Uniting for the Prophet (saw), held at London’s famous Wembley Conference Centre on 2 May 2005 was a historic event that firmly established the Mawlid – celebration of the birthday of the blessed Prophet (saw) – on the cultural map of Islam in the West. It was an evening that brought together Muslims from across the United Kingdom and guests from around the world in a truly public celebration of love – honouring and remembering the birth, life and legacy of the best of creation and the most beloved of God.
A year later on 30 April 2006, a follow-up programme took place at the same venue. Titled Alive in Our Hearts it was blessed with a presence of numerous scholars including the renowned teacher and caller to the Prophet’s way, Habib Umar bin Hafiz from Yemen on his first ever visit to the United Kingdom.
Now these two unique events have been produced as a special 7-DVD set featuring some of the most important voices and personalities in contemporary Islam, including:
Habib Umar bin Hafiz, Habib Ali al-Jifri, Shaykh Muhammad al-Yaqoubi, Shaykh Ahmed Ben Omar Tijani, Shaykh Hamza Yusuf, Shaykh Abdal Hakim Murad, Shaykh Babikir Ahmed Babikr, Shaykh Muhammad Bashu’aib, Maulana Imdad Hussain Pirzada, Shaykh Jihad Brown, Shaykh Hasan Le Gai Eaton, Sidi Yusuf Islam, Daniel Abdal Hayy Moore, Fuad Nahdi, Moez Masoud and – giving his final public lecture – Shaykh Abu Bakr Siraj al Din (Dr Martin Lings) who passed away just 10 days after this historic gathering which was also addressed by special guests including the Bishop of Bolton, the Right Reverend David Gillett.
Sacred music and poems were performed by Sada Hijaz, Ahbab al Mustafa, Harmonia Alcorani, Shaam, Qari Hafeez ur Rahman, Mesut Kurtis, Tariqa Burhaniyya, Poetic Pilgrimage, Albashar, Waseem Yaqub and others.
This special set also includes behind-the-stage features from the 2005 programme, including exclusive interviews with Shaykh Abdal Hakim Murad and Shaykh Hamza Yusuf.
Beautifully filmed and presented, Uniting for the Prophet (saw) refocuses and reminds us all that the message of the Prophet Muhammad (saw) was one of love, tolerance and compassion.
* Shaykh Nuh Keller's lecture is not featured on the DVD set due to restrictions on photography.