Once again, it’s time to celebrate the birth, in words and in deeds, the greatest personality in human history. Today is 12th day of Rabi’ul Awwal, 1446AH (equivalent to Sunday September 15, 2024 in the Gregorian calendar); the same day on which the Prophet Muhammad (SAW) was born in 570CE. The federal government of Nigeria has declared tomorrow Monday September 16, 2024 a public holiday to mark the Prophet’s birthday.
Besides being a conveyer of a universal message to mankind, Allah describes the holy Prophet Muhammad (SAW) as a universal mercy to all without regard to race, nation or colour of the skin. Allah states in Qur’an 21:107 “We sent thee not, but as a mercy for all creatures.” The guidance he brought to mankind constitutes the mercy in him. As a perfect guide from Allah, the character of the Prophet Muhammad (SAW) is, thus, an embodiment of the virtuous qualities every believer would require to be righteous and useful to the society. Allah states in Qur’an 33:21 “Ye have indeed in the Apostle of God a beautiful pattern (of conduct) for anyone whose hope is in Allah and the Final Day, and who engages much in the praise of God.” This, thus, makes the Prophet (SAW) foremost for any believing man and woman in search of a guide in all facets of life.
As a primary source, after the Glorious Qur’an, from which believers seek and obtain guidance on all matters, the seal of all prophets and messengers of Allah should be a believer’s topmost model, hero, teacher and mentor. But many would choose to mention other than the Prophet Muhammad (SAW) when asked to declare their role model. Could it be that people have become so alienated from the Sunnah (prophetic traditions) of the Prophet Muhammad (SAW) that they remember the names of classical and modern musicians, professional sportsmen, film actors, scientists, philosophers, thinkers, and literary icons faster than they recall the prophet’s name? When asked about one’s hero, some Nigerians would, probably out of sycophancy or a shameless sense of flattery, be quick and happy to mention their political god-father or their business partner.
No personality in the service of humanity can be greater than the Prophet Muhammad (SAW). It’s along this line of thought and the desire to remind our audience of the most befitting recognition due to the Prophet Muhammad (SAW) that today’s column is dedicated to extolling and celebrating his beautiful pattern of conduct, which ultimately makes him an ideal model and prime paradigm for believers.
The occasion of Maulid of the Prophet (SAW) come to pass annually without many using the day for any positive reflections even though people find delight in taking advantage of the day being a public holiday to do several things that may not necessarily have any moral bearing on their spiritual life. The entire day of the Maulid or even the whole month of Rabi’ul Awwal would pass without many assessing their level of adherence to the ideal teachings of the Prophet (SAW). How then could they find it expedient to improve upon and strengthen their practice of prophetic traditions?
There can be no better time to exhort Muslims to emulate prophetic traditions in practical terms than now when our contemporary society is only a few heights better than the 6th century pre-Islamic Arabia. Our situation today is that of a people who prefer to live outside of the Islamic rubrics that should guide human affairs every day, everywhere. While the totality of the sunnah practices of the Prophet (SAW) is beyond what a newspaper column can exhaustively discuss, a few aspects of the exemplary character of the Prophet (SAW) as it concerns some basic interpersonal traits that are hugely lacking among Muslims in Nigeria’s trying moments of today would be mentioned.
The Prophet (SAW) was an ideal model of kindness. He was very caring to people especially the old, the weak, and to persons with one form of distress or the other. The Prophet (SAW) said, “He who helps his fellow-creature in the hour of need and also helps the oppressed, would be helped by Allah on the Day of Travail.” Prophet Muhammad (SAW) encouraged feeding of the hungry, helping the afflicted and alleviating the sorrows of the grief-stricken. He (SAW) also attached great importance to showing compassion to parents, orphans, women, children, and even unto animals. The Prophet (SAW) emphasized, “Kindness is a mark of faith; and whoever hasn’t any trait of kindness lacks faith.’ Let us therefore examine our individual commitment to kindness generally and see if we really show any reasonable degree of empathy, tenderness and concern to people. Kindness is not all about money. A situation where a person in distress is ignored by his neighbours and relations or sees turns deaf ears and blind eyes to the predicaments of a troubled person is not a demonstration of the kindness encouraged by the Prophet (SAW).
Let us as believers follow the prophet’s path of hospitality, patience, forgiveness, humility, courtesy, modesty, contentment, truth, perseverance, honesty, transparency, justice, and fairness. May Allah continue to guide and keep us on the path of righteousness taught by the sunnah of the final prophet of Islam, amin.
