The Birth of the Prophet

The First Khutbah, All praise is due to Allah, the Lord of the worlds, who has blessed us with the birth of our Prophet Muhammad, ﷺ the Seal of the Prophets, the one who established the edifice of virtues in the world, perfected noble traits and praiseworthy manners. I bear witness that there is no god but Allah, alone without partner, and I bear witness that our Prophet Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah. May Allah’s peace, blessings, and salutations be upon him, his family, his companions, and those who follow him. To proceed: I advise you, servants of Allah, and myself, to have taqwa of Allah. Allah The Exalted says: ﴿يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا اتَّقُوا اللَّهَ وَآمِنُوا بِرَسُولِهِ يُؤْتِكُمْ كِفْلَيْنِ مِنْ رَحْمَتِهِ وَيَجْعَلْ لَكُمْ نُورًا تَمْشُونَ بِهِ وَيَغْفِرْ لَكُمْ وَاللَّهُ غَفُورٌ رَحِيمٌ﴾. “O you who believe! Be mindful of Allah and believe in His Messenger, and He will grant you a double portion of His mercy, and He will provide for you a light by which you will walk, and He will forgive you; and Allah is All-Forgiving,  Most Merciful.” O Believers: We congratulate you on the commemoration of the birth of the best of creation, our master and prophet Muhammad, may the finest prayers and peace be upon him. His coming is the ultimate grace and the supreme bounty with which Allah, the Exalted, has favored us. He, Glorious and Majestic, says: ﴿لَقَدْ مَنَّ اللَّهُ عَلَى الْمُؤْمِنِينَ إِذْ بَعَثَ فِيهِمْ رَسُولًا مِنْ أَنْفُسِهِمْ﴾ Certainly, did Allah confer [great] favor upon the believers when He sent among them a Messenger from themselves (ĀlʿImrān:164) He is “Muhammad, the Messenger of Allah”  ﴿مُحَمَّدٌ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ﴾ The noblest of his people in lineage and the highest among them in honor. His father was ʿAbdullāh, his grandfather ʿAbdul-Muṭṭalib, and his mother Āminah bint Wahb. His noble lineage traces back to Ismāʿīl, the son of Ibrāhīm, peace be upon them both. The Prophet ﷺ was born on the morning of Monday, in the month of Rabīʿ al-Awwal, in the Year of the Elephant, corresponding to the year 571 of the CE. That blessed day was so cherished that the Prophet ﷺ would fast it every week, saying: «ذَاكَ ‌يَوْمٌ ‌وُلِدْتُ ‌فِيهِ». “That is the day on which I was born.” وَأَحْسَنَ مِنْكَ لَمْ تَرَ قَطُّ عَيْنِي *** وَأَجْمَلَ مِنْكَ لَمْ تَلِدِ النِّسَاءُ خُلِقْتَ مُبَرَّأً مِنْ كُلِّ عَيْبٍ *** كَأَنَّكَ قَدْ خُلِقْتَ كَمَا تَشَاءُ Ḥassān ibn Thābit said in praise of the Prophetﷺ: Better than you, my eyes have never seen, More beautiful, no woman’s child has been. Created free of any fault or stain, As if you chose the form you would attain. May my life and family be dedicated to himﷺ. He was the best of people in character, the highest in noble qualities, the kindest in companionship, and the gentlest in disposition. So much so that his Creator, who ‘Loves lofty deeds’ testified to him with the greatest testimony and most perfect praise: ﴿وَإِنَّكَ لَعَلَى خُلُقٍ عَظِيمٍ﴾ “And indeed, you are of a great moral character.” And when our mother ʿĀ’ishah (may Allah be pleased with her) was asked about His character, she asked the questioner, أَلَسْتَ ‌تَقْرَأُ ‌الْقُرْآنَ؟ قَالَ: بَلَى.  قَالَتْ: فَإِنَّ خُلُقَ نَبِيِّ اللَّهِ ﷺ كَانَ الْقُرْآنَ  “Do you not recite the Qur’ān?” He replied, “Yes.” She said, “The character of the Prophet of Allah ﷺ was the Qur’ān.” Truly, He ﷺ embodied the Qur’ān. He faithfully acted on everything contained in the Noble Qur’ān, its commands and prohibitions, its noble morals and elevated manners. And as He, peace and blessings be upon him, said: «إِنَّمَا بُعِثْتُ لِأُتَمِّمَ مَكَارِمَ الْأَخْلَاقِ»  “I was sent only to perfect noble character.”  Whenever one speaks of mercy and the merciful, one finds him, peace and blessings be upon him, described as أَرْحَمَ النَّاسِ بِالنَّاسِ “The most merciful of people toward people.” His mercy overflows upon the near and the distant; indeed, it embraces all beings and creatures. And how true is Allah the Almighty when He says: ﴿وَمَا أَرْسَلْنَاكَ إِلَّا رَحْمَةً لِلْعَالَمِينَ﴾ “And We have not sent you except as a mercy to the worlds.” And when you look at his conduct with his family, you would find him to be the noblest of husbands in his marital conduct. أَكْرَمَ الْأَزْوَاجِ عِشْرَةً  . No wonder, for He ﷺ said:   «خَيْرُكُمْ خَيْرُكُمْ لِأَهْلِهِ، وَأَنَا خَيْرُكُمْ لِأَهْلِي» “The best of you are those who are best to their families, and I am the best of you to my family.” You will also find him the tenderest of fathers in heart and the kindest in his treatment, so much so that Anas (may Allah be pleased with him) who remained close to Him in his home for ten years, said: مَا رَأَيْتُ أَحَدًا أَرْحَمَ بِالْعِيَالِ مِنْ رَسُولِ اللَّهِ ﷺ. “I have not seen anyone more merciful to his household dependents than the Messenger of Allah.” And as the poet wrote: فَإِذَا رَحِمْتَ فَأَنْتَ أُمٌّ أَوْ أَبٌ *** هَذَانِ فِي الدُّنْيَا هُمَا الرُّحَمَاءُ “If you show mercy, then you are either a mother or a father. These two in this world are the merciful.” And when you contemplate generosity and its virtues, and you look into the lives of generous people, you will find the Prophet ﷺ was the most generous of all people  أَجْوَدَ النَّاسِ  as one of his Companions stated. It was even said in describing his generosity that He gives like one who does not fear poverty. يُعْطِي عَطَاءَ مَنْ لَا يَخْشَى الْفَقْرَ. . Another Companion said: مَا سُئِلَ عَلَيْهِ الصَّلَاةُ وَالسَّلَامُ شَيْئًا قَطُّ فَقَالَ لِسَائِلِهِ: لَا  He was never asked for anything and replied to the one who asked: 'No ' ﴿يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا أَطِيعُوا اللَّهَ وَأَطِيعُوا الرَّسُولَ وَأُولِي الْأَمْرِ مِنْكُمْ﴾. O you who have believed, obey Allah and obey the Messenger and those in authority among you. I say these words of mine and I seek Allah's forgiveness for myself and for you, so seek His forgiveness. The second Khutbah   All praise is due to Allah, and prayers and peace be upon our Prophet Muhammadﷺ whom there is no prophet after him. To proceed, O believers: the beautiful life and noble qualities of our Prophet ﷺ fill the heart of everyone who comes to know Him with love for Him. No one ever saw Him without loving Him, and no one ever heard of Him without becoming attached to Him. When ʿAlī ibn Abī Ṭālib (may Allah be pleased with him) was asked, “How great was your love for the Messenger of Allah ﷺ?” he said: كَانَ وَاللَّهِ أَحَبَّ إِلَيْنَا مِنْ أَمْوَالِنَا، وَأَوْلَادِنَا، وَآبَائِنَا، وَأُمَّهَاتِنَا، وَمِنَ الْمَاءِ الْبَارِدِ عَلَى الظمأ. “By Allah, He was more beloved to us than our wealth, our children, our fathers, our mothers, and even more than cold water to the thirsty.” And ʿAmr ibn al-ʿĀṣ, (may Allah be pleased with him), said, expressing the intensity of his love for the Messenger of Allah ﷺ: مَا كَانَ أَحَدٌ أَحَبَّ إِلَيَّ مِنْ رَسُولِ اللَّهِ ﷺ، وَلَا أَجَلَّ فِي عَيْنِي مِنْهُ، وَمَا كُنْتُ أُطِيقُ أَنْ ‌أَمْلَأَ ‌عَيْنَيَّ مِنْهُ؛ ‌إِجْلَالًا لَهُ، وَلَوْ سُئِلْتُ أَنْ أَصِفَهُ مَا أَطَقْتُ؛ لِأَنِّي لَمْ أَكُنْ ‌أَمْلَأُ ‌عَيْنَيَّ مِنْهُ، وَلَوْ مِتُّ عَلَى تِلْكَ الْحَالِ؛ لَرَجَوْتُ أَنْ أَكُونَ مِنْ أَهْلِ الْجَنَّةِ. There was no one more beloved to me than the Messenger of Allah ﷺ nor more exalted in my eyes than Him. I could not bear to gaze intently at him out of reverence. If I were asked to describe Him, I would not be able to, because I was unable to hold my eyes upon Him. Had I died in that state, I would hope to be among the people of Paradise. O Servants of Allah: Indeed, love for the Prophet ﷺis a path to his companionship in the highest levels of Paradise. A man came to the Prophet ﷺand asked, O Messenger of Allah, what is your view on a man who loves a people but has not been able to join them (in their level of deeds)? The Messenger of Allah ﷺreplied, «الْمَرْءُ مَعَ مَنْ أَحَبَّ».  