Understanding The Categories Of Love For Prophet Muhammad ﷺ

The Love of Rasulullah ﷺ — Its Categories and Practical Measures

This is the day which is the most virtuous when it comes to sending salawat upon Rasulullah ﷺ. There's one bit of advice that I've heard from my teachers, and I will share it with everyone because it is a universal piece of advice. That when you step into a community or you step into an environment or a gathering, and you're not really sure about who the people are who are sitting in front of you, you're not really sure who the audience is, you're new to the community — and you're not sure what to say in front of them.

There's always one thing that you can say that everyone will agree upon. Sometimes you're feeling a little bit indifferent — are the people I'm speaking to on the same page? Do we share the same values? Are we on the same page when it comes to how strict we are, how dedicated we are to holding on to the sunnah? What is our stance towards certain issues and certain masa'il? Sometimes we are unsure. But there's one thing that everyone will agree upon, and that is the love of Rasulullah ﷺ. You will not find a single Muslim who will disagree on this aspect — that the love of Rasulullah ﷺ is something part and parcel of deen.

That the love of Rasulullah ﷺ is not a matter that should be differed about. Everyone understands that Rasulullah ﷺ must be loved. Yes, we can say that perhaps our love for Rasulullah ﷺ, practically speaking, might differ — there might be some fluctuation. Am I loving Rasulullah ﷺ as much as I should be? Maybe there'll be some differences there. But the fact that we all acknowledge that Rasulullah ﷺ is such a person that must be loved — this is a matter that no one will differ about.

So to build off of this, insha'Allah, I would like to speak about a few things about the love of Rasulullah ﷺ.

The Two Categories of Love

One is that we must understand that love has categories. There are nuances when it comes to love. There's a type of love which we call al-mahabba al-tabi'iyyah — that love that you have inherently for someone.

We can understand this easily by an example. A mother who has a child — logically speaking, that child in its initial days only does actions which cause difficulty. The mother has a lot of difficulty giving birth to the child. The child always cries, it is in need to be fed, the diapers need to be changed. These are actions that would normally irritate a person. But despite these actions, Allah has placed inherent love in the hearts of the parents for that child. The mother loves the child, doesn't matter how much the child cries. Doesn't matter that the child wakes up the father in the middle of the night and he needs to go to work — the father still loves his son. This is what we call mahabba tabi'iyyah — that natural, inherent love that you have.

Another example is the love the child has for the mother. Even though the child might not know who his mother is, might not know her name, he knows that when he is in need, he wants the mother to hold him. When he is finding some sort of difficulty, some sort of discomfort, he is looking for his mother. He might not know too many details of what a mother is or what she has done for him, but he has this inherent love for his mother.

And then there's a second type of love which we can categorize as mahabba 'aqliyyah — that love which we have for something after knowing it, after intellectually acknowledging that this thing must be loved, this person must be loved. That through our experiences, through our knowledge of something, we begin to love that thing.

For example, an easy example is the love of Islam. The love of Islam is not an inherent thing. You can't expect a random non-Muslim on the street to love Islam naturally — it's not inherent. There's an effort that must be there to foster that love. That effort is through acquiring knowledge, through your experiences with different Muslims, with your experience with Islam, your journey of life — that's what fosters that love. So this is what we call mahabba 'aqliyyah — that love which is not inherent, you have to work on it.

The Love of Rasulullah ﷺ Is a Love You Must Work Towards

The love of Rasulullah ﷺ, generally speaking, is not a love which is inherent. It is not a love that you can just say, "Okay, I'm a Muslim, I automatically have love for Rasulullah ﷺ." It's not that easy. The love of Rasulullah ﷺ is mahabba 'aqliyyah — you need to work towards it, you need to foster that love.

Now, to speak about practical measures — how can we tell that we have the love of Rasulullah ﷺ or not? What is the yardstick we can use that says, "Hey, I actually do have the love of Rasulullah ﷺ, or I'm progressing"? It's a journey that you'll always be on till the end of your life — the path of increasing your love for Rasulullah ﷺ. Because love has no cap. But if you need something to measure that, there are two things that we must see increasing in our life.

