Loving the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم - Shaykh Mustafa Abu Rayyan

Khutbah al-Ula — Opening

إِنَّ الْحَمْدَ لِلَّهِ نَحْمَدُهُ وَنَسْتَعِينُهُ وَنَسْتَغْفِرُهُ وَنَعُوذُ بِاللَّهِ مِنْ شُرُورِ أَنْفُسِنَا وَمِنْ سَيِّئَاتِ أَعْمَالِنَا، مَنْ يَهْدِهِ اللَّهُ فَلَا مُضِلَّ لَهُ، وَمَنْ يُضْلِلْ فَلَا هَادِيَ لَهُ، وَأَشْهَدُ أَنْ لَا إِلَٰهَ إِلَّا اللَّهُ وَحْدَهُ لَا شَرِيكَ لَهُ، وَأَشْهَدُ أَنَّ مُحَمَّدًا عَبْدُهُ وَرَسُولُهُ وَصَفِيُّهُ مِنْ خَلْقِهِ وَخَلِيلُهُ، أَرْسَلَهُ اللَّهُ إِلَى النَّاسِ كَافَّةً بَشِيرًا وَنَذِيرًا، فَبَلَّغَ الرِّسَالَةَ وَأَدَّى الْأَمَانَةَ وَنَصَحَ الْأُمَّةَ، وَتَرَكَنَا عَلَى الْمَحَجَّةِ الْبَيْضَاءِ لَيْلُهَا كَنَهَارِهَا لَا يَزِيغُ عَنْهَا إِلَّا هَالِكٌ، فَصَلَوَاتُ اللَّهِ وَسَلَامُهُ عَلَيْهِ وَعَلَى آلِهِ وَأَصْحَابِهِ وَمَنِ اهْتَدَى بِهَدْيِهِ وَاسْتَنَّ بِسُنَّتِهِ وَدَعَا بِدَعْوَتِهِ إِلَى يَوْمِ الدِّينِ.

أَحِبَّتِي فِي اللَّهِ، أُوصِيكُمْ وَنَفْسِي بِتَقْوَى اللَّهِ وَالْإِحْسَانِ، فَإِنَّ اللَّهَ مَعَ الَّذِينَ تَقَوْا وَالَّذِينَ هُمْ مُحْسِنُونَ.

My beloved brothers and sisters, I start by praising Allah the Almighty and sending blessings and salutations upon our beloved messenger Muhammad صلى الله عليه وسلم.

The Month of Rabi'ul Awwal

My brothers and sisters, we are in the month of Rabi'ul Awwal. And like I've mentioned many times, it is important that we are always on top of and aware of which month we are in, because many of our acts of worship and many events in our history have something to do with the month you are in. The month of Safar just finished and now we are in the month of Rabi'ul Awwal.

Now this month is a month that has significance in our deen. And the reason it has such significance is because great events happened in this month. And as Muslims, we should be aware of these because this is our heritage and our history.

Now my brothers and sisters, this month that we are in is the month that our beloved Prophet Muhammad صلى الله عليه وسلم was born. It is also the month our beloved Prophet Muhammad صلى الله عليه وسلم passed away. It is also the month where our beloved Prophet Muhammad صلى الله عليه وسلم arrived in Medina. So it is a month that has a lot of significance, and it makes you ponder and wonder and think about our messenger صلى الله عليه وسلم — and how much he means to us, and how much we love him, and how much we would want to be with him.

We have not been with him in this dunya, but we ask Allah to make us among those who are with him in the akhirah. We have never met him, never heard his sweet voice, never seen his beautiful face صلى الله عليه وسلم — yet each one of us here would do anything they can to have that ni'mah. But we read his speech, we follow his sunnah, we love him, we believe in him, and we obey his commandments. This is how we show our hubb and our love to the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم.

Love of the Prophet ﷺ is a Condition of Iman

To love the messenger is part and parcel of being a mu'min, a believer. In fact, one's iman is incomplete if they do not love the Prophet more than anyone else. Now I want you to take a moment here — especially those among you that are parents. How much you love your children. Your iman is incomplete if you do not love Rasulullah more than your own children, more than your own parents, more than yourself.

The Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم, Allah is telling us, comes before the believers even themselves. No one comes before the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم — not yourself, not your parents, no one. And your love for him should be apparent, and your love for him should be real.

