Prophet Muhammad: The Ultimate Role Model and Guide

Who Do We Look Up To?

In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful.

If we take a moment and we ask ourselves — who do we look up to? Who do we take as a role model? Who do we aspire to be like? Many of us might say that perhaps it's a famous CEO, or a famous businessman, or a famous celebrity athlete that we grew up watching.

But in reality, we need to look no further than our own heritage and our own Islamic tradition, which is filled with ulama and awliya who are all worthy of being emulated. But the most of all, the best of them, of course, is our beloved Nabi ﷺ. And the question may come — what is so great about Nabi ﷺ? But rather, what we should be asking is: what isn't great about our beloved Nabi ﷺ?

Of course, the greatest feature and the best thing about our beloved Nabi ﷺ was that he was Rasulullah ﷺ — that he was a messenger of Allah, that he had direct communication with Allah. A lot of times what may happen is that shaytan may trick us, or perhaps some non-Muslims who are interested in Islam may trick us into thinking that Nabi ﷺ was great because he was a great diplomat, a great political leader, a great military tactician. Of course, all these things are true, but the greatest feature of Nabi ﷺ was that he was an abd of Allah — that he was a slave of Allah — and that he was someone who received divine revelation from Allah.

Of course, additionally, our beloved Nabi ﷺ is probably definitively the most well-documented man in the history of the entire world. There have been entire genres of literature written about this one individual. For example, there is of course the hadith of Nabi ﷺ — his sayings; there is the shama'il, which is about his external characteristics; there is the dala'il al-nubuwwah of the mutakallimun, where the scholars of aqeedah, of creed, have compiled arguments for the rationality of the finality of his prophethood; and of course the beloved seerah of Nabi ﷺ, which traces every single step of our beloved Nabi ﷺ.

In fact, it is the belief of the Ahlus Sunnah wal Jama'ah that Nabi ﷺ is the greatest creation of Allah — that he is not just the greatest human being, not just the greatest man, not just the greatest prophet, but the greatest creation — even greater than the angels and the jinn, and even the arsh and the kursi. All these things that are created, he is the greatest of all of the creation of Allah.

What Does This Have to Do With Me?

After understanding the greatness of our beloved Nabi ﷺ, we could ask: so I get why he is so great, and he has all these amazing qualities — but what does it have to do with me? Why do I, as an individual, need to follow him? This is what we'll be discussing today, insha'Allah.

As human beings, what we tend to do is, in most issues, we try to find the easy way out. We don't want to take on undue difficulty, we don't want to take on any unnecessary burden — any shortcut that we could take, we try to cut that corner.

For example, just a couple of weeks ago, we had our final exams here in the seminary. Leading up to those weeks before the exam, we're always asking the teacher: is there any study guide that you could give us? Any chapters you could tell us to focus on? Any ahadith that you feel like are going to be on the test? Because we just want to make sure that we're studying efficiently, and we also want to make sure that we pass.

So similarly, something that we could ask is: what are the things that I, as a Muslim, need to focus on in this world in order to pass the test of this world? What do I need to focus on in order to make my entrance into the akhirah easy?

The Bedouin Who Asked About the Day of Judgment

Regarding this, there are a few narrations. One narration describes a time when a Bedouin came to Nabi ﷺ and asked him:

This Bedouin came to the Prophet ﷺ and asked: when will the Day of Judgment be? This was right before the Salah, so Nabi ﷺ said, let's first pray, and then I'll answer your question. So after they finished the prayer, Nabi ﷺ said:

He said: where is this person who asked this question? So the man stood up and said, that's me. Now, obviously, whenever the Day of Judgment is going to happen, it doesn't matter if the person knows it or he doesn't know it. What matters is what a person has prepared for the Day of Judgment. So Nabi ﷺ asked him:

What good deeds have you done to present to Allah on that day? So the man, like many of us, answered: I haven't done so many extra nawafil. It's not like I was spending my free time just praying voluntarily, nor was I doing any extra fasts outside of the month of Ramadan. But one thing that I did do, and one thing that I do have, is I have a very strong love for our beloved Nabi ﷺ. I have a very strong love for Allah and His Messenger ﷺ.

And Nabi ﷺ replied with his very famous hadith that many of us know:

That an individual will be with the person that he loves on the Day of Judgment. So if we have this love for Nabi ﷺ, like this man was claiming, then that love will cause that individual to be with the Prophet ﷺ on the Day of Judgment.

