What does it mean to cultivate deep love for our dear Prophet Muhammad, may Allah’s (S) peace and blessings be upon him? As Muslims, we are taught that he is the best of men, but also He is a man we have never met. He is the one who sacrificed so much for the sake of his Ummah, for the sake of spreading the message of Allah (S). How do we instill this admiration in ourselves and children? How do we cultivate the kind of love that he deserves from us? After all, the Prophet Muhammad loved his ummah– loved us (including future us) – without even meeting us.

Growing up, commemorating the birth or mawlid (12 Rabi’ al Awwal) of the Prophet Muhammad (saw) was not something my family partook in. Whether or not you reflect upon the day (or month) of his birth, it is worth taking some time to reflect on the impact our beloved Prophet has on our lives and how we can continue to instill love for him in ourselves and our families throughout our lives.

The past two years have been exceptionally difficult for everyone. Aside from COVID, many of us have experienced some kind of loss. For me, I lost loved ones due to different causes. One of the ways in which I found solace during times of immense grief was through reflecting on how relatable the Prophet Muhammad’s (saw) life was in terms of his humanity and raw emotions.

We often put prophets and messengers on such high pedestals that we forget that Allah (S) chose them to be human for a reason. They grieved, rejoiced and had families. They experienced the same human emotions we do. This was not by coincidence, rather it was divinely orchestrated in order for us to build an emotional connection to these noble figures of Islam. The Prophet experienced grief on many occasions and showed us through his life that he is just as human as we are.

In honor of Rabi’ al Awwal, the month in which the Prophet was born, I invite you to take part in practical ways that can help you cultivate love for him in your daily life and to strengthen your relationship with him even though you have never met him before.

Below are some of my favorite ways my family and I have been honoring the Prophet this month but also throughout the year.

This is a practice that many of us do when we hear the Prophet's name, and we recite a lot during specific times of the day, like in the morning and evening athkar as well as on Fridays. This month I am being more mindful and trying to send more salawat (prayers/blessings) on the Prophet Muhammad (saw) throughout my day. There are many versions. The following version has been my absolute favorite after hearing it from the morning Wird Al Latif.

“O Allah! Bestow mercy and peace upon our master Muhammad, the

key to Allah’s Gates of Mercy – equal to that which is in Allah’s

knowledge – a mercy and peace that last as eternally as Allah’s

sovereignty, and upon his family and companions” – equal to every

atom one thousand times over.

Including the recitation of Al Wird Al Latif in your morning routine is also a great way to honor the legacy of the Prophet Muhamad (saw). This wird is a series of du’as, verses from the Quran and athkar that the Prophet was known to recite in the morning and evenings (one of which I shared above). It acts as a protection for us during the day and throughout the night. It is a great sunnah (a practice of the Prophet that we can replicate)to pick up and turn into a habit. What better way to start building this habit than during the month of his birth!

The Prophet Muhammad (saw) has left an abundance of beautiful practices for us to embrace and apply to our own lives. These practices, his sunnah, are meant to beautify our lives, place barakah in them and remind us of the worship and glorification of Allah (S). One that I am working on this month is to pray my sunnah prayers for all five prayers on time, something I don’t always do. I am also continuing with reciting my morning Wird Al Latif (or morning athkar), and also making a more conscious effort to consistently recite the evening Wird and evening athkar.

There are so many hadith, or verified sayings of the Prophet, out there that we have learned growing up. Some we may still reflect on, some we may have forgotten, and so many we still may not know. Take some time to research some hadith with your family during this month, and take turns sharing them with each other and reflecting on their meanings.

At the end of the month ask your family to choose their favorite hadith and why they love it so much. I have taken advantage of the start of Rabi’ al Awwal to teach my daughter the hadith of the five pillars of Islam and the concept of loving the Prophet and what he means to us as Muslims.

If you’re looking for creative and fun activities centered around the mawlid of the Prophet, and celebrating the month of Rabi’ al Awwal, Lamia Tatari, a wonderful mom of three and influencer on Instagram has some creative activities and printables. My favorite is this banner of the various names of the beloved Prophet (saw). Learning his good character through his different names is a great way to instill love for the Prophet Muhammad (saw) in both children and adults.

I also love that there are great story books available to read to our young ones, Check out Crescent Moon Islamic Bookstore and Siraj Islamic Bookstore. Growing up, Islamic resources were scarce and poorly published. Alhamdulillah for the abundance of creatives, authors and illustrators who have made it possible to learn about our deen in a vibrant and fun way!

I hope this post has inspired you to revisit your relationship with the best of men, our beloved Muhammad (saw). He was sent down as a mercy to mankind, and indeed through his teachings and his life, we learn how to strengthen our relationship with our Creator and those around us. The Prophet Muhammad’s (saw) sunnah is our manual to becoming the best version of ourselves. May Allah’s (S) peace and blessings be upon him.