Prophecy of Jesus, son of Mary (PBUH)

The forerunner to Jesus (PBUH) was John the Baptist (PBUH), the son of Zakariya (PBUH). He was beheaded by King Herod, the puppet king of Galilee. John the Baptist’s (PBUH) body was buried by his disciples. They tried to wash the blood-stained clothes but the stains would not come clean. Jesus (PBUH) was one of the disciples of John the Baptist (PBUH), so John’s disciples went and reported the matter to Jesus (PBUH). Jesus (PBUH) foretold that these blood-stains would not come off the clothes until the date of the birth of the father of the Promised Prophet. On this day the blood would become fresh and by itself flow off the clothes miraculously, leaving them pure white.

On the day of the birth of Abdullah, the father of Muhammad (PBUH), the Jewish elders in Syria saw the blood-stains become fresh and drip off miraculously from John the Baptist’s (PBUH) preserved blood-stained clothes, until they became pure white. Thereupon some of the learned Jews came from Palestine and Syria to Mecca to enquire about this newborn child. When they saw the ‘Nur-e-Muhammadi’ (Light of Muhammad) on the forehead of the child Abdullah, they recognised him and said this is ‘Nur-e-Muhammadi’ of the Promised Prophet. Hence they realised that Abdullah was going to be the father of the Promised Prophet; as foretold by Jesus Christ (PBUH) in relation to the blood-soaked clothes of John the Baptist (PBUH).

Attempt to Murder Abdullah

Amongst these Jews, there were some who had grown proud and jealous. Not realising the Will of Allah, they did not wish to see an Arab prophet. Their pride enshrouding them in darkness, they decided to send an armed band of 70 persons from Syria to kill Abdullah. This incident took place when Abdullah had grown up into a young man, before he got married. They conspired to prevent the birth of the Promised Prophet, so as to ensure that the prophethood which had for so long been amongst the children of Isaac (PBUH), may not get transferred to the children of Ishmael (PBUH) as foretold repeatedly in the Holy Bible. Before the 70 attackers could even touch Abdullah, a number of horsemen came down from the sky and slew them all.

Amina visited by Angels

Abdullah was married to his cousin Amina , the daughter of his uncle Wahb bin Abdul Manaf. The very night of their marriage , the ‘Nur-e-Muhammadi’ went from the forehead of Abdullah, into the forehead of Amina. Shortly after that, Abdullah left for Yathrib (later to become Medina) but did not return as he passed away on the return journey. An expectant Amina informed the members of the household that she was often being visited by angels and the previous prophets who announced that the child that she was bearing was the promised Prophet, Muhammad (PBUH) through whom the world would be blessed.

Prophet Abraham (PBUH)

Prophet Abraham (PBUH) said to Amina, “The child now in you, whose name will be Muhammad, is the only prophet from the descendants of my first son and heir, Ishmael (PBUH). Prophet Abraham (PBUH) then explained that the reason for the visit of the angels and previous prophets to her were due to the fact that she was the mother of the Promised Prophet. Thus Amina became the third woman in the whole of creation to receive direct visits of angels. The first was Sarah, the first wife of Prophet Abraham (PBUH) and the second was Mary, mother of Jesus (PBUH).

The Holy Birth

An angel came and asked Amina to drink from a cup in his hand. This drink was whiter than milk and sweeter than honey. She then saw the gates of Heaven open. The angels came down for the adoration of the new babe. Three angels went towards the Kabah. One angel stayed over the Kabah, one went to the East and the other towards the West. A light then spread out lighting up the universe. In this miraculous light, Amina could see distinctly the palaces of Palestine and Syria.

Then three Ladies appeared miraculously before Amina to attend to the delivery of the child. The first, said she was Hagar, the mother of Ishmael. The second was Mary, the mother of Jesus (PBUH). The third was Queen Asiya, the wife of the Pharoah, who raised Moses (PBUH). She was the first person in Pharoah’s court who believed in Allah.

Muhammad (PBUH) was born without an umbilical (navel) cord, circumcised and his body miraculously pure and clean without any kind of blood or dirt on it.

Thus Muhammad (PBUH) was born on Monday the 12th of Rabi-ul-Awwal at dawn, 53 lunar years before Hijrah, which corresponds to the 20th April 570 A.D.