The Companion Who Feared Separation From the Prophet ﷺ

Additionally, there is another narration in which a Sahabi was sitting down looking sad, so Nabi ﷺ saw him, came over to him, and asked what was wrong. The Sahabi said: I was at home, and I was thinking — you're the greatest of all creation, you're the final Prophet, you're the best of the best. On the Day of Judgment, you're going to be on a level that none of us could even dream of. So I'm going to be so far from you — and that made me very, very sad.

So Nabi ﷺ paused, and later on the ayah was revealed where Allah says:

Allah says that those individuals who obey Allah and His Messenger — فَأُولَٰئِكَ مَعَ الَّذِينَ أَنْعَمَ اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِم — they will be with those individuals whom Allah has blessed: مِّنَ النَّبِيِّينَ — from the Prophets, وَالصِّدِّيقِينَ — and the truthful ones, وَالشُّهَدَاءِ — the martyrs, وَالصَّالِحِينَ — and the righteous.

There is also a very famous poem in which the poet says:

I love the pious, but I am not from amongst them. Perhaps due to my love for these pious individuals, Allah will also grant me piety.

So this is the importance of love in our religion. But not just love for the sake of love — rather, love that is coupled with obedience. Loving Allah for the sake of obeying Him. Loving Nabi ﷺ for the sake of following his commandments. Loving them out of fear of disappointing them. Just like a son who loves his father to the extent that he doesn't want to disappoint him — he doesn't want to do badly in school, he doesn't want to get in trouble. This is the love that we must have for Allah and His beloved Nabi ﷺ.

The Symbols of Allah and the Meaning of Taqwa

Just this past week, our beloved brothers and sisters were able to perform Hajj. A person could ask: what's the point of traveling halfway across the world to do tawaf of the Ka'bah seven times? What's the point of going around a cube seven times? What's the point of going between two mountains seven times? Why do I even need to slaughter an animal?

So Allah says in Surah Al-Hajj:

Whoever reveres, respects, and honors these signs and symbols of Allah — then that is a sign of the taqwa in their hearts. That is a dalil for the taqwa that is in their heart.

Beyond that, Allah also says in the same surah:

When you slaughter your animals after the Hajj, the blood and the meat does not reach Allah. That meat that we distribute to the poor does not reach Allah. Rather, what reaches Allah — what Allah is focusing on — is وَلَٰكِن يَنَالُهُ التَّقْوَىٰ مِنكُمْ — the fact that we're doing all these ritual acts, the fact that we're obeying Allah in the manner that Nabi ﷺ has commanded us to do so. This is a sign of the taqwa in our hearts.

So taqwa is honoring what Allah and, by extension, His Nabi ﷺ have commanded us and told us to do. Taqwa is loving, fearing, and respecting Allah. And of course, the greatest shi'ar — the greatest symbol of Allah — is none other than our beloved Nabi ﷺ.

Four Reasons We Love

If we take a moment and think about who we love and why we love them, it generally breaks down into four things.

1. Kamal — Perfection

The first is kamal, or perfection — that a person is great at what they do. We see sometimes that young people are very infatuated with a certain athlete. They always keep up with them, always make sure to watch their games, watch their highlight reels, keep up with their stats — even though that athlete has no idea they exist and couldn't care less about them. But this individual has a love for that athlete for the sole reason that they are good at what they do — that they have perfected their craft.

2. Nawal — Ihsan and Goodness

The second reason that a person can love another individual is due to their nawal — that they do ihsan on someone, they do good for someone. The greatest example of this is of course our mothers. Allah says:

She went through burden and difficulty after difficulty, carrying us, delivering us. There is absolutely no way that any friend, no matter how close, could ever replace the relationship that an individual has with their mother.

3. Jamal — Beauty

The third reason is jamal, or beauty — and this one is obvious. A person could fall in love with someone because of how they look.

4. Qaraba — Personal Relationship

And fourthly, there is qaraba — a personal relationship. For example, you spend years with a childhood friend, and because of the time you spent with them, there is a sort of love and connection there.

The Prophet ﷺ Reaches Perfection in All Four

If we look at our beloved Nabi ﷺ, he has reached the epitome in all four of these things.

In terms of his kamal, Imam al-Busiri says:

That Nabi ﷺ has surpassed every single created thing in both his external and his internal attributes.

And of course for his jamal as well — the beauty of Nabi ﷺ. Although beauty is very subjective, and fashion changes — if we look at photos from our high school yearbook, we'll laugh at them frankly — there is this concept of a universal beauty, and that universal beauty is symmetry. If we look at the shama'il of Nabi ﷺ, we see that this is exactly how he is described. Our beloved Nabi ﷺ was not too tall, nor was he too short. His hair wasn't completely straight, nor was it completely curly — it was slightly wavy. He wasn't too dark in complexion, nor was he too fair in complexion. In every single aspect, we see that Nabi ﷺ had this symmetry and this perfect balance.

