Love for our beloved Prophet MUHAMMAD (Sallallahu Alayhi Wasallam)

Before any further discussion, let us agree on the basics. The strength of love for the Messenger of Allah Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) is directly connected to our Imaan. When our Imaan increases, our love for the Prophet also increases. Loving the Prophet is an act of obedience to Allah and a means of drawing closer to Allah. Loving the Prophet is one of the obligatory duties in Islam. Allah says: Say, (O Prophet), "If your fathers, your sons, your brothers, your wives, your relatives, wealth which you have obtained, commerce wherein you fear decline, and dwellings with which you are pleased are more beloved to you than Allah and His Messenger and jihad in His cause, then wait until Allah executes His command. And Allah does not guide the defiantly disobedient people. (Chapter 9: Verse 24) Our beloved Prophet also loved us too. Allah declares: There has certainly come to you a Messenger from among yourselves. Grievous to him is what you suffer; (he is) concerned over you and to the believers he is kind and merciful. (Chapter 9: Verse 128) The Prophets love was not just limited to the believers. In a way he loved all of Allahs creation. Allah says in the Quran: And We have not sent you (O Prophet), except as a mercy to the worlds. (Chapter 21: Verse 107) Sayyiduna Anas (may Allah be pleased with him) narrated that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said: None of you truly believes until I am more beloved to him than his father, his child and all the people. (Al-Bukhari and Muslim) Some versions add: his life, his wealth and his family. Love for Prophet Muhammad is a measure of our faith and inner conviction. Our faith is completed and perfected only when our love for the Prophet exceeds our love for everything else in this world, including our own lives. Allah says in the Noble Quran: The Prophet is more worthy of the believers than their own selves, and his wives are [in the position of] their mothers. (Chapter 33: Verse 6) The Companions of the Prophet (Ashaab), especially the noblest of them, expressed such love for the Prophet. The Caliph Ali ibn Abi Talib (may Allah be pleased with him), speaking on behalf of all the community of the Companions in Madinah is reported to have said: The Holy Prophet is dearer to us than our wealth, our children, our fathers, our forefathers, our mothers and cool water at the time of severe thirst.

Love for the Prophet breathes LIFE and SPIRIT into our practice of the religion of Islam. Without it our religious deeds reduce to an empty adherence to just a set of dead rules and rituals. The necessity of love for our beloved Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) can be realized by the following: 1. He was sent by Allah, our Creator and Sustainer, Who chose him above all of creation to convey the message of Allah to mankind. Allah chose him because He loved him and was pleased with him. So we must love the one whom Allah loves and be pleased with the one with whom Allah is pleased. We must realize that he is the close friend (khalil) and the beloved (habeeb) of Allah. 2. Realize the high status to which Allah has raised him, for he (peace and blessings be upon him) is the best of mankind. It was narrated that Abu Hurairah (ra) said: The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: I will be the leader of mankind of the Day of Resurrection, the first whose grave will be opened, the first to intercede, and the first to be asked to intercede. (Muslim) 3. Realize that he suffered trials and difficulties in order to bring Islam to us. We should remember that the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) was persecuted, injured, slandered and insulted; the closest people to him disowned him and accused him of being a madman, a liar and a sorcerer. He fought the people in order to protect our religion so that it could reach us; they fought him, expelled him from his people and homeland, and gathered armies against him. 4. Take lessons from the example of his Companions (Ashaab) who loved him so dearly. They loved him more than their wealth and sons, and more than their own selves. 5. Try our very best to follow his Sunnah in word and deed, so that we implement his Sunnah in our lifestyle, and we put his words before any other words and put his command after Allahs commands in the Quran - before everything else. We should avoid bidah (innovation) in our beliefs (aqaa-id) and actions (amaal). May Allah engrave in our hearts the love for His beloved Messenger Muhammad (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) and make him dearer and more beloved to us than our children, parents, families, wealth and our own very lives. Ameen! Abdul Haq Abdul Kadir c/o REFLECTIONS www.ummahreflections.co.za