Full moon

By Farhat Khan

I  was asked by my friend and blogger Sidra Mushtaq to write a few lines about Prophet Muhammad sallaAllahu ‘alayhi wasalam that I find inspiring. It has been really difficult and challenging to narrow it down to a few lines as I think that all phases of his life are inspirational in their own ways and we can learn from his life no matter which situation we are in our lives. His relations as husband, father, neighbor, friend, guide, leader and employee among many are all guidelines for us in our different roles in life no matter which culture we belong to.

Much can be written about how he sallaAllahu ‘alayhi wasalam conducted social justice and practiced human rights, taking care of different groups in the community including even the disabled and marginalised.  He would take care that the needs of the poor, orphans and widows were fulfilled. With his sallaAllahu ‘alayhi wasalam wisdom he sallaAllahu ‘alayhi wasalam created a community centre in his mosque in Medina and established the fundaments of proper education, spiritual inspiration, healthcare, and charity and built the first Muslim community that proved to grow as one of the strongest communities. And most of all he sallaAllahu ‘alayhi wasalam was a spiritual inspiration for those around him sallaAllahu ‘alayhi wasalam continues to be so centuries after his sallaAllahu ‘alayhi wasalam death.

Learning about the wise, just, kind and merciful prophet of Allah, the seerah and shamail both are full of insightful examples of how he sallaAllahu ‘alayhi wasalam dealt with people around himsallaAllahu ‘alayhi wasalam no matter which religion they belonged to.  When reading about such a personality one would wonder how it would be if you had met him sallaAllahu ‘alayhi wasalam.  I have always imagined that such a person would have a peaceful and calm radiance around him.  And when reading about his sallaAllahu ‘alayhi wasalam noble features in Shamail I came to know that his companions had described the beauty of prophet Muhammad sallaAllahu ‘alayhi wasalam as the full moon.  It is his inner beauty that attracted so many towards him sallaAllahu ‘alayhi wasalam. And there is no doubt that this inner beauty was shown outwardly as well:

It is related from Jaabir (Radiallahu anhu) that he said: ” I once saw Rasulullah (Sallallahu alaihe wasallam) on the night of a full moon. On that night he wore red clothing. At times I looked at the full moon and at times at Rasulullah (Sallallahu alaihe wasallam) . Ultimately I came to the conclusion that Rasulullah (Sallallahu alaihe wasallam) was more handsome, beautiful and more radiant than the full moon.”

I think about this hadith every time I see the full moon, especially the radiant full moon of Rabi ul Awal that that has a special shine and radiance over it. I imagine our beloved prophet sallaAllahu ‘alayhi wasalam to be even more radiant and I think of the mercy he brought to mankind.  His teachings are guidelines for every one of us in every aspect of life. This describes his wisdom and depth of teachings.

May we all have tawfiq to follow his steps and create strong and including communities for all wherever we are and may we live upon the values and principles he sallaAllahu ‘alayhi wasalam brought to us from Allah so that inner beauty is created in our hearts, homes and communities and we become a radiant ummah that reflects our real values to our surroundings and shine like the full moon.

© Farhat Khan, Rabi’ al-Awwal 1433/February 2012