As for the nawal of Nabi ﷺ — the ihsan that he has done, the good that he has done upon us — rather, the question should be: what hasn't Nabi ﷺ done for us? Just in this world itself, Nabi ﷺ is the qasim — the one who has distributed the sacred knowledge based on divine revelation. He is the one who has taught us who Allah is. This alone is sufficient reason for us to love him, to obey him, and to follow his commands.

It was because of this one individual, 1,400 plus years ago, standing in the middle of the desert, telling his idol-worshipping people — and convincing some of them, who later convinced others, and so on and so forth — that we are able to sit here today. If it wasn't for that man, 1,400 plus years ago, none of us would actually be here today. And that is all just in this world.

In the akhirah, Nabi ﷺ will also be doing ihsan upon us there as well. Allah describes the scene of the Day of Judgment:

On the Day of Judgment, people will be so scared, losing their minds out of anxiety and fear of having to stand before Allah, running around not caring about anyone else. Allah says:

A man won't care about his brother — he'll run away from him. He won't have any regard for his own father and mother. He won't even care about his spouse or his children. The person will be so terrified that he will only be saying:

He will only be caring about his own self. Whereas Nabi ﷺ is the only individual on that day who will be saying:

(Sahih al-Bukhari, Hadith 4712; Sahih Muslim, Hadith 193)

Nabi ﷺ is the only individual who will actually be caring about others. He is the one who will be interceding on our behalf, begging Allah to allow us to enter into Jannah and to save us from the Hellfire.

So from all these aspects, he ﷺ has reached perfection. Why should we not love our beloved Nabi ﷺ when he has done all these things for us?

Hassan ibn Thabit's Praise of the Prophet ﷺ

Hassan ibn Thabit so beautifully says:

You are so amazing that my eyes have never fallen upon anyone like you. You are so beautiful that women will never be able to give birth to a man like you ever again. You have been created free from every single defect. It is as if you were created in the manner that you yourself wanted to be created in.

The Story of Imam Ahmad ibn Hanbal

So what type of love should we have for our beloved Nabi ﷺ? What should the extent of our love be?

There is a story of Imam Ahmad ibn Hanbal, one of the great four mujtahid imams, who was defending the correct aqeedah against a government in his time that was promoting a false ideology. For this reason he was imprisoned, tortured, and beaten. There was a man named al-Mu'tasim who would whip him on his back, and consequently Imam Ahmad suffered from back pain for the rest of his life.

After he was released from prison and went on to live his life, a doctor came to him and asked: is there anything I could help you with? Is there any pain that you're going through? So Imam Ahmad told him about the back pain. The doctor placed his hand on his back and said:

Alhamdulillah, this portion of the back is actually safe — there is nothing wrong with it. And I praise Allah for allowing me to be well here. Then he placed his hand on another spot and said the same. Then he placed his hand on another spot and said:

In this portion I am feeling some pain, and I ask Allah to alleviate this pain. While this doctor was treating Imam Ahmad, he could hear him under his breath saying:

Oh Allah, forgive al-Mu'tasim. Oh Allah, forgive al-Mu'tasim. The doctor was very confused — that's the man who tortured you so much that you now have chronic back pain! Everyone would understand if you asked Allah to take him to task for what he did.

So Imam Ahmad said: I thought of that — it would be fair for me to ask Allah for that. But I found out that al-Mu'tasim is related to our beloved Nabi ﷺ. So I don't want to show up on the Day of Judgment having ill feelings toward anyone from the family of Nabi ﷺ.

Closing Du'a and Practical Takeaway

So we ask that Allah grant us this tawfiq — to love Nabi ﷺ, to instill in us and create in us a love for Nabi ﷺ that causes us to follow his commandments to the best of our ability, to follow his sunnahs to the best of our ability. And we ask that Allah allow us to be with him on the Day of Judgment. Ameen.

Just one takeaway point: there is a hadith in al-Tabarani where Nabi ﷺ has said that if someone sends salawat upon Rasulullah ﷺ just 10 times in the morning and 10 times in the evening, that will be enough to gain the shafa'ah — the intercession — of Nabi ﷺ on the Day of Judgment.

(al-Tabarani, al-Mu'jam al-Awsat)

So we ask that Allah give us tawfiq. Jazakumullahu khairan.

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