The Essential Love for Prophet Muhammad and His Ummah

The Love of the Prophet ﷺ for His Ummah

Throughout the world, there are many conferences, there are many symposiums and events talking about the seerah of our beloved master, Sayyidina wa Habibina wa Habibur Rabbina صلى الله عليه وسلم.

That should not be limited just to this month, but throughout the year, every day in our life, every night, every moment, we ask from Allah that He fills our heart with his love.

Those who are believers, the love of Allah is the most supreme love they have in their hearts. This is the du'a of Rasulullah صلى الله عليه وسلم:

O Allah, make Your love the most supreme and strongest love in my heart.

And after filling our hearts with His love, we beg from Allah that He fills our hearts with the love of His Rasul صلى الله عليه وسلم. Loving Rasulullah صلى الله عليه وسلم is not just a good deed that will earn us reward, but rather it is a condition for our iman to be considered complete in the eyes of Allah. Rasulullah صلى الله عليه وسلم has negated the iman of the individual who does not love him — who does not love him more than any of the creation, does not love him more than anyone else.

(Sahih al-Bukhari, Hadith 15; Sahih Muslim, Book 1, Hadith 69)

None of you can be a true believer until I am more beloved to him than his parents, his children, and all of mankind.

The Three Sources of Love

This hubb and love is مَيْلُ النَّفْسِ — it is the inclination of the heart. Either إِمَّا لِلْجَمَالِ، أَوِ الْكَمَالِ، أَوِ النَّوَالِ — it is either through the inclination of the heart because of jamaal (outer beauty), or kamal (perfection of attributes), or nawal (the gifts that a person gives you). Because we are all — الإِنْسَانُ عَبْدُ الإِحْسَانِ — human beings, when we recognize someone has done ihsan to us, meaning has done a favor to us, then we find in our hearts an inclination towards that individual, we are indebted to that individual.

The Physical Beauty of the Prophet ﷺ

So when it comes to Rasulullah صلى الله عليه وسلم, from the jamaal perspective — from the physical beauty perspective — as Hassan ibn Thabit, Shahid ar-Rasul al-Ansari رضي الله عنه said:

My eyes have never witnessed anyone more handsome, more beautiful than you. And more beautiful than you, no woman has ever given birth to a baby. You have been created by Allah, free from all blemishes, any deficiency. As if you were able to design your own khilqah — the way you were created. As if you chose your own shape and form.

Rasulullah صلى الله عليه وسلم was so beautiful in all aspects. Jamaal being defined as تَنَاسُبُ الأَعْضَاء — all of the body parts of Nabi صلى الله عليه وسلم were in such beautiful proportion, كَأَنَّكَ كَمَا تَشَاءُ — as if he chose his own creation, his own shape.

The Profound Love of the Prophet ﷺ for His Ummah

One way of inculcating within our hearts the love of Rasulullah صلى الله عليه وسلم is if we focus on what we owe him, and how much he loved us.

This is the ayah — Surah At-Tawbah, ayah 128 — where Allah mentions:

Indeed there has come to you a messenger — not from another planet or galaxy, or from another country or town — مِنْ أَنفُسِكُمْ, from amongst your own selves, from amongst your community. Allah says to Rasulullah صلى الله عليه وسلم, tell them: I grew up in your midst. I am not a foreigner or a stranger. I am the one you used to call as-Sadiq al-Amin.

عَزِيزٌ عَلَيْهِ مَا عَنِتُّمْ — it is very, very difficult for him to bear to see you in any pain. The example that we give is of a mother — she cannot tolerate to see her child in pain, in torture. And the love of Rasulullah صلى الله عليه وسلم far exceeds the love of all the mothers of the world put together.

حَرِيصٌ عَلَيْكُمْ — He is eternally and perpetually desiring khair and goodness for you. Haris — just like when we use the word haris, typically we are talking about it with respect to wealth, that we are desirous of or greedy of wealth. Haris typically has a negative connotation — why do you have haris for more food, or haris for more wealth? But Nabi صلى الله عليه وسلم was not haris for himself — he was haris for us.

بِالْمُؤْمِنِينَ رَءُوفٌ رَّحِيمٌ — And with the believers he has ra'fa, love and mercy. صلى الله عليه وسلم.

