The Birth of The Prophet (SAW)
The night that the Prophet (SAW) was born, many things were happening around the world. We talked about what was happening in his family when he was born, and meanwhile, hundreds of miles away in the Persian empire, something else was happening; fourteen chandeliers in the Persian king’s palace collapsed and a fire burning in the temple for the last 1000 years suddenly went out. Then, the king, who was a state of worry and fear, called his council and asked, “What is going on?” As he called them, his high priest said, “I have just seen a dream. In this dream, there was a camel pulling many horses and they were coming across the land towards us.” So, he said, “What does it mean?” The priest replied, “I’m not sure, but it looks like something big is happening in the region of the Arabs.” The king needed to find more details, so he called a man, Abdul Masih, to come and tell them. He said, “I do not know the information you are asking but I am sure my uncle who lives in Sham knows.” The king told him, “Go to him personally and get this information from him.”
This man, Abdul Masih, goes chasing the horizon all the way back to Syria, and there he sees his uncle on his deathbed, about to breathe his last. Abdul Masih reaches him and sees that he still has consciousness, and his uncle says, “I know why you are here. 14 chandeliers crashing, the fire of a thousand years being extinguished, rivers drying up, those dreams – I know what brings you here. In fact, those fourteen chandeliers that came crashing are a sign that, very quickly, the Persian empire will change hands fourteen times. Kings and queens will come and go very rapidly, and fourteen dynasties will come and go. This dream of the camel pulling the horses is an indicator that the last prophet is here.”
The chaos in that region made the people confused and worried. Meanwhile, back in Makkah, the prophet (SAW) is born unlike any other child. Firstly, he is born in such a state that he is completely clean, and some narrations mention that when he was born, he started doing the zikr of Allah (SWT). On the seventh day, Abdul Muttalib organized the Aqiqah and named him Muhammad. People asked, “Why did you give him this name? No one else in your tribe or lineage has this name.” He replied, “I saw a dream where a chain extended to the sky, the earth, the east and the west, and turned into a tree. Some were holding onto it and some were trying to attack it. Every time they came closer, someone came and pushed them away. When I asked people the interpretation of the dream, they said, ‘In your progeny, there will be a child who will be praised by the followers in the heavens and the earth and will have followers in the east and the west.’ It came in my heart that I should name him Muhammad, meaning he who is praised by everyone.”
Interestingly, Aminah, the mother the prophet (SAW) also saw dreams telling her that she is about to have a son and his name should be Muhammad or Ahmad. All of these things came together and this child was named Muhammad. One of Allah (SWT)’s names is Hamid, meaning “one worthy of praise”, and “hamd” is “praise”. “Muhammad” is derived from the same root word and means “the one who is praised”. One sahabi says, “Allah gave this prophet a name from his own name.” Source: [Adapted from a lecture given by Mufti Aasim Rashid] ihsan.ca/weekly_blog
Monday, April 20, 2026
