Qasa'id for Rabiʿ al-Awwal & The Ahmadan Outpouring

Author: Shaykh al-Islām Ibrāhīm Niasse
Translator: Talut ibn Sulaiman Dawood
Publisher: Imam Ghazali Publishing
ISBN: 9781966329725
Weight: 0.2 kg
Pages: 110 pp
Year: 2025
Price: RM62

This luminous collection, Qaṣāʾid wa Abyāt li-Rabīʿ al-Awwal wa al-Fayḍ al-Aḥmadī, gathers together the poems and devotional couplets of Shaykh al-Islām Ibrāhīm Niasse (1900–1975), one of the greatest Muslim scholars of the 20th century. Known to millions across West Africa and beyond as the bringer of the Fayḍah Muḥammadiyyah (the Muhammadan Outpouring), Shaykh Ibrāhīm recited these verses throughout the blessed month of Rabīʿ al-Awwal, the season of the Prophet’s ﷺ birth.

The poems themselves weave together praise, history, and awe. They describe the light of the Prophet ﷺ that existed before creation, his safe transfer through the noble lineages of prophets, and the miraculous events that marked his birth. Āminah’s vision of castles illuminated, the idols of Quraysh crumbling, fires extinguished, and seas stilled—all appear in vivid imagery that fills the heart with reverence.

The text repeatedly greets the month of Rabīʿ al-Awwal with joy: “Welcome to the month of the birth, the month of exaltedness and eminence, the month of the Prophet Aḥmad, the month of Rabīʿ al-Awwal." Each stanza connects the Prophet’s ﷺ birth to divine mercy and cosmic renewal, reminding the believer that his arrival was the beginning of hope, the lifting of burdens, and the illumination of the horizons.

Verses also highlight the Prophet’s exalted character and unique station: the one “who never wronged at all, from whom only goodness issued forth." His name is described as joined with Allah’s own, proclaimed five times daily in the call to prayer. His virtues are without limit, such that any honor or praise ascribed to him only falls short of his true reality.

The poems then move into collective supplication, seeking from Allah guidance, provision, protection, and a blessed end through the status of the Messenger ﷺ. These closing sections underline the purpose of the Mawlid: to remind the believer that love of the Prophet ﷺ is inseparable from seeking nearness to Allah.

Beyond the beauty of the poems themselves, the edition is enriched with Arabic text and facing English translation making it easy for both for devotional recitation and for study.