Two Names of Allah Given to the Prophet ﷺ

This is a narration in Tafsir al-Qurtubi:

(Tafsir al-Qurtubi, under Surah At-Tawbah 9:128, citing al-Husayn ibn al-Fadl)

There is no other Prophet of Allah, no other creation of Allah, to whom Allah used two of His own names — رَءُوفٌ رَّحِيمٌ — as He did in this ayah. And also in Surah Al-Hajj, ayah 65:

So in Surah Al-Hajj we see إِنَّ اللَّهَ بِالنَّاسِ لَرَءُوفٌ رَّحِيمٌ, and in Surah At-Tawbah we see بِالْمُؤْمِنِينَ رَءُوفٌ رَّحِيمٌ. So Allah used the same sifat that He used for Himself. Of course — وَحْدَهُ لَا شَرِيكَ لَهُ فِي ذَاتِهِ وَفِي صِفَاتِهِ — in His names and His attributes, there is no partner. So رَءُوفٌ رَّحِيمٌ with respect to Rasulullah is different from رَءُوفٌ رَّحِيمٌ with respect to Allah — for sure, no doubt about that. But it is the fact that He used the same names.

And another tafsir — Shaykh Sa'di rahimahullah writes in his tafsir: شَدِيدُ الرَّأْفَةِ وَالرَّحْمَةِ بِهِمْ، أَرْحَمُ بِهِمْ مِنْ وَالِدِيهِمْ — He has more mercy for us than our parents, than anyone that we love in this world. That is why his right is مُقَدَّم — foremost — over the حُقُوق and the rights of the entire creation.

Examples of the Prophet's ﷺ Kindness and Mercy

There are a series of hadiths that are mentioned under the tafsir of this ayah. Abu Hurayra رضي الله عنه narrates that when Nabi صلى الله عليه وسلم kissed his grandson Hasan ibn Ali, there was one senior Bedouin — Al-Aqra' ibn Habis — from the Banu Tamim who was present. He saw this action and said:

He said, "I have ten children and I have never kissed any one of them." So Rasulullah صلى الله عليه وسلم looked at him and said:

(Sahih al-Bukhari, Hadith 5997; Sahih Muslim, Book 43, Hadith 62)

The one who does not shower love and mercy on others will not be deserving of the love and mercy of Allah.

Abu Hurayra رضي الله عنه then narrates that a Bedouin entered the masjid. When Nabi صلى الله عليه وسلم was sitting, the man prayed, and when he finished his prayer, he made this du'a:

He said, "O Allah, shower Your mercy upon me and Muhammad صلى الله عليه وسلم and do not shower this mercy upon anyone else besides us." So Nabi صلى الله عليه وسلم turned towards him and said that you have limited something which is so vast — إِنَّ رَحْمَةَ اللهِ وَاسِعَةٌ كُلَّ شَيْءٍ — Allah's mercy extends to everything. Why limit it?

This was how the hadith began. The last part of the hadith is more well-known — that shortly afterward, the Bedouin began to urinate in the masjid. People rushed towards him to stop him. So Nabi صلى الله عليه وسلم said: دَعُوهُ وَأَهْرِيقُوا عَلَيْهِ دَلْوًا مِنْ مَاءٍ — Leave him, and pour a bucket of water over it. Then he said:

(Sahih al-Bukhari, Hadith 6025)

You have been sent to bring ease upon the Ummah, not to give them difficulty. This was his kindness.

The Prophet ﷺ as the Finest of Teachers

Mu'awiyah ibn al-Hakam as-Sulami رضي الله عنه says: I was praying in the jama'ah behind Nabi صلى الله عليه وسلم. Somebody sneezed, and I said يَرْحَمُكَ اللهُ. People started looking at me strangely, indicating that I was doing something wrong. I said, "What's wrong with you? Why are you all staring at me?" They started taking their hands and slapping their own thighs to indicate for me to be quiet. Finally when I realized they wanted me to be quiet, I became quiet.

Then when the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم finished his prayer, he said — and Mu'awiyah ibn al-Hakam رضي الله عنه swore by his father and his mother:

(Sahih Muslim, Book 4, Hadith 1199)

I swear by my father and my mother that I never saw a teacher more kind, more loving, more affectionate — before him nor after him — than him صلى الله عليه وسلم. I swear by Allah, He did not get upset at me. He did not swear at me. He did not hit me. And he said:

This is a prayer in which it is not appropriate to speak to one another. It is a place of tasbih and takbir and reciting the Qur'an.

This is — SubhanAllah — the karam and his rahmah with those who had not yet learned. They came as not knowing the deen, and then through the sahabah of Rasulullah صلى الله عليه وسلم they continued to learn the deen.

The Prophet's ﷺ Desire to Save His Ummah from the Fire

Some examples of how the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم was desirous of khair for us: Abdullah ibn Mas'ud رضي الله عنه narrates that Rasulullah صلى الله عليه وسلم said:

(Sahih Muslim, Book 43, Hadith 65)

I am seeing that you are like the moths that are attracted to the light, to the fire — so attracted, like the candle with moths coming and burning themselves up. Likewise, you are throwing yourselves into the fire, and I am آخِذٌ بِحُجَزِكُمْ — I'm not just telling you, "Oh, that's fire, watch out." Rather, I am the one who is grabbing you by your waist and pulling you out from the fire. SubhanAllah.

