Rabi’ al Awwal - It was narrated that this was the month when the Prophet ﷺ was commissioned with his mission

Rabi’ al Awwal - It was narrated that this was the month when the Prophet ﷺ was commissioned with his mission.

Rabi’ al Awwal - It was narrated that this was the month when the Prophet ﷺ was commissioned with his mission. (an extract from a longer article by Brother Musab Umair - link.

Abu al-Hasan Ali bin Hussein bin Ali Masudi (d 346 AH) narrated in his book, التنبيه والإشرافWarning and Nobility as follows:

… فلما بلغ أربعين سنة بعثه الله عز وجل الى الناس كافة يومالاثنين لعشر خلون من شهر ربيع الأول… وله r يومئذ أربعون سنةوتنوزع في أول من آمن به من الذكور، بعد إجماعهم على أن أول منآمن به من الإناث خديجة

“… And when he reached forty years of age, Allah سبحانه وتعالى appointed him as Prophet to all the people on Monday in the first ten days of RabiulAwwal … On that day RasulAllah ﷺ was forty years of age and he was the first of the men to believe, and by consensus (of the Companions) Khadija (ra) was the first of the women to believe.”

And Ahmed bin Mohammed bin Abu Bakr bin Abdul Malik Al-Qastalaani, Al-Qutaybee, Al Misree, Abul Abbas, Shahabuddin (d.: 923) in his book المواهب اللدنية بالمنح المحمدية “The Bounties for Earth by the Granting of Muhammad”:

“ولما بلغ رسول الله r أربعين سنة… وقال ابن عبد البر: يوم الاثنينلثمان من ربيع الأول سنة إحدى وأربعين من الفيل. وقيل: فى أولربيع: بعثه الله رحمة للعالمين، ورسولا إلى كافة الثقلين أجمعين”

“When RasulAllah – ﷺ – reached forty years of age … And Ibn Abd al-Barr said: Monday the Eighth of Rabi ul-Awwal forty-one years after the elephant. It is said: in RabiulAwwal, Allah appointed him as a Mercy to all Humankind and a Messenger to all races.”

And how unique was this appointment in the distinguished history of the Prophets. RasulAllah ﷺ was given the elevated status amongst all the Prophets AS. For Muhammad ﷺ was not for a certain people for a certain time, like the previous Prophets such as those who were sent to the people of Aad, Thamud, Lut or Bani Isra’eel. No, Muhammad ﷺ was for all races for all times, from the moment of his blessed appointment until the end of time. Allah سبحانه وتعالى said,

وَمَا أَرْسَلْنَاكَ إِلاَّ رَحْمَةً لِلْعَالَمِينَ

“We did not send you save as a Mercy to all of Humankind.” (Surah Al-Anbiyya 21:107)

Thus he ﷺ came for all the peoples, the Arab and the non-Arab, the African and the Asian, the European and the American. His ﷺ message was as a mercy for all humankind and for prevailing over all the other ways of life, even though those who make partners with Allah سبحانه وتعالى may dislike it.

How he ﷺ took to this monumental responsibility that had never been bestowed before to any of the slaves of Allah سبحانه وتعالى and never will be again! How he ﷺ strove restlessly, enduring great hardships with patience, speaking with wisdom and compassion, purifying souls of corruption and forging the firm foundation of a great Ummah in the form of mountains of men, his Companions (ra). There was confirmation within these Companions (ra) of his ﷺ status as a messenger to all races, for within them was found Sohaib (ra) the Roman, Salman (ra) the Persian and Bilal (ra) the African, as well as the Companions from the numerous tribes of Arabia. He ﷺ forged them upon Iman as a brotherhood built on the bond stronger than mere lineage and blood, the bond of love for Allah سبحانه وتعالى and His Messenger ﷺ. These firmly bonded rows of Companions (ra) then emerged as a structural marvel before the tribal structures of the time. Their very brotherhood struck at the bonds of tribalism, nationalism and racism, lowly bonds which deprive humankind of mercy by replacing compassion with enmity, co-operation with rivalry and security with continual conflict.

Dr. ABDUL WAHID·FRIDAY, 2 DECEMBER 2016