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Eid Milad Al Nabi

By Maulana Mohammed Faisal

Once again the blessed month of Rabiulawwal is upon us. The month of mercy and blessing for Muslims throughout the world, for it is in this month that Almighty Allah sent his beloved Messenger Muhammad (peace be upon him) to this world. The advent of this month brings with it a surge in processions, gatherings, conferences and seminars in which Muslims participate enthusiastically eager to show their love, respect and reverence to the beloved Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him). I am sure many of you will have attended or at least heard about the annual Mehfil-e-milad which took place in Victoria Park at Manchester's central mosque. Naat reciters from across the globe mesmerized the crowds sending praise on the beloved Prophet (peace be upon him) in their enchantingly beautiful voices. Outside the Mosque there was an almost carnival type atmosphere as the stall holders bartered with customers over CDs, videos DVDs and much more. It made me wonder as to whether we were guilty of getting caught up in the glitz and razzmatazz of it all and if we were missing the religious significance of this auspicious occasion. I couldn't help but think back to my time in Egypt and how I was shocked at the commercialization of religious occasions. The best movies would come on in Ramadhan, product prices would rise before Eid, I remember how on 12th of rabiulawwal there was a national holiday but everyone went to the park and seaside resorts instead of the mosque. I remembered how it reminded me about Christmas and the way it was celebrated in the western world.

The whole aim of attending Milad gatherings is to show love and respect for the beloved Prophet (peace be upon him). However I wonder if just turning up at these events is sufficient for Muslims today. Do we justify calling ourselves "aahsiq e rasool" simply because we attend a few Milad Mehfils once a year because we shout "Ya rasoolalah" and wave our hands in the air does that automatically elevate us to the rank of the greatest supporters of the Prophet (peace be upon him). Remember dear brothers and sisters when you love someone truly you live your life for that person, your whole life evolves around that person, when you love someone you want to know even the minutest detail about that person, and how they talked how they walked how they dressed how they impressed. Most importantly you do not want to do anything to bring even the tiniest of discomforts to your beloved. I think we have to ask ourselves do we have that focus. Do we have that desire? Are we living our lives like the Prophet (peace be upon him) would have liked? Do our actions reflect love for the Prophet (PBUH) or love for this world? Is the path we are following the path of the Prophet (peace be upon him) or the path of the material world?

Dear brothers and sisters I am by no means condemning the mehfils of Milad. I think they are marvelous occasions for Muslims to get together and send praise on our beloved Prophet (peace be upon him). I just feel that we should not fall into a false sense of security that by attending these gatherings we are completely fulfilling our obligation to The Prophet (peace be upon him). Our actions should depict our "ishq" of Rasoolallah (peace be upon him). We should live our lives according to his Sunnah. Only then will we be worthy of calling ourselves Sunni. We should study his Seera and look at his amazing lifestyle. When you read books of Seera you will be in awe of him, his greatness, his humility, his kindness his compassion his gentleness his firmness in Islamic principles, his love and his concern for his Ummah. Each and every aspect of his sunnah is truly awe inspiring.

I pray to Allah that he may fill our hearts with the love of the beloved Prophet Mohammed (peace be upon him) and may he give us the ability to learn from his great example. Ameen.