One is called ittiba' — emulating the Prophet ﷺ. And one is called ta'ah — submitting and accepting what Rasulullah ﷺ tells us and carrying out what he says. These two words ittiba' and ta'ah are sometimes used interchangeably and sometimes they overlap. I'm not trying to draw a technical difference, but just for our own understanding — the two things we should see increasing as our love increases.

Because it's very easy to claim that you love something with your tongue while your outward actions don't support that. Let me give you an example from the Qur'an. Every Muslim will say they love Allah. But the question is not, do we love Allah? The bigger question is: does Allah love us? Allah says:

"Say: If you love Allah, then follow the Messenger, and Allah will love you in return." That's what we want, don't we?

Similarly, the love for Rasulullah ﷺ can easily be claimed. You can easily say you love Rasulullah ﷺ. But the question is: would Rasulullah ﷺ love you back? We can look at the example of a child who says, "I love my parents," but he doesn't listen to his parents. Anything his parents say, he puts it to the side and just does his own thing. This is love you're claiming through your tongue — what we say, قَوْلٌ بِأَفْوَاهِكُمْ — a statement of your mouth, not a statement of your heart.

First Branch: Ittiba' — Emulating Rasulullah ﷺ

When it comes to ittiba' — emulating Rasulullah ﷺ — we can divide this into three categories for our own understanding. Am I following Rasulullah ﷺ in this aspect or not?

1. Physical Actions

The first category is our physical actions. We hear that Rasulullah ﷺ used to do the miswak — this is a sunnah. Rasulullah ﷺ would treat people with kindness — this is a sunnah. Rasulullah ﷺ would give sadaqah — this is a sunnah. Rasulullah ﷺ would offer Tahiyyat al-Masjid — two raka'at of salah upon entering the masjid. Two raka'at after performing wudhu. These are outward actions. This is one gauge: am I increasing in this? If I am, it shows that my love for Rasulullah ﷺ is increasing.

2. External Appearance

The next is our external appearance — that I want to look like Rasulullah ﷺ, I want to resemble him. This is an aspect that we see the importance of, but many a times we feel, "Oh, this is more of a cultural thing." It is not a cultural thing, my dear respected brothers.

If we look at Islam historically, the clothing that was most beloved to Rasulullah ﷺ was the qamees. It comes in Sunan Abi Dawud, that Umm Salama رضي الله عنها says:

(Sunan Abi Dawud, Book 32, Hadith 4025)

"The most beloved clothing to Rasulullah ﷺ was the qamees." A qamees, by definition, is a cloth of any nature which extends from above your shoulders all the way to your shins. Now, looking at it historically, there might be some slight variations across cultures — the Pakistani qamees is a little bit different from the Bangladeshi qamees, the clothing worn by the Arabs is a little bit different from the clothing worn by the Somalis — but nonetheless, they all unite and are uniform in this one aspect: it is a loose piece of clothing that extends from above the shoulders right to the shins.

And if you know that this is the most beloved clothing to Rasulullah ﷺ, why would we not want to look like him? In fact, historically speaking, you see wherever Islam went, the clothing also went. This would affect their outward appearance.

Similarly, Rasulullah ﷺ says: أَوْفِرُوا اللِّحَى — grow your beards. Rasulullah ﷺ had a full beard that used to cover his chest. Why don't we want to look like Rasulullah ﷺ?

Some people don't understand the mission or the objective behind the sunnah that affects your outward appearance. There are many Islamic rulings that pertain to a Muslim's identity being known. For example, Rasulullah ﷺ says: أَفْشُوا السَّلَامَ — spread salam, give salam:

"Upon the one you know and the one you do not know." At the same time, we know we're not supposed to give salam to non-Muslims. So how is a person supposed to know that you are a Muslim? There must be some outward indication in the way that you dress or the way that you appear, so that a person can identify, "Oh yeah, this is my Muslim brother." There are certain pieces of clothing that if you wear, people automatically associate you with Islam.

3. Internal Actions and Mindset

The third thing is internal actions — or what we can call the mindset of Rasulullah ﷺ. Many a times we focus a lot on the external actions and even on the external appearance, which is very important in its place. But getting deeper — the mindset of Rasulullah ﷺ, do I have that mindset or not? Obviously Rasulullah ﷺ is on the highest pedestal, we can't reach him. But am I walking on that path?

