How to love the Prophet ﷺ after his departure? | Mufti Abdul Wahab Waheed | Miftaah Circle

How to Love the Prophet ﷺ After His Departure

In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful. Praise be to Allah, Lord of the worlds. And peace and blessings be upon the most honoured of the Prophets and Messengers, our Master Muhammad, the Prophet of the worlds, whose name is written in the Bible and the Torah.

As for what follows, Allah Almighty has said in His precious Book — I seek refuge with Allah from the accursed Satan:

"Indeed, you have in the Messenger of Allah a good example for those who hope in Allah and the Last Day and remember Allah much."

And the Prophet ﷺ said:

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

"No one of you will believe until I am dearer to him than his father and his son and all the people."

The Prophet's ﷺ Longing for Us

My dear brothers, sisters, elders and youngsters — one day the Prophet ﷺ was sitting with his companions and he said to them, "I was born and I met my brothers. How I wish, how I hope that one day I can meet my brothers and sisters."

The Sahaba sitting there and hearing this, they responded with confusion: "O Messenger of Allah, are we not your brothers and sisters? We've given our blood and sweat — are we not your brothers and sisters? We've given all of our time for you — are we not your brothers and sisters? We left Makkah for you — have we not earned the title that you are referring to at this moment?"

And the Prophet ﷺ looked back at them and said, "No — you have earned a title and your title has already earned the virtue and merit that you have been given by Allah. You are my companions. However, my brothers and sisters will be a community that comes much later. These were people who believe in me and will believe in me despite never seeing me, despite never experiencing my presence in the flesh. Those are my brothers and sisters."

The Departure Was Only Physical

My friends, the topic that was given to me today was: how do we love the Prophet ﷺ after his departure?

And the first way to love the Prophet ﷺ after his departure is to recognize that that departure was only physical. That departure was only physical — because the presence of the Prophet ﷺ in regards to his love, his sunnah, and the motivation to be with him physically again, continues to live on.

How did the Sahaba love the Prophet ﷺ after he left this world? How were they able to live life and to continue going through the motions of the reality of their struggle without the Prophet ﷺ being physically among them?

The Story of Bilal

How was it possible for Bilal — who, after the Prophet ﷺ left this world, decided to pack his bags and leave Medina? Because living in Medina was a direct reminder of the Prophet ﷺ walking through those same streets. Everyone grieves differently. So he leaves Medina.

Abu Bakr says to him, "O Bilal, stay here. We need you to be our mu'adhin." He says, "No."

"O leader of the believers, I need to leave. I can't be here anymore." Abu Bakr says, "No, please stay here."

He says, "Ya Abu Bakr..."

"If you purchased me and freed me as a slave because you still own me, then I will do as you say. But if you purchased me and freed me for the sake of Allah, then let me go."

He leaves and goes to Sham. And as years go by and he is on his deathbed, his wife — in some narrations she was a sister of Abdur Rahman ibn Awf, Hala bint Awf, also called Na'ilah — she looks upon her husband and she says:

"What a day of grief. What a day of sorrow."

And he responds by saying:

"What a day of joy. What a day of happiness. Tomorrow I will meet Muhammad ﷺ and his companions."

Motivated by the Hereafter

How do we love the Prophet ﷺ after his departure? By simply being motivated to see him in the hereafter. I'm motivated — not because the hereafter simply gives me the enjoyment of doing whatever I wish, though that is exciting — but I'm motivated because in the hereafter, I'll be able to experience the comfort of the Prophet ﷺ. I'll be able to see him.

A man came to Qaqa al-Awsi رحمة الله عليه, who was a great Tabi'i, and said to him:

"Tell me something that will increase my yearning and desire to want to be in Jannah. Tell me something that will motivate me to sacrifice what I have, sacrifice my desires, to be in Jannah."

He said three words:

"In Jannah is the Messenger of Allah ﷺ." That is the motivation.

