The Miracles at the Birth of Muhammad Once again, my purpose was to come up with a story that would be suitable for use in a Unitarian Universalist worship service, to show that many great religious leaders and prophets have legends of miraculous births. The legends about Muhammad’s birth (peace be upon him) interest me because they appear to be less important than the miracles told of Jesus’s birth (whcih make it into two of the four Gospels) or of Buddha’s birth (which make it into the Jataka tales) or of Confucius’s birth (which make it into the cultic traditions of Confucianism). Thus, when referring to miracles in this story, I have tried to use statements like “some people say,” etc. Introduction At Christmas we like to remember the old story of the miraculous birth of Jesus of Nazareth. But did you know that there are other miraculous birth stories of other great religious leaders? Today I’m going to tell you about the birth of the prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him), and I’ll tell you some of the legends that some people tell about his birth. See if you think these legends are at all like the legends that are told about Jesus’s birth. The Miracles at the Birth of Muhammad (peace be upon him) Once upon a time, many many years ago, far away in the land of Arabia, there lived a man named ‘Abdel Muttalib. As this story begins, ‘Abdel Muttalib was about 70 years old, and was the foremost leader of the city of Mecca. His son ‘Abdallah was then 24 years old, a young man renowned for the beautiful light shining in his face. ‘Abdel Muttalib took his son ‘Abdallah to some distant relatives, and gave him in marriage to Amina, the daughter of Wahb. Amina was said to be pure in her thoughts and deeds. (1) The wedding took place at the home of the bride, as was the custom. After they were married, ‘Abdallah stayed with Amina for several days. Soon Amina was pregnant, but ‘Abdallah had to set forth on a journey with a caravan of merchants traveling to the distant city of Ghazza. As the caravan returned to Mecca, while in the city of Medina, ‘Abdallah became ill. He stayed there with cousins on his father’s side. When the caravan finally got back to Mecca, they went to ‘Abdel Muttalib to tell him that his son Harith returned to Mecca, and ‘Abdel Muttalib and all the family mourned ‘Abdallah’s death.was ill, and had stayed in Medina. ‘Abdel Muttalib sent Harith, another of his sons, to go and take care of ‘Abdallah. But when Harith arrived in Medina, he learned that ‘Abdallah had died a month after the caravan left, and was now buried in the Bani Adi quarter of the city. Amina had not yet given birth. Abdallah had left the house in which he had lived, five camels fed on wild shrubs, a flock of goats, and a slave girl called Omm Ayman. He left nothing more than this; but Amina’s simple habits required no more; and indeed in that time and place, all those goats, and that many camels, and a slave to help care for the new baby provided a measure of prosperity and comfort to Amina. (2) One day when Amina was pregnant with her baby, she fell into a dream. A voice said to her, “The child you bear is the best of all humankind, and he will be a leader of his people. When he is born, give him the name of Muhammad, which means ‘Highly Praised’.” This voice said that her baby’s name is Ahmad in the Torah and in the Gospels, but in the Qu’ran his name will be Muhammad. (3) Some people say that this voice that Amina heard was the voice of the angel Gabriel. They go on to say that unlike most pregnant women, Amina felt no discomfort during her pregnancy. (4) Now many legends have been passed down about the time when Amina was giving birth. One legend says that as Amina was in labor, a white bird came and lay its wing across her, helping her to keep her confidence; later came Birds of Paradise, with their ruby-red bills and emerald-green wings to sing to her. Some people say heavenly music came from out of the air, and a sheet of cloth came down from heaven to give Amina privacy; Amina grew thirsty, and a hand appeared, presenting her with a cup filled with a delicious drink that was white as milk and sweet as honey; beings from the heavens scattered beautiful aromas around Amina. (5) Another legend says that at the moment that Amina gave birth, a light came from her and her baby, a light which was so bright that it lit up distant palaces, so that Amina could see the necks of the camels in Bosra. (6) Then the baby raised himself up, saying, “There is no God but Allah, and I am his prophet.” His aunt Safia, who was there with Amina, said that she did not have to cut the baby’s umbilical cord. (7) And some people say three personages, as bright as the sun, appeared: one presented a silver goblet to the child, one an emerald tray, and the third a silken towel; these three personages washed the baby seven times, then blessed him, calling him the Prince of Humanity. (8) But many people, perhaps most, don’t really believe all these myths and legends. Instead, they tell a simpler tale of a special baby born to a recently widowed mother. And they would go on to finish the story like this: After the baby was born, Amina