Love of the Prophet(SAW)

The Obligation to Increase the Love and Honor of the Prophet (Allah bless him & give him peace)

Allah asks the Prophet (Allah bless him & give him peace) to remind his Nation that it is essential for those who claim to love God, to love His Prophet (Allah bless him & give him peace):

"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 (Allah bless him & give him peace) 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 magnificent character" (al-Qalam:4).

 Love of the Prophet (Allah bless him & give him peace) is what differentiates the believers in the perfection of their imaan. In an authentic hadith related in Bukhari and Muslim, the Prophet (Allah bless him & give him peace) 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 (Allah bless him & give him peace) 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" (Allah bless him & give him peace) (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 (Allah bless him & give him peace).

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 (Allah bless him & give him peace)

We are encouraged to pray on the Prophet (pbuh) 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 (Allah bless him & give him peace)

To express happiness for the Prophet (Allah bless him & give him peace) 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 (Allah bless him & give him peace), of whom Allah says,

"We did not send you except as a mercy to human beings" (Al-Anbiya' 107).

Because the Prophet (Allah bless him & give him peace) 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 (Allah bless him & give him peace).

4. The Obligation to Know Sira and Imitate Its Central Character

We are asked to know about our Prophet (Allah bless him & give him peace), 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 (Allah bless him & give him peace) 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 (Allah bless him & give him peace)?

The Prophet Allah, Rasulullah (Allah bless him & give him peace) 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 (Allah bless him & give him peace) 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 (Allah bless him & give him peace) 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 (Allah bless him & give him peace) 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 Woman (4) 115

The Prophet (Allah bless him & give him peace) said: "Anyone who dislikes my sunna is not of me."

Bukhari and Muslim
 

7. Additional Proof

(1) Concerning Respect and Love For The Prophet (Allah bless him & give him peace)

The Community [of Muslim Scholars] is unanimous concerning the obligation to magnify and exalt the Prophet (Allah bless him & give him peace), his Family, and his Companions. It was the practice of the Pious Predecessors and the Imams of the past that whenever the Prophet (Allah bless him & give him peace) 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 (Allah bless him & give him peace) mentioned. Imam Malik would not mention a hadith except in a state of ritual purity. 'Abdal-Rahman ibn al-Qasim ibn Muhammad ibn Abu Bakr al-Siddiq would turn red and stammer whenever he heard the Prophet mentioned (Allah bless him & give him peace).
   As for 'Amir ibn 'AbdAllah 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) (Allah bless  him & give him peace) 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 "Wasilatal-islambi al-nabi'alayhi al-salat waal-salam" (The Means to Islam Through the Prophet (Allah bless him & give him peace); 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 (Allah bless him & give him peace), such as Abu Hurayra is a sign of belief, according to the exact wording of the Prophet (Allah bless him & give him peace) 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 (Allah bless him & give him peace) 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 (Allah bless him & give him peace) said: "O Allah! Guide Abu Hurayra's mother."
   Then I returned home cheered up by the Prophet's (Allah bless him & give him peace) 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 head cover (khimr) 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 (Allah bless him & give him peace) , 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 (Allah bless him & give him peace) 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 (Allah bless him & give him peace) 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'�la) and his Messenger (Allah bless him & give him peace)

A man asked the Prophet (Allah bless him & give him peace) about the Hour (i.e. Day of Judgment) saying, "When will the Hour be?" The Prophet (Allah bless him & give him peace) said, "What have you prepared for it?" The man said, "Nothing, except that I love Allah and His Apostle. "The Prophet (Allah bless him & give him peace) 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 (Allah bless him & give him peace) , 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 (Allah bless him & give him peace) 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 (Allah bless him & give him peace) 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 (Allah bless him & give him peace) 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 (Allah bless him & give him peace) said: "Do not curse him. I swear by Allah that I know he loves Allah and His Messenger." (Allah bless him & give him peace). Bukhari.

The Birth of Islam 1

In the holiest land of Arabia
In the tribal of Quresh
It was in Makkah
The Prophet Mohammad was born
The Holy Quran was blessed upon him in cave of Hira
When Gabriel asked him to recite Holy Quran
It was the beginning of the religion Islam
This is how Islam was born
Prophet Mohammad said there are five pillars of Islam
Faith in Allah, Prayers, Fasting, Charity and Haj
He said tolerance is what Islam teaches
Without these basic things there is no Islam
He travel across the communities
And said I am the messenger of Allah
Read this Holy book, this is word of Allah
This is Holy Quran as it comes to me
When the news of Mohammad reaches Far East
King of Egypt came to meet Prophet Mohammad

He was surprised to see his living style
He thought that he might be living in a castle
And found him sitting and preaching under a tree
Is this is how you live? asked the King
Yes he said I am Mohammad my life is simple as you see
I am not a King or have any servants
And the castle that you were expecting to see
Allah has given me all that I need
My life is simple as you can see
Where is your food that you eat?" asked the King
Prophet Mohammad said this is dates, which I eat
That king was so impressed by what he saw
And said "Like you a true Muslim can I also be"?
Prophet Mohammad said always forgive your enemy
As I did to that lady who used to throw garbage at me
One day no garbage came on me
I began to worry about her health
And found her in great pain
I comfort her and provided help that she need
She began to cry and said I am feeling ashamed for what I did?

She was so impressed and became a Muslim
At the age of 63, when he was near to his death
He calls to all Muslims to have unity
I am leaving behind for you two things to follow
It is my life (sunnah) and the Holy Quran.

Copy right ( 2005 ) Wasi Siddiqui