In the verse I have recited, our Lord Almighty (swt) states: "Certainly did Allah confer [great] favor upon the believers when He sent among them a Messenger from themselves, reciting to them His verses and purifying them and teaching them the Book [i.e., the Quran] and wisdom."[1]
In the hadith I have read, the Prophet Muhammad (saw) says: "Whoever obeys me, obeys Allah, and whoever disobeys me, disobeys Allah."[2]
Dear Believers!
Allah the Almighty (swt) has sent many prophets since Adam (as) as warners and heralders of glad tidings. Through prophets, He (swt) has invited people to tawhid and servitude, embracing the truth and living in a virtuous way. Prophets have communicated the religion of Allah (swt) for centuries and set an example for people in the cause of enjoining the good and preventing the evil. This chain of honorable messengers who have received divine revelations was complete with Prophet Muhammad Mustafa (saw).
Dear Muslims!
The Prophet Muhammad is the hope of humanity, the beloved of believers, and a reason for mercy for the universe. It is he (saw) who has conveyed and explained the message of the Qur'an to us as well as teaching through living by it. The key to a peaceful and safe life in the world and to eternal happiness in the Hereafter is to take him (saw) as a role model and exert efforts to live like he did. In this regard, he addresses us as follows: "He has found the taste of faith (iman) who is content with Allah as his Lord, with Islam as his religion (code of life) and with Muhammad as his Prophet."[3]
Dear Believers!
It is our beloved Prophet Muhammad who has told us about the meaning of faith and taught us how we should perform each and every worship, as a requirement of being a Muslim, from establishing prayer to fasting and from performing hajj to paying zakat. It is he (saw) who has taught us how to be a good human being, a benevolent servant of Allah (swt), and a mature Muslim. In fact, he (saw) describes himself as follows: "I was sent to perfect the good moral character."[4]
Looking at the life of the Last Prophet, we see that faith and worship are perfected only by good morals. Just like we inherited performing the sunnah prayers from him, it is also his sunnah to be sincere and honest, to treat every living being in a compassionate and merciful way, to uphold justice, to know the value of family, and to take the utmost care of being brothers and sisters in religion.
Honorable Believers!
Throughout next Wednesday night we will enjoy the Night of Mawlid al-Nabi, the anniversary of Prophet Muhammad's honoring the world. We will observe the Mawlid al-Nabi Week this year, too, as we do annually. This year's theme of the Mawlid al-Nabi Week is set to be "Prophet Muhammad and Child" by the Presidency of Religious Affairs. Within this framework, we will try to get to know our Prophet better, understand him better, particularly recall the manner of his communication with children, and reflect it on our lives. I hereby congratulate you all on the occassion of the Night of Mawlid al-Nabi, and pray to Allah that He may enable the Week to be auspicious for the Muslim world and all humanity.
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[1] Al-i 'Imran, 3/164.
[2] Muslim, Imarah, 33.
[3] Muslim, Iman, 34.
[4] Ibn Hanbal, II, 381.
General Directorate of Religious Services