Being Muslim: Monthly Convert Bookclub | Ustadh Omar Naisan

start by thanking Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala for bringing us together yet again on this day for planting within our hearts the love of him of his beloved messenger and of this great and beautiful religion so welcome back to those of you online and in person on this course on our wonderful book uh being Muslim by Dr. Assaarsine. Alhamdulillah. In the last uh session, we finished chapter 4 um on spiritual refinement. And so today we'll shift gears and start chapter 5 inshalla and we'll discuss the prophet sallallahu alaihi wasallam. And uh I just want to you know point out this is a you know quite an exhaustive chapter. It's very very important. So I decided to split it up into two sessions in so we'll cover the first half of the chapter today and then inshallah on the next section the next session we'll follow the second half of the of the chapter. So this this chapter it's important to note at the beginning that it's not just about a historical figure and this is something that's very important to distinguish. So when we speak about the prophet Muhammad sallallahu alaihi wasallam, we're not just talking about the founder of Islam in in the same way that people would talk about like the founder of a school or the founder of a movement, even the founder of a civilization. We're talking about the finer the final messenger of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. We're talking about the one through whom Allah's re last revelation was sent to humanity. The one whose life explains the Quran, whose character embodied the Quran, whose sunnah preserves the practical meanings of the Quran. The one whose entire existence from his worship and his mercy, from his patience and his courage, from his tears to his smiles, from his life with his family to his public role. It became a model for the believers. So the chapter is not really just about knowing facts about the prophet, but it's about learning how we relate to him, right? Learning and understanding why he's central to our lives. It's about understanding why we love him. It's about why we follow him, why we send our blessings upon him, why we study his life, and why his words are preserved. So, uh, for those of you with the with the book, uh, if you go to the first page of the chapter, that's on page, uh, 119. So, there's a a few verses from the Quran here. All right? And so, the chapter begins with a Quranic framing to remind us that the mercy of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala, it's vast and that his mercy is connected to following the messenger sallallahu alaihi wasallam. So Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala he describes the prophet as one who commands what's right who forbids what's wrong who makes lawful what is good prohibits what's harmful relieves burdens and removes the chains that weighed people down so quite the rich image here right the prophet sallall alaihi wasallam he did not come to crush the human being he came by the permission of Allah to free the human being to free us from false burdens from false gods, false identities, false systems of value, false ways of living. Before the revelation, people were often burdened by ignorance, by the arrogance of tribal relations. Idolatry was huge, injustice was rampant. People believed in superstition. There was social oppression, spiritual confusion, and vast enslavement to the ego. And so the prophet sallallaihi wasallam, he came with revelation that released us from these chains. And that's why following him is not just obedience in a legal sense. Following him brings liberation. He teaches us how to be free from the worship of creation. Free from being ruled by desire. Free by being trapped by social status and free from inherited falsehood. Free from moral confusion. He taught us how to become dutiful servants of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. And so the first major section of the chapter, it talks about the role of the prophet. And so we emphasize two central roles here. The prophet as a role model and as a lawgiver. So we have to slow down and unpack both of these, right? Both are necessary and both protect us from misunderstandings. So he's a role model. Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala, he didn't just reveal instructions, but he showed us what those instructions look like when they're lived by a perfected human being. So, it's part of Allah's mercy because we need examples as human beings. We don't just learn by seeing abstract concepts, right? We learn by seeing, by seeing, by putting these things into practice, into action, right? So a child they don't just learn what generosity is by hearing or reading the dictionary definition but they learn by watching a generous person give freely from their wealth. A student learns how to be humble not just by reading about humility but by sitting with a humble teacher and seeing how they with all their vast knowledge behave. And a community learns about mercy not just by putting up posters about slogans about how you should be merciful but by being led mercifully. Right? So the prophet sallall alaihi wasallam he's the living example of Islam. He shows us what toed looked like in fear and in safety in times of poverty in times of leadership with his family in the public in victories and losses in worship and service in silence and during times of speaking. And that's why the Quran describes him as the excellent model for those who have hope in Allah and in the last day. And that qualification is really important. If a person doesn't care about Allah in the last day, then the prophet's life might not make sense to that person. All right? If their entire goal is worldly comfort, then you're not going to understand why the prophet sallallaihi wasallam why he endured hardship. If your goal is to obtain power, then you won't understand why the prophet forgave when he could have punished. If your goal is fame, then you won't understand why he lived with humility. And if your goal is indulgence, then you won't understand why the prophet fasted, why he prayed at night, why he gave away what he earned, and why he restrained his desires. So the prophet's life, it becomes intelligible when our hearts are oriented towards Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala and seeking uh the the So if we're seeking Allah, the prophet shows us the path. If we're seeking the last day, then the prophet shows us how to prepare for it. But the prophet sallallaihi wasallam, he's not just a role model in the vague sense of, oh, you know, he's really inspirational, you know, he's a really cool guy to follow. No, no, that's too basic, right? He's also a lawgiver by the permission of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. And that phrase needs to be understood quite carefully. So, it doesn't mean that he legislates independently of Allah. It doesn't mean that he's divine. It means that Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala has given him authority to command, to prohibit, to explain, to judge, to approve and to guide. So the Quran itself, Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala in the Quran, he commands the believers to obey the messenger. He tells us to accept what the messenger gives us to abstain from what he forbids us in. And he tells us to be obedient to the messenger because that's part of obedience to Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. And so the prophet sallallaihi wasallam his authority is not just something that was invented by Muslims after his death. It's not an optional development