More than one thousand and four hundred years ago, a light came to the world and illuminated the east and the west, and it shall remain shining until the Judgment Day. That light is the master of people, Muhammad (pbuh). His birth was a mercy to the world and a blessing to all humanity. He came as a guide and a savior when humanity was on the verge of utter loss and entire decline of humanity into primitive tribalism, where only the law of the jungle prevailed.
In this milieu that was infested with all the diseases and ills of civilization, Muhammad (pbuh) was sent with a lofty divine call and a civilized message that extended throughout the universe in a record time. Such accomplishment has remained amazing and perplexing for major historians until today. The noble Prophet (pbuh) managed in a short span to transfer the whole world from slumber and stagnation into vitality and advancement, and from chaos and disorder into order and stability. Perhaps the noblest objective of Muhammad’s message was exclusively mercy to the entire cosmos to deliver it from impendent chaos, confusion, darkness, and aberration. Allah Almighty addresses His Messenger saying, “We have sent you (O Prophet) only as a mercy for the whole worlds.” (Qur’an 21: 107) Literally, the verse indicates the fact that the Prophet’s message exclusively revolves on mercy to humanity and lenience towards the entire cosmos. This was affirmed by the Prophet (pbuh) when he addressed people saying, “O humans, indeed I am but a gifted mercy.” Besides, he is exclusively called “the Prophet of Mercy”, whose mercifulness shrouded the universe, extending to both animate and inanimate objects, as indicated in the phrase “for the worlds” in the above-quoted verse. Here, the word world is given in the plural form to refer to all the different worlds including humans, animals, plants and inanimate objects.
Then, The Prophet’s biography confirmed thus all-inclusive prophetic mercy. As for his mercy to humanity, the Prophet (pbuh) declared that Allah has honored humans and privileged them over all other creatures, announcing the following verse in communities where social systems were built on slavery and forced labor, “Indeed, We have dignified the children of Adam, carried them [as they travel] on land and sea, granted them good and lawful provisions, and privileged them far above many of Our creatures.” (Qur’an 17: 70) Besides, he declared the prohibition of any transgression against humans and any violation against people’s lives, property, or honor. He (pbuh) forbade the sheer frightening or scaring of another even if by way of pranking. He (pbuh) said, “Whoever points an iron bar (as a weapon) towards his brother the angels invoke curses upon him even if that was his parental brother;” and “It is impermissible for a Muslim to frighten a fellow Muslim.” He (pbuh) was also kind to his Companions and his enemies alike. He would always show lenience to any weak person, be that person a relative or non-relative. He never rebuked a servant or beat anyone. ˀAnas, who served the Prophet (pbuh) for ten years, reported that the Prophet (pbuh) never said “Fie,” to him, nor did he ever say to him “Why did you do this? or Why did you not do that?”.
He would also receive children with open arms, jesting with them and expressing sorrow for their pains. He would also quickly finish the prayer in case he has heard a child weeping behind him. He (pbuh) hated treachery and betrayal and resented the treacherous, the traitors and those who exceed the limits in their disputes. He thus forbade treachery even with the enemy. Whenever he dispatched an army, he would advise their commander to observe Allah in public and private, and to observe the moral principles uniquely sustained by the Muslims during wars. He would order the army commanders saying, “Do not steal from the booty, and do not act treacherously. Do not mutilate and do not kill children.”
This is how he showed mercy to the weak, to servants, to children, to the elderly, and even to plants and animals, and even if they happened to be with the enemy army fighting against the Muslims. He was so kind to animals; when he once saw a crying camel, he summoned its owner and admonished him, “You should fear Allah in treating the camel bestowed on you! It complained to me that you “starve and over-burn it.” He (pbuh) also said that “Allah forgave a prostitute who passed by a dog panting near a well with thirst nearly killing it; then she took off her sock, tied it to her veil, and drew up some water to let the dog quench its thirst. Allah forgave her for that.” In another Hadith, the Prophet (pbuh) said, “A woman was tortured in Hellfire because of a cat which she had kept locked till it died of hunger."
As we are celebrating the birth anniversary of the Prophet (pbuh) who said specifically about Egypt, “Take good care of its people” and said about the Egyptian Copts, “Treat the Copts of Egypt well for the sake of Allah.”
We call Allah Almighty on this blessed day to grant our Arab-Muslim nation to unite and to stand up to the threat of terrorism in all its forms. For terrorism feeds on our internal, Arab and Islamic discord; and there is no way out of such ordeal except through the unity of the nation and alertness to the machinations brewed against it by oppressive and tyrannical powers.
As we celebrate the Prophet’s (pbuh) birth anniversary, this is not only a celebration of the birth of a great Prophet who saved humanity and redressed the course of history. Rather, it is a celebration of the birth of a nation brought up by this noble Prophet (pbuh) who trained them to observe good manners and virtues, call to the truth and right, and fight evil and falsehood. By dent of these Prophetic teachings, the Muslims offered to humanity that which brought their happiness and shaded them with boundless justice, freedom, and fraternity.