Longing to See the Prophet(ﷺ) | Mufti Abdul Rahman Waheed

The Young Man from Ta'if

بِسْمِ اللهِ الرَّحْمٰنِ الرَّحِيمِ، أَحْمَدُهُ وَأُصَلِّي عَلَى رَسُولِهِ الْكَرِيمِ. أَمَّا بَعْدُ

There was this young man who lived in Ta'if at the time of the Prophet ﷺ. And his name was Abdul Uzza. He saw a group of people traveling by Ta'if. And he was intrigued by their appearance. He was intrigued by the way they were interacting with each other. So he went up to them.

He said:

He said, "Who are you people?" And these people had an identity. Before they said their name, they said their identity. They said:

"We are the companions of the Prophet ﷺ."

I just came from Jordan before Ramadan — in Palestine, then I went to Jordan. We visited the graves of Sahaba. And you see on all the graves of Sahaba, before their name, it said: صَاحِبٌ جَلِيلٌ — Noble Companion. Because their nobility came from them being with the Prophet ﷺ. No one knew who was in this group, what their names were. They never introduced themselves, what they do. They said, "We are the companions of the Prophet ﷺ." So for all of us sitting here, we are from the ummah of the Prophet ﷺ.

Then he asked, "Who is Muhammad?" There may be people sitting here who don't know who the Prophet ﷺ is. And they told this young man — who was 16 years old, who was so intrigued by these people — "Muhammad ﷺ, he says this, he does this, he teaches towards these things." He was very impressed by them. He said, "I also want to become a companion of the Prophet ﷺ. How do I do that?" And he accepted Islam.

The Burning Heart

He goes back to his house — and he used to live with his uncle because his father had passed away, and his mother had passed away. So his uncle and his aunt. He told his uncle, "I met these people. They're amazing people. They called me towards Islam. Do you know this man Muhammad?" He said, "They told me he lives in Madinah."

His uncle said, "Uskut — stay quiet. Don't talk about him. If you talk about him, you're gonna have to leave the house."

So he didn't know what to do. For six months he lived like this. And this statement of his sort of resembles the sentiments of the audience here today.

After six months, he comes to his uncle and he says, "I can't stay here any longer." He says:

"My heart is burning out of the love and yearning to see the Prophet ﷺ. I can't wait any longer. I want to see him so badly."

His uncle said, "If you want to see him so badly, then you can't live in my house. Get out of my house and leave everything." And this young man left the house, left everything.

You can look on Google Maps at the distance between Ta'if and Madinah — he walked from Ta'if to Madinah. When he finally gets to Madinah Munawwara, in that climate, he walks into the Masjid of the Prophet ﷺ, and the Prophet ﷺ says:

"Who is this man? Make this person look beautiful." He was beaten up, his clothes were old, his face had changed color. So someone got up and put a cloth over him, someone got up and put an imamah on his head. And then he says:

"Where is the Prophet of Allah?"

Imagine someone walking from Ta'if all the way to Madinah. Someone sitting and waiting in his uncle's house, waiting to see the Prophet ﷺ for all those months. And hopefully we have the same feeling about our Prophet ﷺ in Jannah, inshaaAllah.

Channeling That Yearning

And today we're sitting here waiting in anticipation. You know what you're feeling right now? Keep that — it's good. I remember my brother, Sheikh Abdul Rahim, passed away at 22 years old. And we were in so much pain, and my father said, "Keep that pain. Keep it. Don't forget about that pain. Because that pain can make you do a lot. It can guide you in your life. Let the wounds heal but never seal." You should always remember it because it can take you to good places.

So this enthusiasm, this yearning that we have to meet a fellow human being who definitely deserves it — channel it. Use it for salah as well. "I can't wait to pray again. I can't wait for Ramadan again. I can't wait to open the Quran again. I can't wait to respect my parents again. I can't wait to serve them again." This should be the yearning a person has for good deeds. Because those good deeds help and shape our lives.

The Meeting with the Prophet ﷺ

Now think about it — when he finally meets the one he loves so much, what will he do? Will he hug him? Will he kiss him? Will he kiss his hand? So this person, I'm sure he had thought of all these scenarios.

He walks in, he says:

"Where is the Prophet of Allah?" And the Prophet of Allah ﷺ says:

And the reason why the person had to ask that question is a quality of the Prophet ﷺ — everyone in that gathering looked similar. They were all humble. No one could tell one from the other. مَنْ مِنْكُمْ رَسُولُ اللهِ؟ Everyone would ask, "Who is the Prophet of Allah?" He was never sitting on a stage. He was a humble person sitting with everybody.

This young man, Abdul Uzza, with all of his zeal and enthusiasm, falls at the Prophet's feet. He could have hugged him, could have kissed his forehead — he falls at his feet, starts kissing his feet, and starts crying. And he tells him his whole story. "O Prophet of Allah, this happened, and this happened, and that happened." As he is telling the story, the Prophet ﷺ starts crying — that a person can love me this much.

