Nafsiya Reflections: The Forgotten Sunnah of Rabi' Al-Awwal

Assalamu Alaikum and welcome to today’s episode, ‘The Forgotten Sunnah of Rabi' Al-Awwal’..

For all muslims, the love of our beloved Rasool Allah (saw), comes second only to the love of Allah (swt).

It is a pure love that is inextricably linked to the Sunnah of our Prophet; through which we recognise his love, values, sacrifices and vision for the deen of Islam.

We study the Seerah of Muhammed (saw) and teach it to our children from a young age, in order to increase in love for him, by knowing him.

We may study the manner in which he led his family, and the gentle behaviour he always exhibited towards his wives. Likewise, we share the expeditions and battles he led; in order to emulate his justice, mercy and wisdom.

We are taught that our ‘mayool’ or inclinations should be aligned with his blessed teachings and example... that we should love and hate for the sake of Allah (swt) and all that which His messenger (saw) brought.

So if we feel distant from his Sunnah, we know that our duty is to account ourselves and change our inner state to one of acceptance and obedience.

Although the love of Muhammed (saw) was deeply felt and expressed in the past, through the various ‘wird’ or poems, that commemorate the noble character, actions and events in his life - it is today especially, that we find Rabbiul Awwal, the twelfth month of the Islamic lunar calendar, and the month of his saws’s birth ... reduced solely to a time of celebration, with little mention of other than his character and status as the last prophet of Allah (swt).

If our relationship with Allah (swt) is holistic, the love for His deen will be great... and this would manifest in our recognition of the serious mission of Rasool Allah (saw).

Rabbiul Awwal was the month in which a great event in the mission of Muhammed (saw) was actualised. The Hijra to Madinah took place in 622 CE. It preceded the second pledge of Al Aqabah and marked the establishment of the authority of Islam... the core aim of the prophetic mission.

From this point on, the relationship between Islam and the people was established. Sovereignty belonged to Allah (swt) alone, and all the people of this fledgling state were equal citizens, with defined rights and responsibilities towards one another.

Thereafter, this divine model of governance, spread far and wide. The beauty of Islam illuminated homes in ever distant lands; bringing about progress in the fields of education, science, medicine and astronomy that was untapped elsewhere in the world.

This way of life reflected the sunnah of Muhammed (saw) at every level. His noble character, love and compassion was epitomised by our pious leaders, ulema, the ummah at large and the most humble of citizens.

Likewise, his example and model of leadership was permanently connected to the institutions of the state and its goals, therefore upholding a deep connection and love to our Rasool Allah (saw); which transcended any possibility of lip service from poetry and prose.

Today the world is rife with oppression and tyranny. The slaughter of innocents has reached proportions unheard of. Never has there been more need for the justice and the might of Islam to crush the forces of evil and hold accountable all those who are benefitting at the gradual destruction of mankind.

If we claim to love our blessed Prophet (saw), we must collectively ask the questions, what is our duty to his (saw's) Sunnah today?

What does it mean to uphold it, let alone revive it?

What are the lessons we take from the the treaty of Al Aqabah, the Hijrah, the Saheefa of Madinah?...

What are the lessons we take from his engagement with military and state leaders?

It is for sure a sad irony that the Ummah of Rasool Allah (saw) with a claim to his intercession in return for this love and praise upon him ... even in the very month of his birth.. cannot intellectually unhinge itself from the clutches of the corrupt politicians of the Muslim world, whose praise and veneration is only for their Western colonialist masters... and whose governance has trampled the idea of his saws’s Sunnah and the Hudood of Allah (swt) as seen in the verdict of the Asiya Bibi case in Pakistan.

We must raise our voices and pens and question the ulema and teachers around us... demand answers and guidance from them for the ever growing problems and fitan our Ummah faces.

It is not acceptable that we are told only to make dua and give charity, because these are acts of ibadah to bring about humility in ourselves, closeness to Allah and to actualise our Tawheed.

Only a sincere Islamic leadership, a Khilafah upon the method of Rasool Allah, could uphold the Ummah’s true love for him. Only the Khilafah would truly safeguard his honour through it’s firm foreign policy and judiciary which would not succumb to foreign political pressures.

In the absence of this Islamic ruling system, it is our place to establish this forgotten Sunnah of Rasool Allah (saw), by calling for the establishment of the ruling system which he exemplified for us in his Seerah. We must call for it’s solutions, explaining and representing them, whilst confronting everything that is in opposition to them, inshaAllah.

So let’s not limit ourselves to sending profuse praises and blessings upon our beloved Muhammed (saw), thereby forgetting the crown of his Sunnah, his foremost aim - the Islamic rule he established. We must study his mission as the Ta’bi Ta’bieen did - with certainty that his Sunnah is as valuable in its implementation, as the Quran, and then work for the change in our governments in the Muslim lands in the form of the Second Righteous Khilafah.

It is only through the fulfilment of this obligation that we can protect his honour, and actualise the true mission that was accomplished in this blessed month of Rabbiul Awwal.

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