There is no event in history that ever took place in the month of Rabi Al-Awal that is more paramount, more significant to remember and to pay tribute to than the birth of the noblest and most influential man the world has witnessed. And it was in the month of Rabi Al-Awal that he (peace be upon him) died. It was on Monday, the 12th of Rabi Al-Awal that Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) was born. Many wonders took place during his birth and early childhood which were signs of his elevated rank and his position and mission. The universe itself rejoiced at his birth, and the whole of humanity would have done so as well had they known that he was to be the Prophet of mercy and compassion. Muhammad (peace be upon him) was a mercy to mankind; he is the one who abolished the oppression of women, prostitution, drunkenness, racism, and infanticide committed against newborn baby girls; all of which were rampant in Arabia. And he encouraged and praised those who would free their slaves, in a time when slavery was commonplace. It is not surprising that miraculous incidents would happen when this man was born, peace be upon him. At the moment that he was born, a light shone through. Abu Nu'aym in his book Signs and Proofs of Prophethood, wrote that Umm Salama reported that Amina bint Wahab, the Prophet's mother, said, “On the night of his birth I saw a light that reached and illuminated the palaces of Syria so I could see them.” Amina, his mother, had also stated that during her pregnancy she never felt the discomfort, pain, and heaviness that other pregnant women normally experienced. Uthman bin Abi Al-As, narrated that his mother, Fatima bint Abdullah, said, “When I attended the birth of the Messenger of Allah, I saw that the room where he was born was filled with light and I saw the stars come nearer until I thought they would fall upon me. When Amina bore him a light shone forth from her that illuminated the room and the whole house until I could see nothing but light.” This was mentioned by Bayhaqi, Ibn Abd Al Barr, and Tabarani. Immediately after the birth, Amina sent someone to her father-in-law to inform him of the happy news; the baby's father had died while she was pregnant. Abdul Muttalib, the grandfather, fondly carried the baby in his arms and took him to the Holy Ka'bah to pray and thank his Lord, and he named the baby Muhammad, which was not a common name among the Arabs. As was general custom among Arabs living in towns, Amina sent her child with a Bedouin wet nurse so he could grow up in the free and healthy desert surroundings to develop a robust body and acquire eloquent speech. The woman who breast fed the child, Haleemah bint Abi Dhuaib, also had an infant of her own. It was a year of drought and famine when Haleemah took over care of Muhammad (peace be upon him). Tradition tells how her child used to cry of hunger all night as she had not a drop of milk in her breasts, and the she-camel and goat produced no milk either. “When I lifted him in my arms and put him on my breast, to my great surprise I found enough milk. He drank to his heart's content and so did my son and then both of them slept although my baby had not been able to sleep the previous night. My husband went to the she-camel to milk it and, to his astonishment, he found plenty of milk. He milked it and we drank to our fill,” Haleemah said as is recorded in the book, The Sealed Nectar by Al-Mubarakpuri. Haleemah and her husband realized that this was a blessed child. When she returned to her clan with the child, and as long as he stayed with them, a veil of good fortune surrounded them. The dry barren land transformed into lush green grass and their sheep and camels regained vigor and vitality. She said that wherever the boy walked, a cloud moved over his head and shaded him. Prophet Muhammad's mother died when he was 6, and his grandfather Abdul Muttalib lovingly cared for him; he used to say, “I swear by Allah that this boy will hold a significant position.” When his grandfather died, Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) lived with his uncle, Abu Talib who treated him equally well. Abu Talib said that when Muhammad (peace be upon him) ate with his family as a child, they always had their full of food and drink and when he was absent, they ate little and were not satisfied. All his sons got up in the morning disheveled whereas this special boy was invariably neat and anointed with scented oils. He (peace be upon him) was labeled by his tribe as the ‘honest and trustworthy one'. When Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) was 12 years old, he went with his uncle on a journey to Syria for trade. On the outskirts of Syria, they met a Roman monk who recognized that this boy was a Prophet. He said, “Allah will send him with a Message which will be a mercy to all beings”. Puzzled, Abu Talib asked how the monk was so certain of these predictions. The monk replied, “When you appeared in the distance, all stones and trees prostrated themselves, which they never do except for a Prophet. I can recognize him also by the seal of Prophethood which is below his shoulder. We learnt this from our Books.” In this glorious month, we can honor our Prophet (peace be upon him) by reading his biography, praying for him, and by striving to be as kind, gentle, just, non-discriminatory, tolerant, honest, and trustworthy as him. What others had to say about Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him): Hart said, “My choice of Muhammad to lead the list of the world's most influential persons may surprise some readers and may be questioned by others, but he was the only man in history who was supremely successful on both the religious and secular level.” – Michael Hart, an American author, picked Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) as number 1 in his book The 100: A Ranking of the Most Influential Persons in History. “The world is in dire need of a man with the mind of Muhammad. Religious people in the Middle Ages, due to their ignorance and prejudice, had pictured him in a very dark way as they used to consider him the enemy of Christianity. But after looking into the story of this man I found it to be an amazing and a miraculous one, and I came to the conclusion that he was never an enemy of Christianity, and must be called instead the savior of humanity. In my opinion, if he was to be given control over the world today, he would solve our problems and secure the peace and happiness which the world is longing for.” – George Bernard Shaw, an Irish playwright, journalist, and novelist “If greatness of purpose, smallness of means, and astonishing results are the three criteria of a human genius, who could dare compare any great man in history with Muhammad? The most famous men created arms, laws, and empires only. They founded, if anything at all, no more than material powers which often crumbled away before their eyes. This man moved not only armies, legislations, empires, peoples, dynasties, but millions of men in one-third of the then inhabited world; and more than that, he moved the altars, the gods, the religions, the ideas, the beliefs and the souls. Philosopher, Orator, Apostle, Legislator, Conqueror of Ideas, Restorer of Rational beliefs... The founder of twenty terrestrial empires and of one spiritual empire -- that is Muhammad. As regards all standards by which human greatness may be measured, we may well ask, is there any man greater than he?” –Alphonse de La Martaine wrote in Historie de la Turquie “Muhammad was a shining example to his people. His character was pure and stainless. His house, his dress, his food - they were characterized by a rare simplicity. So unpretentious was he that he would receive from his companions no special mark of reverence, nor would he accept any service from his slave which he could do for himself. He was accessible to all and at all times. He visited the sick and was full of sympathy for all. Unlimited was his benevolence and generosity as also was his anxious care for the welfare of the community.” – Dr. Gustav Weil ,wrote in History of the Islamic Peoples “Us, Europeans, with all our concepts could not reach what Muhammad has reached, and no one will be able to supersede him. I have looked in the history of humanity for an example and found that it was Muhammad, as the truth must be revealed. Indeed, Muhammad succeeded to subdue the entire world to monotheism.” – Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, the German writer said:
