Behind Every Great Man..

 The popular idiom, behind every great man is a great woman has been ringing in my ears and has led me to reflect..

Alhamdulillah, I’m an asian mother to 5 daughters. Yes, I have no sons. 

When daughter number one was born 25 years ago, ‘Never mind, don’t worry,’ my extended family relatives said from far and wide when the birth was announced, ‘Maybe Allah SWT will give you a son next time’. 

Thankfully, my husband and I were delighted with her arrival. And so in celebration we deliberately distributed ladoo (an asian sweet delicacy), which back in the days was traditionally distributed especially only if you had had a baby boy.  Just like it used to be blue for boys and pink for girls, so it was ladoo for boys and ghulab jamans for girls. 

The care free remarks, ‘Better luck next time,’ or ‘When are you going to give her a brother’ that were dropped here and there did not affect us at all or in hindsight, subconsciously,  maybe they did..

Six years later, due with my second child, I deliberately found out the baby’s gender before her birth, as I did not want to give birth and then personally have that horrible split second inner feeling of, ‘Oh, it’s a girl!’  

Just as expected, my husband and I received her with joy, but soon after came those unthoughtful typical  remarks.. ‘Oh dear’, they said, ‘She tried after so long and still no boy!’  

The more of the same came my way when my number three and four had entered the world. I’m not sure of any remarks made at the birth of number five as sadly she left this world soon after her aqiqah. 

Moving forward through the years, believe it or not, somewhere, someone, will always say something to you about not having a boy. No matter how old you become, and they think it’s okay! 

A few months back I happily shared the news of my daughters three sons to a, at the time much-liked, aunt, and her response was, ‘So what the mother couldn’t do, the daughter has done for her’. Excuse me? I thought. She had decided that my daughter had the son’s that I could never have. 

And those words got to me, they really did. Never in my life had any remark concerning my baby girls hurt me as much as this one did, I think it may have been to do with the timing. 

As far as I was concerned I had had my beautiful children, and was now living my precious life and all of a sudden when you are minding your own business, someone throws an unexpected remark your way that hits you for six. 

And so most of today I’ve been feeling slightly down, dwindling in and out of deep thought thinking, if behind every great man there’s a woman, then where is my chance to make a man great? I don’t have a son. Yes I have grandsons, but they as well as my husband are not 100 percent mine as a son would be. 

I then had a bizarre thought, that perhaps I could take a little credit for any of the boys that join my teaching class, and whom I have guided in some way. If they were to go ahead and become successful, I could half-tick that greatness box :)

The other day, another relative started taking pity on me that my husband will have no one to carry his name, ‘Obviously right?,’ they said, ‘No son!’  

Despite this all, what keeps me sane, and what I’m forever grateful for is my faith, it always brings me back 100%, Alhamdulillah. 

When the devil plays with my thoughts like today, I stop to reflect and ponder and one thing that brings me back to sanity and makes me strong again is knowing that on the day of judgement, when we are brought before each and every Angel as we travel up towards Allah SWT, the angels will ask, ‘Who is this person?’ and the reply will be he/she is so and so the son/daughter of...and the fathers name will be mentioned. The fathers name. 

My husband may not have anyone to carry his name in this world, but in the akhirah where it matters the most, each and everyone of my children will have his name, Allah Akbar. 

And finally, the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “Whoever takes care of two girls until they reach puberty, he and I will come like this on the Day of Resurrection” – and he held his two fingers together. Narrated by Muslim (2631).

Alhamdulillah Allah (SWT) has blessed us with not two but five daughters Subhan’Allah. 

And so behind these great parents, are five great righteous daughters. 

We got this! ☺️☺️☺️

10 FUN FACTS

 10 FUN FACTS about the Birth of the Messenger (s)

There are many narrations that discuss the birth of the Prophet (s) and the miraculous events that occurred during his mother’s pregnancy and the birth. 

The issues with the authenticity of these narrations are discussed in depth in the Qalam Podcast Episode 9/10 (qalaminstitute.org), from where I have adapted the following fun facts. (Any mistakes found in the facts below are my own).   

