Sultan Suleyman (R) reigned 1520-1566. He was known as the Magnificent and also the Lawgiver. He was a patron of the arts, beside being an established poet. He was the tenth Ottoman Sultan. He was a goldsmith, and wrote poems under the pseudonym Muhibbi.
These poems rhymed in the original.
–
O Suleiman; here’s your crown:
To be generous and kind hearted
Is the pageantry of the throne
If you want to see your subjects happy
Do not be arrogant, think that they may be
better than yourself.
We are all brothers; we must love each other
O Suleiman a true Moslem regards this solemn behest.
Act wisely, but do not remain unknown,
Shelter the good, and be severe to wrongdoers.
To be a tyrant like a Tartar Khan
Doesn’t befit a Sultan.
Staying silent against aggression
Is as good as taking part.
Do not hibernate; be awake on your throne
Our strong hands hold the fate of the World.
We have to fight to earn
The regard and affection of men.
–
I begin in the name of Allah, the Beneficent, and the Merciful
Secret or open, nothing hidden from You
Dear Lord! Heal my anguish-stricken heart
You’re the Wise One who knows a cure for all patience
Merciful Lord! Thanks to you
You made this slave of yours Moslem
Keep my faith till the last breath
Do not let damned Satan come near me
Dear Lord! For the sake of Mustafa, your Messenger
Grant us your bountiful paradise
Dear Lord! At the day of Judgement
Keep Muhibbi, the slave on your side.
–
Dear Lord! Shower me with your grace
Whether there is any remedy other than You I do not know.
Help me, forgive my sins,
Please, help me, forgive my sins.
–
O dear Lord, you’re the Padishah,
You’re worthy of it!
Every padishah takes refuge in you.
You humiliate the one you don’t like
and exalt the one you love.
Shahdom suits you.
You know each of your slave’s secrets.
If I’m a rebel, please don’t withhold your mercy, give us plenty.
No one can claim their innocence.
You’re the just and I live in your just land.
I’m the only passenger on a sorrowful road that leads to you.
Sometimes tears turn my face red
Because of the shame of my sins.
I’m like dawn full of stars,
The smoke of my burning heart veils my eyes.
This black face of mine is like the black ink of my letters.
My hope lies with no one but you
Forgive me, forgive your Selim!
“O people, by Allâh I have visited kings. I went to Caesar, Chosroes and the Negus, but by Allâh I never saw a king whose companions venerated him as much as the companions of Muhammad venerated Muhammad (peace and blessings of Allâh be upon him). By Allâh, whenever he spat it never fell on the ground, it fell into into the hand of one his companions, then they wiped their faces and skins with it. If he instructed them to do something, they would hasten to do as he commanded. When he did wudû’, they would almost fight over his water. When he spoke they would lower their voices in his presence; and they did not stare at him out of respect for him.” ( al-Bukhârî, 3/178, no. 2731, 2732; al-Fath, 5/388).
Muhammad ibn `Umar said: “(Imam) Malik’s circle was a circle of dignity and courtesy. He was a man of majestic countenance and nobility. There was no part for self-display, vain talk, or loud speech in his circle. His reader would read for all, and no-one looked into his own book, nor asked questions, out of awe before Malik and out of respect for him.”
Is it possible to take the typical second, third, fourth generation Muslim and shoehorn them into the circles described above? What would be their experience?
More than likely it would be filled with boredom, confusion, and criticism all stemming from how very different this circle is than any other gathering they have participated in earlier in the day.
Sitting cross legged is already difficult enough for us, much less being surrounded by air which is infused with odd things such as ‘awe’, ‘nobility’, ‘dignity’, ‘respect’. We don’t know how to handle or envision such words in literature, and we certainly are unprepared to be faced with the practical reality of them.
Which movie prepares us for this environment? Which show? Which video game?
None.
In this void, awkwardness fills us and most peoples chests are pressed with an instinctive reaction to remove ourselves from the heat of uncomfortably.
Surrounded by people that are genuinely devoted to another individual on the basis of their superior knowledge and religious practice is disturbing in a culture which raises us towards complete self-reliance and the total equality of all men in all aspects.
Add a dash of some form of group expression of faith that we are unfamiliar with, and the field is ripe for the ego to rebel.
There are just so many ‘outs’.
The convenient (yet arbitrary) distinction between religious life and the life dedicated to this world, especially when it is intertwined with the buzzword of ‘innovation’ gives us the most convenient of explanations to categorize our reaction.
