Hyderabad, February 04: This year Milad-un Nabi (birth anniversary of Prophet Mohammed, peace and blessings be upon him) will be celebrated on February 5. The city, especially the old part, is already geared up to mark the occasion with more enthusiasm than the previous year. But hopefully, a fatwa issued by the reputed Islamic institution Jamea Nizamia, will work to check that no public inconvenience is caused. The timely fatwa said that the revelry should be within the premise of the sharia or the Islamic law. Playing loud music, dancing and singing during rallies, the fatwa said, is against the spirit of sharia. One particular sentence in the fatwa puts the entire subject of festivity in perspective. It says that if the loud recitation of the Koran becomes a cause of disturbance to others, it is not permissible.
The public display of celebration, as we witness today during Milad-un Nabi, is a recent phenomenon. Earlier, say until about two decades ago, perhaps the only public function for Milad was the jalsa or meeting conducted by a leading socio-religious organization Majlis-e-Tameer-e-Millat. The Muslims in the state used to wait for that jalsa where eminent scholars from across the country, sometimes even from abroad, spoke.
Where would this trend lead to is a question over which social scientists, administrators and ulema have been pondering. Mohammed Hamidullah, one of the most widely read scholars of Islam produced by Hyderabad, says in his book, 'The Life and Work of the Prophet of Islam,' that human life is mainly divided into two spheres-material and spiritual. It is necessary to read the life history of the Prophet because he showed how a harmonious equilibrium between the two could be achieved.
Prophet Mohammed was born on 12th of Rabi Al-Awwal, the third month of Islamic lunar calendar corresponding to 17th of June 569 CE in Mecca. It was a Monday. His parents were Abdullah bin Abdul Mutallib and Aminah bint Wahb. His father died at the young age of 25 years in Madina when the Prophet was still in the womb of his mother. His ageing grandfather Abdul Mutallib, one of the 10 ministers in the oligarchy that administered Mecca, took him and his mother under his care. The Prophet, as was the tradition in those days, was given to a wet nurse Halima. The tragedy struck again as he lost his mother while on a visit to Madina. Even as he was struggling to come to terms with life without mother, his caring grandfather too passed away. The Prophet was only eight years old then. He came under the care of his paternal uncle Abu Talib. Life was difficult. He had no formal education and started life as a shepherd. At the tender age of nine years he accompanied his uncle on a trading journey to Syria. He went to Syria again as a young man, this time as in-charge of the goods of a wealthy lady in Mecca, Khadija, whom he married later. He spent a great deal of his time in meditation in the cave of Hira, on the outskirts of Mecca. At the age of 40 he received his first revelation and also the command to spread the message of God. His preaching invited the wrath of the powerful in Mecca who cruelly persecuted him and his followers. He migrated to Madina when he was 53 years of age. Within the next 10 years the numbers of his followers grew with leaps and bounds. At the same time he laid the foundation of a state whose area covered over 3 million square km.
But all this did not change his lifestyle. And when he passed away at the age of 63, he left behind, not palaces, not treasures but only a few things for his family and invaluable wealth on the spiritual and temporal lives for generations to come. Such a life of a rare phenomenon requires a sober approach and nothing frivolous.
By Mir Ayoob Ali Khan
Courtesy: Times Of India