that came over time but it is Quranic. So if we claim to follow the Quran then we must follow the the command in the Quran to follow the prophet sallall alaihi wasallam. So this helps us answer what's a common modern confusion here. So we find in in contemporary studies that some people say oh I I just follow the Quran and that's that's it. Right? And and that might sound at first on the surface level like it's oh this person is very reverent for revelation. But if it means rejecting the sunnah then it's contradictory to revelation itself. The Quran is not presented as a book that's disconnected from the messenger. The Quran was revealed to the prophet sallallaihi wasallam. It was recited by him. It was taught by him, explained by him, implemented by him and preserved by the community that he formed. The Quran commanded prayer and the prophet showed us how to pray. The Quran commanded zaka and the prophet showed us how to apply that. And the Quran commanded fasting and pilgrimage and the prophet demonstrates the practice. So when the Quran commands justice, mercy, patience, truthfulness, modesty, remembrance. The prophet sallall alaihi wasallam he showed us what these qualities are like in real human situations. So without the prophet the religion would be vulnerable to interpretation. But with the prophet revelation became anchored in a divinely guided life. And that's why the sunnah is central. The sunnah the prophetic way. It includes what the prophet said, what he did, what he approved, what he disapproved, the pattern that his life established. Right? But we should be careful though because as we discussed earlier in sessions, right? The word sunnah it can be it can be used in more than just one way. So in in like the legal context right the sunnah is a recommended action. It's something that's rewarded but it's not obligatory. Like the sunnah prayers that we discussed during the session on prayer right but in a broader sense the word sunnah it can mean the entire way of the prophet his whole way of life. And so in this chapter that's what we're referring to when we use the word sunnah. It's the prophet sallallaihi wasallam as the complete model of life. So following the sunnah it doesn't mean just imitating isolated external details but neglecting the prophet's heart, his mercy, his sincerity, his patience, his humility. But it also doesn't mean claiming to love his character while ignoring his commands and his practices. So the true sunnah, it's both outward and inward. its form and its meaning, its worship and its character, its law and its mercy, its obedience and its love. So when we say that the prophet sallallaihi wasallam is the best example, we should think about that in every sphere of life. So how did he worship Allah? How did he speak? How did he listen? How did he treat those that were weaker than him? How did he react if he was offended? How did he respond to ignorance? How did he corre correct mistakes? How did he deal with his family? How did he handle poverty, betrayal, grief, leadership, victory? How did he handle being praised? How did he handle being insulted? These are huge questions. So, the sunnah is not just a a set of rituals, but it's a complete way of being. And one of the greatest tragedies is when we study pieces of the sunnah and it doesn't impact our hearts and our characters. When we study the sunnah, we should find that we're more merciful. we become more truthful, more humble, more trustworthy, more patient and more devoted to Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. So then we the chapter discusses uh the prophet sallallaihi wasallam speaking in God's name and so we have to explain this with care again right the prophet wasallam he received revelation and he had access to what Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala allowed him from divine guidance he didn't speak from caprice in matters of revelation and so this gives his teachings a unique status when the prophet sallallaihi wasallam gives guidance in religion The guidance is not just the opinion of an ordinary wise person but it's prophetic guidance. Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala has protected him in conveying the message and this protection is why we trust that the religion came through him. Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala he would not command us to obey the messenger and then leave the messenger unreliable in conveying what must be obeyed by us. Right? So he's protected in conveying the message truthfully, accurately and completely. And so this doesn't mean though that the prophet loses his humanity. He ate like us. He drank le like us. He slept like us. He married like us. Grieved, smiled, became tired. He lived in the world. Right? So his humanity is part of why he is so followable. If an angel was sent in an angelic form, then we as humans could say this is not our condition. This person this this being is greater than us or it's different than us. How can we act like this angel? Right? But Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala in his benevolence in his all- knowing guidance he sent us a human messenger. The prophet sallallaihi wasallam he lived a life of a human being but he was guided he was protected and he was elevated by God. So he's human but he's not ordinary. He's a servant but he's the greatest servant. He's created but he's the best of creation. and he's not worshiped but he is the one through whom we learn how to worship Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala and the companions they understood the significance so they paid attention to his words his actions his approvals and even his times of silence they observed him publicly they observed him when he was private they preserved his teachings they asked questions they narrated what they saw and so the later scholars they developed this as the science of hadith to preserve Oberve these reports carefully and truthfully. And so hadith, a hadith is a report that's connected to the prophet sallallaihi wasallam. It usually describes something that he said, something that he did, something that he approved or a quality that he possessed. And hadith are not all treated equally. So the scholars, they examine the chains of narration, the reliability of the narrators, the the wording, the meaning and and different factors when examining hadith, right? But through the hadith tradition, we have the sunnah and it reaches us in detail. So without the hadith, our knowledge of our religion, it could be dramatically incomplete. So we wouldn't know the detailed performance of the prayer, the practical rulings of many acts of worship or even the intimate dimensions of the prophet's character. We get all of that through the hadith corpus. And that's why dismissing hadith altogether is a major issue. It cuts us off from the living explanation of the Quran. But hadith must be approached with scholarship, right? Not with random quotation. Not every narration that we read on social media is is truly authentic, right? And not every person is qualified to derive legal rulings from hadith narrations. So the solution here is not to reject a hadith. It's also not to be chaotic with the hadith. Right? The solution is to learn through reliable scholarship. And that's consistent with the earlier chapters of this book of what we've studied. When we learned the importance of sound methodology, the importance of inherited scholarly tradition. This religion is not one of random individual interpretation. It's a transmitted religion. It's studied. It's preserved and it's lived through disciplined chains of knowledge. And so that's a big leadin into discussing