Dr. Saheed Timehin

*WELCOME TO RABEE' UL AWWAL*

*Hurray, it's the month of his birth again! The month that welcomed Allah's greatest light into this world.* The month that opened the heart of humanity to the attainment of perfect moral and spiritual maturity. *The month that witnessed the birth of Muhammad, the final bearer of divine legislation - the month of Rabee' ul Awwal.*

The Prophet (saw) was not just a person. He was a phenomenon. One of the remarkable features of his blessed personality is the balance between humanity and divine commissioning. *He was human. He never claimed divinity, yet he was the conduit of the Divine Intention on earth.*

The Qur’an says:

“Say: I am only a human being like you, to whom it has been revealed…”
Qur’an 18:110

Like us all, he ate, slept, married, experienced grief, became tired, tool ill, got wounded, and shed tears. Yet, this ordinary human life was unique. *His uniqueness was not that he ceased to be human, but that he demonstrated how humanity could reach its highest moral and spiritual potential.*

Everything about him carried the signs and symbols of a miracle. *Yet, his greatest miracle was not merely an event - it was a book that bestowed on mankind the greatest civilization.*

When we speak of the miracles of the Prophet (saw), we often mention the splitting of the moon. But among the most overlooked signs is what happened through his character and message. *The miracle of transforming individuals into a community, tribes into a brotherhood, enemies into companions, slaves into respected members of society, an oral culture into a civilization of knowledge, and scattered people into a community with a moral mission.*

The Qur’an captures this transformation:

“…and you were on the brink of a pit of Fire, and He saved you from it.”
— Qur’an 3:103

His moral excellence was so outstanding that even his enemies became the most powerful witnesses to his character. This is a particularly fascinating dimension. *Before his prophetic mission, he was known among his people as: As-Saadiq Al Ameen - the truthful and trustworthy.*

Even many of those who opposed his message could not successfully accuse him of being a liar before his mission. When Heraclius, the byzantine emperor questioned Abū Sufyān about the Prophet, he asked whether they had ever known him to tell a lie before his claim to prophethood. Abū Sufyān acknowledged that they had not.

This gives us an important and powerful principle: *the credibility of the Messenger preceded the message. He conquered hearts before territories*.

Military history often describes the Prophet (saw) through battles and political expansion. But that can obscure something much deeper. *His most remarkable victories were moral victories.*

He stood before people who had persecuted him and his followers; those who had expelled him and fought against him, and those who had killed and maimed many of his lovers at the time of the conquest of Makkah. *He did not turn victory into a festival of revenge. He did reenact the gory pictures of gruesome massacres victors often reveled in*. He declared: "You are all free. There shall be neither reproach nor vengeance against you".

This is one reason his conquest remains morally distinctive. *He demonstrated that power is most beautiful when it is restrained by mercy, and his mercy extended even to those who rejected and persecuted him.*

Allah describes him:

“We have not sent you except as a mercy to the worlds.” Qur’an 21:107

*Note that the Qur'an does not say “mercy to Muslims.” It says: "to the worlds"; to the universe as a whole.*

His mercy encompassed human beings, animals, children, the poor, servants, prisoners, and even those who opposed him. *His greatest concern was not his own legacy but the salvation of others. This is something deeply moving about him. He was repeatedly concerned about people who rejected him*. Allah told him:

*“Perhaps you would consume yourself with grief that they are not believers.*” Qur’an 26:3
He was not merely trying to win an argument. He wanted to unite the people with their Creator.

His personality was a delicious blend of apparently opposite qualities, yet beautifully combined. His uniqueness can be seen in the extraordinary balance of his personality. *He was simultaneously strong, but gentle, powerful, but humble, a statesman, but accessible to ordinary people. He was a warrior who wielded the sword of mercy, a loving husband, but a caring leader of a nation, a spiritual teacher, but deeply practical, a devout worshipper, but actively engaged with society, and a visionary, but attentive to small details.* This balance is one of the most complex dimensions of his Sunnah to reproduce.