sent to ‘Abdel Muttalib, who rejoiced upon hearing that he had a grandchild. The grandfather took the baby in his arms, and carried him to the Ka’bah, the holiest place in Mecca. ‘Abdel Muttalib walked around the Ka’bah seven times with the baby, and on the last time around he announced that the baby would be called Muhammad, just as Amina had wanted. (9) And indeed, this little baby did grow up to be the great prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him, who founded the religion of Islam. He taught the importance of doing right, of giving alms to those who were poor, and of praying each day so that we may keep our minds on that which is best in the world. Today billions of people, whom we call Muslims, still follow the teachings of the prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him). Narrated Abu Dhar: Allahs Apostle said, While I was at Mecca the roof of my house was opened and Gabriel descended, opened my chest, and washed it with Zam-zam water. Then he brought a golden tray full of wisdom and faith and having poured its contents into my chest, he closed it. Then he took my hand and ascended with me to the nearest heaven, when I reached the nearest heaven, Gabriel said to the gatekeeper of the heaven, Open (the gate). The gatekeeper asked, Who is it? Gabriel answered: Gabriel. He asked, Is there anyone with you? Gabriel replied, Yes, Muhammad I is with me. He asked, Has he been called? Gabriel said, Yes. So the gate was opened and we went over the nearest heaven and there we saw a man sitting with some people on his right and some on his left. When he looked towards his right, he laughed and when he looked toward his left he wept. Then he said, Welcome! O pious Prophet and pious son. I asked Gabriel, Who is he? He replied, He is Adam and the people on his right and left are the souls of his offspring. Those on his right are the people of Paradise and those on his left are the people of Hell and when he looks towards his right he laughs and when he looks towards his left he weeps. Then he ascended with me till he reached the second heaven and he (Gabriel) said to its gatekeeper, Open (the gate). The gatekeeper said to him the same as the gatekeeper of the first heaven had said and he opened the gate. Anas said: Abu Dhar added that the Prophet met Adam, Idris, Moses, Jesus and Abraham, he (Abu Dhar) did not mention on which heaven they were but he mentioned that he (the Prophet ) met Adarn on the nearest heaven and Abraham on the sixth heaven. Anas said, When Gabriel along with the Prophet passed by Idris, the latter said, Welcome! O pious Prophet and pious brother. The Prophet asked, Who is he? Gabriel replied, He is Idris. The Prophet added, I passed by Moses and he said, Welcome! O pious Prophet and pious brother. I asked Gabriel, Who is he? Gabriel replied, He is Moses. Then I passed by Jesus and he said, Welcome! O pious brother and pious Prophet. I asked, Who is he? Gabriel replied, He is Jesus. Then I passed by Abraham and he said, Welcome! O pious Prophet and pious son. I asked Gabriel, Who is he? Gabriel replied, He is Abraham. The Prophet added, Then Gabriel ascended with me to a place where I heard the creaking of the pens. Ibn Hazm and Anas bin Malik said: The Prophet said, Then Allah enjoined fifty prayers on my followers when I returned with this order of Allah, I passed by Moses who asked me, What has Allah enjoined on your followers? I replied, He has enjoined fifty prayers on them. Moses said, Go back to your Lord (and appeal for reduction) for your followers will not be able to bear it. (So I went back to Allah and requested for reduction) and He reduced it to half. When I passed by Moses again and informed him about it, he said, Go back to your Lord as your followers will not be able to bear it. So I returned to Allah and requested for further reduction and half of it was reduced. I again passed by Moses and he said to me: Return to your Lord, for your followers will not be able to bear it. So I returned to Allah and He said, These are five prayers and they are all (equal to) fifty (in reward) for My Word does not change. I returned to Moses and he told me to go back once again. I replied, Now I feel shy of asking my Lord again. Then Gabriel took me till we reached Sidrat-il-Muntaha (Lote tree of; the utmost boundry) which was shrouded in colors, indescribable. Then I was admitted into Paradise where I found small (tents or) walls (made) of pearls and its earth was of musk. (Bukhari Volume 1, Book 8, Number 345) Anas b. Malik reported on the authority of Malik b. Sa sa, perhaps a person of his tribe, that the Prophet of Allah (may peace be upon him) said: I was near the House (i. e. Kabah) in a state between sleep and wakefulness when I heard someone say: He is the third among the two persons. Then he came to me and took me with him. Then a golden basin containing the water of Zamzam was brought to me and my heart was opened up to such and such (part). Qatada said: I asked him who was with me (i e. the narrator) and what he meant by such and such (part). He replied: (It means that it was opened) up to the lower part of his abdomen (Then the hadith continues): My