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The Grand Day of Mab’ath
ID: 362 Publish Date: 06 May 2016 - 20:08 Count Views: 4213
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The Grand Day of Mab’ath

Heartiest congratulations to you all on the advent of the occasion that changed the destiny of the world.
Today is that joyous day when over a millennium and four centuries ago, the Archangel, Gabriel, descended by God’s command on Mount Noor on the outskirts of the then obscure town of Mecca in the Arabian Peninsula with the following divine message to the 40-year old person popularly known as as-Sadeq or the Truthful, and al-Amin or the Trustworthy:     

 

 

 "Read in the Name of your Lord Who Created; Created man from a clot; Read and your Lord is Most Honourable; Who taught (to write) with the pen; Taught man what he knew not?”

The Grand Day of Mab’ath

The moment Archangel Gabriel brought these ayahs to the person whose light was the first thing created by God Almighty, Prophet Muhammad (SAWA), as calm and confident as ever, recited them as if he knew it more perfectly than the conveyor of the message.

What transpired on the 27th of Rajab at Cave Hera, exactly 1447 lunar years ago, was that glorious moment which would change the destiny of the world. This was the start of the gradual revelation for the next 23 years of the holy Qur’an, which remains till this day as the Immortal Miracle of Islam. Please stay with us for a special feature in this regard:

 

 

It was indeed the dawn of the universal message of Islam. The message of monotheism that was conveyed to the various nations of the world in bits and parts by the previous prophets whose missions were time-bound and confined to particular geographical areas, was now being entrusted to the one who is undoubtedly the best of creation.

It was now the duty of the 40-year-old Messenger of Mercy to not just expound it to the humanity of his era, but to entrust it to a line of trustees that never veer for a moment from the straight and unwavering path of God. No doubt, the Prophet had said in explicit terms: “I was the Prophet when Adam was still in the (uncreated) state between water and clay.”

To doubt the words of the person, whose truthfulness the Almighty verifies in the opening ayahs of Surah Najm by saying: "He neither errs, nor speaks out of desire, but it is revelation which is revealed," is outright blasphemy.

 

 

Doesn’t God also say in ayah 107 of Surah Anbiya in the holy Qur’an: "We have not sent him but as a Mercy to the creation?"

This is indeed food for thought, especially since Mab’ath means resurgence.

It is the resurgence of not just humanitarian values but the basic purpose of life and the goal towards which mankind is moving. Hence it is more significant than the creation of Adam and the start of the human race.

It is more important than the parting of the seawaters for Prophet Moses (AS) to allow him safe passage from the oppression of the Pharaoh. It is more precious than the miraculous virgin birth of Prophet Jesus (AS) without the association of any male for his mother, the Virtuous Mary (SA).

In other words, Mab’ath is not a spontaneous occurrence in the barren landscape of the Arabian Peninsula. On the contrary it is the highest water mark in history that separates good from evil, and sifts right from wrong; for which mankind was being prepared through a long and unbroken chain of divine messengers spanning different eras and various geographical regions in order to build the mindset for the single universal message, Islam.

A glance at the state of humanity before and after the proclamation of his mission by Prophet Muhammad (SAWA) confirms this point. That is why the pre-Islamic society, not just of Arabia but also of the supposedly civilized worlds of the Romans, the Persian, the Chinese, the Indians etc, is called Jahiliyya or the Age of Ignorance.

Even a cursory glance at the civilizations we have mentioned, reveals that despite their pretensions to power and material progress, they sorely lacked such basic humanitarian fundamentals as monotheism or faith in the One and Only Creator; equality of all human beings without any distinction of colour, race, language, and class; social justice as the privilege of each and every individual including those adhering to other beliefs; women’s right to own property, marry according to their will, safeguard their honour and individuality through observing of modesty and hejab that none is entitled to violate; compassion, forgiveness, generosity, truthful speech, that are so instrumental in promoting peace and fraternity; refusal to bow to oppression and last but not the least rationality that not only negates superstitions but grants the freedom of education to all, thereby ruling out manipulation of science and knowledge by vested interests. Thus, when we mark Mab’ath every year we renew our allegiance to all such egalitarian principles that make a true Muslim and lead to the building of the real monolithic Islamic ummah, which Prophet Mohammad (SAWA) preached through practical demonstration and which the present Muslim world has largely neglected to its own detriment.