How do we love the Prophet ﷺ after his departure? By knowing that we will be with him again in the hereafter. That is the goal.

We were not fortunate enough to be the people that saw him. We were not fortunate enough to be even the dirt that he walked upon. We were not fortunate enough to be the animals that he rode upon. We were not fortunate enough to be the tree that he stood next to and gave a khutbah — and would give his khutbah for years — such that when the Prophet ﷺ left that tree, the tree began to cry.

But we can be — and will be — fortunate enough that as we depart from this world, there will be a person welcoming us in the hereafter with a smile and a cup of water from the Hawd al-Kawthar. That's motivation.

I ask anyone here that has lost a loved one — is there anything in life that is more motivating about the hereafter other than being reunited with your loved one that has already left? Nothing. Because Jannah becomes personal. Jannah became personal 1,440 years ago when the Prophet ﷺ left this world.

The Story of Thawban

A man by the name of Thawban — he was a companion — was sitting with his family, enjoying time with his children, just laid back. And then, as he was sitting there, he suddenly had an epiphany — a thought that crossed his mind — and he rushed to the Prophet's ﷺ masjid. He saw the Prophet ﷺ sitting there and he aggressively went through the crowd and sat in front.

The Prophet ﷺ, seeing him somewhat startled and anxious, says, "What's going on? What's the matter? What has gotten you overwhelmed?"

And he says, "Ya Rasulallah — wallahi, I have no physical or emotional disease or difficulty at this moment. I'm healthy. So I'm not coming to you because I need something from you in this dunya."

The Prophet ﷺ says, "What's up? What's going on?"

He says, "Ya Rasulallah, I was sitting with my family, enjoying the moment, and then it dawned upon me that one day either I will be burying them or they will be burying me. This is just a temporal realm of this dunya — it's just temporary. One day I will bury them or they will bury me. And that overwhelmed me. But then I thought — if they leave this world, you will also leave this world. Either we will be burying you or you will be burying us. And then life will lose its sweetness because you're not with us anymore."

"Ya Rasulallah, what comforted me is that in the hereafter we'll be with you again. But then — how will we be with you when you will be at the highest levels of Firdaus? You will be at the highest levels in the penthouse suite in Jannah, and we will be at the lower levels. Ya Rasulallah, what will Jannah be like without your companionship? We will survive the tsunami of difficulties that the world throws our way and we will pacify all of our anxieties because we know that one day we will be with you — but in the hereafter you'll be higher."

The Prophet ﷺ says to him, "Well, I don't have an answer at this point." And Allah reveals the verse:

"And whoever obeys Allah and the Messenger — those will be with the ones upon whom Allah has bestowed favour: of the Prophets, the steadfast affirmers of truth, the martyrs, and the righteous. And excellent are those as companions."

Those who obey Allah and His Messenger, love Allah and His Messenger, and allow that to be the framing of their life — such that this is the nucleus that dictates the decisions of my life. What dictates the decisions of your life and my life? What is the dominant frame of reference that allows me to make a decision? And if in that equation there is an absence of Allah and His Messenger — that is why we are all here today.

And as the Prophet ﷺ narrated this ayah, he then said:

"A person will be with those whom he loves."

Closing: Why We Still Love Him ﷺ

How do we love the Prophet ﷺ after his departure? Because the dunya is definitely sweetless and bitter without the Prophet's ﷺ presence and his sunnah. But even Jannah will be sweetless and lack its enjoyment without the presence of the Prophet ﷺ. And that is why we still love him — so we can be with him in the akhirah.

May Allah allow us to be amongst those people and allow us to live a life that when he ﷺ sees us, he is proud of us, and he says:

"Congratulations to you."

Children get excited when their parents are proud of them. Imagine the Prophet ﷺ being proud of us on the Day of Judgment. May Allah allow that to be a reality.

JazakAllah Khair. Assalamu Alaykum Warahmatullahi Wabarakatuh.