innovation, a topic that is easily can easily confuse us, right? So the prophet sallallaihi wasallam he warned his community against corrupt innovation in religion and this warning matters because Islam is not our religion to redesign right we're not owners of revelation we are servants of revelation so we don't alter the fundamentals of the religion just to suit our preferences we don't add a six daily prayer and say oh this is obl an obligatory prayer right we don't reduce the days of Ramadan because fasting is a little too difficult for us and we can't change the basic belief beliefs because modern society finds them uncomfortable and these kinds of alterations would corrupt the religion. But we also need nuance. So not everything new in a worldly or linguistic sense is a condemned innovation. Muslims we use we use microphones we use printed books websites classrooms calendars apps architecture educational institutions and they these things didn't exist in the same form during the time of the prophet sallallaihi wasallam right but they still serve established uh established purposes so the scholars distinguish between alteration of the religion itself and using new innovations and new means to serve the religion so if something alters the foundational belief or worship ship without basis, then it's condemned. But if something is just a is a permissible means to teach, to organize, to remind or to facilitate something that's already part of the religion, that's not the same thing. So we shouldn't throw around the word carelessly. It's a really serious concept, right? It requires knowledge. It requires that understanding the difference between fundamentals and secondary matters, right? And this is where we find balance. One extreme is to treat the religion as you know infinitely flexible as though every generation can reinvent it to fit their own desires and that's a false extreme and then another extreme is to be so rigid that every new tool expression educational form it's treated as suspicious and that that can be harm that can be very harmful as well and so the balanced path is preserving the foundations honoring the sunnah and allowing legitimate means to serve the religion religion without altering it. That's why we need scholarship. Not every complex issue can be reduced. So after establishing the role of the prophet as a lawgiver, as a source of the sunnah, then we're introduced to some of his titles. And this is a beautiful section, right? Because the names and titles, these things shape love. When we know the prophet sallall alaihi wasallam just as the prophet, it's a true thing. Yes, he's a prophet, but that's very general. When we learn his titles, we begin to see different aspects of his rank and his relationship to us. Each one of his titles opens up a door. And so one of his titles is the beloved of God. And that should soften our hearts immediately. The prophet sallall alaihi wasallam is the beloved of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. So that means love of the prophet sallallaihi wasallam is not just uh cultural. It's not inherited. It it's rooted in divine love. If Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala loves him, then the believer loves whom Allah loves. If Allah chose him, then the believer honors whom Allah chose. If Allah raised his mention, then the believer mentions him with reverence. So the title Allah, it teaches us that our connection to the prophet wasallam is not just a legal cold obedient relationship. Love is part of this religion. Reverence is part of this religion. The heart has a role here. And another title is al the trustworthy one. So before revelation before people accepted the prophetam as a prophet his community knew him as the trustworthy. [snorts] And this is very significant. His character preceded his prophet his claim of prophethood. The people of Mecca some of them later rejected his message but they knew his integrity. They trusted him with their possessions. They knew he was not a liar. They knew he was not a cheat. And this matters because the final revelation, it came to us through a person whose truthfulness was already established. This is a big lesson. If we want to represent this religion, then our trustworthiness matters. If we want to speak about truth, but we're dishonest in business, if we're unreliable in our promises, if we're careless with the rights of people, if we're manipulative in our relationships, then our da'wah is weakened. The prophet sallallaihi wasallam his truthfulness was not theoretical. It was known through lived experience and then he's called the best of creation. Now this title indicates his rank before Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala amongst those who are created. It does not mean divinity. Allah is Allah and creation is creation. But amongst the creation Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala he elevated the prophet sallallaihi wasallam. The prophetam is the greatest servant, the most complete worshipper, the final messenger, the one whose servantthood reached its highest human expression. So propered, it doesn't require emotional coldness towards the prophet. No, propered it teaches us to honor him as Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala honors him without crossing the boundary. Then he's called a Mustafa, the chosen one. And this reminds us that prophethood is not self-appointed. The prophet sallaihi wasallam he didn't campaign for spiritual authority. He didn't seek revelation as a way to gain power. Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala chose him. And this becomes especially clear when we talk about the first revelation. And that'll be very briefly towards the end here. We'll talk more in the next section inshallah. So his response to being chosen for revelation, it wasn't prideful. It wasn't oh with excitement or self-promotion. He was overwhelmed. He returned very shaken. He sought comfort. And this is the opposite of someone who would, you know, try to invent a religious role for themselves. Prophethood is a burden before it's an honor. And Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala, he places that burden where he knows it belongs. And the prophet wasallam, he is the seal of prophethood, which means that prophethood culminated in him. No prophet comes after him. So this gives his message finality, universality. So his guidance is not just for 7th century Arabia. his it's for all of humanity in the entire world until the end of time because there's no prophet after him. So preservation became super essential here. The Quran is preserved. The Sunnah is preserved. The religion is preserved through scholarly tradition through community. So to fi follow the final messenger is to remain connected to the final form of revealed guidance. Then he is the intercessor and this title if it should fill us with hope. The prophet's concern for his ummah it didn't it's not going to end with the end of this world on the on the day of judgment by the permission of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala he will intercede for us and this tells us about his mercy he's not just a worldly leader and it's you know where there's relationship with his followers it ends when his political mission is done no that's not the case his concern extends beyond death it extends into the he's worried for his um he prays for his um he teaches his um and by Allah's permission He'll intercede for his um and so this should increase our love for him because we realize that his mercy towards us is part of Allah's mercy towards us right and so those are some of the titles and so then we move