Greeting Him on Eternal Mornings

Nihal Şahin Utku

In the Ka’ba...

In the Ka’ba which his forefather Abraham built for his Lord, for whom he searched on the earth and in the skies, but found in a place closer to him than his own jugular vein...

An old man absorbed in prayer...

Those living under the sun take refuge in an anxious night; those hunting at night become downcast under the weight of the impending news.

Minutes that seem like an hour...

The moment the universe and all of creation have awaited since pre-eternity draws close; but that last moment is like an eternity.

Time has been held captive by silence; only a entreary arises from the Ka’ba.

From an old man absorbed in prayer at the Ka’ba...

At the moment time stands still, a strong voice fills the Throne:

"Glad tidings to you, O Abdulmuttalib! Amina has given birth to a child, a mercy to the worlds!"

While words of gratitude fall from the lips of the old man 'Abd al-Muttalib, Makka wakes to an eternal morning. The city surrounded by mountains throws off its gloom. The news becomes rain and pours down abundance upon the lips of the desert. While the hanif who never surrendered to idols embrace the light, the unconscious gods of the pagans come tumbling down one by one.

The newborn becomes the blessing of the Quraysh. In the years of drought his prayers inject the earth with rain. Makka consolidates its power and position on the peninsula during the period in which he is raised.

The child Muhammad grows, enabling everyone around him to receive a share in the blessing bestowed upon him. He enters adulthood by passing very difficult tests. Born without laying eyes on his father, the beloved of Allah loses his mother at age six and at age eight the leader of the Quraysh who had taken him under his wing, his grandfather. By losing his loved ones and being separated from his family one by one, Muhammad is groomed by his Lord to be presented to mankind. In the stormy, Ka’ba-centric atmosphere of the Arabian Peninsula, he stands out with exalted virtue untouched by evil of any kind, worldly ambition and conflict. He prepares for this exalted station not by withdrawing from the world, but in the very midst of life. And, at last, he takes his place at the summit of the earth having perfected all the traits that would make him a model for humanity until Doomsday.

First the Quraysh are called to obey the Messenger upon whom God and the angels send salutations. But, their response to the call of the Prophet sent from among them is very harsh. The Prophet and those who believe in him are made the object of an active war. Not because they do not believable the call of the Prophet, of whose trustworthiness they are certain. They agree on oppression (darkness) and disbelief (covering the truth) because they can not withstand the destruction of their social order built on injustice and power.

In spite of all the oppression, prohibitions and embargoes, the call grows and spreads to the farthest corners of the world. However, no city attains the station of Madina which is the first to open its arms to him and which will host him eternally.

Performing the morning prayer, Muslims of Madina lean their backs on the hills of the city and fix their eyes on the horizon until the sun scorches the hilltops. Hours pass, but the horizon only puts forth silence. Hopes are postponed until tomorrow and the people withdraw to their homes.

The people of Madina have again retreated to their homes. The streets are breathing heat. A strong proclamation resembling thunder surrenders the street to the swell of the crowd. Exhausting his voice with his shouting, the crier can only guide the flowing stream of people looking at him with his fingers. His fingers fix on two men close in age to one another sitting under a palm tree. Eyes open wide; the crowds at the tips of the fingers that whetted their curiosity are competing with each other to see. Being tall had never been envied this much. 

Fixed under the palm tree, hundreds of eyes are burning with curiosity regarding "Which one?" Given wings by whispers, this question lands on Abu Bakr's ear. The fortunate man stands up and shades the master of mankind with his shirt. Lips thirsty for the reason for the creation of the universe all shout with one voice: "That's him! The Prophet of Allah!"

Opening in Makka, the rose bud and his faithful friend advance inside Madina with approximately five hundred shouts saying: "Welcome, let us go in safety and peace." The world's most meaningful and magnificent official parade is taking place. The master of mankind is honoring Madina with his presence. On rooftops, small girls with protruding eyes compete at the summit of curiosity. Spread out in the streets, Madina's people become invigorated with the screams of "God is Most Great! The Prophet has come. God is Most Great! Muhammad has come." Shouts of takbir seize the city. All Muslim houses which have invited the Prophet fix their eyes on his feet. The enthusiasm of the city rises to the dome of the sky with the joyful songs of Ansar children:

"The full moon has risen over us the tops of the Wada Mountain; how fortunate we are!"

And the Prophet completes his life in the Ansar city that offered him unlimited support with these words: "We will be with you in every time and place. Take what you will from our property; give us as much as will. We are ready to do whatever you command. We swear by God that if you were to show us this sea and dive into it, we would dive into it with you."

The Prophet of mercy to the worlds who surrendered his soul to his Lord in Madina renews his existence on earth with every commemoration of the “Noble Birth.” He is remembered with great fervor in an expansive geography stretching from the Atlantic to the Pacific.

The world is again at the eve of another noble birth.

The Prophet, whose coming into being the universe greeted with tremor, whose prophethood the Quraysh greeted with denial and whose Emigration the Helpers greeted with love, awaits remembrance not just during these special days, but to be – through his sunna – in every moment of the lives of believers.