1. On the night of the birth of the Prophet (s) the palace of Kisra, in Persia, shook. Fourteen balconies broke and fell off the palace. A sacred fire, which was the central object of worship in the region, that had not blown out for 1000 years, became extinguished. The Tigris river levels became very low, so that water stopped flowing to some regions.

With these events, the king gathered his people and council. He was advised that that there are suggestions of something interesting going on towards Arabia. The king thus sent a man in the direction of the Arabs to find out what was happening. The leaders of Sham were also found to be asking the same question: what was happening in the direction of the Arabs? An individual who was knowledgable about prophecies reported that these events signified that the man who was to be the Prophet of the last times had been born. He details a prophecy that the reign of the Kisra would see only fourteen more emperors until its demise.

2. Amina, the Prophet’s (s) mother had many dreams before the birth of her son. There are other narrations in which it is mentioned that the mother of the Prophet (s) would see dreams, and in her dreams she was being addressed by somebody. Scholars have said that these were the angels who were addressing her and informing her, ‘You are carrying the leader of this nation. When he is born, you must say, ‘ I put him into the protection of the One, may that One protect him from anyone who will be envious of him and may he be placed into the care, the company of the good, the righteous the strong, confident people. And may he be put under the supervision of the slaves of Allah who  are confident and strong leaders of their people. May he arrive and find a place on this earth with no difficulty because he is a slave of the Al Hamid, the one that is constantly worthy of praise, Al Majid, the one who is glorious and magnificent. Until he is shown and he witnesses that which he is meant to witness (Prophethood).

The sign of his birth will be that when he is born, then along with him a light will come that will literally fill the earth with noor (light), so much so that even the palaces of As-Sham will be enlightened. And when he is born, name him Muhammad. Because his name in the Torah was Ahmad. The people of the heavens and the people of the earth praise him. And his name in the Injeel was Ahmad. The inhabitants of the heavens and the earth they praise him. And his name in the Quran, the book that will be revealed to him will be Muhammad.’

3. The Prophet (s) was born during the year of the Elephant. Some opinions report that he was born a month after the invasion of the elephants, others say 6 months - the strongest opinions report that he was born 55 days after that incident. 

4. The Prophet was born during the month of Rabi-ul Awaal. The vast majority of scholars, books of history and books of narrations report that the Prophet Muhammad (s) was born during the month of Rabi-ul Awaal. The date he (s) was born has a variety of narrations, including the 2nd, 8th, 10th And 17th. The 12th is the popularly known date mentioned by Ibn Ishaaq. His birthday corresponds to the date 25th April 571 CE. 

5. The Prophet (s) was born in a Monday. In an authentic hadith reported by Sahih Muslim, the Prophet (s) was asked by a bedouin man, ‘Ya Rasul’Allah, What do you advise us about fasting on Mondays?’  

The Prophet (s) replied, ‘That is the day on which I was born, that was also the day on which divine revelation was revealed to me.’ 

In other narrations we also find that the Prophet (s) was taken on the journey of Isra wal Miraj on a Monday, he (s) migrated to Madinah on a Monday and entered Madinah on a Monday and, he (s) passed away on a Monday.

6. Amina, the Prophet’s (s) mother experienced no pain during her pregnancy or the birth. 

She said, ‘From the day that I became pregnant with him until the day that I gave birth to him, I never felt any pain. I never experienced any discomfort whatsoever. 

7. A magnificent light. When the Prophet (s) was born, there were a couple of women that were present in the room. They both note that when Amina gave birth to the Prophet (s) they were  literally blinded, we couldn’t see anything except noor (light) in that house. When one of them looked up they noticed there was an opening in the roof, the ceiling of the house. They looked up and could see the stars and it seemed as if the stars were coming closer to witness the birth of the Prophet (s). The stars kept getting closer so much so that they became afraid and almost screamed out that the stars are going to fall on top of us! 

One of the women narrates, ‘When the Prophet (s) was born, at that moment I heard someone saying, ‘Yarhamak’Allah’, (May Allah SWT have mercy upon you). A light appeared that literally lit up all the palaces, all the way to Ar-Ruum. 