on to love of the prophet sallaihi wasallam which is you know ties hand in hand with some of the titles right it's perhaps the most important section in the chapter for our hearts love of the prophet sallallaihi wasallam it's not just emotional decoration it's it's connected to completing the faith Faith is connected to completion of im the prophetam he taught that our faith is not complete until he is more beloved to us than our parents our children ourselves and the whole of humanity and so that may feel like a lot at first we can ask like how can I love someone I've never met more than my entire family right it's a very daunting task right but love grows through knowledge through gratitude through the recognition of benefit and who amongst creation has benefited us more than the messenger of Allah sallallahu alaihi wasallam. Through him we know Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. Through him we received the Quran. Through him we learned how to worship. Through him we learned the path to paradise. We learned repentance, mercy, sincerity, patience, humility, hope. Every prayer that we make, every fast that we observe, every ayah of the Quran that we recite, every blessing that we experience is connected to the guidance that was sent by Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala through the prophet sallallahu alaihi wasallam. So love of the prophet sallall alaihi wasallam it begins with gratitude. If if today you were hanging off a cliff and someone grabbed your arm and saved you, right? Would you not feel indebted to that person? So then what of the person who endured persecution? He endured hunger. He endured mockery, loss, battle, grief, exhaustion for one goal so that the message would reach humanity. How do we feel about the one who remembers those who come after him? How do we feel about the one who prayed for his ummah, the one who carried the burden of revelation? Love is the natural response to that when a heart recognizes the gift that he's given us. But love is not just a claim, right? It's not just a word. It produces a following. If we say yes, I love the prophet, but we don't care about what he teaches. We don't care enough to obey him. We don't care to learn about his life. We don't care to send blessings upon him. Then our love is incomplete. Real love, it moves the lover towards the beloved. If you love someone, you want to know more about them. You remember them often. You speak well about them, right? You honor what they honor. You avoid what displeases them. and you try to resemble them in that the ways that you can. Right? So love of the prophet it is exhibited by learning by remembrance by obedience by imitation by reverence and by sending salawat upon him. And then at the same time following him increases us in love. It's a beautiful cycle. The more you learn about him the more you love him. The more you love him the more you want to follow him. And the more you follow him the more you taste the beauty of his path. And the more you taste the beauty of his path, the more your love grows. And that's why studying the s the pro prophetic biography, it's not just a study of history. It's not just a biographical study. It's nourishing love. The s it when you learn about how he forgives, your love grows for him. When you learn about how he prays at night, your reverence grows for him. When you learn about how he treats children, tenderness grows for him. When you learn how he endured insults, then our shame of our own impatience grows. When we learn about how he honors his wives, how he serves his family, how he cared for the poor, how he remains humble in victory, we begin to understand more and more why so many people across centuries have loved him so deeply. And historically the Muslims they expressed love for the prophet sallall alaihi wasallam through poetry through songs of praise gatherings of remembrance calligraphy scholarship study of his s preservation of his hadith and most importantly constant constant salawat upon him and and this is natural because love seeks expression. Human beings speak about what they love. They remember what they love. They preserve what they love. They gather around what they love. Right? What's the common thing that is surrounding every gathering? It's food, right? We all surround food because we all love food, right? We all gather around what we love. So why shouldn't we gather around the prophet sallall alaihi wasallam? And so then this chapter gives us a description of the prophet sallallaihi wasallam and it's a very moving section and this is a a small introduction to the science of which is like the description of the prophetam right and this reminds us that the prophet sallallaihi wasallam he's not an abstraction he was seen he was known he had a face a voice a walk a smile a fragrance a presence his companions looked at him they sat with him they traveled with him they ate with him they prayed behind him they listened to him and of course they loved him and And the descriptions of him, they help make him more vivid in our hearts. They remind us that revelation entered human history through a real human life. And this is really important to distinguish. Right? There's a very common thing in academia called the uh search for the historical Jesus. Right? There's a claim, a very popular claim. It's growing and growing more now in society, in academic circles, that is Alisam didn't even exist. The Christian version of Isaam, right? There's all these different pictures of him. Is it? What's his skin color? How was his hair? What was his community? There's all of these question marks in the Christian community about Isaam. We don't have any of that. It's completely preserved how the prophet sallallaihi wasallam looked. The companions described him as balanced in physical form. He wasn't extreme in his height, but he had a dignified presence and a beauty that affected everyone who saw him. His hair, his face, his eyes, his build, even his walk, his bearing, they were all remembered by the ones who loved him. What's even more important though than the outward description is the effect that he had on people. People who saw him, they were awaken. People who spent time with him, they loved him. He was dignified without being distant. He was majestic without being arrogant. He was gentle without being weak. He was accessible without losing reverence. It's a very rare combination. Some people can be approachable but not dignified. Others can be dignified but intimidating. The prophet sallall alaihi wasallam he combined beauty, awe, humility, warmth and authority in the most perfect balance of humanity. His speech was concise but it was meaningful. He never spoke excessively. He didn't waste his words. He didn't use his words to dominate people, to confuse people, to show superiority. His words carried weight because they carried the truth. He was patient when he was personally insulted. He didn't take revenge for the sake of his ego. you know, but he was firm when the limits of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala were violated or when others were oppressed. And this is central to prophetic character. He forgave personal wrongs, but he did not neglect justice. He was merciful, but he was not morally careless. He was gentle, but he was not passive before oppression. And so the descriptions of his character, they're especially important for us because they show us how prophetic greatness it appears in his life, right? He was not just noble in public sermons or in in major moments of history. No, he was noble at home. He helped with household tasks. He served his family. He patched his own