The Prophetic Character of Wafā’ | Jumuah Khutbah | Dr. AbdulRazzak Junaid

The Prophetic Character of Wafā'

All praise is due to Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala, our creator, the originator and designer of the heavens and the earth. And upon the best of creation, we send our salutations upon Muhammad ﷺ, him, his family, his companions, and all those that follow them in goodness till the end of times.

May Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala make us from them.

The Prophet ﷺ as the Perfect Exemplar

Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala says about our beloved Messenger ﷺ:

That Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala made for us in the Prophet ﷺ an exemplar — the perfect example in character, the perfect example to follow. Allah عز و جل said about him:

That he ﷺ was upon an exalted standard of character. And not only did he ﷺ have character from himself, but he said:

(Referenced in works of Islamic scholarship on the Prophet's character and upbringing by Allah)

The one who taught him the character and the one who purified him was Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala.

And his mission — one of his main missions that he was sent to us — was to teach us good character:

To do tazkiya of the ummah. The Prophet ﷺ said:

(Musnad al-Bazzār; also referenced in al-Muwatta of Imam Malik, Book 47, Hadith 8)

I was only sent — imagine, أَدَاةُ حَصْرٍ — I was only sent to perfect character, to perfect noble character.

And from the many beautiful mannerisms of the Prophet ﷺ — I want you to imagine every quality you can think of like a meadow, like a garden. The Prophet ﷺ had perfected every single mannerism, every single character. And for us to even embody and to dress in one of those characteristics, one of those akhlāq, we would be praised by all people.

What is Wafā'?

And the one we're going to be talking about today is الوفاء — al-Wafā'. The wafā' of Rasulullah ﷺ. Wafā' is to fulfill one's covenant, is to be a person of amānah, to be a person that when they're entrusted with something — they have a covenant, they make a promise — they fulfill it. They are people known for their loyalty.

Allah expects us to have wafā' towards Him:

Fulfill the covenant of Allah when you make that covenant. The covenant of Allah that we must fulfill — that loyalty towards our Creator — is in when we fulfill His commands, when we leave His prohibitions. That is the wafā' that we owe towards Allah.

The Wafā' of the Prophets

Ibrāhīm ﷺ — The Khalīl of Allah

Allah says about Ibrāhīm ﷺ:

Ibrāhīm ﷺ, Khalīlur Raḥmān, the close friend of Allah, was the one who did wafā'. He fulfilled the covenants and the promises he made with Allah. From the moment where he was given prophethood, where he stood and gave da'wah to his people, to the moment he broke the idols, to the moment he's thrown into the fire and he says, I want no angel's help:

To the moment he stands in front of Namrūd and gives da'wah, to the moment where he has his son Ismā'īl ﷺ and has to sacrifice his son Ismā'īl, to the moment he had to build the Ka'bah in very old age. Every single time he was put to the test, he passed.

Ibrāhīm ﷺ passed every test and fulfilled every covenant he had with Allah. That is wafā' towards Allah.

Ismā'īl ﷺ — True to His Word

Towards people we must also have wafā'. We must fulfill our promises with people. Allah says:

And remember in the book — mention in the book Ismā'īl. Allah praised Ismā'īl ﷺ and said about him that he was true to his word. He was true to his promise.

And the Mufassirūn mentioned under this āyah that there was a moment in the life of Ismā'īl ﷺ where he had an appointment with someone and that person did not show up. So he waited an entire year for that person to come — every single day waiting for that person to come, to give the amānah and the trust that he had of his. One entire year. And Allah praised Ismā'īl ﷺ for this and said:

He was true to his word.

So we must be believers that are true to their word. Wafā' is something that is due to people that have done good for us. That loyalty that we have towards our parents, that loyalty that we have towards our teachers, towards our students — that when they do something good for us, we don't forget their virtue. We remember their sacrifice. We remember their effort.

The Wafā' of the Prophet ﷺ

His Loyalty Towards Khadīja رضي الله عنها

The Prophet ﷺ was the best example in his loyalty — the best example in the loyalty that he showed to his spouses, the best example of loyalty that he showed to his companions.

Imagine the loyalty of the Prophet ﷺ — that years after Khadīja رضي الله عنها has passed, he still has loyalty towards her. He doesn't forget her. He doesn't forget her virtue over him. And in one instance of the sīrah, the Prophet ﷺ — even when he picks up the necklace of Khadīja years later, that they had gifted to the daughter Fāṭima — when the Prophet ﷺ saw the necklace of Khadīja, that sentimental value that he saw in that necklace, he began to cry, he shed tears looking at the necklace because it reminded him of Khadīja رضي الله عنها.

The Prophet ﷺ would always praise her:

To the point where Āisha رضي الله عنها would say:

(Sahih al-Bukhari, Hadith 3818; Sahih Muslim, Hadith 2435)

I was never jealous over any of the wives of the Prophet ﷺ as much as I was jealous of Khadīja. And I never even saw her. And the Prophet ﷺ would always praise her to the point where Āisha one time got upset. And she said, "That old woman — she was like this, like this, like this. قَدْ أَبْدَلَكَ اللَّهُ خَيْرًا مِنْهَا — Allah has given you better than her. Allah has given you better than her."

And the Prophet ﷺ was upset. "You don't talk about my family. You don't talk about my spouse." That loyalty showed. He said:

(Sahih al-Bukhari, Hadith 3818)

Allah did not give me better than her. She believed in me when people belied me. She supported me when no one was there. She comforted me when people pushed me away. And Allah did not give me children from other than her. The Prophet ﷺ stood his ground. He remembered that loyalty towards Khadīja رضي الله عنها and he defended her.

