‫الحمد لله نحمده ونستعينه ونستغفره ونؤمن به ونتوكل عليه‬
،‫ وأشهد أن ال إله إال الله وحده ال شريك له‬،‫ من يهده الله فال مضل له ومن يضلله فال هادي له‬،‫أعمالنا‬
‫وأشهد أن سيدنا وموالنا محمدا عبده ورسوله صلى الله تعالى عليه وعلى آله وأصحابه وبارك وسلم تسليما‬
 ‫ أما بعد‬،‫كثيرا‬
‫ بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم‬،‫فأعوذ بالله من الشيطان الرجيم‬:
ْ ‫لق ْد کان لك ْم فی رس یول الل ا ْسوۃ حسنۃ لم ی‬
‫کان ی ْرجوا الل والی ْوم‬ ‫ن‬ َِ َ َ َ َ ُ ِ ِ ُ َ ِ ُ َ َ َ ََ
َ َ َ َ ُ َ َ َ
‫ی‬
‫ک ِث ر‬ ‫ْا‬
﴾۱۲﴿ ‫یا‬ َ َ ‫الل‬ ‫ر‬ ‫ک‬ ‫ذ‬ ‫و‬ ‫ر‬ ‫خ‬
ِ ‫ال‬
َ َ َ َ َ
Allah Taála declares, “There certainly is an example in Allah’s Messenger for he who fears
Allah and the last day and remembers Allah abundantly” (Surah Al-Ahzab, verse:21)

،‫آمنت بالله صدق الله موالنا العظيم وصدق رسوله النبي الكريم ونحن على ذلك من الشاهدين والشاكرين‬
‫والحمد لله رب العالمين‬.

My honorable elders and dear brothers,

‫السالم عليكم ورحمة الله وبركاته‬

Seeing that the month of Rabi’ al-Awwal has commenced, I would like to discuss a few
matters in relation to it. May Allah Most High make it beneficial for us all, Ameen.

Rabi’ al-Awwal is an extremely blessed month in view of the fact that Rasulullah (Allah
bless him & give him peace) was born in it, and that Allah ta’ālā chose this month to
bestow upon the whole of humanity His great favour and sent His Messenger to the
world in it. Given this, it would be correct to say that had there been a concept in Islam
of celebrating birthdays, no other day would have been more worthy for this than the
birthday of the Messenger of Allah ‫صلى الله عليه وسلم‬. The reason for this is that Allah ta’ālā,
in this day, granted the whole of mankind a means of guidance in order to guide them
till the end of time.
However, Allah ta’ālā has made this Dīn such that it does not promote mere ‘customary’
rituals, and thus there is no concept of celebrating birthdays or commemorating deaths
in Islam. The Companions (may Allah be pleased with them) – whose generation lived
up to 100 years after the Messenger of Allah’s ‫ صلى الله عليه وسلم‬departure from this world
– never made a point of celebrating his birthday. These Companions were so
enthusiastically devoted to Allah’s Messenger ‫ صلى الله عليه وسلم‬that they would not even
let the blessed saliva which exited his mouth fall onto the ground; rather, they would
wipe their bodies with it. Such was their devotion, yet they never celebrated

his birthday. It is not reported from a single companion that he or she carried
out a specific customary ritual to celebrate the birthday of Allah’s Messenger ‫صلى الله عليه‬
‫ وسلم‬on the 12th of Rabi’ al-Awwal.
Their vision was set on the reality that the Messenger of Allah (Allah bless him & give
him peace) has come with a very significant message for the whole of humanity, and
that [true] love and respect for him necessitates acting upon his teachings. As such, the
Companions never celebrated particular days with lights and decorations, but their
hearts were illuminated with candles of love for Allah’s Messenger ‫ ;صلى الله عليه وسلم‬there
was a constant yearning in their hearts to act upon his ways and teachings, and mould
their lives in accordance with it. Every moment of their life was spent in explaining,
teaching and implementing the Sirah and Sunna of Allah’s Messenger ‫صلى الله عليه وسلم‬, and
they wholeheartedly embraced his teachings. As a result, Allah ta’ālā granted them
success, honour and respect the world over to the point that great superpowers like
Qaysar and Kisra succumbed before their supremacy.
Today, we feel ashamed of acting upon the Sunna of Allah’s Messenger ‫صلى الله عليه وسلم‬.
We are happy to ‘celebrate’ the Mawlid/Milad with decorations, illumination, and
symbols of the green dome, but when it comes to implementing the ways and teachings
of Allah’s Messenger ‫ – صلى الله عليه وسلم‬in every aspect of life – we slack off.
In the month of Rabi’ al-Awwal, we organize gatherings, events and conferences to
remember the blessed Sirah of Allah’s Messenger ‫صلى الله عليه وسلم‬, but I ask all of you and
myself the following question: After attending any one of these events, do we begin
acting upon a Sunna that we were not acting upon prior to attending the event? Do we
see a change in our lives? How many sins and mistakes do we repent from and stop
committing after the passing of Rabi’ al-Awwal and listening to the Sirah? How many
neglected Farāidh and Wājibāt (obligatory acts) do we begin implementing?
When we ask these questions sincerely to ourselves, the likelihood is that the response
will not be that positive. There is no real change of direction in our lives; the sins we
were committing before Rabi’ al-Awwal, we continue to do them after it; if we were
involved [for example] in bribery, we continue to remain involved in it; if we were
usurping the rights of others, we continue doing so; if we were negligent in offering
prayers with congregation, we remain negligent; if we were deprived from Sunna acts –
whether they relate to worship, monetary transactions, social dealings, or character–
we remain deprived.