8.  The Prophet (s) sat up on his knees when he was born. There are some narrations that report that at the time when the prophet (s) was born, he actually sat up on his knees. Some narrations report that when he was born his eyes were wide open and he was staring up at the sky.  

(A disclaimer to note here; Some of these narrations are speculated and there have been some criticism as to whether these narrations are authentic or not. Nether the less great scholars such as Ibn Ishaq have chosen to mention these narrations. So they still found value and benefit in mentioning these narrations.)

9. Amina wanted to name her son Ahmad, while his grand-father, Abdul Mutaalib wanted to name him Muhammad. 

Abdul Mutaalib took his grandson to the Kaabah where he named him and spoke a few words of poetry; 

I praise Allah for giving me this blessed child. 

This beautiful child, who is very blessed and noble. 

Already in the lap of his mother, his cradle, he has already become a leader of other children. 

And I put him in the protection of Allah, who is strong and who is firm and who owns the foundations.

And I put him into Allah’s protection so that he can grow up to become strong. 

So much so that I can see him reach adulthood. 

I put him in the protection of Allah from anyone that will have hatred towards him, 

from anyone who will be jealous of him and 

from anyone who will be insecure, uncomfortable and will be jealous of him. 

And anyone that will try to approach him,

may Allah SWT take away his eyes. 

And May Allah SWT lift away his ability to speak. 

May Allah SWT not give him the ability to lift his tongue against him, against this young boy,

and the man that he will become. 

And then Abdul Muttalib pointed at his grand-child and said, ‘ You are the one who has been named in Al Furqan. In the books that have been sent by Allah and are well established and have been recited throughout the generations. And your name Ahmad has been mentioned throughout the generations and throughout time.’ 

A few quraysh noticed him standing there with a baby and approached him excitedly and questioned, ‘What did you name him? 

‘Mohammad’,  came the reply. 

Today the most common name in the entire world is, Mohammad. 

10. A feast. Abdul Mutaalib waited until the seventh day after the birth of the Prophet (s). On that day he kept a great feast in honour of the birth of the Prophet (s). Everybody in Makkah came and celebrated his birth. 

Cook, Pot, Cook!

 The Battle Of The Trench 

A Cook, Pot, Cook! sort of tale, but this one is TRUE! 

8 min read

(adapted with permission from Qalam Podcast; Seerah, Life of The Prophet by Sh Abdul Nasir Jangda Episode 126)

Read on to discover a very beautiful and miraculous event that displays the remarkable nature of the Messenger (S), some amusing interactions between him (S) and some of his companions (R.A), and how the help from Allah came in such an unexpected fashion. 

During the 5th year of the Prophet’s (S) residence in the city of Madinah the battle of the trench occurred. 

Over 1000 companions along with the Prophet (S) were tirelessly digging a trench to secure the defence of the City of Madinah, they were all covered in dirt and hadn’t eaten. The Prophet (S) had noticed that even though his companions were hungry, weak and struggling, they kept on digging, kept working. 

Jabir Bin Abdullah (R.A) relates that, ‘I was struck by the sight of the Prophet (S) with his sleeves rolled up, covered in dust and dirt, relentlessly digging away with the others at the bottom of the trench. I wanted to do something for him. I asked permission to leave and then went home to speak with my wife.’ 

When I arrived home, I said to my wife, ‘I saw the Prophet (S) in a situation today that I cannot be patient with, I can’t bear to watch it’, (meaning that any one of us; when we are hungry, dirty, and overwhelmed that’s fine,  but to see the Prophet of Allah, the beloved of Allah, in that situation breaks my heart). 

‘I just cannot watch that. Is there anything that you can do? Is there some food that maybe you can prepare, so I can bring my Prophet (S) home from the trench, just for a little while. Sit him down, rest himself and eat a little.’

My wife replied that she had a little bit of flour and a small piece of lamb that she could prepare. So as she began to prepare the meat in the pot and the dough for bread, I left to fetch the Prophet (S). 