sandals. He mended his own clothing. He milked his own goat. He sat with the poor. He accepted invitations. He gave attention to children. He shook hands fully. He didn't pull away first. When someone spoke to him, he listened in a way that made that person feel like they were the center of existence. Just think about that. The most important human being in history, in all of creation, he made other people feel seen. Many of us when we become busy, when we start to gain social status, we become harder and harder to access. We become less patient. we become less present. But the prophet sallall alaihi wasallam he was the opposite. His greatness made him more merciful not less. And this should challenge us. We might claim to love the prophet but do we love his humility? We can praise his character but do we imitate it at home? We send blessings upon him but do we listen to people the way he listened to people? We speak about the sunnah but do we make others feel safe in our presence? Do our families experience our religion as a mercy or as harshness? Do beginners experience us as welcoming or intimidating? Do people below us in status experience kindness from us? These are uncomfortable questions to ask, but they're necessary. The so the prophet's description, it's not just given to us so we can admire him from afar. It's given to us so we can measure ourselves against his beauty and beg Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala to give us a share of his character. So then we move to sending blessings upon the prophet salawat. And this is one of the most important practices in our lives, right? Allah and his angels bless the prophet and we are commanded to send blessings and greetings of peace upon him. And this alone should make us pause. So we send when we send salawat we're participating in an act that Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala mentions with honor. We're not giving him not we're not giving the prophet something that he needs from us in the ordinary sense. Allah has already elevated it. But we're sending by sending blessings upon him. We're exposing ourselves to divine mercy. We are connecting ourselves to the messenger. We are expressing gratitude. We are obeying Allah and we're nourishing love. So the meaning of salawat is to ask Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala to bless, honor, raise and shower mercy upon the prophet sallallahu alaihi wasallam. And there are many many formulas you know the maybe the most famous being the Abrahamic prayer that we that we uh recite during our daily prayers but there's a shorter formulas that we use in daily remembrance like asking Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala to send blessings and peace upon our master Muhammad sallallahu alaihi wasallam and his family. So the exact wording can vary but the meaning is love, honor, prayer and connection. So sending blessings upon the prophet, it's especially emphasized on Fridays. Friday is already a blessed day. It's connected to the congregational prayer to the communal remembrance. But it's also a day when salawat upon the prophet is given special emphasis. So the narrations mention that our blessings are presented to him. And this should deepen our sense that our relationship with the prophet is not a historical one. It's a lived one. Yes, his bodily life in this world has ended, but his connection to us remains real. Muslims across the world, in every language, in every land. They send blessings upon him all the time. Our voices rise from mosques, from homes, from cars, from gatherings, from private rooms, from lonely hearts. and by the generosity of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala the practice of sending blessings upon the prophet is a means of our spiritual connection and there's many many many uh benefits of sending blessings upon the prophet sallall alaihi wasallam and amongst those that Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala he blesses the one who sends blessings he raises the person in rank he removes sins he answers supplications and he brings us nearer to the prophet on the day of resurrection through salawat Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala he fulfills our needs. He pro protects us from spiritual poverty. He improves our character. He increases us in love. And he keeps our hearts connected to the messenger. So we should never treat salawad as a really small thing. Yes, it's easy on the tongue, but its meaning is immense. It's one of the simplest ways to keep our love alive. So we might not know much yet. We might be new to this religion. We might struggle with the Arabic language. We are not probably not able to study for hours upon hours every day. But every single believer can send blessings upon the prophet. Every single believer can say Allah. Every believer can make this a daily habit. It's very easy. And so then we start to move towards the actual biography. And like I said, most of this will be covered in the next section inshalla. But uh we'll cover a little bit of the beginning here. So before we talk about the birth birth of the prophet sallall alaihi wasallam we have to understand the world into which he was born and so that's why the chapter pauses to describe sixth century Mecca so if we don't understand Mecca then we won't fully appreciate the mission of the prophet sallallaihi wasallam he didn't appear to us in a vacuum right he was born into a society that had its own values that had its own social order there was spiritual confusion there were strengths there was diseases and part of the wisdom of Allah subhanahu wa'ta'ala is that he sent the prophet sallall alaihi wasallam into a society that had noble qualities but also severe corruption. So the prophet sallall alaihi wasallam he didn't come to erase everything about Arab society but he came to purify to correct it to complete it to redirect it some values were affirmed and refined other values were rejected and replaced and so Mecca it was an ancient sacred city and at its center stood the sacred house built by by the prophet Ibraimisam and his son is so thea was originally a house that was dedicated to the worship of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala alone It was a symbol of the pure worship of the one true God. But over generations the spiritual inheritance of Ibraimisam. It became corrupted. Idols became introduced. Polytheistic practice started to spread and by the time of the prophet sallall alaihi wasallam the Kaa was surrounded and it was filled with idols and these represented various tribes false objects of devotion. And the tragedy of Mecca was that the house that was built for pure monotheism became surrounded by idolatry and polytheism. The very center of tohed was covered in shik. And this image is spiritually very powerful because it mirrors what can happen to our own human hearts. The heart is created to know Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. But it can become crowded with idols. The idols are the love of status, the love of wealth, power, the love of desire, the love of the self. And so just as the prophet's mission would cleanse the Kaa outwardly, his message cleanses our hearts inwardly. But Mecca's status, its sacred status, it was still important even during the time of idolatry. So people from different tribes, they still came from pil for pilgrimage. The Arabs still recognized the Cabba as sacred even if their understanding of it was corrup corrupted. Right? So it gave Mecca tremendous religious and economic importance. Um pilgrims brought people, people brought trade, caravans passed through and merchants benefited. The