The love and the politeness towards the Prophet (a.s)

All praise is to Allah, the Creator of the worlds, the Most Kind, the Most Merciful, Which says in the holy Quran: “And We have not sent you, [O Muhammad],except as a mercy to the worlds.” (Anbiya: 107)

Peace and blessing be upon our beloved Messenger, Muhammad (a.s), which he has told us, that: “The man will be with him he has loved”.

Peace and blessing be upon his family, his noble companions and upon all of those, who follow his path until the Day of Judgment.

It is heavenly order and duty, from Almighty Allah, that every Muslim has to love, honor and to respect the Messenger of Allah, the Prophet (pbuh). For this, we have clear Quranic verse where Almighty Allah says:

) إِنَّا أَرْسَلْنَاكَ شَاهِداً وَمُبَشِّراً وَنَذِيراً (8) لِتُؤْمِنُوا بِاللَّهِ وَرَسُولِهِ وَتُعَزِّرُوهُ وَتُوَقِّرُوهُ وَتُسَبِّحُوهُ بُكْرَةً وَأَصِيلاً (9) إِنَّالَّذِينَ يُبَايِعُونَكَ إِنَّمَا يُبَايِعُونَ اللَّهَ يَدُ اللَّهِ فَوْقَ أَيْدِيهِمْ فَمَنْ نَكَثَ فَإِنَّمَا يَنْكُثُ عَلَى نَفْسِهِ وَمَنْ أَوْفَى بِمَا عَاهَدَ عَلَيْهُ اللَّهَ فَسَيُؤْتِيهِأَجْراً عَظِيماً

Verily, We have sent you (O Muhammad) as a witness, as a bearer of glad tidings, and as a warner. In order that you (O mankind) may believe in Allah and His Messenger, and that you assist and honor him, glorify, and praises morning and afternoon.

Verily, those who give Bai’a (pledge) to you (O Muhammad) they are givingBai’a (pledge) to Allah. The Hand of Allah is over their hands. Then whosoever breaks his pledge breaks only to his own harm, and whosoever fulfills what he has covenanted with Allah, He will bestow on him a great reward. (Fath 8-10)

Allah Almighty sent the Prophet to be a witness and to give us glad tidings, at the same time to warn those which deviate from his straight path. Allah asks us to respect and support him in a most respectable manner.

How can we not support, love and respect him when his love is more towards us than our own. Does not God say in the Quran that the Prophet grieves for you?

النَّبِيُّ أَوْلَى بِالْمُؤْمِنِينَ مِنْ أَنْفُسِهِمْ وَأَزْوَاجُهُ أُمَّهَاتُهُمْ

The Prophet is closer to the believers than their ownselves, and his wives are their (believers’) mothers. (Azhab 6)

Again Almighty God says:

لَقَدْ جَاءَكُمْ رَسُولٌ مِنْ أَنفُسِكُمْ عَزِيزٌ عَلَيْهِ مَا عَنِتُّمْ حَرِيصٌ عَلَيْكُمْ بِالْمُؤْمِنِينَ رَءُوفٌ رَحِيمٌ (128)

Verily, there has come unto you a Messenger (Muhammad) from amongst yourselves (i.e. whom you know well). It grieves him that you should receive any injury or difficulty. He (Muhammad) is anxious over you (to be rightly guided, to repent to Allah, and beg Him to pardon and forgive your sins, in order that you may enter Paradise and be saved from the punishment of the Hell-fire), for the believers (he is) full of pity, kind, and merciful. (Teuba 128)

This is the Prophet (pbuh), who loved us so much that never forget his ummah. This is the Messenger of Allah, who was reading the Qur’an, the words of Ibrahim (as) and Jesus (as) and said: O my Lord how will be the trouble of my ummah!

قرأ صلى الله عليه وسلم يوما قول الله فى إبراهيم: (رب إنهن أضللن كثيرا من الناس فمن تبعني فإنه مني ومن عصاني فإنك غفور رحيم) [ابراهيم: 36]

وقرأ قول الله فى عيسى: (إن تعذبهم فإنهم عبادك وإن تغفر لهم فإنك أنت العزيز الحكيم) [المائدة: 118].

فبكى صلى الله عليه وسلم فأنزل الله إليه جبريل عليه السلام وقال: باجبريل سل محمد ما الذى يبكيك? – وهو أعلم -, فنزل جبريل وقال: ما يبكيك يا رسول الله? قال أمتي .. أمتي يا جبريل, فصعد جبريل إلى الملك الجليل. وقال: يبكى على أمته والله أعلم, فقال لجبريل: انزل إلى محمد وقل له إنا سنرضيك فى أمتك) رواه مسلم.