A person will be with whom he loves And when one of his Companions asked him, When is the Hour? the Prophet ﷺsaid: «وَمَاذَا أَعْدَدْتَ لَهَا؟» And what have you prepared for it? The man replied, Nothing, except that I love Allah and His Messenger.  لَا شَيْءَ، إِلَّا أَنِّي أُحِبُّ اللَّهَ ورَسُولَهُ، The Prophet ﷺ then said, «أَنْتَ مَعَ مَنْ أَحْبَبْتَ».  You will be with whom you have loved. Anas (may Allah be pleased with him) said, Nothing made us rejoice as much as we rejoiced over the Prophet's statement: 'You will be with whom you have loved ' مَا فَرِحْنَا بِشَيْءٍ فَرَحَنَا بِقَوْلِ النَّبِيِّ ﷺ: «أَنْتَ مَعَ مَنْ أَحْبَبْتَ».   So let our hearts be filled with love and reverence for this noble Prophet, whose birth was a light, whose divine mission was a light, whose message was a light, and whose character was a light. ﴿قَدْ جَاءَكُمْ مِنَ اللَّهِ نُورٌ وَكِتَابٌ مُبِينٌ﴾ “There has certainly come to you from Allah a light and a clear Book”. Anas, may Allah be pleased with him, say: لَمَّا كَانَ الْيَوْمُ الَّذِي دَخَلَ فِيهِ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ ﷺ الْمَدِينَةَ، أَضَاءَ مِنْهَا كُلُّ شَيْءٍ، فَلَمَّا كَانَ الْيَوْمُ الَّذِي مَاتَ فِيهِ، ‌أَظْلَمَ ‌مِنْهَا ‌كُلُّ ‌شَيْءٍ  On the day the Messenger of Allahﷺ entered Madinah, everything in it was illuminated. And on the day He passed away, everything in it became dark. Allah, the Exalted, has said: ﴿يَا أَيُّهَا النَّبِيُّ إِنَّا أَرْسَلْنَاكَ شَاهِدًا وَمُبَشِّرًا وَنَذِيرًا * وَدَاعِيًا إِلَى اللَّهِ بِإِذْنِهِ وَسِرَاجًا مُنِيرًا * وَبَشِّرِ الْمُؤْمِنِينَ بِأَنَّ لَهُمْ مِنَ اللَّهِ فَضْلًا كَبِيرًا﴾، “O Prophet, indeed, We have sent you as a witness and a bringer of good tidings and a warner. And as one who invites to Allah, by His permission, and as an illuminating lamp. And give good tidings to the believers that they will have from Allah a great bounty”. (إِنَّ اللَّهَ وَمَلَائِكَتَهُ يُصَلُّونَ عَلَى النَّبِيِّ ۚ يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا صَلُّوا عَلَيْهِ وَسَلِّمُوا تَسْلِيمًا) Indeed, Allah and His angels bless the Prophet- so, you who believe, bless him too and give him greetings of peace” O Allah, bestow Your prayers, peace, and blessings upon our master and our Prophet, Muhammad, and upon his family, his Companions, and the followers. Prayers that are continuous and extend until the Day of Judgment; prayers through which we may attain his intercession and arrive at his noble fountain (Al-Kawthar). O Allah, be pleased with Abu Bakr, Umar, Uthman, and Ali, and with all of the most honoured Companions.  O Allah, make us believers in You, worshippers of You, lovers of our Prophet, adorned with his noble values, and dutiful to our parents. And have mercy on them as they raised us when we were young, O Most Merciful of the merciful. O Allah, protect the state of the UAE, take it under Your care, and surround it with Your providence, O Lord of the Worlds. O Allah, protect the President of the UAE, Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed, and perpetually clothe him with the garments of wisdom. Grant success to him, his deputies, his brothers the Rulers of the Emirates, and his trustworthy Crown Prince, towards that which You love and are pleased with. O Allah, have mercy upon Sheikh Zayed, Sheikh Rashid, and the rest of the Sheikhs of the Emirates who have passed into Your mercy. Admit them, by Your grace, into the vastness of Your Paradise, and cover the martyrs of the nation with Your mercy and forgiveness. O Allah, have mercy on the Muslim men and Muslim women, the living among them and the dead. O Servants of Allah: Remember Allah, the Great, and He will remember you. And thank Him for His blessings, and He will grant you more.        And establish the prayer.