Miraculous happenings after birth

Immediately after birth, the baby Muhammad (PBUH) prostrated to Allah and recited in a clear voice with his index finger of the right hand raised, and said the following words: “I bear witness that there is none worthy of worship except Allah. I am Muhammad, the messenger of Allah. O Lord of the Universe bless me and those who follow me.” At once Allah spoke to His beloved and replied: “I have blessed you and those who follow you. O Angels, be you witnesses of the fact that when he has not forgotten his followers upon his birth, then how can he forget them on the Day of Judgement.”

Safiya, the daughter of Abdul Muttalib relates; “I was present the night the Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) was born. At the very moment of birth I saw a great light appear. During the night, I beheld six signs. The first was that the instant the holy child was born. He bent down his head and performed a prostration. The second, that he lifted up his blessed head and spoke clearly and distinctly these words: La ilaha illAllah inni RasulAllah (None worthy of worship except Allah, I am the Messenger of Allah). The third, that a great light was manifested. The fourth that when I wished to wash the child, I heard a voice speaking to me that said, ‘Oh Safiya, do not trouble yourself, we have already washed and cleansed him.’ The fifth sign was that he was born already circumcised, and his umbilical cord was cut. The sixth sign was when I looked for something with which to swaddle the child, I noticed upon his back a certain mark. Looking at it closely, I was able to read the words: ‘La ilaha illAllah Muhammad RasulAllah’ (None worthy of worship except Allah, Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah).”

Safiyah also said, “When he prostrated himself, he spoke some words in secret. I bent my ear to his blessed lips to hear what he was saying, and I heard him say: ‘Ummatiy, ummatiy (my people, my people).‘”

We should consider this point very carefully… This noble prophet of unequalled rank and highest station prayed to his Lord from the very moment he was born, entreating Him for our sake, for the sake of his people, his followers. Yet we, who are in dire need of his prayers and intercession in this world and the next are enveloped in heedlessness. We have become negligent in our prayers, and in our observance of his beautiful way (Sunna).

Thereafter three angels appeared. One of them took a seal and marked the right shoulder and handed the child over to his mother. When Amina looked upon the face of the child, it was shining like the full moon and a perfume sweeter than the finest yellow musk was coming from his body.

A white cloud then appeared inexplicably and covered him and took him away saying:

“O animals on the face of the earth, fish in the seas, and the trees remember the name of this child (Muhammad) and recognise him well. He has combined in himself all the wonderful and good qualities that were in all the prophets that have come on earth from Adam to Jesus.”

At the time of the birth of the Holy Prophet (PBUH) the idols fell and prostrated

Abdul Muttalib, the grandfather of the Holy Prophet (PBUH), and some other Meccans were at the Kabah at this early hour before dawn. All of a sudden they were surprised to see the walls of the Kabah bow miraculously before the Station Of Abraham (Maqam-e-Ibrahim). Then, miraculously, the Kabah spoke (translation from the Arabic) : “Allah is the Greatest, Allah is the Greatest. He is the Lord of Muhammad, who will purify the Kabah from idols and idolatry and restore it to (its honoured position of) the house of Allah.”

Abdul Muttalib hearing the walls of the Kabah talk and seeing all the idols fall, ran home to verify if his daughter-in-law had given birth. He did not find the Nur-e-Muhammadi shining from the forehead of Amina. He thus knew that the child was already born, so he asked her to show him his grandchild. Amina replied that he was in the next room but nobody could see him for three days, as the angels and the dwellers of heaven were paying homage to the child. Abdul Muttalib tried to force his way into that room, but he was confronted by an angel who told the grandfather that he could not see the child until the spiritual dwellers of heaven had completed their adoration.

There were a number of people at the Kabah at the time of the birth of Muhammad (PBUH), when all the idols fell prostrate. They picked up and erected the fallen idols, but the idols fell down again on their faces. They propped them up again but the idols collapsed for a third time. These idols remained prostrate on the floor for a full twenty-four hours. No amount of effort to refit them throughout the world were successful. It was only on the next day that they were refitted. This was witnessed by thousands, not only at Mecca but all over the world.

After three days, Abdul Muttalib took his grandchild to the Kabah and named him Muhammad. As soon as this child was taken to the Kabah for the naming ceremony, the four corners of the walls of the Kabah declared, “There is none worthy of worship except Allah and Muhammad is the seal of Prophethood.”

