Welcome to a special article on the occasion of Unity Week that spans the two dates of the month of Rabi al-Awwal, that is, the 12th and 17th, which Sunnis and Shi’ite Muslims respectively believe to be the birth anniversary of the Messenger of Mercy, Prophet Mohammad (SAWA), regarding whom God Almighty says in ayah 107 of Surah al-Anbiya:
“We have not sent you but as a Mercy unto the whole creation.”
In the holy Qur’an, ayah 103 of Surah Aal-e Imran, we read:
“Hold fast, all together, to Allah’s cord, and do not be divided.”
The commandment of God Almighty is clear. His Messenger also left no stone unturned to bring hearts together under the shade of monotheism, at a time when the people of the Arabian Peninsula were hopelessly killing each other for very trivial matters. Prophet Muhammad (SAWA) moulded them into Muslims, that is, those who live in peace, lead a morally sound life, and submit to none but the Almighty Creator. On migration to Medina and the founding of the first ever Islamic state, he united the Ansar (or Helpers of Medina) and Muhajer (or Migrants from Mecca) into a monolithic society. He removed all ethnic, lingual, colour and class barriers, saying there is no difference between a Qurayshite nobleman and a black African slave. He appointed Bilal the Abyssinian as the Muezzin or official caller to the daily prayers, even though this non Arab Muslim couldn’t correctly pronounce certain Arabic alphabets.
If the Roman refugee Suhayb had the honour of becoming his companion, he hailed the Iranian Salman as “Minna Ahl al-Bayt”, which means “from us the people of the house” – an honour no Arab companion ever achieved. The Prophet next initiated bonds of brotherhood amongst 740 of his close companions, pairing together every two of them on the basis of their characteristics, sharing of habits, whether good or bad, and above all their natural inclinations and friendship towards each other. For instance, Salman Farsi and Abu Zar Ghaffari were paired as brothers, while another pair was Meqdad ibn Aswad and Ammar ibn Yasser – because of their lofty degrees of faith and firm adherence to the path of truth which would become manifest both during his lifetime and after him when these four would stand firmly beside the Prophet’s divinely-decreed vicegerent, Imam Ali ibn Abi Taleb (AS). Of the others paired together were Zubair and Talha; Abu Bakr and Omar ibn Khattab; and Osman ibn Affan and Abdur-Rahman ibn Auf, etc. The brotherhood accord was so firm and binding that when one such pair was martyred in a battle the infidels had imposed upon Muslims, he instructed the two to be buried in a single grave. This pairing was on the commandment of God, and after it was over, he grasped the hand of his dear ward and cousin, Imam Ali (AS), in his own hands and declared him his brother in this world and in the hereafter.
Then years later, before his departure from the mortal world, after completion of his 23-year mission on earth, Prophet Muhammad (SAWA) spelt the supreme formula for a monolithic Muslim ummah by saying:
“I am leaving among you the two weighty things; the Book of God (Qur'an) and my progeny the Ahl al-Bayt. Hold fast to them and you will never go astray for the two will never part with each other even when they return to me at the Pool (of Kowsar on Judgement Day)."
What a wonderful legacy did the Prophet leave behind! It is now for us to do some real soul-searching and find out whether we have remained loyal to the instructions of our Prophet; and if not, what has made us drift away from either the holy Qur’an or from the Infallible Ahl al-Bayt. The birthday anniversary of the Messenger of Mercy affords us the opportunity to bridge the gaps that have emerged in the body politic of the Ummah over the past 14 centuries. All it needs courage to scientifically evaluate our beliefs, to find out whether these are in accordance to what the Prophet had said, or are we groping in the dark by blindly following the path of those that had deviated from the Prophet’s explicit instructions – because of worldly pursuit or thirst for political power.
Certainly the terrorists who are killing Muslims and destabilizing Muslim states in the name of Islam – much to the delight of the US and the Zionists – cannot be called real Muslims, even if these hypocrites grow long unkempt beards, carry copies of the holy Qur’an in their pockets, bow towards the holy Ka’ba in prostration at the call of the Azan, and claim to be Salafis (or those following the predecessors, that is, the early Muslims). It is thus clear that the Salafis are neither following the Prophet nor his Ahl al-Bayt, the guardians of the pristine Sunnah and Seerah, who never indulged in violence and massacres. Therefore, the Salafis, Wahhabis, al-Qa’eda, Taleban, and terrorists of all hue and colour, who vigorously oppose the celebration of the Prophet’s birthday and desecrate the shrines of the chosen ones of God, should at least have the courage to confess they are not Muslims. But these cowards will not do that since they are the followers of those very Salaf who in their lust for political power, violated the letter and spirit of the holy Qur’an, and ignored the express instructions of the Prophet for unity of the ummah.
May God glorify the soul of the Father of the Islamic Revolution, Imam Khomeni (RA), for taking such a dynamic step to bring Sunni and Shi’ite Muslims on the common platform of Islamic Unity, by declaring the 5-day period of the two different days of the month of Rabi al-Awwal (that is, 12 and 17) celebrated as the blessed birth anniversary of the Mercy unto the creation. Both the Sunnis and Shi’ites know that love for the Ahl al-Bayt is the undeniable Sunnah of the Seal of Prophets and the supreme symbol of Islamic solidarity in the face of the plots of both the Salafis and their backers in the West and Israel.
