– Grand Imam of Al-Azhar: The Prophet’s Birthday Commemorates the Birth of the Best, Most Noble, Merciful, and Greatest of People (PBUH)
– Grand Imam of Al-Azhar: Islam’s Call is Universal, Embracing All Humanity with the Ethics of Mankind
– Grand Imam of Al-Azhar: Arab and Islamic Solidarity is the Only Solution to the Palestinian Cause
– Grand Imam of Al-Azhar: We Are Advocates of Justice and Fairness, Forged by Willpower, Knowledge, and Armament to Protect Land, People, and Sacred Sites
– Grand Imam of Al-Azhar: A Glad Tiding for This Generation is Its Celebration of the 1,500th Anniversary of the Prophet’s Birth (PBUH)
– Grand Imam: The Birth of the Prophet (PBUH) Marks the Birth of a Universal Divine Message and the Principle of Equality Among Peoples
Grand Imam of Al-Azhar: Islam Prohibits Excessive Killing and Destruction and Strictly Forbids the Killing of Children, Women, and the Elderly
-Grand Imam of Al-Azhar: Islam Prohibits Killing the Enemy’s Children, While Zionists Kill Gaza’s Children by Starvation and Lure Them into a Hellfire Poured Upon Their Heads
His Eminence Dr. Ahmed Al-Tayeb, the Grand Imam of Al-Azhar and Chairman of the Muslim Council of Elders, extended heartfelt congratulations to the Arab and Islamic nations—peoples and leaders alike—on the occasion of the anniversary of the birth of Prophet Muhammad (PBUH).
During his speech at the Prophet’s Birthday celebration, His Eminence affirmed that the Prophet’s birth (PBUH) is not merely the birth of a leader, a great figure, a reformer, or a valiant conqueror—though he embodied all these qualities and more in his noble prophetic essence, with the fullest share of excellence. Rather, it represents the emergence of a “final divine message” carried by a final Prophet, tasked with calling all people, from the East to the West, to a single message grounded in equality among nations and races.
His Eminence highlighted that one of the blessings of this noble anniversary is that this year’s celebration marks the 1,500th anniversary of the Prophet’s birth (PBUH), a centennial milestone that occurs only once every hundred years. He described it as a glad tiding for this generation, praying: “May it be a harbinger of relief for the afflicted, the alleviation of distress and sorrow for the wretched and oppressed, through Your mercy, O Most Merciful, and through the mercy with which You sent Your Messenger to the worlds.”
He explained that “mercy” was one of the Prophet’s (PBUH) most defining characteristics, shaping all his actions, words, and interactions with his family, companions, friends, and even enemies throughout his noble life. This mercy was ideally suited to a universal call that transcends time and place, embracing all humanity with its virtues and flaws, good and evil, righteousness and wickedness, justice and oppression, guidance and misguidance, obedience and disobedience.
The Grand Imam also shed light on one of the most prominent manifestations of the Prophet’s mercy: Islamic legislation on warfare. He emphasized that Islam established strict ethical rules for war, unprecedented in human history, limiting fighting to repelling aggression, prohibiting excessive killing and destruction, and strictly forbidding the killing of non-combatants such as children, women, the elderly, and religious figures. Muslim jurists, he noted, developed the “jurisprudence of conduct” early in Islamic history, which can be considered a precursor to international law. They unanimously agreed that warfare must avoid excessive killing, destruction, or devastation, confining combat to repelling aggression without descending into vengeance, genocide, or false displays of dominance. He quoted the Arab literary figure Mustafa Sadiq Al-Rafi’i: “Muslims in their battles carry weapons and ethics together; behind their weapons are their morals, making their weapons themselves ethical.”
His Eminence also clarified that discussing war in Islam is not intended to compare Muslim wars with modern conflicts, their causes, or the brutal scenes broadcast from Gaza, Ukraine, Sudan, or other regions dragged into wars they have no part in. He noted that comparison requires shared characteristics, which are absent here. Islam prohibits killing the enemy’s children and holds soldiers responsible for protecting their lives, while other regimes incite the starvation of Gaza’s children, luring them into a hellfire poured upon their heads, reducing their frail bodies to dust.
He stated that it is time to recall the lessons of history and take heed from the events in this region, particularly in Palestine, which endured a century of Crusader occupation, during which thousands of Muslims, Christians, and Jews were killed, and Crusader states were established. Yet, when Arabs and Muslims united behind the heroic leader Saladdin, the Crusaders retreated, and the land returned to its rightful owners. He affirmed that the only solution is Arab solidarity backed by Islamic solidarity to strengthen and support it.
His Eminence further stressed that Muslims are not advocates of wars or conflicts but champions of justice, fairness, and mutual respect. The justice and peace they call for are conditioned on fairness, respect, and the reclamation of inalienable rights that cannot be bought, sold, or negotiated—justice and peace that reject humiliation, submission, or any compromise on even a speck of homeland soil or sacred sites. This justice and peace are forged through willpower, knowledge, education, sound economic development, market control, and armament that enables its bearers to repel any attempt to harm the land or people. He also praised the Egyptian, Arab, and Islamic stance rejecting the dissolution of the Palestinian cause and plots to displace Palestinians, through efforts to protect the Palestinian people’s right to remain on their land and support their legitimate rights.