Now how can you claim to love him when you do not know anything about him? If I were to ask you basic questions about who he was, how he looked like — subhanAllah, ikhwani fillah. The sahaba have narrated to us in detail how the Prophet looked like, how he walked, what he ate, what he wore, how he prayed, how he travelled, what he said. If we love him, should we not be reading? Should we not be learning? Should we not be trying to be more like him? This is how you show your love.

How the Sahaba Expressed Their Love

And there are many ways we show our hubb to the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم. And ikhwani fillah, sometimes when we speak about loving the Prophet it becomes only about following his sunnah. That is an aspect of our love of the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم that many have neglected — and to the point where their love for the Prophet became purely emotional, it became purely cultural, and they forgot that our love for the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم should manifest in following his sunnah and his message. He is a rasool, a messenger that came from Allah the Almighty. Your job is to follow him. Your job is to follow the Prophet.

Now I'm going to give you a few examples of how the sahaba followed him and showed their love through that. When the sahaba and the Prophet arrived in Mecca to do their umrah — while Mecca was still inhabited and in the control of the Quraysh — the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم realized that the Meccans who were opposing Islam were alluding to the fact that the Muslims are weak and tired. So the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم, when he was doing tawaf, started walking briskly and jogging, and he put his ihram on and exposed his right shoulder. He did this to show: no, we are strong, we are healthy. This was the purpose.

When we do tawaf and we arrive, this is why we do it. Later on, Umar ibn al-Khattab رضي الله عنه thought about this and said: now only believers are in Mecca, so the need to do that — is it still there? No. So he pondered: perhaps we should just walk around the Ka'bah, we don't have to do this, because there was a particular reason for it. But then he said a beautiful statement: But how can I not do something the Prophet did? How can I not do something Rasulullah صلى الله عليه وسلم did? Although he understood the reason he did it, he wanted to keep this tradition alive — the same way we keep the tradition of Ibrahim عليه السلام alive in many of the acts of Hajj. It is internalized in our Hajj. Every time we do tawaf and we are doing that, we are reviving — we are enacting — something our beloved Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم did.

You will find Umar's son, Abdullah ibn Umar, resting — sitting in a place — and someone asks: why did you sit there? He replies: one day I saw the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم sit there. They wanted to follow him in every way.

When it comes to listening to his commandments — one time Rasulullah صلى الله عليه وسلم said to everyone: sit down. Abdullah ibn Mas'ud heard it when he was outside and he sat down outside. How could he take another step when Rasulullah said to sit down? Then the Prophet called him in. This is how they loved the Prophet. This is how they obeyed the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم.

Was it just obedience? Wallahi it wasn't just obedience — they loved him. Ali ibn Abi Talib said, رضي الله عنه: we used to love the Prophet more than our families and our children. You would find, when the Muslims went to battle and then the people came back in Medina, they would ask about the Prophet before the womenfolk would ask about their own sons and husbands: is the Prophet okay? Yes — as long as he is okay, then we are okay as well.

Why would we ever want to not follow his sunnah? Why would we ever not want to pray the way he prayed, eat the way he ate, walk the way he walked — everything about him, ya ikhwani fillah. This is hubb. And it is exemplified in our love of his sunnah.

"Whoever turns away from my Sunnah is not of me."

(Sahih al-Bukhari, Hadith 5063; Sahih Muslim, Hadith 1401)

Whoever rejects my sunnah is not one of me. Don't ever reject his sunnah. Don't ever belittle an act of worship just because it's sunnah. Do it because it's sunnah — because you want to be more like him.

Sending Salawat Upon the Prophet ﷺ

Among the ways, ya ikhwani fillah, we should manifest our love for the Prophet is by sending a lot of salawat upon him صلى الله عليه وسلم. Make this something you do often. Make this something you teach your children. Say the salawat upon the Prophet during the day, in the evening, as often as you can.

There is a hadith mentioned in Musnad Ahmad, al-Nasa'i, and others — that Ubay ibn Ka'ab said to the Prophet: ya Rasulallah, I send a lot of salawat upon you. And the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم said: that is good, and if you do more it will be better for you. And then he said: ya Rasulallah, I will make a quarter of all my dhikr sending salawat upon you. And the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم said: that is good, and if you do more it is better for you. And then he said: ya Rasulallah, I will make half of my dhikr sending salawat upon you. And the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم said: that is good, and if you do more it is better for you. Until Ubay ibn Ka'ab said: I will make all my dhikr sending salawat upon you. And the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم said: if you do that, then you will have no worry in your life, and Allah will remove all your sorrow and sadness.