The Intercession on the Day of Judgment: أُمَّتِي أُمَّتِي

This is a beautiful hadith of Anas ibn Malik رضي الله عنه — this is the hadith I would like you to focus on. Rasulullah صلى الله عليه وسلم said:

(Sahih al-Bukhari, Hadith 4476; Sahih Muslim, Book 1, Hadith 377)

On the Day of Judgment — يَوْمُ الْحَسْرَةِ، يَوْمُ النَّدَامَةِ، يَوْمُ التَّغَابُنِ، يَوْمُ التَّنَادِ — everyone will be in utter loss and extreme anxiety. They will come to Adam and say, "O our father, go and proceed before Allah for the hisab to begin." He will say, "I cannot do that" — remembering that he ate from the tree when he was not supposed to. "But go to Ibrahim — he is Khalilur-Rahman, the friend of Allah." They come to Ibrahim and he says, "I cannot do it" — remembering three things he said that he should not have. "Go to Musa — Allah spoke to him." They come to Musa and he says, "I cannot." "Go to Isa — he is Ruhullah." They come to Isa and he says, "I cannot. Go to Muhammad صلى الله عليه وسلم."

They will come to me, and I will say: أَنَا لَهَا، أَنَا لَهَا — I am the one ready for it. Then I will ask Allah permission — O Allah, begin the hisab — and the permission will be given. And Allah will inspire me with such words of praise in that moment that I do not know what they are right now. I will praise Allah with those words of praise and remain in prostration. Then it will be said: يَا مُحَمَّدُ، ارْفَعْ رَأْسَكَ، وَقُلْ يُسْمَعْ لَكَ، وَسَلْ تُعْطَ، وَاشْفَعْ تُشَفَّعْ — "O Muhammad, raise your head, say and you will be heard, ask and you will be granted, intercede and your intercession shall be accepted."

And I will say: يَا رَبِّ، أُمَّتِي أُمَّتِي — "O my Lord, my Ummah! My Ummah!"

Whereas everyone else — Adam, Khalifatullah: نَفْسِي نَفْسِي. Ibrahim, Khalilullah: نَفْسِي نَفْسِي. Musa, Kalimullah: نَفْسِي نَفْسِي. Isa, Ruhullah: نَفْسِي نَفْسِي. But Muhammad, Habibullah, Rasulullah صلى الله عليه وسلم: أُمَّتِي أُمَّتِي.

Conclusion: Expressing Our Love Through His Sunnah

The bottom line is: we must fill our hearts with the love of Rasulullah صلى الله عليه وسلم and realize how much he loved us. It would be a great dhulm and oppression on our part — that the one who sacrificed everything for us, the one who loved us more than our parents, more than our children, more than our partners and spouses — if we abandon his sunnah and give up his ways.

The way we express our love of Rasulullah صلى الله عليه وسلم is not just by our tongue, but by implementing his noble sunnah and having a concern for his deen. May Allah fill all of our hearts with his love.

Announcements

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We will have our monthly seminar — a discussion on the major themes of Ibn 'Ata'illah al-Iskandari's rahimahullah Hikam (Aphorisms). Dr. Ahmed Arafat, resident scholar from the Makkah Center, a great alim who has a PhD in the Tafsir of Fakhr ad-Din ar-Razi and is conducting a sharah and commentary on this book, will be sharing very important advice for us tonight after 'Isha. Tonight after 'Isha, 8:30 PM — please join us.

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Sunday school registrations are open for boys and girls. Team Fajr — our weekly program — is continuing. Tomorrow Fajr Iqamah at 6 AM. Tuesday night Tafsirs and the weekly Urdu Seerah program on Thursday nights.

We have our annual benefit dinner — it comes once a year, inshallah — Saturday, October 5th at Shalimar Banquets. Sheikh Hussain Abdul Sattar will be our very honorable guest speaker. Please purchase your tickets on your way out.

Please save the date for our 7th Annual Winter Intensive, Saturday December 21st to December 24th — inshallah on the topic of marriage, family, and parenting. A very, very important topic.

And we all continue to make du'a for the brothers and sisters in Palestine and throughout the world.

We have a baby, Noor Siddiqi, going through abdominal reconstruction surgery. Please make du'a for a successful surgery and speedy recovery.

One humble reminder: let us please be patient with one another as we are leaving, and be considerate of the brothers coming in for the second prayer. With the construction going on, there has unfortunately already been one accident between two Muslim families that took place right in front on North Avenue, because of being hasty in making turns and U-turns. So please, I humbly beg everyone to be careful and respectful of one another, inshallah.