And not only did he show loyalty towards his spouse, he showed loyalty towards those that Khadīja رضي الله عنها also loved. Love is not just to love someone, but to love also those that they love. تُحِبَّ حَبِيبَ الْحَبِيبِ — That you love the ones that they love.

The Prophet ﷺ — whenever he would sacrifice an animal, he would be sure to give pieces of it as gifts to the friends of Khadīja رضي الله عنها. And one time, the sister of Khadīja رضي الله عنها came and she sought permission to enter upon the Prophet ﷺ — اسْتَأْذَنَتْ. And her name was Hāla.

And the Prophet ﷺ recognized her voice. After all these years, he knows that the sister of Khadīja resembles Khadīja رضي الله عنها — after all — in voice, in demeanor. And so the Prophet ﷺ, when he hears her voice, he said, "Allāhumma Hāla? Allāhumma Hāla? — O Allah, is it really Hāla? Is it really the sister of Khadīja رضي الله عنها?" Can you imagine — after all these years — and the Prophet ﷺ never forgot the virtue of Khadīja رضي الله عنها.

His Loyalty Towards Abū Bakr رضي الله عنه

And this is how he was with his spouse. What about with his companions? The Prophet ﷺ, towards the end of his life, would say to the companions that — anyone that has done a favor towards me, I have repaid it in full. Of course, this is the humility of the Prophet ﷺ. The favor that he gave, no one can ever repay — he guided them to Islām and Imān, he took them to Jannah. But then he said: "Except Abū Bakr. The only one to repay the favor of Abū Bakr رضي الله عنه will be Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. He supported me with himself and he supported me with his wealth."

And there was a moment in the sīrah where there was a dispute between Abū Bakr and Umar رضي الله عنه — they said things that they didn't like. Abū Bakr went to apologize to Umar. Umar refused to accept his apology — he was still upset. Abū Bakr came sad to the Prophet ﷺ. And the Prophet ﷺ reassured him. He said:

Allah will forgive you, O Abū Bakr. And then the Prophet ﷺ — you could see he was visibly upset. And in the Shamā'il they mentioned that when he would be upset, his face would become red and a vein would pop out between his eyebrows ﷺ.

Umar رضي الله عنه felt some regret and remorse, and he went to look for Abū Bakr. He didn't find him at his home, so he knew he was with the Messenger. Umar رضي الله عنه came. The Prophet ﷺ stood up — he stood up and he spoke up on behalf of Abū Bakr رضي الله عنه.

Loyalty is to defend your friends. Loyalty is not to forget their sacrifice. Loyalty is to remember the virtue of others. That's what the Prophet ﷺ did. He stood up and he defended Abū Bakr. He said: "Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala sent me to you all and you said you lie — and Abū Bakr said, you tell the truth. He supported me when no one was there."

The Prophet ﷺ was the most loyal of people.

Loyalty is Rare

You know, Umar ibn Abd al-Azīz, the khalīfa, Amīr al-Mu'minīn, and Ubayd ibn al-Jarrāḥ — they used to have a ring. And on that ring, they had carved:

Loyalty is rare. They used to keep that as a reminder. That's exactly why you wear wedding rings — it's a reminder of that loyalty that you owe towards your spouse.

I ask Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala:

أَقُولُ مَا تَسْمَعُونَ وَأَسْتَغْفِرُ اللَّهَ لِي وَلَكُمْ وَلِسَائِرِ الْمُسْلِمِينَ فَاسْتَغْفِرُوهُ إِنَّهُ هُوَ الْغَفُورُ الرَّحِيمُ.

Second Khuṭbah: Living with Wafā'

الْحَمْدُ لِلَّهِ رَبِّ الْعَالَمِينَ، وَالصَّلَاةُ وَالسَّلَامُ عَلَى سَيِّدِنَا وَنَبِيِّنَا وَحَبِيبِنَا مُحَمَّدٍ وَعَلَى آلِهِ وَصَحْبِهِ أَجْمَعِينَ.

In the khuṭbah we spoke about الوفاء — having that loyalty towards others, not to forget their virtue over you, to fulfill the covenants and promises that a person makes.

Wafā' Towards Allah

We should have wafā' towards Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala and remember to fulfill the covenants we have with God. Remember the covenant that you have with the Qur'an by keeping a daily relationship with the book of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. Remember the wafā' that you owe towards the houses of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala — be that person that has loyalty towards the masjid and frequents the masjid, so that the believers can say: this brother was a brother of Imān, this sister was a mu'mina and a person of Imān.

Have loyalty towards your salāh. Have wafā' towards your ibādah and your relationship with Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. And don't just worship Him because you have to — worship Him because you love to. Worship Him because you love to. That is loyalty with Allah عز و جل and wafā' towards Him عز و جل.

Wafā' Towards People

Have wafā' towards people. Don't forget the sacrifice of your parents. Don't forget the long hours your dad would work. Don't forget when your mother would choose to sleep on the side you peed and would clean your clothes and put herself through difficulty. Don't forget the loyalty towards your parents.

Don't forget the loyalty towards your spouse — that you chose to marry. Don't forget that مِيثَاقًا غَلِيظًا — the heavy covenant — you made with Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala when you chose to marry the daughter of another man, when you chose to marry the son of another woman. Don't forget that loyalty.

Don't forget the loyalty of your teachers who taught you the deen of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. Don't forget the loyalty you owe towards your students. Teachers also show loyalty towards their students — that when they see the success of their students, it makes them happy like it's their own children. Not to be jealous of the success of those that were once their students.

I ask Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala to beautify us with وفاء, يا رب العالمين.

My dear brothers, my dear sisters — do not leave today except you make du'ā' for someone you owe loyalty towards. Make du'ā' for the people that you owe loyalty towards, and be a person that is beautified with the garment of loyalty.