Love Of The Prophet And Following His Example
Chapters:
1. The Obligation to Increase the Love and Honor of the Prophet (saws)
2. Allah Said: Invoke Blessings on the Prophet (saws)
3. Allah Said: Rejoice in the Prophet
4. The Obligation to Know Sira and Imitate Its Central Character
5. Who was our Beloved Prophet (saws)?
6. The Danger of Opposing His Command
7. Additional Proof
1. The Obligation to Increase the Love and Honor of the Prophet
Allah asks the Prophet to remind his Nation that it is essential for those who claim to love God, to love His Prophet
: "Say to them:
If you love God, follow (and love and honor) me, and God will love you" (3:31).
see also (2)
This obligation to love the Prophet means to obey him, to remember him, to follow his example, and to be proud
of him as Allah is
proud of him, since Allah has boasted about him in His Holy Book by saying:
"Truly you are of a magnificient character" (al-Qalam 4).
. Love of the Prophet is what differentiates the believers in the perfection of their imaan. In an authentic hadith
related in Bukhari
and Muslim, the Prophet said:
"None of you believes until he loves me more than he loves his children, his parents, and all people." In another
hadith in Bukhari he
said: "None of you believes until he loves me more than he loves himself."
Perfection of faith is dependent on love of the Prophet because Allah and His angels are constantly raising his
honor, as is meant in
the verse:
"Allah and His angels are praying on the Prophet" (33:56).
The Divine order that immediately follows in the verse:
"O believers, pray on him,"
makes it clear that the quality of being a believer is dependent on and manifested by praying on the Prophet.
O Allah! Send peace and blessings on the Prophet, his family, and his companions. see also (3) .
2. Allah Said: Invoke Blessings on the Prophet
We are encouraged to pray on the Prophet and to praise him, which is an obligation on us through Allah's order
in the verse:
"Allah and His angels are praying on (and praising) the Prophet ;
O believers! pray on (and praise) him and send him utmost greetings" (al-Ahzab 56). see also (1)
3. Allah Said: Rejoice in the Prophet
To express happiness for the Prophet coming to us is an obligation given by Allah through Qur'an, as Allah said
in Qur'an:
"Of the favor and mercy of Allah let them rejoice" Sura Yunus (10) 58
This order came because joy makes the heart grateful for the mercy of Allah. And What greater mercy did Allah
give than the
Prophet himself , of whom Allah says,
"We did not send you except as a mercy to human beings" (Al-Anbiya' 107).
Because the Prophet was sent as a mercy to all mankind, it is incumbent not only upon Muslims, but upon all
human beings to
rejoice in his person. Unfortunately, today too, there are some people who reject Allah's order to rejoice in His
Prophet .
4. The Obligation to Know Sira and Imitate Its Central Character
We are asked to know about our Prophet , about his life, about his miracles, about his birth, about his manners,
about his faith,
about his signs (ayat wa dala'il), about his seclusions, about his worship, and is not this knowledge an obligation
for every Muslim?
What is better than acquiring knowledge of his life? This will make Allah happy with us because then we will be
able to know the
Prophet better, and be readier to take him as an example for ourselves, to correct ourselves, and to imitate him
and thus gain
salvation in this life and in the next.
5. Who was our Beloved Prophet ?
The Prophet Allah, Rasulullah was neither tall nor was he short (he was of medium stature). In complexion, he
was neither very
white like lime, nor very dark, nor brown which results in darkness (he was illuminant, more luminous than even
the full moon on
the 14th night). The hair of Rasulullah was neither very straight nor very curly (but slightly wavy). When he
attained the age of
forty, Allah Most High granted him nubuwwah (prophethood). He lived for ten years in Makkah (see commentary)
and in Madinah
for ten years. He passed away at the age of sixty years. At that time there were not more than twenty white hair
on his mubaarak
head and beard" Anas (r) reported it.
Commentary at jamiat.org.za
6. The Danger of Opposing His Command
Opposing his command and changing his sunna is misguidance and innovation. It is threatened by Allah with utter
privation and
punishment. Allah says:
"Whoever splits from the Messenger after the guidance is clear to him and follows other than the path of the
believers, We shall
entrust him to what he has turned to and expose him unto Hell - an evil retreat!" Sura Women (4) 115
The Prophet said: "Anyone who dislikes my sunna is not of me."
Bukhari and Muslim
.
7. Additional Proof
(1) Concerning Respect and Love For The Prophet
The Community [of Muslim Scholars] is unanimous concerning the obligation to magnify and exalt the Prophet ,
his Family, and
his Companions. It was the practice of the Pious Predecessors and the Imams of the past that whenever the
Prophet was
mentioned in their presence they were seized by reverence, humbleness, stillness, and dignity.
Ja'far ibn Muhammad ibn 'Ali ibn al-Husayn ibn 'Ali ibn Abi Talib (this is Ja'far al-Sadiq) would turn pale whenever
he heard the
Prophet mentioned. Imam Malik would not mention a hadith except in a state of ritual purity. 'Abd al-Rahman ibn
al-Qasim ibn
Muhammad ibn Abu Bakr al-Siddiq would turn red and stammer whenever he heard the Prophet mentioned .
