Manifesting Your Love for the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم - Shaykh Mustafa Abu Rayyan

Opening Khutbah

Praise be to Allah. We praise Him, ask for His help, and ask for His forgiveness. We seek refuge in Allah from the evil of our souls and from the evil of our actions.

Whoever Allah guides, there is no misguidance for him, and whoever He misguides, there is no guidance for him. I bear witness that there is no god but Allah, alone, with no partner. I bear witness that Muhammad is His servant and Messenger, the purest of heart from His creation and His companion.

Allah has sent him to all people as a bearer of glad tidings and a warner. He conveyed the message, fulfilled the trust, and advised the Ummah. He left us on the white path — its night is like its day; only the perished do not take it. May the peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, his family, his companions, those who were guided by his guidance, held fast to his Sunnah, and called by his call to the Day of Recompense.

Rabi'ul Awwal — The Month of the Prophet's Birth

My beloved brothers and sisters, I start by praising Allah and sending blessings and salutations upon our beloved Messenger Muhammad ﷺ. We are in the month of Rabi'ul Awwal. This is the third month in the Islamic calendar, and it was the month that our beloved Messenger Muhammad ﷺ was born.

Now, many use this month as an opportunity to celebrate the Prophet's ﷺ birth in ways that are not part of our religion. But what we can do — and what we should do — is reflect upon this. We are in the month that the one whom Allah loves the most was born. We are in the month that the one whom Allah sent as a mercy to mankind was born.

And a question that we must ask ourselves is: we claim to be his followers — and inshallah, we are his followers. He came to guide us to that which is correct and upright, to the straight path. And I ask Allah to make us among those that follow him all the way to Jannah. Ameen, Ya Rabbil Alameen.

Who Is the Prophet ﷺ to Us?

My brothers and sisters, Prophet Muhammad ﷺ is our example, our role model, our teacher — the one whom we love more than anyone else. And this is something that should echo through our whole life. It is something that we should embody, not just say and claim. We truly love him more than anyone else.

Why do we love him? We love him because he called us towards that which is going to save us — that which is going to gain us the pleasure of our Creator Allah. We love him for who he was, for what he did, for what he called towards, for what he embodied.

And what did he embody? He was the Qur'an — like Aisha رضي الله عنها said. When she was asked about the character of our Messenger, she said:

His character was that of the Qur'an. (Sahih Muslim, Book 6, Hadith 139)

What does that mean, my brothers and sisters? It means that every single sound and good character the Qur'an calls towards, you would find that within the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ. All that is good, he called towards. All that which is evil, he forbade.

There is no one better that has walked this earth than him. Our Creator Almighty Allah, who loves him the most — he is khayru khalqillah. He is the leader of all of mankind. He is the most virtuous of all of the Messengers.

But he was also someone who was very humble, who lived a very simple personal life. He was a father. He was a husband. He was a statesman. He was a teacher. Sometimes he was a general who participated in battles. And he was a worshipper, first and foremost —

A servant of Allah. This is why Allah, when He wants to praise our Messenger, He calls him عَبْد — His worshipper, His servant.

Learning About the Prophet ﷺ — A Measure of Our Love

We should learn more about the Prophet ﷺ. And this is where we measure our love for him. How much do we know about him? And have we learned more? Our job as Muslims, as his followers, as his brothers — for the Prophet ﷺ said in a hadith, "I wish I could meet my brothers," or "I miss my brothers."

And the Sahabah said to him, "Are we not your brothers?" And he said, "No —

You are my companions. My brothers are those who believed in me while never having met me. (Sahih Muslim, Book 1, Hadith 226)

If we claim to be his brothers — and may Allah make us of them — and his followers, then we should spread his message and carry on the responsibility.

His Love for All of Humanity

The Prophet ﷺ, among the characteristics we find described in the Qur'an, is his love for all of humanity and his eagerness to call everyone towards what is good. He was so eager to guide everyone that Allah said:

Perhaps it hurts you so much that they do not believe — that you are filled with sorrow and grief. This was our Messenger Muhammad ﷺ. He wanted guidance for everyone. He forgave those who oppressed him. He called towards the helping of the poor and the needy. Even before Allah made him a Messenger, he was known for his truthfulness and his trustworthiness.

Wallahi, if we could do even a tenth — a hundredth — of what he did, all of humanity would have known the greatness of him. Perhaps people dare to insult him and disrespect him because we have not done our job to show the world how great of a man he was. And we should all take responsibility in spreading this message.

For anyone that came into contact with Rasulullah ﷺ knew how great he was. Anyone that reads about him knows how great he was. Which is why you find so many historians who are not Muslim acknowledge that he was the greatest man.

Our Responsibility — Embodying the Prophet's Character

It is our responsibility to call towards Islam. And we do that by embodying the character of the Prophet ﷺ. Like Allah ordered us:

Indeed, with the Messenger of Allah lies a great example.

The Messenger of Allah calls towards the sponsoring and caring of the orphans, to the point where he said: if one cares for an orphan until they reach adulthood, he and the Prophet will be like this in Jannah — and he indicated with his two fingers. The Prophet calls towards charity. He calls towards kindness and gentleness in everything.

He was the greatest man. And we should try to emulate that and teach it to the world. That is our responsibility.

Responding to Those Who Insult the Prophet ﷺ

Did the Prophet ﷺ have detractors in his time? Yes, he did. Was he insulted in his time? Yes, he was. It is recorded in the Qur'an — they called him majnoon, they called him sahir. But where are they now? Allah is the most just, and there is a day called the Day of Judgment, and Allah will give everyone what they are owed.