*I don’t like it, because it feels weird.*
Self knowledge tempers this.
When one realizes the weakness of ones own faith, prayer, worship, it makes it more difficult to come to grandiose conclusions condemning people who dedicate themselves to the same. Humility dictates to us that we aren’t good judges, much less good prosecutors of others.
It is only when one confronts their own bias, in which one finds the reflection of sworn self-esteem and pavlovian pride, that one get past this haze which limits spiritual awakening.
The arbitrary categorization of ‘innovation’ when applied to worldly life vs religion, contains within it the supposition that life is separate from religion. A conclusion which has far hitting impacts.
In this model, watching TV feels quite alright, at least if you try to avoid some ‘bad scenes’. And watching 25 pictures per second on a wall mounted LCD screen is for some reason, so much harder to complain about than having a picture of a holy man who reminds us of prophecy, faith, improvement.
Under this mentality we think: Rock groups haraam? Let us have Islamic pop stars. Let’s have Muslim comedians. Muslim fiction writers. Muslim movie studios. Muslim news channels. All the while, we don’t exclude ourselves to the ‘Muslim’ version of these institutions of mimicry. So they do not help in creating a Islamic culture in the West, what they do is create a bridge of acceptance.
To watch a ‘Muslim pop star’, you still have to enter a concert hall. And to see a ‘Muslim film’ you still have to sit on a couch. There is still a stage for the ‘Muslim comedian’.
These issues reflect the implicit approval by the Muslim community of dramatic shifts away from the cultures which underwent a millenia of Islamization. Instead, we’ve accepted the inclination towards that which has challenged those cultures at every turn.
Islam was so much more than a filter of existing cultures, it brought something new. And these accomplishments are written in sand swept stone of Mughal architecture to the grand prayer halls of the Ottomans, to the poetry of Mevlana Rumi (ks) and the ironic statements on humanity from Nasruddin Hoja (ks).
This system has put the final wall up between knowledge and practice. It’s done this by actually turning Islam away from traditional values and a culture in which people of dramatic faith and unique characteristics were raised and nurtured.
Modern institutions catering to Muslims have been continuing the century old transition from Muslim culture and values to Western ones, all under the name of preaching Islam. And its not always so obtuse and obvious as the recent Azhari ban on niqaab. Pay-as-you-go ‘Islamic classes’ have cloaked an entirely foreign idea of Western style instruction in the mantle of religiosity.
And when examining this issue of cultural adoption, what we have chosen is not hamburgers over curry. We have settled for abandoning circles of dignity.
Prince Bayezid was was one of the sons of Sultan Suleyman I. The Prince is described as being most amiable and accomplished, and beloved by the people and the soldiery, many of the latter accompanying him in his Persian exile.
SHAHI (Prince Bayezid) 969 AH [1561 CE]
With longing food and vain, why should I make my soul to mourn?
One trace of love of earth holds not my heart- all is forsworn.
There ready stands the caravan. to Death’s dim realms addrest,
E’en now the tinkling of its bells down on my ears in borne. [1]
Come then, O bird, my soul, be still, disquiet leave far off;
See, how this cage, the body, is with years and suffering worn.
But yet, to weary, wasted sin-stained SHAHI, what of fear?
Since Thou’rt the God of Love, the helping Friend of those forlorn!
[1] Bells are worn by beasts in a caravan. The meaning is: “The animals are being harnessed for the journey, and I shall soon be off.”
[Translation and notes by EJW Gibb]
Mawlid is an interesting word, and its usage in the Muslim world has given it quite a broad meaning. There are so many articles discussing archaic ‘proofs’ and debates, but little in form of a real world understanding of what a Mawlid means to Muslims today.
Any form of remembrance to the consideration of the birth and coming of the Prophet (S) is called a ‘Mawlid’. It is a title given to anything which exists for the purposes of remembrance and recognition of the glad tidings of the arrival of the Prophet (S). So while a gathering may be a Mawlid, some texts themselves are also considered ‘Mawlids’ and given that title. In many places, for example, a “Mawlid” that is recited is composed of extracts from books such as Mawlid al-Barzanji and Mawlid Sharf ul Anam.
When use the term Mawlid as a gathering, then we find other words which we can compare with to help understand.
For example, a similar term is ”Halaqa’ or ‘Majlis’, which in common usage is a title given to any association which is a gathering for the purpose of Islamic learning. Hence, while a “halaqa” may increase your knowledge through learning new facts, a Mawlid is an expression of that knowledge impact on your own self and faith. It may be, the more you know and learn, the more you want to send blessings to the Prophet (S), and therefore the more thankful you are for Allah (SWT) in having sent the Prophet (S) to you.
