The Precious Blessing

Story of Little Zayd

The Precious Blessing

Mawlana Haidar Ali Madani

Ever since Rabi al-Awwal began, Little Zayd’s happiness was a sight to behold. After all, the days of receiving precious gifts were drawing nearer. This was truly the case because the month of Rabi al-Awwal was a month of happiness and bounties on whose 12^th day the precious blessing of Allah Almighty, the beloved Prophet صَلَّى الـلّٰـهُ عَلَيْهِ وَاٰلِهٖ وَسَلَّم entered this world. Participating with his father in mawlid gatherings in different masjids and listening to the praises of the beloved Prophet صَلَّى الـلّٰـهُ عَلَيْهِ وَاٰلِهٖ وَسَلَّم all month were moments that Little Zayd would wait for all year long. However, upon seeing this particular moon of Rabi’ al-Awwal, Little Zayd had a new idea that he shared with his family.

Every year, two mawlid gatherings were held in Little Zayd’s home. One for brothers, on the night of 9^th Rabi’ al-Awwal, and another for sisters on the day of 12^th Rabi al-Awwal. However, this year Little Zayd’s idea was to hold a third gathering just for children. His mother and father explained that there was no need, because the younger children could attend with the women, and the older children could attend with the men.

However, Little Zayd was persistent. He managed to get Grandad to agree with him, and so it was decided: there would be a special third gathering just for children. Little Zayd’s face was beaming, and his eyes lit up. After school, Little Zayd rushed home to plan his mawlid gathering. With pen and notebook in hand, he sat at his desk for half an hour—but not a single idea came to him! Hesitantly, he turned to his sister for help.

“See, Little Zayd,” she chimed with a slight smirk. “You need your sister.” Then she mentioned that Little Zayd did not need to worry about organising the food and the venue as Mum would take care of all that. Coming to the mawlid programme itself, she asked, “Now tell me which of your friends recites the Holy Quran in the best way?” Little Zayd replied at once, “Daniyal.”

His sister wrote down Quran recital in the notebook and next to it, she wrote Daniyal’s name. Likewise, three naats and the concluding salam were divided between Little Zayd’s friends and one naat was assigned to Little Zayd. Now they came to the most difficult stage: the speech. Neither Little Zayd nor any of his friends had ever delivered a speech before. When they consulted with their mother, it was decided that Grandad would deliver the speech in the children’s mawlid.

Thus, the mawlid gathering was set for 7^th Rabi’ al-Awwal, after Zuhr. Little Zayd was assigned the duty of inviting his friends and cousins, either by himself or by accompanying his father, which he accepted with excitement.

The day of the mawlid had arrived, and white sheets were laid out for the children to sit on in the large sitting room.

When Little Zayd returned from Zuhr prayers with his father, he took his place at the sitting room door to welcome the guests. All the children arrived on time, and the gathering started with Daniyal’s recital of the Qur’an.

Little Zayd recited the second naat, and as soon as he began to recite, none of the children could remain silent as it was their favourite naat. The children with flags swung them in the air, waving them left to right while others waved their hands reciting:

Nur Wala Aya hai, Nur le kar Aya hai

Sare alam me ye dekho kaysa Nur chaya hai

The illuminated One has arrived, he has come with light

Look! The light has spread across the universe so bright

During Little Zayd’s recital, Grandad arrived and sat down on the chair placed for him. After the final naat recital, he began his speech:

“Dear children! A smile adorns the face of every Muslim on the day of 12^th Rabi al-Awwal. Despite differences in colour, race and language, Muslims living in every corner of the world express their heartfelt gratitude for the honour of being followers of the final Prophet Muhammad صَلَّى الـلّٰـهُ عَلَيْهِ وَاٰلِهٖ وَسَلَّم .

Dear children! We celebrate the mawlid with great passion and delight so that the world knows how much we love our beloved Prophet صَلَّى الـلّٰـهُ عَلَيْهِ وَاٰلِهٖ وَسَلَّم Another purpose of celebrating the mawlid is so that we learn about the life of the beloved Prophet صَلَّى الـلّٰـهُ عَلَيْهِ وَاٰلِهٖ وَسَلَّم on this day and make our daily life in accordance with it.”

Grandad continued to teach the children about the blessed mawlid and then concluded, “Dear children! To learn about the life of the beloved Prophet صَلَّى الـلّٰـهُ عَلَيْهِ وَاٰلِهٖ وَسَلَّم , there is a very beautiful and easy to read book: The Sublime Biography of the Final Messenger. You will all receive a copy of this book as a gift from us today. All of you must read it or have their parents read it to them.”  All the children exclaimed, “Wow! Thank you!”, and said they would definitely read it, Allah willing.