He did not merely preach equality - he embodied it.
Bilal was an Abyssinian former slave. Suhayb was Roman. Salman was Persian. *The companions came from different tribes, classes, and backgrounds. Yet, the Prophet created a community in which faith and righteousness, rather than race, wealth, or tribal pedigree, became the basis of honour.*

The Qur'an later expressed the principle:

*“Indeed, the most honoured of you in the sight of Allah is the most God-conscious of you.”* Qur’an 49:13

One strange dimension of his greatness was how he treated people whom powerful societies often overlook. *He sat with the poor. He visited the sick. He attended funerals. He listened to people. He greeted children. He helped his family. He repaired things in his home. He served himself.*
His greatness did not create distance between him and the most lowly members of the society.
The greater he became in the eyes of heaven, the more humble he remained among people.

His leadership survived because he built people, not dependence. Perhaps one of his greatest leadership secrets was that he did not create a community that could function only in his physical presence.

He trained: Abū Bakr, ʿUmar, ʿUthmān, ʿAlī, Khālid, Muʿādh, ʿĀ’ishah,
Umm Salamah,
Ibn ʿAbbās, Ibn Masʿūd,
and hundreds of others.
He developed human capacity. That is why his mission continued after his death.

His household, too, became a school of prophetic knowledge. The role of his wives, especially ʿĀ’ishah, was very notable. The Prophet (saw) did not merely teach publicly. His home became an intimate laboratory of prophetic character, worship, family life, and ethics. *His wives transmitted knowledge that could never have been learned from public sermons alone.*

This means that understanding Muhammad (saw) requires studying him as an atlas of all human experiences. We are therefore challenged to reflect on Muhammad, the Messenger, Muhammad, the husband, Muhammad, the father, Muhammad, the ruler, etc. All these with an understanding that whatever our positions, there is always a model for us in the Prophet.

*His relationship with Allah was the hidden engine of his public greatness. The world saw the Prophet (saw) as a leader. But before he was a leader of people, he was a servant of Allah.*

Allah instructed him:

“Stand in prayer during the night, except for a little.” Qur’an 73:2

His public strength was rooted in private worship.
*This may be one of the most important lessons for contemporary Muslims: visible impact is sustained by invisible devotion. He cried for people who did not know that he was crying for them. The prophetic concern for humanity was extraordinarily deep.*

He prayed for his Ummah, worried about them, and repeatedly sought Allah's mercy for them. His concern extended beyond his immediate generation.
To love him is not merely to praise him; it is to inherit his concern for humanity. His final sermon was remarkably universal

Near the end of his earthly mission, he addressed matters that remain profoundly relevant: human dignity,
sanctity of life and property, family responsibilities, treatment of women,
prohibition of exploitation, equality,
brotherhood, accountability before Allah. His message was not merely for 7th century Arabia. It articulated principles with enduring relevance.

Perhaps the deepest uniqueness: he changed people who then changed the world.
Muhammad (saw) did not leave behind: a palace, an empire,
a personal fortune, statues, monuments, or a dynasty. He left behind human beings. People who had been transformed by him went on to transform others.

Fourteen centuries later, his name continues to be pronounced millions of times every day in the Shahādah, Ṣalāh, Adhān and Ṣalawāt. That is a different kind of legacy.
He came into a world that did not know what it needed and left behind a generation that knew what it was living for.

*The uniqueness of the Prophet (saw) is not exhausted by the miracles that happened around him; it is revealed in the person he was, the people he transformed, the principles he taught, the brotherhood he established, the mercy he embodied, and the civilization he inspired.*

It is perhaps pertinent to conclude with a declaration made by several generations of historians and hagiographers:

“Humanity has known no man whose followers loved him, whose life they studied, whose words they preserved, whose character they sought to emulate, upon whom they invoke blessings, and whose name they remember every day, like Muhammad (saw).”

*May Allah count us among his worthy followers who uphold his Sunnah and propagate his ideals in thoughts, speech, and action.*

Jumʿah Mubarakah

*Timehin Saheed Olurotimi*

*REVISITING THE AKARA CONTROVERSY*

It's been over a month since I last wrote my Jumʿah reflections. This was due to my health challenges. *Since last June, so many things have happened that could have attracted my comments, review, or reaction. The one I found particularly intriguing was the political weaponization of a statement credited to the Nigerian First Lady, Senator Oluremi Tinubu. She had caused a major uproar through one of her speeches.* The speech, obviously made in an understandable context, was deliberately distorted and taken out of context.