heart was extracted and it was washed with the water of Zamzam and then it was restored in its original position, after which it was filled with faith and wisdom. I was then brought a white beast which is called al-Buraq, bigger than a donkey and smaller than a mule. Its stride was as long as the eye could reach. I was mounted on it, and then we went forth till we reached the lowest heaven. Gabriel asked for the (gate) to be opened, and it was said: Who is he? He replied: Gabriel. It was again said: Who is with thee? He replied: Muhammad (may peace be upon him). It was said: Has he been sent for? He (Gabriel) said: Yes. He (the Prophet) said: Then (the gate) was opened for us (and it was said): Welcome unto him! His is a blessed arrival. Then we came to Adam (peace be upon him). And he (the narrator) narrated the whole account of the hadith. (The Holy Prophet) observed that he met Jesus in the second heaven, Yahya (peace be on both of them) in the third heaven, Yusuf in the third, Idris in the fourth, Harun in the fifth (peace and blessings of Allah be upon them). Then we travelled on till we reached the sixth heaven and came to Moses (peace be upon him) and I greeted him and he said: Welcome unto righteous brother and righteous prophet. And when I passed (by him) he wept, and a voice was heard saying: What makes thee weep? He said: My Lord, he is a young man whom Thou hast sent after me (as a prophet) and his followers will enter Paradise in greater numbers than my followers. Then we travelled on till we reached the seventh heaven and I came to Ibrahim. He (the narrator) narrat- ed in this hadith that the Prophet of Allah (may peace be upon him) told that he saw four rivers which flowed from (the root of the lote-tree of the farthest limits): two manifest rivers and two hidden rivers. I said: Gabriel! what are these rivers? He replied: The two hidden rivers are the rivers of Paradise, and as regards the two manifest ones, they are the Nile and the Euphrates. Then the Bait-ul-Mamur was raised up to me. I said: O Gabriel! what is this? He replied: It is the Bait-ul-Mamur. Seventy thousand angels enter into it daily and, after they come out, they never return again. Two vessels were then brought to me. The first one contained wine and the second one contained milk, and both of them were placed before me. I chose milk. It was said: You did right. Allah will guide rightly through you your Ummah on the natural course. Then fifty prayers daily were made obligatory for me. And then he narrated the rest of the hadith to the end. (Muslim Book 001, Number 0314) Additional Heavenly Miracle: Narrated Anas: Once during the lifetime of Allahs Apostle, the people of Medina suffered from drought. So while the Prophet was delivering a sermon on a Friday a man got up saying, O Allahs Apostle! The horses and sheep have perished. Will you invoke Allah to bless us with rain? The Prophet lifted both his hands and invoked. The sky at that time was as clear as glass. Suddenly a wind blew, raising clouds that gathered together, and it started raining heavily. We came out (of the Mosque) wading through the flowing water till we reached our homes. It went on raining till the next Friday, when the same man or some other man stood up and said, O Allahs Apostle! The houses have collapsed; please invoke Allah to withhold the rain. On that the Prophet smiled and said, O Allah, (let it rain) around us and not on us. I then looked at the clouds to see them separating forming a sort of a crown round Medina. (Bukhari Volume 4, Book 56, Number 782) Narrated Anas bin Malik: Once in the lifetime of the Prophet (p.b.u.h) the people were afflicted with drought (famine). While the Prophet was delivering the Khutba on a Friday, a Bedouin stood up and said, O, Allahs Apostle! Our possessions are being destroyed and the children are hungry; Please invoke Allah (for rain). So the Prophet raised his hands. At that time there was not a trace of cloud in the sky. By Him in Whose Hands my soul is as soon as he lowered his hands, clouds gathered like mountains, and before he got down from the pulpit, I saw the rain falling on the beard of the Prophet. It rained that day, the next day, the third day, the fourth day till the next Friday. The same Bedouin or another man stood up and said, O Allahs Apostle! The houses have collapsed, our possessions and livestock have been drowned; Please invoke Allah (to protect us). So the Prophet I raised both his hands and said, O Allah! Round about us and not on us. So, in whatever direction he pointed with his hands, the clouds dispersed and cleared away, and Medinas (sky) became clear as a hole in between the clouds. The valley of Qanat remained flooded, for one month, none came from outside but talked about the abundant rain. (Bukhari Volume 2, Book 13, Number 55) What happened before and after the birth of Prophet Muhammad Some men of the city of Makka went on a trip to Syria. On the way they met a monk. Four of these Makkis decided to stop for a while to talk with the monk. In those days monks lived in places where there were very few people so that they could have quite to worship Allah. They also were people