Friday Khutbah – 21 August 2026 (8 Rabīʿ al-Awwal 1448 AH)
The Birth of the Prophet ﷺ: Love, Following His Example, and Raising Future Generations
All praise is due to Allah. We worship Him, seek His help, and ask for His guidance. I bear witness that there is no deity worthy of worship except Allah, and that Muhammad ﷺ is His servant and Messenger. Allah Almighty says:“O you who believe! Fear Allah and speak words of truth. He will set right your deeds for you and forgive you your sins. Whoever obeys Allah and His Messenger has indeed achieved a great triumph.”
In the month of Rabīʿ al-Awwal, Muslims remember the birth of the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ. It is an occasion to renew our love for him, our longing for him, and our connection to his noble life. Allah sent him as guidance and mercy to all humanity. Allah Almighty says:“We have sent you only as a mercy to all the worlds.” (21:107)
When we speak about the birth of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ, we are not simply remembering an event from the distant past. We are remembering the beginning of a message that illuminated the path of humanity and brought people out of the darkness of ignorance, idolatry, and injustice into the light of faith, belief in the One God, justice, and mercy. Allah Almighty says:“O Prophet! Indeed, We have sent you as a witness, a bearer of good news and a warner, and as one who calls to Allah by His permission, and as a shining lamp.” (33:45–46)
Ibrahim – peace be upon him – prayed to his Lord to send a messenger who would teach people the Scripture and wisdom and purify them. Isa – Jesus, peace be upon him – gave glad tidings of a Messenger who would come after him, whose name would be Ahmad. Then Allah sent our Prophet Muhammad ﷺ, and his mission became one of the greatest blessings Allah bestowed upon the believers.
Servants of Allah,
Our love for the Messenger of Allah ﷺ should not be limited to words we repeat or emotions we express on certain occasions. True love for the Prophet ﷺ means believing in his message, following his guidance, taking him as our example, and allowing his teachings to shape our lives.
We strengthen our love for the Messenger of Allah ﷺ by learning about his life, studying his Sunnah, and striving to follow his example. Allah Almighty says:“Say, ‘If you love Allah, then follow me; Allah will love you…’” (3:31)
We should therefore ask ourselves: What effect does our love for the Prophet ﷺ have on our daily lives? Can it be seen in our worship, our honesty and sincerity, the way we treat our families, children, and neighbours, and in our compassion towards the weak and those in need?
True love is reflected in our character, behaviour, and actions.
Allah blessed His Prophet ﷺ with the highest standard of character. He says:“And indeed, you are of a great moral character.” (68:4) The Prophet ﷺ was truthful and trustworthy, generous and merciful. He supported the weak, showed compassion to children, respected the elderly, treated people with kindness, and forgave even those who had harmed him.
Love for the Prophet ﷺ is part of our faith. The Prophet ﷺ said:“None of you truly believes until I am more beloved to him than his father, his child, and all people.”
But love requires knowledge. The more a Muslim learns about the Prophet ﷺ – his life, his character, his mercy, and his humility – the more he or she will love him and desire to follow his example.
This brings us to an important question, especially for us as Muslims living in the West:What relationship do our sons and daughters, who were born and raised here, have with the Messenger of Allah ﷺ?
Many of us grew up in environments where the name of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ was present in our homes, schools, and mosques. Our children who are born and raised in Europe, however, grow up in a very different environment.
Every day, they are surrounded by sports stars, celebrities, media personalities, and social-media influencers. They may know a great deal about these people while knowing relatively little about the Messenger of Allah ﷺ.
Rather than blaming our children, we should first ask ourselves:
What have we given them? Have we introduced them to the Messenger of Allah ﷺ in a way that speaks to their age, their language, and the environment in which they live?
We cannot expect our children to love the Messenger of Allah ﷺ if we do not first help them to know him.
Tell them about his mercy, his humility, and his love for children. Tell them about his patience, courage, justice, and forgiveness. Teach them how he treated his family, his Companions, his neighbours, and even those who opposed him.
Make the life of the Prophet ﷺ part of your family conversations, so that your children’s love for him grows through knowledge and understanding and becomes reflected in their own character and behaviour.
This responsibility does not belong to the family alone. It is a shared responsibility of parents, mosques, teachers, Islamic centres, and the entire Muslim community.
We need to teach our children and young people about the life of the Prophet ﷺ in a language they understand and through methods appropriate to their age and circumstances – through lessons, stories, activities, and educational programmes.
For this reason, occasions connected with the life of our Prophet ﷺ – such as the anniversary of his Hijrah, his birth, and other important events from his life – can have particular educational value for children growing up in Europe.
These occasions should not be merely memories of the past. They should become opportunities to connect our children with the Messenger of Allah ﷺ, teach them about his life and character, and plant in their hearts love for him and the desire to follow his example.
We therefore encourage parents to participate in these activities with their children and to encourage them to attend the mosque, participate in lessons, and enrol in the mosque school and its educational programmes.
The mosque is not only a place of prayer. It is also a place of education, upbringing, belonging, and the development of Muslim character.
The mosque school seeks to support parents in this responsibility by helping our children develop a love for the mosque, strengthening their connection to Islam and their Muslim identity, and teaching them about their Prophet Muhammad ﷺ, his life and his noble character.
Our hope is that our children will grow up knowing their religion, loving their Prophet, and feeling confident and proud of their Muslim identity.
The commemoration of the birth of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ can also become a valuable family opportunity. Sit with your children, read something from the Prophet’s biography together, and ask them:What do you know about the Messenger of Allah ﷺ? Which of his qualities do you admire most? How can we follow his example in our lives today?
In this way, the occasion becomes more than a commemoration. It becomes an opportunity to bring our children closer to their Prophet and their faith.
Servants of Allah,
The best expression of our love for the Messenger of Allah ﷺ is to bring his noble character into our own lives.Let us be truthful because he was truthful. Let us be trustworthy because he was trustworthy. Let us show mercy because he was merciful. It is not enough simply to speak about the Prophet ﷺ. Our sons and daughters should be able to see the effect of our love for him in our character, our behaviour, and the way we treat others.
Dear parents,
Your children are a trust from Allah.
Schools may teach them science, languages, and many other subjects, but the family continues to have the primary responsibility for planting faith and love for Allah and His Messenger ﷺ in their hearts. Let us not allow our children to know everything about the world around them while knowing little about their Prophet and their faith.
Give them your time. Read the Prophet’s biography with them. Encourage them to attend the mosque and its educational programmes. Make your homes places where the name of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ is spoken with love, respect, and honour.
Remembering the birth of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ is not simply about looking back at the past. It is an opportunity to ask ourselves:What remains of the teachings of the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ in our lives? What do our children know about him? And how will we pass this love and these teachings on to the next generation?
Let us make this occasion an opportunity to renew our relationship with the Prophet ﷺ, to follow his Sunnah and noble character, and to fulfil our responsibility towards our sons and daughters.
May we raise a generation that knows and loves its Prophet, is proud of its religion and identity, and carries the values of Islam – wisdom, mercy, justice, and good character.
We ask Allah Almighty to fill our hearts and the hearts of our children with love for His beloved Prophet Muhammad ﷺ, to help us sincerely follow his guidance and example, to guide and protect our sons and daughters, and to gather us with our Prophet Muhammad ﷺ on the Day of Judgement.
Āmīn.
