Press Release
Rabi ul-Awwal’s Lessons for the Muslims in General, and their Military Officers in Particular

O Muslims! The appointing of Muhammad (saw) as the Mercy to all Humankind, the final Prophet and Messenger occurred during Rabi ul-Awwal.

Abu al-Hasan Ali bin Hussein bin Ali Masudi (d.: 346 AH) narrated in his book, التنبيه والإشراف “Warning and Nobility” as follows, فلما بلغ أربعين سنة بعثه الله عز وجل الى الناس كافة يوم الاثنين لعشر خلون من شهر ربيع الأول... وله ﷺ يومئذ أربعون سنة وتنوزع في أول من آمن به من الذكور، بعد إجماعهم على أن أول من آمن به من الإناث خديجة“... And when he reached forty years of age, Allah (swt) appointed him as Prophet to all the people on Monday in the first ten days of RabiulAwwal ... On that day RasulAllah (saw) was forty years of age and he was the first of the men to believe, and by consensus (of the Companions) Khadija (ra) was the first of the women to believe.”

Ahmed bin Mohammed bin Abu Bakr bin Abdul Malik Al-Qastalaani, Al-Qutaybee, Al Misree, Abul Abbas, Shahabuddin (d.: 923 AH) in his book المواهب اللدنية بالمنح المحمدية “The Bounties for Earth by the Granting of Muhammad,”ولما بلغ رسول الله ﷺ أربعين سنة... وقال ابن عبد البر: يوم الاثنين لثمان من ربيع الأول سنة إحدى وأربعين من الفيل. وقيل: فى أول ربيع: بعثه الله رحمة للعالمين، ورسولا إلى كافة الثقلين أجمعين “When the Messenger of Allah (saw) reached forty years of age ... And Ibn Abd al-Barr said: Monday the Eighth of Rabi ul-Awwal forty-one years after the elephant. It is said: in RabiulAwwal, Allah appointed him as a Mercy to all Humankind and a Messenger to all races.”

Thus, in Rabi ul Awwal, the Messenger of Allah (saw) was appointed for all the peoples, the Arab and the non-Arab, the African and the Asian, the European and the American. Allah (swt) said,

[وَمَا أَرْسَلْنَاكَ إِلاَّ رَحْمَةً لِلْعَالَمِينَ]

“We did not send you save as a Mercy to all of Humankind.” [Surah Al-Anbiyya 21:107]. His (saw) message was as a mercy for all humankind and for prevailing over all the other ways of life, even though those who make partners with Allah (swt) may dislike it.

O Muslims! Rabi ul Awwal was witness to another gift, that of the Hijrah of the Messenger of Allah (saw) to establish Islam as a state for the first time, in Madinah, Al-Munawwara, illuminated by the light of Guidance.

Having secured the Nussrah from the two strong tribes of Madinah, Bani Khazraj and Bani al-Aws, the stage was set for the Hijrah of the Messenger of Allah (saw) from the oppression in Makkah to ruling by Islam in Madinah.

Bukhaari in his Saheeh from Ibn Shihab who said that Urwah ibn al-Zubayr told him,وَسَمِعَ المُسْلِمُونَ بِالْمَدِينَةِ مَخْرَجَ رَسُولِ اللَّهِ ﷺ مِنْ مَكَّةَ... فَتَلَقَّوْا رَسُولَ اللَّهِ ﷺ بِظَهْرِ الحَرَّةِ، فَعَدَلَ بِهِمْ ذَاتَ اليَمِينِ، حَتَّى نَزَلَ بِهِمْ فِي بَنِي عَمْرِو بْنِ عَوْفٍ، وَذَلِكَ يَوْمَ الِاثْنَيْنِ مِنْ شَهْرِ رَبِيعٍ الأَوَّلِ “and Muslims of Madinah heard of the departure of RasulAllah (saw) from Makkah... and they met RasulAllah (saw) in Bani Amr Ibn Auf's tribe, and that was on a Monday in the month of Rabi ul-Awwal ...”

And Ibn Hibbaan narrated in his Saheeh from al-Baraa who said, أَنَّ قُدُومَهُ ﷺ الْمَدِينَةَ كَانَ يَوْمَ الِاثْنَيْنِ لِاثْنَتَيْ عَشْرَةَ لَيْلَةً خَلَتْ مِنْ رَبِيعٍ الْأَوَّلِ “the arrival of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ was on Monday on the night of the twelfth of Rabi ul Awwal.”

At-Tabari said in his “The History of the Messengers and Rulers,”حَدَّثَنَا ابْنُ حُمَيْدٍ، قَالَ: حَدَّثَنَا سَلَمَةُ، عَنِ ابْنِ إِسْحَاقَ، عَنِ الزُّهْرِيِّ، قال: قدم رسول الله ﷺ الْمَدِينَةَ يَوْمَ الاثْنَيْنِ، لاثْنَتَيْ عَشْرَةَ لَيْلَةً خَلَتْ مِنْ شَهْرِ رَبِيعٍ الأَوَّلِ “We heard from Ibn Hamid, who  said: We heard from Salamah , from Ibn Ishaaq, from Az-Zohri who said: RasulAllah (saw) arrived in Madinah on Monday of the night of the twelfth of Rabi ul Awwal.”

Thus, Rabiul Awwal was the month in which the Messenger of Allah (saw) was granted the Hukm (Ruling). Now the first Islamic state had been established, allowing Islam to be implemented in all its glory.

O Muslims! Let Rabi ul-Awwal and the gifts it witnessed inspire us to raise the message of Islam, as a comfort for the oppressed and a stern warning to the oppressor rulers. Let the gratitude for its gifts grant us the patience and fortitude to be unwavering in our march for Islam, despite the oppression of the tyrant rulers. Let our love of the Messenger of Allah (saw) spur us to strip away the false borders of nationalism that have divided us into over fifty countries and unify us as one Khilafah state under the flag of La Ilaha Ila Allah Muhammad ur-RasulAllah.

O Muslim Military Officers! Let the Hijrah of the Messenger of Allah (saw) that Rabi ul-Awal witnessed motivate the men of war amongst us today, within our armed forces, to give their Nussrah (Material Support) for the establishment the Khilafah (Caliphate) on the Method of Prophethood. Let us strive for the return of the Ummah, as a witness over all of Humankind, implementing Islam as a state and carrying its guidance such that it prevails all other ways of life.

Media Office of Hizb ut Tahrir
in Wilayah Pakistan