When I arrived back at the trench, I approached the Prophet(S) and crouched down next to him whispering in his ear, ‘Oh Messenger of God, I have just a little bit of food prepared for you at home, so please come with me and maybe bring one or two people’. (In the hadith of Shama’il, it is said that the Prophet (S) never ate by himself, he always shared food with people. This was the advice of the Prophet (S) when he first arrived in the city of Madinah, and advised about establishing the right type of culture. He (S) had said, ‘Feed food’, . (Not simply to the poor, as that would be charity, but even when you’re eating food on a daily basis, call your family members, your children, wife and husband. Call your neighbour over or if you’re at work, share with a coworker. Share food because it builds relationships, it wins the hearts.) So with this in mind, knowing that the Prophet (S) wouldn’t accept Jabir Bin Abdullah’s offer without an extended invite to others and that there was only a small amount of food, Jabir said, ‘One or two companions can come too’. ). 

The Prophet (S) asked, ‘How much food do you have exactly?’

 ‘I have a little bit of food,’ I replied. 

The Prophet (S) said, ‘That’s a lot of food Masha’Allah and it’s good food. Before we proceed I have some instructions, please tell your wife not to remove the meat from the pot or the bread from the oven until I get there. Once the meat and bread have cooked, turn off the stove and oven and leave the food in its place.’  

And then he (S) stood up and said, ‘Let’s go everybody!’ (In another narration he (S) said, Everyone, we are going to Jabir’s place!’). 

Jabir Ibn Abdullah (R.A) narrates further, ‘I just stood there in awe, thinking what’s going on? This is the messenger of Allah, you don’t argue with him. He (S) told me to make my way home and they’ll follow behind, I just quietly proceeded. When I arrived home I said to my wife, ‘Your ruined!’  

‘What happened?’, she asked. 

‘The Prophet (S) has brought the Muhajarun, Ansar and everybody else with him!’ 

‘Did he ask you how much food you have?’ She asked. 

‘Yes,’ I said, ‘I told him (S) exactly how much food we have’. 

In another narration Jabir Bin Abdullah says, referring to the moment the Prophet (S) announced the invitation, ‘At that moment I was so embarrassed, when he (S) called out come on everybody, I thought all these people are going to show up at the house and there’s not going to be any food for anyone.

I went home and I told my wife the messenger of Allah is coming with all of mankind! And all we have is a little bit of bread and a little bit of meat. I told my wife you are going to be humiliated today. The Prophet (S) has brought everybody from the trench. She then asked, ‘Did he (S) ask you how much food you have?’ 

‘Yes,’ I replied. 

‘Then Allah and His messenger know best, right? You people say this all the time right? Do you believe it or not? Do you believe that God and His messenger know what they’re doing? 

Immediately I stopped worrying. The messenger of God must have a plan I thought. 

At that moment the Prophet (S) walked in and sat down next to the pot and the oven. He (S) told my wife to take a step back as He (S) would handle it all from here. 

He (S) then proceeded to reach inside the oven for a piece of bread, place some meat on it and hand it to one person and then he would  reach down again, a piece of bread, a piece of meat and hand it to the 2nd person, the 3rd, 4th, 5th and 6th person. The Prophet (S) told everyone to keep on walking in, don’t  push, don’t shove, create a single file order.  Take some food and proceed out. The Prophet (S) kept serving like this, picking up a piece of bread, putting a piece of meat in and giving it to people with his own hands. 

One narration says that he served 300 people another another narration says that he served 800 people.  He (S) sat there and he served everyone himself with his own hands. This entire meal was prepared for the sake of the messenger, but he was more worried about feeding everyone else. 

This is a sign of great leadership. When that  type of compassion,  type of mercy, and selflessness is found within leadership then that creates the type of followers that the companions became, Alhamdu’lillah. 

The Prophet (S) sat and continued to serve until every person had been fed and then even after feeding everyone, the pit and oven were still completely full of bread and meat, Subhan’Allah. He (S) turned to Jabir Bin Abdullah’s wife and said, ‘Please sister, eat and share it with the neighbours and call other people to come and eat too’. 

