Welcoming the Month of Rabi al-Awwal – Shaykh Faraz Rabbani

Shaykh Faraz provides a welcome and introduction to Rabiʿ al-Awwal, the month of the birth of Prophet Muhammad, Allah bless him and give him peace, who is our means to every good.

Rabi al-Awwal, the eternal spring, is a month of renewal. It is the month of the birth of the blessed Prophet, Allah bless him and give him peace, and it is a chance for us to review our connection to him and his message. He is Allah’s gift to us, and so we praise him out of faith. We praise him out of gratitude to Allah for this gift, and out of gratitude to him for what he did for us, and what he represents.

The Prophet Muhammad did not come merely as an ambassador who came, spoke a message to deliver, and then left. Rather, Allah sent him to us as an example, who went through trial and tribulation, and the hardships and upheaval of this wordly life. He navigated the trials of this life in the most beautiful of ways, and he bore hardship and pain so that we could have this gift of Islam.

This is a month for us to reflect and ask ourselves:  How is my relationship to him? How is my relationship to the message, and to the Lord of the message? How much do I know about him? How much do I know about his life? his character? his teachings? How much do I seek to embody him in my life?

In this month, we should renew out commitment to sending blessings upon him. When we do this, it is a covenant to Allah, asking him to put his heart at rest in regards to us.