Despite organizing such big events, conferences and celebrations [in Rabi’ al-Awwal],
this attitude [outlined above] has resulted in us being degraded throughout the world.
The attitude of the Companions (Allah be pleased with them) was such that they would
leap at any given opportunity to act upon even the [apparently] minute Sunnas, and
would not care if others disapproved.

On the occasion of the Al-Hudaybiyya treaty, the Messenger of Allah ‫ صلى الله عليه وسلم‬sent
Sayyiduna Uthman ibn Affan (may Allah be pleased with him) – whom the Messenger of
Allah ‫ صلى الله عليه وسلم‬described as ‘complete in modesty and faith’ –for negotiations with
the leaders of the polytheists (mushrikun) and disbelievers of Makka. When he went, he
initially stayed with his cousin. As they were departing for the negotiations, his cousin
saw that Sayyiduna Uthman’s (Allah be pleased with him) lower garment was very
much above his ankles and halfway up his shin. Wearing one’s lower garment above the
ankles was greatly despised and considered demeaning amongst the Arabs of that time;
in fact, they would pride themselves in wearing their lower garment below their ankles
and dragging it on the ground. An Arab poet says,

‫إذا ما اصطبحت أربعا خط مئزرى‬

“When I depart in the morning after having consumed four rounds of alcohol, my lower
garment makes lines on the ground.”
Thus, Sayyiduna Uthman’s cousin suggested that he lower his garment just for nowday
because these Arabs will look down upon him and not give importance to what he has
to say.

Upon hearing this, Sayyiduna Uthman (Allah be pleased with him) responded in one
short sentence, saying,

‫ هكذا إزرة صاحبنا صلى الله عليه وسلم‬،‫ال‬

“Never; this is how our Master ‫ صلى الله عليه وسلم‬wears his lower garment.” In other words,
whether they think good or bad of me, respect me or look down upon me, I am not
prepared to leave his Sunna.
Thus, the Companions (may Allah be pleased with them) earned respect throughout the
world due to their love, admiration and veneration for the Sunna of Allah’s Messenger
‫صلى الله عليه وسلم‬. Unfortunately, today, we are fearful and ashamed of adopting his Sunna –
from non-Muslims, those in authority in a worldly sense, and others – and as a result
we are humiliated, degraded and subjugated everywhere. In every part of the Muslim
world, we are being oppressed. This is due to the fact that we have abandoned the
Sunna of Allah’s Messenger ‫صلى الله عليه وسلم‬.
A poet once said,