(Musnad Ahmad, Hadith 21694; Sunan al-Tirmidhi, Hadith 2457)

This is how great the salawat upon the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم is. Now don't misunderstand this hadith to mean you should not do any other dhikr — but it is to teach you to emphasize the importance of sending salawat upon the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم, especially on days like these and on Fridays.

And there are many benefits — among them the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم said in a hadith: those who are the most deserving of my shafa'ah, my intercession, are those that send the most salawat upon me.

(Sunan al-Tirmidhi, Hadith 484)

صلواتُ اللهِ وسلامُهُ عليه.

Other Ways to Express Love for the Prophet ﷺ

Among the ways we love him is to love his family — to love the Ahl al-Bayt, to love Ali, to love his children, to love his wives, to love his companions and those that protected him, those that died for him, those that studied under him, those that narrated from him — to love them. And among our ways we show our love is to name our children after them, to learn about their history, to always mention them and mention them in the best ways, and keep telling their stories and teaching their seerah.

And the most important seerah is the seerah of our beloved Prophet Muhammad صلى الله عليه وسلم. Teach it to your children. Learn it yourself. Dedicate time to learn about the life of Rasulullah صلى الله عليه وسلم. This is how we show our love to the Prophet — by following his sunnah, by loving him more than anyone else (and that is part of our iman), by loving those that loved him and were near him like the sahaba and the Ahl al-Bayt, by protecting his sunnah, by reviving his sunnah, and staying away from all innovation. For indeed that is an insult to the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم — to add to the religion, as if the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم did not teach us everything that is good.

I say this, and I ask Allah to forgive me and you. Indeed He is the Forgiving, the Merciful.

Khutbah al-Thaniyah — Second Sermon

All praise is due to Allah, and peace and blessings be upon the Messenger of Allah. There are a few points I would like to mention regarding this time that we are in and also regarding our love for the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم.

Point One: Implement What You Hear

Please don't let today be a day where you heard a reminder and then you forgot about it. Implement these changes in your life. Learn the seerah of the Prophet — wallahi it will increase your love for him. And loving the Prophet is among the ways that you will earn Jannah.

Like the Bedouin man that came to the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم and asked him a question: ya Rasulallah, matas sa'ah? — O Messenger of Allah, when is the Hour? And the Prophet replied to him: what did you prepare for it? And then this Bedouin man replied: I did not prepare for it many prayers, much zakat, or many fasts — but indeed I love Allah and His Messenger. And the Prophet said a statement that made that companion, and the companions that were there, and everyone after — and us — extremely happy and overjoyed. For the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم said:

"The individual on the Day of Judgement will be with those he loves."

(Sahih al-Bukhari, Hadith 6170; Sahih Muslim, Hadith 2640)

And Anas ibn Malik, who was there when this incident happened, said: the first thing we said was — O Prophet of Allah, is that just for him who asked, or is it for all of us? And the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم said: it is for all of you. Everyone — you will be on the Day of Judgement with whom you love. So love your Prophet so that you can be with him.

Point Two: The Question of Mawlid

I ask Allah to make us among those who act upon his sunnah and send salawat upon him. During this month, some people — out of their love for the Prophet, which is praiseworthy, out of their love for the Prophet, which is something that they should have — they celebrate. They celebrate, and we know the Mawlid. Now I want to say a few words on this.

Number one: the Mawlid of the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم — it is not 100% known when it was, and this is very important. All the scholars agree on this. When was the day the Prophet was born? There is dispute in this. Some say he was born on the 9th of Rabi'ul Awwal, others say it was on the 12th, some say it was on the Jumada al-Ula, some say it wasn't even in this month. Allah knows best.

What we do know — and we heard from the Prophet's statement himself — is when he said: I was born on a Monday. And he used to fast on a Monday. And when he was asked: why do you fast on Mondays? He mentioned many reasons. Among them being: number one, that on Mondays and Thursdays our deeds are taken to Allah — the angels come and they take our deeds, our weekly account, on Mondays and on Thursdays. And the Prophet said: I would like that to happen while I am fasting. And among the reasons he mentioned is: this is the day I was born.