As for 'Amir ibn 'Abd Allah ibn al-Zubayr ibn al-'Awamm al-Asadi (one of the early sufis), he would weep until his
eyes had no
tears left in them. When hadith was mentioned in their presence they would lower their voices. Malik said: "His
sacredness
(hurmat) in death is as his inviolability in life."
The Mathematician Abu al-'Abbas Ahmad ibn al-Khatib, also known as Ibn Qunfudh al-Qusantini al-Maliki (d. 810
H) in his book
"Wasilat al-islam bi al-nabi 'alayhi al-salat wa al-salam" (The Means to Islam Through the Prophet ; Beirut: Dar
al-gharb al-islami,
1404/1984 p. 145-146.)
.(2) Even Love of the Companions Is a Sign of Belief
Another hadith which shows that even love of the companions of the Prophet , such as Abu Hurayra is a sign of
belief, according
to the exact wording of the Prophet that Allah make Abu Hurayra beloved to the believers.
Abu Hurayra gave the following account of his mother's conversion:
I came to the Prophet weeping one day and said: "O Messenger of Allah, I have been inviting my mother to Islam
and she has been
refusing. Today I asked her again, and she said something about you which I hated to hear. Ask Allah to guide
Abu Hurayra's
mother!" Whereupon the Prophet said: "O Allah! Guide Abu Hurayra's mother."
Then I returned home cheered up by the Prophet's supplication. When I arrived at the door of the house I found it
closed. Hearing
my footsteps, my mother said: "Abu Hurayra, do not come in yet." I could hear the sound of water. She washed
herself and wore
her robe (dir') and headcover (khim_r) then she opened the door and said: "Abu Hurayra! I bear witness that
there is no God but
Allah and that Muhammad is Allah's servant and messenger!"
I returned at once to the Prophet , weeping for joy, and said to him: "O Messenger of Allah, good news! Allah has
answered your
request and guided my mother!" He glorified and praised Allah, thanking Him and saying good things. I said: "O
Messenger of
Allah! Ask Allah that He make me and my mother beloved to his believing servants and that He make them
beloved to us."
The Prophet said: "O Allah! Make Your little servant here - meaning Abu Hurayra - and his mother beloved to
Your believing
servants, and make the believers beloved to the two of them." Not one believer is brought into existence who
hears about me
without seeing me except he loves me.
Narrated by Muslim and Ahmad. Also Ibn Hajar in al-Isaba (7:435, 7:512) and others.
This hadith is similar to another sound hadith of the Prophet addressing the Commander of the Believers 'Ali ibn
Abi Talib (r):
"None loves you except a believer, and none hates you except a hypocrite." Narrated by Muslim, al-Nasa'i, and
Ahmad
.(3) Another hadith emphasizing to increase our Love for Allah(ta'âla) and his Messenger
A man asked the Prophet about the Hour (i.e. Day of Judgment) saying, "When will the Hour be?" The Prophet
said, "What have
you prepared for it?" The man said, "Nothing, except that I love Allah and His Apostle. " The Prophet said, "You
will be with those
whom you love." We had never been so glad as we were on hearing that saying of the Prophet (i.e., "You will be
with those whom
you love.") Therefore, I love the Prophet , Abu Bakr and 'Umar, and I hope that I will be with them because of my
love for them
though my deeds are not similar to theirs. Anas narrated it. Comment (4)
(4) The above is elucidated by the following hadiths:
"Among those of my Community who love me most intensely are certain people who will come after me and who
would give away
their family and property in exchange for seeing me." Muslim narrated it in his Sahih, book of "Paradise and its
bliss and people."
A man came to the Prophet and said: "Messenger of Allah, I love you more than my family and my possessions. I
remember you
and I cannot wait until I can come and look at you. I remember that I will die and you will die and I know that when
you enter the
Garden, you will be raised up high with the Prophets. When I enter it, I will not see you." Allah then revealed:
"Whoever obeys Allah and the Messenger, they are with those whom He has favored: the Prophets (peace be
upon them all), the
True Saints, the Martyrs, and the Righteous. Ah! What an excellent company." (4:69)
The Prophet called the man and recited the verse to him.
Tabarani and Ibn Mardawayh narrated it from A'isha and Ibn 'Abbas, and Qadi 'Iyad cited it in al-Shifa' as well as
Ibn Kathir in his
Tafsir (1:310) and al-Baghawi in his.
It is further elucidated by the hadith of 'Umar ...
... whereby a man was punished by the Prophet because of wine-drinking. One day when he was brought to him
and he gave
orders and had him beaten, one of those present said: "O Allah, curse him. How often he is brought!" The
Prophet said: "Do not
curse him. I swear by Allah that I know he loves Allah and His Messenger."
Bukhari