tribe of quresh who lived in Mecca, they served as custodians of the sanctuary and they held s significant prestige amongst the Arabs. They were not just another tribe. They were associated with the sacred house. They are the ones who hosted the pilgrims. They managed as aspects of the Cabba. They benefited from the respect that people had for the city. And so this meant that the religion, economy, honor, tribal identity, these were all really connected in Mecca and society. And so that helps us understand why the message of the prophet wasallam, it was so threatening to the Quraysh. When he called people to worship Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala alone, he was not just making a private theological statement, but he was challenging the entire structure of Mecca and life. If the idols are false, then the religious prestige that's attached to those idols is false. If Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala alone deserves worship, then the tribal gods have no authority. If all human beings are servants of one Lord, then the hierarchy of arrogance, of lineage, of wealth, of tribal superiority, these were all spiritually exposed. If the weak, the poor, the enslaved, the socially vulnerable, if they were equal before Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala, then power was morally challenged. So when we hear later that the Quraysh persecuted the early Muslims, you can understand that their opposition was not just because they disliked this new idea. It's because they understood that it threatened their social, economic, and religious order. So 6th century Arabia, it was a place of powerful tribal identity. The tribe was a person's protection. It was their legal system, their social identity, their source of survival. If you belong to a strong tribe, then you had protection. If you had no tribal protection, then you're vulnerable. Honor was central. Insults could become conflicts, and then conflicts could become cycles of revenge. Loyalty to a tribe could override justice. The strong oppressed the weak. Slavery was rampant. Women and the poor were often mistreated. And at the same time, Arab society valued bravery, generosity, hospitality, eloquence, loyalty, poetry. So, it's not a society without virtues. It had virtues, but those virtues were often misdirected or trapped within tribalism. Generosity could be sacrificed for reputation. Courage could supersede revenge. Loyalty became a support for injustice. Eloquence became boasting. And so the prophet sallall alaihi wasallam, he came to take what was noble and to orient it back to Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala to remove what was corrupt to replace it with revelation. And this is an important lesson for us. Islam does not always come into a culture and erase everything. Right? Islam judges culture by revelation. If a cultural practice expresses dignity, modest, modesty, generosity, truth, beauty, justice, then Islam affirms it, perhaps it refineses it. Right? But if a cultural practice, if it expresses oppression, arrogance, superstition, immodesty, disobedience to Allah, then it's rejected. Right? So the prophet's mission in Arabia, it's a model for how Islam interacts with every culture. Islam is not culturalist, but it's not controlled by culture. Revelation is the criterion upon which culture is judged. So then into this world into the city of Mecca from the tribe of Quraysh from the noble line connected to prophet Ibraimisam the prophet Muhammad sallallahu alaihi wasallam he was born his father Abdullah his mother Amina his father had died before he was born. So from the beginning of his earthly life the prophet sallallaihi wasallam he entered this world as an as an orphan and it's not a small detail. Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala, he chose for his final messenger to know vulnerability from the beginning. He was not born into the experience of worldly security in the same way that some people imagine greatness would begin. He didn't grow up under the protection of a living father. He came into the world already touched by loss. And later when the Quran reminded him that Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala found him as an orphan and gave him shelter. It points to this early mercy that Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala had on him. His life taught us that being orphaned, being vulnerable, being acquainted with grief, it doesn't mean that a person is abandoned by Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. But sometimes Allah prepares his most beloved servants through experiences that soften them, that deepen them, that make them vessels of mercy. And then the reports they mention special signs around his birth. Signs that serve as indications that this is not an ordinary child. But even if we set aside the miraculous atmosphere, right? The meaning is profound. Still a child born in Mecca, outwardly vulnerable, fatherless, not yet known to the world, but Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala has chosen him for the greatest mission given to any human being. And this is a reminder that Allah's preparation is often hidden. We might look at a child, a poor person, uh an orphan, someone who's socially unknown, and we might see nothing significant. But Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala, he knows what he's placed within his servants. The world judges by outward appearance and power, but Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala gives rank according to his wisdom, and his wisdom is greater than anything we could conceive of. So in Arab custom at the time some children were sent to live for a period of time with a bedawin wet nurse in the desert right and this was connected to health language and upbringing right. So the desert environment it was seen as a pure stronger linguistically more eloquent environment than the town. So the prophet sallallaihi wasallam he was placed in the care of haleema his wet nurse and the story of hale liema is one of the beautiful early signs of blessings around the prophet. She came out of poverty and weakness with little milk with a weak animal and with very little outward hope. But when she took the infant prophet sallallahu alaihi wasallam, blessings began to appear rapidly and abundantly in her life. Her milk increased. Her mount gained strength. Her household experienced unexpected goodness. And here we see one of the patterns that will continue throughout his life. That closeness to the prophet sallall alaihi wasallam, it brings blessings to those around him. Those who honor him are honored. Those who serve him are enriched spiritually. And those who love him receive openings from Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. And so during his time with his wet nurse, there was a famous incident of the opening of his chest where the angels came to him and they opened his chest. They washed his heart and they returned it to him removing a clot. And this is a mysterious and very profound event. So we shouldn't reduce it just to ordinary symbolism and we shouldn't speak about it casually because this is divine preparation. The heart of the prophet sallallaihi wasallam was being prepared for revelation and for receiving the greatest burden for carrying the mercy to the worlds and he would later teach us how to clean our own hearts of arrogance of envy of idolatry of hypocrisy of heedlessness. But before his public mission, Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala prepared his own blessed heart. And so when the prophet sallallaihi wasallam was six years old, his mother had passed away. So