For example, Rasulullah ﷺ was constantly concerned about the well-being of the Muslims. Rasulullah ﷺ was constantly concerned about the guidance of mankind. How can every human being enter into Jannah? Do I have that concern or not? Am I following Rasulullah ﷺ when it comes to mindset? Or am I solely concerned about myself, solely concerned about self-development without caring about the mission of Rasulullah ﷺ to spread Islam as far as it can spread?

This is also an aspect of ittiba' — to follow and emulate Rasulullah ﷺ. Am I emulating him in my internal affairs? When it comes to my internal thoughts, am I thinking like Rasulullah ﷺ or not? Am I concerned about the things that Rasulullah ﷺ was concerned about or not? This is also an aspect that we must give importance to.

So that's one branch. When it comes to ittiba', we have to see where we are in these things — our external actions, our external appearance, and our internal actions or mindset. Is it in line with the actions of Rasulullah ﷺ? Am I increasing or getting closer to the example of Rasulullah ﷺ or not? It's something to focus on.

Second Branch: Ta'ah — Obeying and Submitting to Rasulullah ﷺ

The second thing is what we call ta'ah — to obey Rasulullah ﷺ and to understand and acknowledge that whatever Rasulullah ﷺ says is haqq — it is the truth, it is what is best for mankind, success is in this. Whether I understand the reasoning behind it or not, it doesn't matter, it doesn't add to the equation. What Rasulullah ﷺ said, the example that he's left behind, is the best of examples.

Now, there are two things that must be clarified when it comes to ta'ah.

1. Never Belittle the Sunnah

Number one: the actions that we know are sunnah of Rasulullah ﷺ — we should never have a belittling attitude towards those actions. What's wrong with many Muslims today is that when they hear that a certain thing is sunnah, they automatically understand this as a green light — no need to do this. "Oh, it's just a sunnah, I don't need to do this."

If you have the word "just" in your statement — "it's just a sunnah" — and the next words after that are "I don't need to do this," although you might be correct in a legal sense (Islamically, it's not binding upon you to do this action), you are very off when it comes to your love for Rasulullah ﷺ. How can you love Rasulullah ﷺ and speak about his actions like that?

Rather, if a person is not on that level to act upon all the sunnahs, his statement shouldn't be, "This is just a sunnah, I don't need to do it." His statement should be, "This is a sunnah — I feel bad for not doing it." And then he doesn't do it — insha'Allah there's hope for him to progress. But if you have the attitude that "this is just a sunnah, I don't need to do it," you're closing the door on yourself. A person who has already made up his mind that he's not going to do something — it's very hard to convince that person later.

2. Recognize the Sunnah in What You Do Not Know

The second thing when it comes to ta'ah is that for those actions we do not know are based in the sunnah — we need to research and see if these actions are based in the sunnah or not. And if they are based in sunnah, we must start to respect them.

I'll give you an easy example. Alhamdulillah, in this masjid, in this madrasa, we have segregated learning — the girls learn separately, the boys learn separately. There is a separate facility for boys and a separate facility for girls. Many of us think that this is part of culture, or part of some subcontinent-type thinking, or some conservative type of thinking. But if we actually research the sunnah of Rasulullah ﷺ, we'll find that there's a hadith in Sahih al-Bukhari that the women in the time of Rasulullah ﷺ went to him and said, "The men are learning all these hadith from you — we also want to learn from you, ya Rasulullah." So Rasulullah ﷺ allocated a separate time and a separate place for them. The women were being taught at a separate time and at a separate place.

So having segregated learning is part of the sunnah of Rasulullah ﷺ, and this is something that must be respected. Rasulullah ﷺ did this. It doesn't matter if other people are doing other things — this is what Rasulullah ﷺ used to do. And we must start respecting that, and loving that, and understanding that when it comes to deciding what is right and what is wrong, the best way — by default, without any question, without any hesitation — is the way of Rasulullah ﷺ.

I might be behind in that. I might not be at that level to practice on that. I might not be ready to put that into my life at this very moment. But at least I acknowledge that the way of Rasulullah ﷺ is the best way, and I will try my best to work towards that way.

If we have this much, we have a clear map — this is how I will measure my love for Rasulullah ﷺ. Then insha'Allah, Allah one day may give us the ability to actually love Rasulullah ﷺ as he ought to be loved, and give us the ability to practice upon the actions that we initially think are difficult.