‫ہنسے جانے سے جب تک تم ڈروگے‬

‫زمانہ تم پر ہنستا ہی رہے گا‬

“As long as you fear being mocked, you will always be laughed at.”
Meaning, as long as you fear being ridiculed in acting upon the Sunna, you will
constantly be ridiculed. However, if you create love and admiration for the Sunna in
your hearts, implement it in your lives, and pay no heed to people’s ridicule, a time will
come that you will laugh at them. The Qur’an says,
“So, today those who believed will laugh at the disbelievers. While [sitting] on thrones,
they will be seeing whether the disbelievers have been paid back for what they used to
do.” (Qur’an 83: 34-36)
Therefore, if you have love and admiration for the Sunna, you will not be bothered by
people’s ridicule and mockery. The day we create this attitude in ourselves, we will In
sha Allah earn respect throughout the world.
Nevertheless, every year during the month of Rabi’ al-Awal, gatherings, events and
conferences are organized, but we do not see any practical change in our day-to-day
lives. This is an extremely tragic situation, and a cause of concern for us all. If – due to
this month of Rabi’ al-Awwal and the Sirah events organized therein – with the Tawfiq
of Allah we firstly create love and admiration for the Sunna and teachings of Allah’s
Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him), and not merely express our love for
Rasulullah ‫ صلى الله عليه وسلم‬through “lip service.” We indeed claim verbally to have love for
him, but if we do not have love and admiration for his Sunna, his message and his
teachings, then our claim would be false. If we are true in our claim of loving him, then
we would also love and admire his Sunna and teachings, and as a result implement
these teachings in our lives.
With genuine love and admiration, every trait of the beloved also becomes beloved, and
one does not question it. Today, whenever a ruling of Shari’a or teaching of Allah’s
Messenger is mentioned, we begin to question it, saying things like: “why is such-and-
such unlawful?”and “why is such-and-such obligatory?” If one has genuine love for
someone, then one does not question any trait or act associated with the beloved;
rather, one adopts the attitude that if my beloved is doing it then I will also do it. As
such, I fear that our claims of loving the Messenger of Allah ‫ –صلى الله عليه وسلم‬Allah forbid
– may well be false, since if we are not adopting his teachings and Sunna, such claims
would seem fake.
In the verse of the Qur’an I recited at the beginning, Allah ta’ālā says, “There is indeed a
good model for you in the Messenger of Allah – for the one who has hope in Allah and
the Last Day, and remembers Allah profusely.” (Qur’an 33:21)
Allah Most High is saying to us that I have sent this Messenger and marvel of my
creation, as a model example, to you; hence, observe him and try and imitate him – in
beliefs (aqa’id), in worship (ibadat), in financial dealings (mu’amalat), in social dealings
(mu’asharat), and in internal character traits (akhlaq/tazkiya). He is an example for you
in all walks of life; thus, if you are a father, be a father like him; if you are a spouse, be a
spouse like him; if you are a ruler, be a ruler like him; if you are a teacher, be a teacher
like him; and so on. He is a perfect exemplar for you in every aspect of life.
Therefore, in this month of Rabi’ al-Awwal – in which the Messenger of Allah ‫صلى الله عليه‬
‫ وسلم‬came into this world – we should at least make a resolution to increase in following
the Sunna, and an make earnest effort of bringing into our lives those Sunna acts that
we had not been acting upon until now.
These Sunna practices are extremely pleasant and result in this life as well as the next
life becoming joyful. Some of these are very easy to execute, and do not require any
great effort, time or money. They are abandoned merely out of carelessness. For
example, when entering the Mosque, there is no difficulty in entering with one’s right
foot, and by doing so one will be acting upon one Sunna. Similarly, when exiting the
Mosque, there is no hardship in departing with the left foot and reciting the du’a
‘Allahumma inni as’aluka min fadlik’. Likewise, there is no difficulty in eating with
one’s right hand and uttering the name of Allah before commencement, and reciting
the du’a after completing the food. However, we remain deprived of these Sunna acts
due to carelessness and negligence. Likewise, it is a Sunna of the Messenger of Allah
(Allah bless him & give him peace) to meet others with a pleasant face; so act upon this
Sunna with the intention of acting upon the Sunna [and not merely a customary
gesture].

It is imperative to first learn about all these Sunna practices. My Shaykh, Dr Abdul-
Hayy Arifi (Allah have mercy on him) has authored a book titled ‘Uswa’ e Rasul Akram’
in which he has gathered Sunna practices from morning to evening, as well as those
relating to different walks of life. For example, how to deal with one’s children, parents,
and spouse, how to conduct one’s business. It is a relatively short work, comprising a
few hundred pages. Acquire this book, study a portion of it every day and learn about
the teachings and Sunna of Allah’s Messenger ‫صلى الله عليه وسلم‬, and then gradually try
adopting these Sunna acts in to your life.
If we do that, then this month of Rabi’ al-Awwal will be a blessed month and highly
beneficial for us. On the other hand, if we suffice with festive celebrations and events,
then I feel there is no greater injustice perpetrated towards the Messenger of Allah ‫صلى‬
‫الله عليه وسلم‬. May Allah Most High –out of His favour and mercy– grant us all the ability to
follow the Sunna in its entirety, and illuminate our lives with the light of Sunna,
Ameen.

‫وآخر دعوانا أن الحمد لله رب العالمين‬

(http://muftitaqiusmani.com/)