The most famous of these devotional Mawlid poems is a Turkish version that dates back to about 700 years ago. Written by Suleyman Chelebi, this Mawlid poem (referred to in Turkish as the Mevlut) offers a somewhat rare point of view in Abrahamic traditions: a chance to see a central religious narrative from the point of view of a female character — in this case Muhammad’s (Salla Llahu ‘alayhi wa sallam) mother, Amina (Radi Allahu ‘anha).
The narrative is something of a “super best friends” episode of great luminous women of religious history: Sayyida Asiya (‘alayhi sallam) (who raised Moses), and Lady Mariam (‘alayhi sallam), the mother of Sayyiduna ‘Isa (‘alayhi sallam)
Some have said that of these charming three
One was Asiya of moonlike face,
One was Lady Mary without doubt,
And the third a houri beautiful.
Then these moonfaced three drew gently near
And they greeted me with kindness here;
Then they sat around me, and they gave
The good tidings of Muhammad’s birth;
Said to me: “A son like this your son
Has not come since God has made this world,
And the Mighty One did never grant
Such a lovely son as will be yours.
You have found great happiness,
O dear For from you that virtuous one is born!
He that comes is King of Knowledge high,
Is the mine of gnosis and tawhid [monotheism].
For the love of him the sky revolves,
Men and jinn are longing for his face.
This night is the night that he, so pure
Will suffuse the worlds with radiant light!
This night, earth becomes a Paradise,
This night God shows mercy to the world.
This night those with heart are filled with joy,
This night gives the lovers a new life.
THE ETHIOPIAN HERALD SUNDAY EDITION 15 SEPTEMBER 2024