But was there any witness to the occurrence of Mab’ath, especially when we see the pagan Arabs trying to deny the mission of Prophet Mohammad (SAWA), a denial that made God Almighty reveal ayah 43 of Surah Ra’d in the holy Qur’an:

 

 

“And those who disbelieve say: You have not been sent as Prophet. Say (O Mohammad): Allah is sufficient as a witness between me and you and he who has knowledge of the Book.”

This ayah is indicative of the fact that Divine Providence had made arrangement of the presence of a human being other than the Prophet during such a crucial occurrence. It is clear that God is not referring to an angel.

We find the answer and discover the identity of the witness, when we read Sermon 191 of the Nahj al-Balagha where the cousin, ward, son-in-law and divinely-decreed vicegerent of the Prophet, who on the day of Dhu’l-Ashira had said: “Ash hado anna Muhammadan Rasoul-Allah (which means: I testify Mohammad is the Messenger of Allah),” informing us in clear words:

“When the revelation descended on the Prophet of Allah (SAWA), I heard the moan of Satan. I asked: O Prophet of Allah, what is this moan? He replied: This is Satan who has lost all hope of being worshipped. O Ali! You see all that I see and you hear all that I hear, except that you are not a Prophet, but you are a vicegerent…”

That is the reason it is highly recommended to perform the ziyarah of the Gateway of the City of Knowledge on the Day of Mab’ath.

Here we present you a tribute in verse to the Prophet by Iran’s English language poet, Dr. Hassan Najafi:

 

 

Not in pageant robes nor wreathed in glittering gold,

 

 

Mohammad is Prophet of God in plain, simple mold.

 

 

The truth of his Mission, the beams of his decorum infuse

 

 

His words guide at once and charm even those who refuse.

 

 

The Creator Himself knows whom to choose

 

 

Mohammad he found a gem of the richest hues.

 

 

The suns emblaze in the galaxy of his person

 

 

On earth his mold, while his light from heaven.

 

 

Mercy it was if he graced with prophetic image

 

 

Brought the Book to be his miracle in every age,

 

 

Your bright wisdom taught the art

 

 

How to quell the rebels of the heart,

 

 

Let mankind on your voice attend

 

 

In it is a guide, a father, a friend.

 

 

Stand fast and let the tyrant see

 

 

That fortitude is victory.

 

 

For the guidance of this strayed mankind

 

 

God this hallowed work to him has designed.

 

 

Like a captain anxious of ship to shore,

 

 

With patience many a year you bore.

 

 

With lodestar eyes that love the ground

 

 

Such your paces, splendidly humble and profound,

 

 

Your form benign, O Prophet I swear

 

 

Wherever you, the garb of love is there.

 

 

From East to West, beyond oceans, and cliffs afar

 

 

The march of your mission is constant without war.

 

 

Your mission would reach fulfillment with the twain

 

 

The Book of God and your Ahl al-Bayt, the Thaqalayn,

 

 

See!  Your words’ tuneful echoes still languish;

 

 

Mute?! No, never to Saqifa’s voice of anguish,

 

 

Like a high arch your patience stood

 

 

Your towering mind did mind the good.

 

 

Here the Prophet retires from his toils to relax

 

 

In the House of his daughter heal his wounds with wax,

 

 

A time there was before the Prophethood began;

 

 

Every patch of land maintained its man.

 

 

Spite and revenge spread its wholesome store

 

 

By sword got what life required – blood and no more.

 

 

Their best companions: simple and easy bread,

 

 

Their best riches: ignorance and breathing blood.

 

 

Such far flowing blood sought a kinder shore

 

 

The sword went blunt, the brunt the Prophet bore.

 

 

Love meant love to charm the silent hour

 

 

A precious divine bounty blest its power.

 

 

The Qur 'anic Verses started shooting the pensive ears

 

 

The prayers in solitude were irrigated by nightly tears.

 

 

The rabbles’ rage, the angry steel

 

 

The Prophet taught in Faith’s fortitude to conceal.

 

 

For the wealth of climes the Arabs roam

 

 

To pillage abroad, purchase to pillage at home.

 

 

Of the roughs, the rough life

 

 

He regulated the pace of life.

 

 

Who imagined even its notion?

 

 

Scattered tribes one day become a nation.

 

 

The Prophet did what they wanted him to do:

 

 

A great miracle indeed, the moon divided into two.

 

 

He is the Prophet, as in the fast in the present;

 

 

His Eternal Miracle is the Qur 'an, none its equivalent.

 


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