Phoenix Celebrates Mawlid-Un-Nabi

By Nidah Chatriwala, TMO Foundation

On Saturday March 10, Naqshbandiya Foundation for Islamic Education (NFIE), held its annual Mawlid-Un-Nabi (s) Conference 2012 in Chandler, Ariz. inviting approximately 200, a diverse group of attendees.

Mawlid-Un-Nabi marks the birthday of Prophet Muhammad (s). It’s time of sharing the understanding of his glorious teachings and appreciating the way he lived his life in the simplest form.

The conference invited keynote speaker, Shaykh Muhammad Bin Yahya Ninowy, who travelled from al-Madina al-Munawwarah to highlight the beauty of Prophet Muhammad (s) and how his example to the human kind is a key to the gates of paradise.

Before the lecture, a well-known and award winning qasida recitor from Pakistan, Al-Haj Noor Muhammad Jarral, filled the room with his voice. Every word in his qasida was dipped in love and admiration for the beloved Prophet (s).

Soon after maghrib, the evening prayer, the audience sat eagerly to hear Shaykh Muhammad Bin Yahya Ninowy speak.

He was born in Syria and his family lineage can be traced back to Prophet Muhammad (s) through his grandson Hussein ibn Ali by way of Musa al-Kadhim. His family descends from the Iraqi village of Ninowa, where Hussein ibn Ali was martyred.

Shaykh Yahya attended Al-Azhar University to study with prominent scholars of Syria, Hijaz and North Africa. He has written countless books on the topic of Islamic sciences and currently resides in Madina, Saudi Arabia.

He began the lecture by emphasizing on how difficult the process of building great characters in sahabas and walis is.

“Building a building is easy, but building great characters is difficult,” Shaykh Yahya said.

He said ALLAH confuses His greatness by testing great souls through life’s hurdles so they can overcome and reach a level beyond human desires.

Muslims must realize their significance as the honorable ummah of the Prophet (s). They need to appreciate the fact that a messenger was sent to them from amongst them!

“Beauty is in the eye of the beholder but beauty is relative,” Shaykh Yahya said. “If you recognize yourself as beauty, then you reflect beauty around you.”

He said Prophet Muhammad (s) is the gateway to heavens and Muslims need to take advantage of that because he is the source of all good things like wisdom, love, beauty and compassion.

Pakeeza Mukarram, a high school student and volunteer at NFIE, said, “I thought the speech was very eye-opening in embracing the greatness of our Prophet (s).”

As the event came to an end, a group of divine voices presented nasheeds in expression of their love to Prophet Muhammad (s). Qari Syed Sadaqat Ali, a winner of multiple awards from Pakistan and a student of famous Qari Abdul Basit Muhammad Abdus Samad, joined Bilal Muhammad Siddiqui and others in sending peace onto the beloved Prophet (s).

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