Prof. dr. Hasanović: Mevlud awakens our most beautiful feelings

(Patria) - Prof. dr. Zuhdija Hasanović, professor at the Faculty of Islamic Sciences at the University of Sarajevo, stated that Mevlud awakens our most beautiful feelings.

Mevlud, the birthday of the Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him, is celebrated today, September 15th, or the 12th of Rabi' al-Awwal according to the Hijri calendar, and on this occasion, Prof. dr. Hasanović spoke to the MINA Agency.

By celebrating the birth of Muhammad, peace be upon him, through the recitation of the Quran, takbir, salawat, and the most beautiful verses that speak of the most significant events from his life, on an individual and collective level, we achieve a great deal, the professor emphasized.

"We express our deepest gratitude to Allah, the Almighty, for bestowing upon us the greatest blessing He gave to humankind, Muhammad, peace be upon him, the most chosen person, to be our universal role model and lasting inspiration. We show our love and sincere gratitude to the Messenger of God for all the effort, sacrifices, hardships, suffering, sleepless nights, and pains he endured to convey God's word to us fully and faithfully," he stated.

He added that we are reminded of the exemplary, paradigmatic life of Muhammad, peace be upon him, which enables us to emerge from states of weakness, helplessness, misery, ignorance, corruption, and backwardness, and to build a society of culture, morality, justice, knowledge, progress, and prosperity.

"Muhammad, peace be upon him, through his exemplary life, showed that a person can indeed change and that from a violent, immoral, uncultured, and ignorant nomad, through planned, systematic, responsible, and dedicated work, a companion can be raised who only fears God, loves his mother immensely, respects and helps others even when he is in need himself, and who uses every moment to acquire useful knowledge that translates into life. Muhammad, peace be upon him, showed that a generation of people with the highest spiritual, moral, intellectual, physical, and work potentials can be raised who will be a role model for others until the Day of Judgment," Hasanović emphasized.

Through Mevlud, the path to success is outlined for us, because we learn that the Messenger of God, peace be upon him, started from the bottom, was an orphan, poor, uneducated, and unnoticeable in his environment, but by properly understanding and persistently following God's word, he reached the pinnacle of human values.

Furthermore, Mevlud awakens us and raises us from the ashes; it inspires us not to lose hope, regardless of the difficulties and challenges we face, their weight and duration, that with God's help, we will succeed, the professor added.

"Whenever we are in difficulty, when we think that life has no meaning and that we don't know how to move forward, we remember the man who set out alone from a desert cave, and today billions love and follow him! Problems and obstacles are not there to break us, but to strengthen us and prepare us for the future. We must never forget that the night is darkest before the dawn! That is why Muslims persevere in doing good, even when it seems naive and meaningless to many, because our role model – Muhammad, peace be upon him – taught us so," Hasanović conveyed.

He also reminded that Mevlud integrates us, as Mevluds have always been an ideal opportunity for neighbors, close and distant relatives to gather in one place, to strengthen acquaintances, to get closer, and to commit to mutual help.

He pointed out that on a broader scale, not only the Muslims of Bosnia and Herzegovina, but Muslims all over the world, wherever they are, have been celebrating the birth of Muhammad, peace be upon him, for centuries by holding Mevlud. As he conveyed, "this realization of shared love for our Prophet, peace be upon him, does not allow us to drift apart and forget each other, but rather brings us closer and strengthens us as his Ummah."

"Mevlud strengthens our Islamic identity – in all times, and especially during periods of lack of freedom and rigid regimes that suppress religious beliefs and their expression, gatherings that allow for speaking about God, about the fundamental principles and faithful living of faith, about faith being above all other political and social constructs, and that it lives and gives life to everyone who wholeheartedly accepts it, are extremely important," he stated.

Mevlud also allows for annual introspection – everyone who attends Mevlud should understand that they are there to catch at least a glimmer of the Prophet's light and to carry that light further, to their family, neighborhood, workplace.

"We are all aware that Muhammad, peace be upon him, achieved the greatest accomplishments a person can achieve in their life, and that our worldly success and eternal happiness lie in being as much like the Messenger of Allah as possible. But this remembrance of the Prophet must not be merely formal, that we wear our hair or clothes as he did, or that we formally fulfill what he did in prayer, but also that we live persistently and consistently the values that characterized him, that we are sincerely grateful to Allah, the Almighty, for every moment of life and that we make the most of it, that we love people as he loved them, and that our greatest pleasure in this world is to be in prostration before the Exalted Lord, and not only during prayer," Hasanović conveyed.

He concluded that after Mevlud, "we should seriously examine where we stand on the path of truly following Muhammad, peace be upon him, whether we are merely imitating him by formally mimicking him, or striving to truly follow him."