Will Muslims again celebrate the Prophet’s birthday in the traditional way by singing nasheeds and praising his virtues or they will look at his life’s struggle in the broader context? On his 1500th birth anniversary, Muslims must make the effort to develop a comprehensive understanding of his blessed life.
In two months’ time, it will be the 1500th anniversary of the Prophet’s birthday. It is an historic moment and needs to be celerated in a proper manner to derive lessons from the Seerah for the Muslims’ future course of action.
Terrorist attacks have become routine in Pakistan. The victims are almost always innocent people. Merely condemnation will not solve the problem; the root causes of terrorism must be addressed. Only a representative government can do that, not an army-imposed regime.
As Muslims celebrate the birthday of the noble Messenger (pbuh), they must bear in mind that his primary mission was to establish social justice in the world. During his 23-year Prophetic mission, he succeeded in doing so creating a system that brought millions into the fold of Islam.
The Najdi Bedouins take great offence if Muslims celebrate the birthday of the noble Messenger (pbuh) yet they have no problem celebrating the Hindu festival of Diwali and the pagan festival of Halloween in the medieval kingdom.
In the month of Rabi al Awwal, Muslims celebrate the birthday of the noble Messenger (saws) with great reverence. They need to go further: Muslims ought to study the Sunnah and the Seerah of the noble Messenger (saws) to learn from his example.
As Muslims all over the world celebrate the birthday of the noble Prophet Muhammad sall’Allahu alaihi wa sallam, ZAFAR BANGASH, Director of the Institute of Contemporary Islamic Thought (ICIT), discusses the Prophet’s role in bringing about change in society.