But what was the order of Allah?

Have patience with regards to what they are saying, O Muhammad.

We know it constricts your heart — what they say. And not just about the Prophet himself. In fact, the Prophet didn't care about what they said about him personally. Like Aisha رضي الله عنها said:

The Prophet never sought out revenge for himself. (Sahih al-Bukhari, Hadith 3560; Sahih Muslim, Book 43, Hadith 82)

And he would always respond with that which is better:

This was who he was. Does that mean that when our Messenger is disrespected, it shouldn't hurt us? Of course it does — we love him more than our parents.

Love of the Prophet ﷺ — The Path to Jannah

This is, in fact, how we go to Jannah. Like the famous companion who came to the Prophet ﷺ and asked him, "When is the Day of Judgment?" And the Prophet ﷺ asked him a more important question: "What have you prepared for it?" He said, "Not a lot of salat and not a lot of sadaqa." Isn't that how you go to Jannah — with a lot of salat and a lot of sadaqa? He said, "No, Rasul, I have not done a lot of dhikr or salat or sadaqa, but I love Allah and His Messenger." And the Prophet ﷺ said:

You will be with whom you love. (Sahih al-Bukhari, Hadith 6171; Sahih Muslim, Book 45, Hadith 164)

It is through our love of Allah and His Messenger that we will gain the ranks of Jannah. So yes, we should love him. And that is an action of the heart that everyone should embody — a true love of Rasulullah ﷺ, a true love of our Creator Allah.

How Does That Love Manifest?

But that love manifests in our actions. How much are you willing to learn about our deen, about Allah and His Messenger? How much are you trying to be like him? How much are you trying to call towards him? This is how you manifest your love of the Prophet ﷺ.

It manifests through how much you speak about him. And when you do speak about him, you send salawat upon him — صلى الله عليه وسلم — every time he is mentioned. The Prophet ﷺ, Allah honoured him, Allah gave him the highest rank:

And the scholars, when they explain this ayah, they say:

Allah is not mentioned except that the Prophet is also mentioned alongside Him. This is how high Allah has raised him.

Allah has given him the Shafa'ah al-Uzma — when all of mankind are waiting to be judged by Allah, the one who will intercede on their behalf is Rasulullah ﷺ. Allah has raised the Prophet's rank to the point where his Ummah are the greatest Ummah. It is enough of an honour that you are part of his Ummah — that Allah has guided you to Islam.

Mercy, Forgiveness, and the Way of Islam

We should feel sorry for those who dare to insult him. We should feel sorry for them — they are the ones digging their own grave by doing something that Allah will judge them for. We're not here to do anything to them. That's not our job. Our job is to embody the message of Islam. Our job is to call to that which is correct. And Allah is the judge.

And subhanAllah, Allah is so forgiving — even those who insulted the Prophet, if they accept Islam, Allah forgives them. And if they accept Islam, they become our brothers. This is the rahmah of our deen.

Abu Sufyan, who was one of the greatest enemies of the Prophet, became a great companion. Khalid ibn al-Walid, who was among the greatest enemies of the Prophet, became a great companion. Islam is a religion of mercy. It is a religion that forgives. It is a religion that calls towards that which is better. It is a religion that responds with that which is better. And that's what we should be doing, my brothers.

Let's use this as an opportunity. Now that people are talking about the Prophet — perhaps in a way we don't like — let's use this as an opportunity to show them who he really is. By starting with the way we respond:

By having sabr. By mentioning the greatness of Prophet Muhammad ﷺ. Why are there 2 billion people who love him more than their own families? That is a good question to ask. And the answer they will find by learning about who he was.

What we don't want is people responding in ways that our Prophet himself would disapprove of — by hurting those who are innocent, by calling towards violence when there is no such thing within Islam in that manner. Especially those among you who have passion and zeal for your religion and want to defend your Prophet: defend your Prophet. It is wajib to defend your Prophet. But how do you do it?

You do it first by acting upon that which he asked you to act upon. Second, by following his Sunnah. Third, by propagating the religion that he came for. By having the eagerness to guide others that he had. The Prophet was not vengeful or angry — that was not who he was ﷺ.

When he came back to Mecca — to those who were oppressing him for years, who killed his friends — what did he do? He forgave them. And as a result of that, many of them accepted Islam through his compassion. Allah said:

And We have not sent you except as a mercy to mankind. And if he was a mercy to mankind, we should be a mercy to mankind.

Closing — Study the Seerah and Embody His Character

Study the Seerah of our Prophet. Learn more about him. And then change your life in a meaningful way where you start emulating him more. Learn about how he looked, how he was as a young child — this is all recorded, Ikhwani fillah. Attend a Seerah class or listen to one. Educate yourself. And then try to embody the akhlaaq of the Qur'an. Carry this religion through your character and call towards it like the Prophet ﷺ did.

And remember that no one can detract from the Prophet ﷺ no matter what they try, because Allah has raised his rank. And it's our job to follow his Sunnah. To defend him in the correct way. And to ask Allah to forgive our sins and to make us among those who will be with him in Jannah.

Du'a

I ask Allah to not separate us from this gathering except with our sins forgiven, our efforts accepted with gratitude, and our deeds righteous and accepted.

O Allah, grant us the piety and purity of our souls — You are the best of those who purify them; You are their guardian and their master. O Allah, make us love faith and adorn it in our hearts, and make us hate disbelief, disobedience, and transgression, and make us of the righteous.

And our last prayer is all praise to Allah, and peace and blessings be upon the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ and upon his family and companions.