who read books and knew many stories. Only a few Makkis knew about reading. All they knew about was trade and enjoying themselves. They knew they would hear interesting and entertaining stories from the monk. After talking for a while the monk asked the men, where are you from ? They answered, we are from Makka., The monk then told them, Allah will send a prophet to Makka soon. The four men continued on their journey thinking about the things the monk had said. Each of them wished that the new prophet would be his own son. Abdulmuttalib was asleep in Kaaba. He had a strange dream. He saw a tree growing until it reached the sky. The tree had branches that spread to the East and the West. It appeared that a very bright light was shining on the tree. Abdulmutalib saw the Arabs and the non-Arabs bow to the tree. The tree continued growing larger, higher, and brighter. Then he saw some people from Quraysh holding to the branches of the tree, while other Qurayshis tried to chop down the tree. A very handsome youth stopped them from chopping down the tree. Abdulmuttalib saw himself put his hand out to grab the tree, but he could not reach it. He woke up from his sleep frightened. Abdulmuttalib sat thinking of the dream and what it meant, but he could not find an explanation for it. The next morning he went to the priestess of the Quraysh to ask her to explain the dream. The Arabs always asked the priest or priestess for the explanation of dreams. When the priestess saw Abdulmuttalib, she saw sign of worry on his face, so she asked, why do you look so worried: Abdulmuttalib answered, I had a dream that frightened me. Then he told her all about the dream. When he finished, she said, if your dream ever comes true, then one of your sons will control the East and the West. All the people will follow him. Abdulmuttalib was pleased with what the priestess had told him. Later when he met his son Abu Talib he told him about the dream and what priestess had said. Then he said to his son, Abu Talib, I hope you are the one the priestess meant in her explanation. But the intended one was not Abu Talib. The one the priestess mean was the yet unborn grandson of Abdulmuttalib. Abdulmuttalib had grandson named Abdullah who was married to Amina, daughter of Wahb. Amina was expecting a baby. Before the baby was born, Abdullah had gone on a trading trip. He became ill on the trip and had died. Abdullah never saw his son. During her pregnancy, Amina felt no pain or discomfort. She had always heard women complaining about the hardships of pregnancy, but she felt very well. During these months Amina had many dreams. One night in a dream she saw a light coming out of her. The light was shining on castles of Syria. Another night she heard a voice in her dream. The voice said, Amina, you are carrying the greatest man in the world. When you give birth, give him the name, Muhammad and tell no one about this dream. Amina woke up and looked around but there was no one in the room. She tried to go to sleep again but she was still thinking about what she had heard in the dream. It was time for Aminas baby to be born. She gave birth to a beautiful, clean baby boy. Since the boys father had died months earlier, Amina sent the news to her sons grandfather, Abdulmuttalib. Abdulmuttalib was sitting in the Kaaba when the news came. He was delighted. He went to Amina and carried the boy happily to the Kaaba. When he brought the baby back to her, he said, I have named him Quthm. Abdulmuttalib had a boy named Quthm but he had died when he was nine years old. That made Abdulmuttalib very sad. So when Amina gave birth to a boy, Abdulmuttalib wanted to name him after the dead boy. Amina had to tell him, I was ordered in a dream to call him Muhammad. Abdulmuttalib picked up the baby, kissed him and said, I hope that my grandson, Muhammad, will be a great man. On the seventh day after Mohammeds birth, Abdulmuttalib ordered animals to be slaughtered and asked the people of Makka to come to a feast. After everyone had eaten, Abdulmuttalib brought out his grandson, Muhammad, to show the people. Everyone said that he was such a beautiful baby. The people also felt sad for the baby because he was an orphan. His father had died before seeing him. One of the men asked Abdulmuttalib, What did you name him? Abdulmuttalib answered , I have named Muhammad. Another man asked in surprise, why did you name him Muhammad? No one in your family or people was ever named Muhammad. Abdulmuttalib did not want to reveal that Amina was asked in a dream to name him Muhammad, so he said, I wanted Allah to praise him in Heaven and I wanted people to praise him on Earth. When the visitors left, not one of them realized that this orphan baby was the one chosen to lead them from darkness to light. They did not know he was the answer to Ibrahims prayer the day Ibrahim was ordered to build the Kaaba: Our Lord, send unto them a messenger from among themselves to show them your signs, to teach them the Quran and wisdom, and to purify them. You are All-Mighty and All-Wise. (The Quran Al-Baqara 128)
Posted on: Thu, 31 Oct 2013 19:55:29 +0000
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