Persia Fell

At the date and time of birth of the Holy Prohet (PBUH) the following miracles took place:

1. The fire in the Magi temple of the Zoroastrians which had been alight for thousands of years, became quenched for the first time in recorded history. It had always burned ever since it was lit in the days of King Nimrod.
2. Fourteen towers of the Royal palace of Nausherwan, the Emperor of Persia, broke and fell.
3. The famous stone on which the fabulous throne of Persia was kept, cracked.
4. The deep and fast flowing river Sawa in the Persian Empire dried up instantly.
5. The river Samawa in the Persian Empire which had been dry for the past thousand years or more, started flowing immediately.
6. Emperor Nausherwan had a dream that very night in which he saw Arabian camels drag away the Iranian horses across the Tigris and spread themselves throughout Persia.

Rome Fell

The Roman Emperor, Justin II was frightened and alarmed on the day of the birth of Muhammad (PBUH). When he went into the Royal Chapel to pray on that morning he was very surprised to find that the beautiful statue of Jesus Christ had very strangely come out of its firm base and was lying on the ground. It reminded him of the prophecy of Jesus, that on the date of birth of the Promised Prophet, all idols worldwide would fall down. As he lifted up the idol of Christ it spoke and again fell on its face on the floor and declared:

1. A child has been born with his foreskin circumcised miraculously.
2. This child will be the greatest person to come on earth and he will be from amongst the circumcised people.
3. This baby is not from a Jewish family but from the brothers of the Jews.
4. He will be a destroyer of idols and lay the foundation for the destruction of idolatry.
5. Those who will not listen to his teachings would be losers in this world and the hereafter.
6. He will be the light of learning, cause the Earth to fill with wisdom and knowledge and remove the darkness of ignorance.

The Emir of al-Maghrib

In the Kingdom of the West, al-Maghrib there lived a king. In that country, kings were called Emir, and as with many people of that age, this king too, worshipped idols. It so happened that this king had a daughter who was born with a disturbing handicap, so that the king was ashamed to let this child be seen in public. He kept her locked away and confined to underground chambers of the palace, where she was looked after by slave girls. She was never seen outside the palace. At night she would scream, rave and make such terrible sounds that the windows were always kept shut so nobody would hear this dreadful noise.

Nevertheless, the Emir was very sad and dispirited on account of his daughter’s misery. He tried with all his might and means to find help for her. He sacrificed to the idols, he fasted and prayed through many nights, he lit candles in the temples, he vowed many a solemn vow, gave charity to the poor; he implored the idols to do something to heal his daughter and free her from this piteous condition - but what could the idols do?

One evening he retired with his wife to their rooms and they stepped out on their roof to look at the stars. Now this king had a small statue of an idol he always carried around with him. As they were gazing at the night sky, it was as if the skies suddenly were rent asunder. A light shone forth, illuminating the whole world. They saw the trees and flowers of their garden, even the stones bow down and prostrate themselves. “La ilaha illAllah Muhammad RasulAllah“ (None worthy of worship except Allah, Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah), everything was saying, and the king and queen witnessed it. They looked at one another and said, “Did you hear and see what I have heard and saw?” When they assured each other that they had both witnessed these strange things, the queen said, “This is exceedingly wondrous, let us ask the idol what this means.” They turned to look at it and they found it hanging upside down, its head to the ground and its feet up in the air, for it was at that very moment the idols all over the world were reversed in their places and smashed to bits.

Next they heard a voice issue from that figure: “Between Safa and Marwa a child is born, our unbelief is cast down and done for.”

“The truth has come and falsehood has vanished away, surely falsehood is ever certain to vanish.” Holy Qur’an (17:81)

This voice caused them great consternation, for never had the idol spoken before. After all, it was nothing but a stone! - This they knew well. But only now did it dawn upon them that this was no object to be worshipped, and together they called out, “Oh speaker whom we hear speaking from this dry stone, who is it?” Again the voice was heard, and it said, “It is Muhammad (PBUH), the Holy Prophet who has come to the world in the Last of Times; he is born this very night between the rocks of Safa and Marwa, at the holy house of the Lord, the Kabah. It is for him that all 18,000 worlds were created, that the whole universe was called into being.” The king then asked, “Why is this idol of mine standing on its head?” The voice explained that it was happening to all idols this night, for their time was over and the Truth has come and all falsehood was revoked.

The Emir then said to his spouse, “Oh wife, we must go out and find this prophet and accept his creed, so that he will pray for us and cure our unfortunate child.” Before he had finished speaking, his wife turned around and said, “Oh, see here, this is our daughter!” The king turned to look, and there standing behind him, a lovely young girl, without blame or blemish.

The king was speechless with surprise, and when he could speak again, he said, “Oh my daughter! What is this? What has happened to you? Where have you left your chains, your ranting and your raving, all the signs of your insanity? How is it you are no longer convulsed and tormented with pain? What has become of your disease - How has it come about that you are entirely healed?”