If any group of people got together to study something, it would be normal for it to be called by others a “study circle” or “study group”. Even if the studying people called their get-together something else, or did not call it anything, others would feel free to call it a “study circle”. In Islamic topics they often get called “Halaqas” or “Majlis” or “meetings” or “classes”.
In exactly the same way, a Mawlid is not defined by what the participating people call it, but how observers consider the word and what the people are doing. So what term did the Muslim world use for any gathering that existed solely to express love of the Prophet (S)? Mawlid.
Unlike a “Halaqa” there is no curriculum to consider, and no books that must be read before arrival. And while there may be an entrance criteria to a “Halaqa” (for example, you may need to have to be literate, or achieve a certain level of study), a Mawlid has benefit and acceptance for any lover of the Prophet (S).
Practically speaking, any gathering of people to remember Allah and send blessings upon the Prophet (S) can also be considered a Mawlid, since one aspect of loving the Prophet (S) is to appreciate the blessing *of his existence* and his impact on your life.
If this is difficult to understand or appreciate, it may be useful for the believer to consider what their world would be like without the Prophet (S).
Then, when you fixed on that feeling, you can take the next step. If you perform any good deed of remembrance (zikr) and praise or greetings (salawat) because you are thankful to Allah for having sent the Prophet (S) to our ummah, you are performing a Mawlid!
Since a Mawlid gathering does not require that it occur on an anniversary, it can be spontaneous or planned, and it can last as little as ten minutes to hours. Similarly, a Mawlid work of text or recitation can be any poetry, nasheed, reading of sirat, or praise which brings one to remember and appreciate the benefit of the Prophet (S). A Mawlid occurs in many traditional kitchens during the cooking of special dishes, or it may be a special gathering in a Masjid. Therefore, Mawlid cannot be understood in Western terms such as a party or event, although it may manifest itself in this way today.
Mawlids are based on a feeling of thankfulness and remembrance for the Prophet (S). Therefore, for this community, Mawlids are often triggered on dates which are meaningful to us. Mawlids are performed on days that people we love passed away (maybe their passing reminds us to remember the Prophet(S)) or it may be performed on special and significant days of anniversary in the Prophet’s (S) life. For example, a Mawlid may be performed on the days of the Prophet’s (S) birth either weekly or on yearly intervals.
While some say Mawlids are an innovation, those who have a proper understanding of Mawlid as a wide range of activities on all days for remembering the Prophets birth (S) can know that there is no way it is an innovation. Even Abu Lahab, who became later an enemy of the Prophet (S), expressed joy at his birth and his arrival. For this Imam Bukhari relates that he is pardoned on Mondays:
Upon the birth of the Holy Prophet (S) Thwaiba came running to Abu Lahab, the Prophet’s (S) uncle, to give the good news of the birth of his nephew. Abu Lahab became extremely happy and raising two fingers pointed to Thwaiba saying “ I free you in thankfulness of the birth of my nephew”. That day was a Monday. When he died he came in the dream of Hadrat Abass (ra) who asked him how he was fairing in the life after death. Abu Lahab replied: “I am in the fire of hell day and night and have no escape except Monday. The punishment is reduced for me and from these two fingers of mine I receive water from which I drink (like a fountain) for I freed Thwaiba on the birth of the Holy Prophet (S)
The Prophet (S) was in constant thankfulness for his being sent to the ummah, and he would remember his arrival by fasting on Mondays.
I observe this day in fasting because it was a day in which I was born, and on it the revelation of (Al-Qur’an) was inaugurated.” (Sahih Muslim)
Devout lovers of the Prophet (S) still fast every Monday and remember his birth and appreciate it. Therefore, we would call this a Mawlid also. Some will do take time out to do a Mawlid and remember the Prophet (S) only on the year anniversary of his blessed birth, that is not as good than more often, but something is also better than nothing!
Traditional cultures have found their own ways to express their themselves with Mawlids, that is why they are different in every region. Pakistanis sing beautiful Naat’s, while new Nasheeds have come up, even English ones in America.
So next time you hear about a Mawlid get-together, think about attending it, participating and building some more love for the Prophet (S).
None of you will be truly a believer until I become more beloved to him than himself, his children, his family, and all the people.” – Hadith, Sahih Bukhari
So, it’s important.
the truth on 
m.a.kidwai,CME/IND.RLY.(retd.) on 