Two Ahadith on the Importance of Loving Rasulullah ﷺ

I'd like to end with two ahadith of Rasulullah ﷺ which emphasize this importance of loving him. The first is the hadith where Rasulullah ﷺ mentions:

"A man will be with the one that he loves." If you love Rasulullah ﷺ, this will let you be with Rasulullah ﷺ insha'Allah. And if we have a lack of love, we might not know where we'll be in the Hereafter.

And the second, which is even stronger, Rasulullah ﷺ says:

(Sahih al-Bukhari, Hadith 15; Sahih Muslim, Hadith 44)

"None of you can be a believer until I am more beloved to him than his father, his child, and all of mankind." If you don't love Rasulullah ﷺ to that level, if your love isn't that intense, it shows that your iman is lacking somewhere.

So may Allah give us the ability to act upon what has been said. We've identified different areas that perhaps we're weak in. And maybe we can work on these areas in our practical life so that we can come towards this unified manner that the entire ummah is united upon — that is, loving Rasulullah ﷺ. May Allah give us tawfiq.

Second Khutbah

All praise is due to Allah, whose existence is self-evident and cannot be denied except by one steeped in ignorance. And salutations and peace be upon the best of mankind, our master Muhammad ﷺ, with whom prophethood was sealed — whoever claims prophethood after him and dies upon that claim, his end will be the Fire, remaining therein forever. Salutations upon him, upon his family, his companions all, and upon those who follow them in righteousness until the Day of Judgment.

My dear respected brothers, there is something that some of us may consider trivial, yet it is immense in the sight of Allah — and that is sending salawat upon the Messenger of Allah ﷺ. He said: "Whoever sends one salah upon me, Allah sends ten upon him." And this is something unique — there is nothing else that Allah does, then the angels do, then all Muslims are commanded to do. Allah says — after beginning with Himself, and following with His angels, and then commanding the believers:

"Indeed, Allah and His angels send blessings upon the Prophet. O you who believe, send blessings upon him and salute him with worthy salutation." So in fulfillment of the command of Allah, we say:

Servants of Allah, may Allah have mercy on you — indeed Allah commands justice, good conduct, and giving to relatives, and He forbids immorality, wrongdoing, and oppression. He admonishes you so that you may take heed.

Announcements

There is no curbside parking. Do not park on the curbs behind the seminary building or on the swift highway. We have additional parking spaces in the used car lot.

Please join Curriculum Night tonight after Asr Salah. The Iqamah is at 6:30. This is a unique opportunity for parents and the community to learn about the Kamil 7-Year 'Alimiyyah Program and see what it takes to be a flag bearer of the deen.

Please also try to join the weekly programs. The Team Fajr program will continue tomorrow, Saturday — Fajr Iqamah is at 5:30. Tafseer will continue on Tuesday after Maghrib Salah.

Registrations are open for the following programs under the Tafheem Weekend Islamic Studies Program, which consists of a 16-week semester. The fall semester began on August 19th — you can still enroll and will receive class recordings for missed classes. Saturday classes include the Fiqh of Salah, the Surahs of Salah, and the Purification of the Heart. Sunday classes include the History and Development of Fiqh, an Introduction to Hadith Sciences, and Aqeedah. There is also a Sunday School for boys and girls ages 6 to 16, designed for youth to learn the essentials of Islam in an environment that nurtures a deep love and connection to Allah and His beloved Messenger ﷺ. Students will be engaged in a curriculum that covers du'a, hadith, adab, sunnah, and Qur'an. For more information, please visit the madrasa's website.

There is also a fundraiser by Helping Hand for Syrian refugees in Jordan. They are trying to raise funds to build 60 new shelters within the next two months. The Helping Hand Shelter Relief Program provides for refugee and destitute families. Please stop by their table outside the entrance, insha'Allah.

A du'a for forgiveness is requested for Hafiz Hamza Walid Khan of Canton and the University of Michigan, who has passed away. Please make du'a for his maghfirah, for a place in Jannatul Firdaus, and for patience for his family. Also, Brother Shaukat Hussain has also passed away. Please make du'a for his forgiveness.

May Allah give us tawfiq to do what is right.