The girl answered, “Oh my father, here I stand before you, just as I am and was meant to be. What happened to me is this: I had just fallen asleep, when I beheld a person of radiant appearance enter my room. As soon as I saw him, I thought, ‘Oh you who are so bright and beautiful, have you no healing power with which to treat my sorry condition?’ This person then answered me and said, ‘I will teach you a prayer; if you recite this, you will be healed.’ ‘What prayer is this prayer,’ I asked, ‘and who are you?’ ‘I am an angel,’ he said, ‘and I have just come from visiting a newborn child, together with all the other angels. The prayer I have come to teach you is this: Oh Allah, for the sake of Your Holy Prophet, who is born this night, make this affliction, this pain and plague go away from me! Then you must blow upon your hand, and wipe your whole body with your hand. Continue praying and wiping yourself until no more disease remains upon you.’ Thereupon I awoke and looked about and saw that the whole room was filled with light; I remembered what the angel had said, so I did what he had told me. I prayed, then wiped my hands over my face and my whole body. My fetters fell off from me, my reason returned, I became whole and clean, and in this state I have come before you, oh my parents.”

Her father, the king, heard her story and said, “We must quickly set out and find this miraculous prophet at once.” So each mounted a camel, taking only scanty provisions with them and set out, the three of them telling no one of their destination. They didn’t even know themselves where they were bound, as the distance between the Magrib and Mecca is vast. But they were so impressed by the miracle they had experienced that this never crossed their minds, they just left their kingdom behind and set out for far away Arabia. When they had gone some way, all at once a heavy sleepiness came over them that left them no choice. While they slept, the angel Gabriel (PBUH) came and took their camel’s halters, and folded the earth up underneath them. Before noon of the next day they reached Mecca, whereas it is a camel journey of eighty or more days from Maghrib to Mecca.

Arriving at Mecca, they began to ask whether any child had been born the night before. Yes they were told, Amina the daughter of Wahb had given birth to a child the night before, and they were shown the way to her house. They came to the house and asked to see the newborn baby, but they were told the child’s grandfather had forbidden anyone to see the child, for he had many enemies. The unbelievers were still seeking to kill the child. The king and family began to weep, and said, “We have left everything behind, our country, our lands, our kingdom, our palace - just to see this newborn child, and now you would deny us this favour! No this we cannot accept, that we should go away without having seen him!”

The mother finally relented and permitted them to come in and they spent an hour at her side. She uncovered the child’s face and the light on his face reached to the heavens. For one whole hour they regarded the child’s unearthly beauty, kissed his hands and feet, until Amina said to them, “It is best that you leave now, for if his grandfather finds out you are here, he might be displeased that I have let in strangers.” So they turned to leave and as they were leaving the house, the Emir put his hand upon his breast and said, “Let me gaze on him once more, only one more time, and I will be gone.”

At last they consented and let him in; he bent over the child, kissed his blessed feet, then let out one scream, before he was senseless to the ground and expired. For when he had perceived the first sign, his heart began to glow; then he saw the child once and longed to see him again. When he saw him the second time, his heart blazed with the fire of love and he surrendered his soul, which the angels carried off to Paradise without delay.

Abu Lahb

Abu Lahb was one of the staunchest enemies of the Holy Prophet (PBUH) and is the only one amongst the enemies of The Prophet (PBUH) who has been criticised by name in the Holy Qur’an. When he heard from his maid Suwaibah that a nephew - Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) - was born to him, he out of happiness and as a mark of celebration at the arrival of his nephew pointed his finger indicating that he has set her free for bringing the good news.

After he died, Abbas (his brother) saw him in his dream and enquired, “What is your state now?” He replied, “I am in the severe punishment of Allah Almighty but every Monday I am given water from my finger which I pointed to free my maid because of the arrival of the Holy Prophet (PBUH).” [Bukhari Sharif]

We should consider this; A non believer, who was a staunch enemy of The Prophet (PBUH) had his torment reduced and receives water in Hell (Something unimagined in Hell) for celebrating the arrival of his nephew. If we being the believers and the slaves of The Prophet (PBUH), celebrate the arrival of our Beloved Prophet (PBUH), then how can we be devoid of rewards from Almighty Allah?

The Angels of Heaven, the trees, the mountains and the animals also celebrated the birth of the Holy Prophet (PBUH) and we should also celebrate. May Allah bless you all with the best of this life and the next. Have a great Month!