Addressing the plight of poor people, *she had advocated that Nigerians, particularly rural dwellers, could survive on the sale of Akara, the local bean cake, or other petty stuff.* As expected, the speech attracted commendations and condemnations. The surprising thing is that those who condemned are more than those who commended the speech.

*My darling little brother and junior colleague, Dr. Gab, an unusually gifted wordsmith, had tried to spiritedly deconstruct the First Lady's message for rational minds, but he, too, was unjustly maligned.* It is, however, clear to the unbiased reader that the woman's speech had only one message: *growing wealth steadily through small beginnings.*

We live in a world where everything is done in a hurry. *Children are hurriedly forced into maturity; rushed through school, carried on wings of vain dreams into imaginary worlds of futile progress. The result? Superficial success: materially empowered generation that is morally impaired and mentally deficient.*

When we say to this generation: *Start small, and build slowly, they are told, "Start big."* They have been turned into a generation that *celebrates the mansion but forgets the first brick; that applauds the harvest but ignores the lonely seed;* a generation that envies the millionaire, without asking about the countless mornings
when there was nothing
except hope.

*What this generation does not know or has chosen to ignore is that every giant Iroko tree once trembled as a fragile seed. Every roaring river was once a quiet stream. Every empire, every institution, or legacy began with something that looked too small to matter.*

So one wonders why they despise their own reality. Why mock the small business? The lone customer? The first thousand naira? The modest savings? The petty trade?

One also wonders who told them that greatness announces itself
with fireworks? *The universal truth, however, is that it sometimes it arrives quietly wearing the clothes of ordinary days.*

Wealth...Real wealth...
doesn't usually sprint. It walks patiently, faithfully, and steadily. One disciplined decision
after another. One honest transaction after another. One lesson learned: one risk, one shock, one moment of smile, several moments of sighs...

Then a brave shift from Akara to puff - puff and buns; then the addition of satchet water, table water, and soft drinks. *Until one day, success comes knocking, and those who did not know your story call you an overnight success without ever seeing the thousands of ordinary nights that built extraordinary mornings.*

This generation should be raised not to underestimate
the mathematics of consistency. One coin saved every day. One page read every night. One skill improved every week. One opportunity taken with courage. This is the invisible architect
of visible success.

And for those of us
who believe. We know something deeper. We know that provision
does not come from the market. It comes from Allah. The market...
is only a means. The Employer is only a means. The customer
is only a means. The investment is only a means.

Allah reminds us:

«"And that there is not for man except that for which he strives." (Qur'an 53:39).

We are enjoined to strive. Strive honestly, earn lawfully, spend wisely, and give generously. That's when Allah's blessings are attracted.
Wealth without blessing
is merely a set of numbers. But little wealth
with barakah can feed generations. This generation should, therefore, not chase
quick money. They should rather chase lasting values. They shouldn't pursue
empty luxury. They should pursue meaningful legacy.

Riches can only fill pockets, but only purpose can fill lives.
Today, if all you have
is one idea. Protect it. If all you have is one customer, serve them well. If all you have
is one opportunity, cherish it. If all you have
is one seed, plant it, believe in it, nurture it, and be patient with it.

*Never laugh at small beginnings. Because tomorrow, the whole world may gather under the shade of the tree you almost refused to plant.* Start small. Dream greatly. Work consistently and trust Allah completely. Let every small step become a staircase to a future that once seemed impossible.

*May Allah’s Limitless Spring of Benevolence embrace your dreams, recharge your resolve, and bless your efforts.*

Jumʿah Mubarakah

*Timehin Saheed Olurotimi*

FIRST JUMAH KHUTBAH WITH PROF. SAHEED OLUROTIMI TIMEHIN AFTER HIS APPOINTMENT AS IMAM MASJID MUHAMMAD ROSULULLAH.

Tune in today from 12:00GMT/13:00BST for the LIVE Friday Sermon delivered by His Holiness, Hazrat Mirza Masroor Ahmad (aba) from Mubarak Mosque, Islamabad.