To call oneself the servant of the Prophet is not Shirk

Verse 20: “And marry those among you who have not been married and of your suitable
servants and handmaids.” (Al-Noor 24:33)

Allah has called our slaves as our servants (‘Ibad). One can say, “His servants”, “Zaid’s
servant”, “Umar’s servant”; whether Allah says it, or his Prophet, or the companions or the
jurists. However, when one says “The servant of the Prophet (‘Abd al-Nabi) ” then it
becomes Shirk?

Verse 21: “Those who will serve the Prophet, the Messenger (the communicator of the unseen
news), and the unlettered, will find with them written in the Torah and the Injeel; he will bid
them to do good and forbid them from doing evil, and will make lawful for them clean things
and forbid them from unclean things. He will also take off from them that burden and
shackles which were upon them.” (Al-A’raf 7: 157)

May we be sacrificed upon the hands of the life of the universe, the light of our faith, the
Beloved Prophet of Allah , whose blessed hands eliminated from our backs the heavy
burdens and removed from our necks the restraints and the shackles. Please do justice for the
sake of Allah! Isn’t this called ‘Dafi’ul Bala’?

Verse 22: Prophet Ibraheem Alaihis Salaam supplicated to his Lord saying: “O our Lord!
Send in them a Messenger from among themselves, who may recite to them Your signs and
teach them Your book and wise knowledge and purify them well.” (Al-Baqarah 2:129)

Our Prophet says “Ana Da’watu Abi Ibraheem”1, (“I am the prayer of my father,
Ibraheem”).

Verse 23: “As we sent in you, Messenger from among you, who recites Our signs to you and
purifies you and teaches you the Book and wise knowledge and teaches you that which you
did not know.” (Al-Baqarah 2:151)

Verse 24: “Undoubtedly, Allah did a great favour to the Muslims than in them from among
themselves, sent a Messenger who recites unto them His signs and purifies them and teaches
them the book and the wisdom”, (Aal Imran 3:164).

The Prophet will keep purifying and will remain teaching till the Day of Judgement

Verse 25: “it is He who sent among the unlettered people a Messenger from among
themselves, who recites to them His signs and purifies them and bestows them knowledge of
the Book and wisdom. Although they had been necessarily in manifest error before that. And
purifies and teaches others among them who have not yet joined them. He is the Mighty, the
Wise.” (Al-Jum’ah 62:2-4)

1
Dala’il al-Nubuwwah li al-Baihaqi, the chapter Dhikr Moulid al-Mustafa, (Dar al-Kutub al-‘Ilmiyyah, Beirut),
vol. 1, p. 81.
Al-Dur al-Manthur, under verse 2:129, (Dar Ihya al-Turath al-‘Arabi, Beirut), vol. 1, pp. 303-304.
Alhamdulillah these verses of the Holy Qur’an have illustrated the fact that not only is the
Messenger of Allah the giver, the cleanser of sins and purifier for the companions only, but he
is the benefactor of all these bounties to all his respective Ummah till the Day of Judgement.

It is in Baidawi Sharif:

“This other group (in the above verse) whom the Messenger of Allah teaches and purifies
them are all those who will come after the companions, till the day of judgement.”2

It is in Ma’alim al-Tanzeel Sharif:

“Ibn Zaid has said that they are the ones who will enter Islam after the time of the Prophet
up to the day of judgement.” This has also been narrated by Imam Mujahid, the student
of Abdullah bin Abbas RadiAllaho Anhuma, cited by Abu Najeeh.3

The Holy Qur’an has stressed such an importance about these qualities of the Prophet
that it has mentioned it four times in four different places; Twice in Surah al-Baqarah, once in
Aal Imran and once in al-Jum’ah. This last verse has mentioned such words, which have
illuminated our hearts and have brought tremor to the hearts of the ‘ill-hearted’.

When Abu Lababa and a group of people stayed away in Tabuk, they tied themselves to the
pillars and vowed that they will not release themselves until the Messenger will pardon
and release them. Allah Almighty thus sent down the verse:

Verse 26: “(O beloved Prophet!) Take out the Sadaqah from their wealth to purify them,
cleanse them therewith, and pray well for them. Indeed your prayer is solace to their hearts.”
(Al-Tauba 9:103)

Now we can perceive that the Prophet , the remover of calamities, purifies them from the
darkness of their sins and removes the calamity of sins off them. When the prayer of the
Prophet is the solace to their hearts then this is indeed classed as Dafi’al Alam (the
remover of worries).

Verse 27: “No one is the possessor of intercession except those who have taken a covenant
with Rahman (the Most Affectionate).” (Al-Maryam 19:87)

2
Anwar al-Tanzeel (Tafseer al-Baidawi), under the verse 62:3, (Dar al-Fikr, Beirut), vol.5, p. 337.
3
Ma’alim al-Tanzeel (Tafseer al-Baghawi), under the verse 62:3, (Dar al-Kutub al-‘Ilmiyya, Beirut), vol.4, p.
311.