One day the Prophet (pbuh) was reading the word of Allah (xh.sh) of Ibrahim (as):“My Lord, indeed they have led astray many among the people. So whoever follows me – then he is of me; and whoever disobeys me – indeed, You are [yet] Forgiving and Merciful.” (Ibrahim: 36)

And read the word of Allah (xh.sh) of Jesus (Isa) (as): “If You should punish them – indeed they are Your servants; but if You forgive them – indeed it is You who is the Exalted in Might, the Wise”. (118) (Maeda: 118)

The Prophet (as) cried and Allah (xh.sh) sent Gabriel (as) and said: “Ask Muhammad, why is he crying? Though Allah knows best – Gabriel went down and said: What makes you crying O Messenger of Allah? He said: My ummah, my ummah, O Gabriel. Gabriel went to Allah (xh.sh) and said: He is crying for his ummah, although Allah knows best. Allah (xh.sh) said to Gabriel: Go to Muhammad, and say that We will make him happy for his ummah. “(Muslim)

Dear brothers and sisters, how can we not like, respect and honor the Prophet when during his last moments of his life he cried and would say:

“How do I long for my beloved brothers”! They asked him: Are we not your brothers? He said: “No, you are my companions, my brothers are those people who will come after me, they’ll believe in me and yet they have not seen me”.

Then in what way should we show love and respect for the Prophet? Let us take an example from his companions, which they loved him dearly, they respected him, they supported in such a manner most honorable, and no matter how much we strive, we will never be able to do enough as what his companions did for him.

Here are some examples of their lives:

عن عمر بن العاص رضي الله عنه قال: ((و ما كان أحد أحبّ إليّ من رسول الله صلى الله عليه و سلم، و لا أجلّفي عينيّ منه، و ما كنت أملأ عينيّ منه إجلالاً له، و لو سئلت أن أصفه ما أطقت، لأني لم أكن أملأ عينيّ منه)). (رواه مسلم)

It is transmitted from Amr ibn Al -As to have said: “No one has ever been more beloved and most honored in my eyes than the Messenger of Allah. My eyes were never satisfied enough looking at him as a sign of great respect for him. If one would ask me to describe the Prophet I won’t be able to, because my eyes never ceased once looking at him. (Bukhari)

و لما أذنت قريش لعثمان بن عفان في الطواف بالبيت حين وجهه النبي صلى الله عليه و سلم في القضية أبى و قال: ((ما كنت لأفعل حتى يطوف به رسول الله صلى الله عليه و سلم). (انظر: سير أعلام النبلاء)

When the Prophet sent Uthman to negotiate with the Qurayshi in the event of Hudaybiya, they gave Uthman the right to make tawaf around Kabbah, but he refused and said: Never will I make tawvaf before the messenger of Allah does.

عن أنس بن مالك رضي الله عنه قال: ((كانت أبواب النبي صلى الله عليه و سلم تقرع بالأظافر)). (رواه البخري فيالأدب المفرد)

Enes Ibn Malik tells us that: People would softly knock at his door (as a respect for the Prophet not to disturb him or to annoy him).

 ((قيل للعباس رضي الله عنه: أنت أكبر أو النبي صلى الله عليه و سلم؟ قال: هو أكبر، و أنا ولدت قبله!))

When someone asked Abbas: Who is bigger you or the messenger? He said: He is bigger but I was born before him.

One day Umar (r.a) told the Prophet (a.s):

 عمر بن الخطاب قال للنبي صلى الله عليه وسلم “لأنت يا رسول الله أحب إلي من كل شيء إلا من نفسي. فقال: لا والذي نفسي بيده, حتى أكون أحب إليك من نفسك. فقال له عمر: فإنك الآن والله أحب إلي من نفسي. فقال : الآن يا عمر “

 O Messenger of Allah, you are more loved to me than anything else, except myself. The Prophet (pbuh) said: “Not, by my soul who is in His hand, until I am dearer to you than by yourself.” Umar said: Now you are, by Allah dearer to me even than myself. The Prophet (a.s) said: “Now, O Umar.”

See what kind of manners and loves his companions had towards the messenger of Allah. Are we able to walk in their path, while showing courtesy and good manners towards our Prophet Muhammad (a.s). Do we wish to have his intercession and a stance in front of him in the paradise, his tenderness, his mercy, in the day of resurrection for we are among his ummah?

It is certainly true that the Prophet (pbuh) is no longer living among us today, but we again have the opportunity and can respect him and to behave towards him, as his companions did.

And the only way to achieve all of these is to love and strive in his path throughout our lives. To send greetings (salavat) to him as much as we can and to practice as much as we can from his traditions (sunnah).

Let us start from today, to walk on his requests, where he said:

Transmitted by Abu Hurayra that the Prophet has said: “Belief (Iman) has seventy or so parts and shame is part of Iman”. (Bukhari, Muslim).

Ebu Musa transmits that some companions said: “O Messenger of Allah! Which Islam is better? The Prophet responded: “From that of which the Muslims are safe from their tongues and hands”. (Bukhari, Muslim).

Abdullah Ibn Mesud transmits that the Prophet to have said: “Insult from a Muslim is a sin, and killing him is Kufr”. ( Bukhari, Muslim)

Ibn Umar transmits that the Prophet to have said: “Owe to you, owe to you, do not revert to unbelief after I leave while killing each-other”. (Bukhari, Muslim)

We ask God Almighty to straighten us in a right path, to guide us in the traditions of His messenger and to reward us with his intercession in the paradise with our beloved Prophet, Muhammed, may peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, upon his family, his companions and upon all those who pursue his path until the day of judgment.    AMIN!