(Sahih Muslim, Hadith 1162)

And of course, the birth of the Prophet is something we should be grateful for — the Ummah should be grateful for. And how do you express gratitude? How did the Prophet express gratitude? Through fasting — on Monday. Not on the yearly commemoration, but on Mondays he would fast. Similarly, when Fir'awn chased Musa and Musa was saved by Allah, he fasted on that day.

So again, it is highly encouraged for you to fast on Mondays — with the intention that the Prophet taught us: fast on Mondays because the deeds are taken to Allah, fast on Mondays and Thursdays because of the sunnah of the Prophet. And yes, have the intention — when you fast on Mondays — that you are grateful for the day the Prophet was born. There is nothing wrong with that.

But to do it on the day of Rabi'ul Awwal — the 12th — first of all, what we do know, and this is ijma', is that the Prophet died on the 12th of Rabi'ul Awwal. The day that people celebrate the Mawlid is also the day the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم died. And this is a fact and no one disputes this.

And in fact Allah mentioned in the Qur'an that the Prophet would pass away:

"Indeed, you will die, and indeed, they will die."

The Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم passed away — and first of all, there is nothing wrong with saying that he passed away, because Allah said so. صلواتُ اللهِ وسلامُهُ عَلَيه. And we know this dunya is just a part of the journey, and the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم is in a better place.

So you don't need to express your love for the Prophet on one day — and this is not the way of the Prophet and his companions to express their love.

Two Observations in Our Communities

Now that being said, ikhwani fillah, I have noticed two things in our communities. One group of people who have decided that the way they express their love — which again is praiseworthy — is through celebrating this day and this day alone, and then coming together and doing things that were unknown by the companions, the salaf, and the sahaba — and everyone agrees on that as well. And we say to that: don't express your love of the Prophet in this manner. You should celebrate the Prophet's life, learn his seerah, mention him throughout the year — throughout the year. He is more deserving than to just be given one day.

Number two: as Muslims, our celebrations have been limited by Allah and His Messenger. The Prophet himself limited our feasts and festivals to two days — the two Eids. And wallahi, if there was anyone deserving to be given a day to be celebrated, yes — it's Prophet Muhammad صلى الله عليه وسلم. But he himself taught us: we only have two Eids. So we can't make a third. How can we bring a third Eid when the Prophet is telling us you can only have two? This is going against him. Are we loving him by disobeying him? These are the meanings, ikhwani fillah.

A Call for Gentleness

Now that being said, my brothers and sisters — those that want to celebrate the Prophet's birth because you love him: may Allah reward you for your love. Because you want to learn more about him: may Allah make you among those that will be with him on the Day of Judgement. But my brothers and sisters, the Prophet taught us something — if we ever have a dispute on a matter, look at the statement of your messenger whom you love. If we ever dispute on a matter, what did the Prophet say?

Whoever lives after me shall see many disputes. We will argue over different things in Islam. And what did the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم say when that happens — you see opposing views, different opinions? What was the advice of the Prophet whom we all love?

"Upon you is my Sunnah and the Sunnah of the rightly-guided caliphs after me. Hold fast to it and bite onto it with your molar teeth."

(Sunan Abi Dawud, Hadith 4607; Sunan Ibn Majah, Hadith 42)

Upon you is my sunnah, my way — do what I did, do as I did, and what the rightful caliphs did: Abu Bakr, Umar, Uthman, and Ali. This is the solution to dispute within the Ummah. Go back to the Prophet and to the companions. And if we do this, we will find that the way they expressed their love is the way we mentioned earlier — not necessarily having a dedicated day to celebrate the day we are not even sure he was born.

That being said, I want to give one more piece of advice. My brothers and sisters — our friends, family members, brothers and sisters that want to celebrate and love the Prophet in this way: be gentle with them. Appreciate and understand that they are believers who love the Prophet. Understand that Allah might reward them for their intention, although what they're doing Islamically might not be sound. Be gentle. Teach. Understand where they're coming from. Let's not be harsh — the Prophet was gentle. Let's all at least come together and appreciate that we agree: he was the greatest man to have ever walked this earth, and he should be followed, respected, and believed in.

Ask Allah to gather us all with him.

O Allah, grant our souls their piety and purify them — You are the best of those who purify them, You are their Guardian and their Master.

وَآخِرُ دَعْوَانَا أَنِ الْحَمْدُ لِلَّهِ رَبِّ الْعَالَمِينَ.