he lost his father before his birth. He lost his mother in his early childhood. So then he was cared for by his grandfather Abdul Muttalib. And then after his grandfather's death, he came under the care of his uncle Abu Talib. And so again, we have to slow down and and and analyze the human weight of this, right? The prophet sallall alaihi wasallam, he knew loss. He knew what it meant to be dependent upon others. He knew the fragility of being attached to the world. He knew that those we love will leave this world. And later on when he comforted the grieving, he was speaking not as someone who was untouched by grief. He was seeing some he was speaking as somebody who knows grief all too well. When he showed mercy to the orphans, he knew orphanhood. When he taught care for the vulnerable, he lived vulnerably. His suffering didn't make him bitter. It became part of the mercy that Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala cultivated within it. As a young man, he was known for his noble character. He was honest. He was trustworthy. He was dignified. He was modest. He was serious. And but even before revelation, he was recognized as alamin. And this matters enormously. Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala, he prepared the prophet's public credibility through decades of private integrity. He didn't appear suddenly with a claim to prophethood while known as a manipulator or a liar. No, his truthfulness was already established long before he came with the message. And then during his youth, he traveled with his uncle on a trade journey one time and he encountered a monk named Bahira. Bahira recognized signs that indicated that this young man had a very special future. He warned Abu Talib to protect him. And so whether we focus on the details or the broader meaning, this story here contributes to the sense that signs of prophethood they were all around him even before revelation. The world didn't know him as a messenger but Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala's preparation was unfolding all around him. Then later on in life the prophet wasallam he worked in trade and he was employed by Khadijah bin a noble and wealthy woman of Mecca. She's one of the greatest women in all of human history. And we should never just merely mention her as the prophet's wife in a passing way. She is the first believer, the mother of the ummah. She's the first person to support him when the revelation came. She's the one who comforted the prophet when he was shaken. She's the one who gave her wealth, her heart, her loyalty, and her life to the mission. Before marriage, she recognized his honesty and his excellence. She saw that he was not like any other man. She saw his integrity, his trustworthiness, his modesty and his nobility and then proposed marriage to him. And their marriage is very significant. The prophet sallallaihi wasallam was 25. Khadijah, she was older than him, the age of 40. And she was a woman of dignity, of experience, of wealth, of honor. And their marriage was not built on superficiality. It was built on character. He was faithful to her. She bore his children. She stood by him in his most difficult years. And during her lifetime, he didn't marry anybody else. And even after her her death, the prophet sallall alaihi wasallam he remembered her with such loyalty that she felt a kind of jealousy over the love that the prophet sallallaihi wasallam had over our mother Khadijah. And so this tells us something about the prophet's emotional fidelity. He didn't forget those who sacrificed for him. He honored loyalty. He remembered goodness. He loved deepully deeply and he loved faithfully. And then before revelation, another major event occurred. The rebuilding of the Kaa. The Kaa had been damaged and the Quraysh undertook the task of rebuilding it. But when it came time to replace the black stone, there was a dispute that emerged amongst the clans. So each clan wanted the honor of placing the stone in its position. And the matter became so serious that violence almost broke out. And so this again an example of the intense honor culture in Mecca. And so a sacred action almost became the cause of bloodshed because each group wanted prestige. But then they agreed that the next person to come in, he he would arbitrate for them. And by the decree of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala, the prophet sallallaihi wasallam, he entered. And at that time, although he had not publicly received revelation, the people had already trusted him. They called him the trustworthy one. And so they accepted his judgment. And he came with a brilliant solution. He asked for a cloth. He placed the stone upon it in the middle. and a representative from each clan would lift together the cloth from each corner. Then he himself would place the stone in its position, satisfying everybody. So it prevented bloodshed. It gave each clan a share of honor without allow allowing rivalry to destroy them. And we see prophetic wisdom before prophethood here. He understood people. He understood honor. He understood conflict. He knew how to preserve dignity while resolving tension. And that's leadership. Leadership is not force. Leadership is wisdom that prevents harm. It honors people appropriately. It mu it moves a community towards peace. And so this incident, it foreshadowed his later mission. He'd be the one to restore the Kaa to its true purpose. At this moment he physically placed the black stone in the structure. Yes. But later he would cleans he would cleanse the sanctuary entirely of idols. At this moment he prevented tribal conflict around the house. But later he would call all tribes to the worship of of their Lord. At this moment the Quraysh trusted his judgment. But then later many of them would reject his message because they knew accepting his message required the surrender of their idols, the surrender of their status, the surrender of their inherited ways. And so as he approached the age of 40, the prophet sallall alaihi wasallam he became in increasingly withdrew from the corruptions that were around him. He would go to the cave of Hia of Mecca and he would spend time in contemplation and worship. And this is such an important part of his biography. Before the revelation, he did not participate in the idolatry of his people. His heart was searching. It was reflecting. It was turning away from falsehood. He looked at the world around him and he saw that something was wrong. There was idols. There was tribal arrogance. There was injustice. There was moral disorder. And so the cave represents retreat from noise. It represents the need of the soul for solitude before Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. It represents a heart that's being prepared in silence before being sent into the storm of the public mission. And then in the cave the revelation came the angel Gibl he appre he appeared to the prophet sallaihi wasallam he commanded him to read and the prophet wasallam said I I can't read and the command was repeated with an overwhelming embrace until the first revealed words of the Quran came the command to read in the name of our lord who created and we should pause here the final revelation it begins with read it begins with knowledge it begins with creation it begins with our lord it begins with the origin of human beings It begins with the generosity of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala teaching by the pen teaching us what we did not know. The first revelation is not about pride or about wealth or about conquest or about revenge. It's about knowledge that's rooted in the name of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. It