We can only assume that the Prophet (S) had eaten too, surely the companions would have ensured that He (S) had. However, the interesting point to note here is that there are many variations of this narration; Sahih Bukhari, Sahih Muslim, Ibn Ishaq, Ibn kathir (May Allah be pleased with them all), so many different versions and not a single one of them mentions the Prophet (S) eating. The narrations mention him (S) serving food, calling the family to eat, telling them to give food to others after which he (S) wiped his hands and simply walked away. 

May Allah SWT grant us all the ability to be more like the messenger of Allah (S) and May Allah SWT grant us the love, the understanding, the implementation of the seerah within our lives Aameen. 

#seerahfridays #prophetmuhammad 

#qalampodcast 

#seerah #mbdailyposts #writersofinstagram #muslimbloggers 

 #islamicreminder #islam #muslimah #muslimwriters

Abdullah and Aminah - The Prophet’s (s) Parents

 Abdullah and Amina

The Prophet’s (s) Parents  3 min read

(adapted with permission from Qalam Podcast; Seerah, Life of The Prophet by Sh Abdul Nasir Jangda Episode 8) 

Abdullah was a very handsome, most intelligent, well-behaved, well respected and gifted son of Abdul Muttalib, the greatest leader of the Quraysh. Abdullah was known as the Prince of Makkah, very eloquent in his speech and the most eligible bachelor of Makkah. 

When he was old enough to get married Abdul Muttalib proposed on Abdullah’s behalf to a young girl called Amina bint Wahab. 

Amina had a nickname, Zahrah Tuh Makkah meaning The flower of Makkah. She was very beautiful, intelligent and well spoken. She was known to write deep and beautiful poems. And she also was the most sought after woman in Makkah for marriage. 

The proposal was accepted and they were married shortly after. This incredible couple, were a perfect fit for each other and very much in love.  

Sometime after their marriage, Abdul Muttalib sent his son Abdullah on a business trip. There are two narrations in the books of history as to where he travelled too. The first mentions a trip direct to Madinah to purchase fresh dates to sell back in Makkah and the second mentions a stop over in Madinah as he was heading for As-Shams to do business. 

However, Abdullah fell ill whilst in Madinah and passed away there, he was buried in the house of An Nabigah Al Ja’adee. Abdullah was about 25 years old at the time of his death. 

The vast majority of narrations, books and scholars tell us that at the time of the death of Abdullah, his wife Amina, back in Makkah, was pregnant with Prophet Muhammad (S). 

When the news of the death of Abdullah reached Amina she was stricken with grief and sadness. During her time of mourning she wrote some couplets about the grief and loss of her husband. Through these couplets, you can feel her pain and can almost see her intelligence and eloquence in her words; 

‘The Earth has become very lonely without Ibn Hashim. 

Abdullah has gone to become the neighbour of a grave and he is out there amongst the noise. (Meaning: Abdullah is not in the comfort of his home any more but he is out there in the wilderness)

He died alone. 

Death came to call him and so he had to answer. 

But death has to remember one thing. Death came to call him and he had to answer he had no choice but death needs to realise, that death did not leave anyone else on the earth that was of the calibre of Abdullah. 

Death took Abdullah but did not replace him with anybody that was equal to Abdullah. 

Its the evening time, and they are carrying his body out towards the graveyard. 

And they’re fighting and they’re struggling, and they’re pushing with each other, to  switch hand from hand. It’s all crowded and rushed and everyone is trying to get to it, so they can carry his body to the grave.

Death came and seized him, snatched him away, and the uncertainty of death snatched him away.

But Death should realise that Abdullah was a gift to this earth, and to the people of this earth, who was very abundant in his blessings. (Abdullah was a gift of many many blessings, so many people loved him and many people benefited from him. So many people cared about him and he cared about so many people.)

And we understand that but people need to realise that Abdullah was a blessing upon this earth and he had so many blessings in him.’

These were the words spoken by the mother of prophet (s) when the news of the death of the father of the prophet (s) had reached her. 

(Note: Amina’s poem has been translated from Arabic. To enjoy her majestic words in their truest form, head to the Qalam Podcast, Seerah Episode 8)