He says, "What is your name?" He said, "My name is Abdul Uzza." He said, "No. From now on, your name is Abdullah." And he changed his name to Abdullah.

The Expedition to Tabuk and a Blessed Departure

He would always stay with the Prophet ﷺ. A few months later, the Prophet of Allah ﷺ was going to Tabuk, and he was traveling with him. He was making du'a: "O Allah, I want to go to Tabuk and I want to become shaheed there — in a way that my body is cut into pieces, and I am resurrected from مِنْ بُطُونِ السِّبَاعِ — from the stomachs of the beasts that eat me — and I come before you, O Allah, and this is what I have done for you."

The Prophet of Allah ﷺ raises his hands and says: "O Allah, save his body and protect his body مِنْ سُيُوفِ الْكُفَّارِ — from the swords of the disbelievers." Meaning, he is making du'a that he does not become shaheed. So Abdullah says, "Ya Rasulallah, I'm making such a beautiful du'a, and you're making a du'a that the swords of the non-believers don't touch my body?"

The Prophet of Allah ﷺ said to him:

"O Abdullah, don't you know that a person who goes out in the path of Allah, gets sick, and dies in that sickness — he is also shaheed? You don't have to be killed to be shaheed." And then he explains seven different types of shuhadaa'. He said, "Okay, yes." So the Prophet ﷺ said, "O Allah, give him shahadah, but please O Allah, protect his body."

He loved him. Abu Musa al-Ash'ari and Abdullah ibn Mas'ud, they are both narrators of this account. They say that one night in Tabuk, we were in our tent. I got up to see where the Prophet ﷺ was in his tent — he wasn't there. So I followed a light somewhere. I saw two people standing over a grave, digging the grave, and somebody inside the grave. I came closer, and I saw that on top of the grave were Abu Bakr and Umar. And in the grave was the Prophet ﷺ himself, making the grave flat.

And he says:

"Now give me your companion." And that person who had passed away was Abdullah. The Prophet ﷺ grabs him, hugs him, and places him in the grave. Then he says to Abu Bakr and Umar:

"So it could become cool and peaceful for your brother." Then he gets up and says:

"O Allah, I was pleased with him, satisfied with him, happy with him — O Allah, you be happy with him as well." And he made this du'a over and over again.

Abdullah ibn Mas'ud, seeing this, would say the same thing that any of you would say — and I would for sure say if I was there. He said:

"I wish I was that person who died." Abu Bakr and Umar digging the grave, the Prophet ﷺ lowering the person in the grave, the Prophet ﷺ getting out and making du'a for that person — this was the result of his yearning and love for the Prophet ﷺ. He got this status in this world, and his departure from this world was like this.

The Hadith of Longing to Meet Allah

The Prophet ﷺ says in a Hadith Qudsi:

(Sahih al-Bukhari, Hadith 6507; Sahih Muslim, Hadith 2683)

"A person who yearns to meet Allah, Allah yearns to meet that person as well."

Nothing Happens Without Allah's Permission

This enthusiasm, this yearning that we have to meet a fellow human being who definitely deserves it — channel it, use it. People can't do anything for us. People are people, they are human beings. Ibrahim ibn Adham said to the person sitting there who was stressed out: أَيَجِدُّ فِي هَذَا الْكَوْنِ شَيْءٌ لَا إِلَيْهِ اللهُ؟ "Is there anything in this world that can happen without the permission of Allah?" He said, "No, nothing can happen without the permission of Allah."

These people, we respect them, we honor them. But these sentiments, these emotions we have — channel them and use them for those actions that will bring us closer to Allah on the Day of Judgment.

Those Who Died Longing to Meet the Prophet ﷺ

There are people who used to die — they used to get stabbed. Ali ibn Abi Talib was stabbed from the back as he was leaving this world. The person who stabbed him thought he was victorious. But the person dying was saying:

"Wallahi, I am successful." Why? Because now he can finally meet the Prophet ﷺ.

And Shimr is the one about to shoot an arrow at the face of Hussain, may Allah be pleased with him. In verse, he says — as he was waiting to be killed — "O Shimr, go ahead and throw that arrow, and finally kill me so I can finally meet the Prophet ﷺ."

Conclusion: Channel This Energy

So brothers and sisters in Islam, channel this energy, channel these emotions, and have the same emotions and same sentiments for those actions that will be a means of light for us in this world and the hereafter. And ask ourselves: Will I be as enthusiastic to see the Prophet ﷺ? Will I be as eager to meet the Prophet ﷺ? Will I sacrifice as much as I have sacrificed today — taking time, paying to come here? Would I do the same thing? And hopefully the answer is yes. And if the answer is yes, then inshaaAllah we are on the right path.

May Allah make it easy for all of us to act upon whatever was said, bring it to our lives, and make us enthusiastic and eager to meet Allah and His Prophet ﷺ.