tells us that our religion begins by reorienting knowledge. We must learn as human beings but not in the name of our ego, not in the name of domination, of arrogance, of power. read in the name of your lord. And so the prophet sallall alaihi wasallam he returned from his experience shaken up and it's one of the most powerful proofs of his sincerity. He didn't return from the cave saying oh I've achieved greatness. This is it. No he didn't return saying now I'm a leader. No he returned overwhelmed frightened by the magnitude of what had happened. He went to khadijah and he sought comfort. And her response is one of the most beautiful responses in the entirety of the s. She didn't dismiss him. She didn't panic. She didn't accuse him of anything. She comforted him. She reminded him of his character. She reassured him that Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala would never disgrace a person who maintained ties of kinship, who cared for the weak, who supported the needy, who honored guests, who stood for truth. This is for profound. She recognized that his moral character was evidence of divine protection. She knew the kind of man that he was and so she became the first to believe. And this teaches us so much about spiritual companionship, about support, even about marriage. Our mother, she was not passive in the story of Islam. She's the first believer, the first supporter of the prophet sallall alaihi wasallam. When the world did not believe, she believed. When he was shaken, she studied him. When the mission became costly, she gave. When others mocked, she stood by him. Her role shows that the earliest foundation of the Muslim community. It was not a public institution, but it was a believing household. The first refuge after revelation was the home of a righteous wife. And this should elevate our understanding of family. A home is a sanctuary for revelation, for faith, for courage, for the mission. This is the home of the prophet sallallaihi wasallam. So Khadijah then took him to a learned relative familiar with the previous scriptures and he recognized that this event that happened to the prophet wasallam was revelation. He understood that the being that came to him was the same angelic messenger that was associated with previous messengers. And he also warned that the prophet's people would oppose him. Another profound point point revelation brings guidance but guidance is often resisted. Truth doesn't enter a corrupt society without opposition understood the pattern of prophethood. The messengers are not just celebrated. They're often rejected by those whose power whose habits and whose identities are threatened by the message. And so the first believers included Khadijah Alib Abu Bakr Sadik and others who recognized the truth early on. And and again to notice something here, the earliest community included different types of people. A woman, a a young man, a close friend, people of status, the poor, the vulnerable. Islam did not become as a movement of one social class, but it called the hearts. And the public call then began and it came with persecution. The prophet sallall alaihi wasallam, he called people to abandon idolatry, to worship Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala alone. He urged them to accept the fundamentals of this religion, to recognize accountability, to prepare for the to live truthfully. In the Quraysh, they understood these implications. They tried different strategies at first. They attempted to pressure him, to negotiate him, to bribe him. They offered him wealth, status, leadership, even marriage. Only the the only thing they asked is for him to stop calling people to Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. And another clear sign of his sincerity appears. If his goal was wealth, they offered it. If his goal was power, they offered it. If his goal was status, they offered it. But he refused. His mission was not for sale. His famous resolve was expressed through the meaning of his response that even if they placed the sun in one hand and the moon in another, he would never abandon the mission that Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala gave to him. This is prophetic firmness. He was gentle, but he did not compromise in truth. He was merciful, but he was not willing to sell revelation. He was patient but he was not weak. An important lesson. Mercy doesn't mean to abandon your principles. Wisdom doesn't mean to sell the truth. Good character doesn't mean you have to please everyone. So as Islam spread, the persecution intensified. The leaders of the Quraysh, they saw that the message was not disappearing. The ones who accepted Islam, they came under pressure. Some were mocked, some were tortured, some were socially isolated. And the weak suffered especially. And this is a pattern of many early truth movements. Those without worldly protection, they pay the earliest visible price. But the early Muslims, they endured because faith had entered their hearts. They discovered something more valuable than comfort. They found Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. They found the truth. They found the they found dignity beyond the status of tribes. And so this part of the biography, it teaches us that accepting Islam, it doesn't always make our lives easier outwardly. It sometimes can create tests, right? We can face m misunderstandings from our families, pressure from our society, an internal struggle or the need to change our habits. And the early Muslims, they remind us that the truth that truth is worth the difficulty. Right? The prophet's mission was born in struggle, not in convenience. The Quran did not descend into a world that applauded it immediately. It descended into resistance and then through patience, through sacrifice, through support, it transformed the world. So, we're um we're going to conclude the first half of this chapter. But before we do that, we should ask ourselves, what did all of this do to us? Right? This should have made the prophet sallall alaihi wasallam a little bit more real to our hearts. He's not an abstraction. He lived, he suffered, he was loved, he was opposed, he was trusted, he was tested, he was chosen, and he was prepared by Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. And when we say sallallahu alaihi wasallam, we are sending blessings upon the one who carried this burden for us. We're remembering the one through whom Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala brought us from the darkness to the light. And so we ask Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala to deepen our knowledge of his messenger to make that knowledge a cause of our love for him. We ask Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala to make our love for the prophet a cause of following him. We ask Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala to make our following of the prophet a cause of our nearness to Allah. We ask Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala to grant us a share of the prophet's truthfulness, his patience, his humility, his mercy, his courage and his unwavering commitment to the truth. We ask Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala to gather us under his banner to grant us his intercession to l allow us to drink from his blessed hand after which we'll never thirst again. We're going to pick up second Saturday of September, right? Which is the is that also the 8th or the 10th? Something like that. It's um I can check. So we'll be back on September 12th in September 12th. So we'll conclude chapter five. Does anyone have any comments, reflections, questions? Okay.