On the Birthday of the Prophet of Islam ( PBUH)

On the day the one who was declared rehemat ul Aalimeen by God himself, no other thought can be of anything else. Mercy, benevolence, Ehsan, which means favourite to others, charity,fairmindedness, and forgiveness even to the bitterest enemies are the qualities of the Prophet of Islam, Hazrat Muhammad. On his birthday, it seems sad that in the perception of many, his religion has become one of violence, vengeance , self righteousness and intolerance. It is amazing what muslims have made out of his teachings. Perhaps that is the result of illiteracy and poverty among the majority of Muslims in the world today .But then it is all the more a responsibility of educated Muslims to teach our children about the true spitit of Islam embodied by the prophet's personality. I named my only son Muhammad, because I thought that no name can be better than this name. Nobody could oppose our choice this time, but we got lots of criticism that naming the boy muhammad is a sort of disrespect , because when you will scold the boy, you will disrespect the name of the Prophet. I feel this response signifies muslims attitude towards the Prophet and their religion. Keep the Quran at a high place in silken covering and never open it or read it, so that no disrespect is made. What we forget is that religion and the Prophet are supposed to be close to us, part of our souls, as close to us as life is in our bodies.God is part of our bodies and souls. So why should we put it away, refrain from taking his name, lest we disrespect? This attitude has taken us away from God and the Prophet and we treat it as something separate from our usual life. That is not how it is meant to be. Educated Muslims like me, those who got a western education and had liberal upringing tend to gravitate towards western values. Yet it is possible to be liberal and embrace the teachings of Islam. The mistake is that we are taught that for is important. We wear turbans and other accouterments which is simply missing the point. What we need is to understand and follow the spirit of Islam embodied by the values of the prophet, not conform to traditions. Emulation of dress is good but the real issue is carrying his message and values forward. Charity has no shape, kindness has no form. Helping others is a feeling, and forgiveness has no procedure. It is relevant and acceptable to God in any outer form. We do not teach this to our children and only teach them rituals. They stand in milads and fatehas not realising that this is to be shared with others and why that is. For me, the best way to celebrate the prophet's birthday is to help others, give charity and be kind to people.If we can help somebody or forgive them on his birthday , and try to be more like him not in dress but in qualities, that is the kind of gift he would like from us today.