The Sacrifices of the Prophet ﷺ | Shamail Session 3 | Ustadh Majed Mahmoud

The Sacrifices of the Prophet ﷺ

بِسْمِ اللَّهِ وَالصَّلَاةُ وَالسَّلَامُ عَلَى رَسُولِ اللَّهِ وَعَلَى آلِهِ وَصَحْبِهِ وَسَلِّم

We begin by mentioning the name of Allah and we ask Allah to send His peace and His blessings upon Prophet Muhammad ﷺ. Alhamdulillah. May Allah bless you all and reward you for your time and sacrifices in attending this wonderful, wonderful intensive program about the Seerah of the Prophet ﷺ.

You know, when it comes to programs like this, it's an honor being present — really — for the one teaching and for the one attending. Learning about Muhammad ﷺ is knowledge that you can never have enough of. I truly believe many of you have read the Seerah or a portion of it, but still, if anything, this grows a desire to even learn more. Is that not interesting? SubhanAllah.

May Allah forgive us, but sometimes people rave about certain movies — like, "I watched this thing 17 times!" Or, "I went on this ride in Islands of Adventure in Orlando, or Universal Studios, and I waited 57 minutes for that ride, which is a 3-minute and 19-second ride." But we would brag — inshallah, in the Akhira, don't brag in the dunya too much. In the Akhira you have all the bragging rights. In the Akhira you get to brag and say: "Come read my book. Come see my sacrifices." You will literally brag: "I'm the one who attended Seerah Intensive, and I could have gone to Hawaii with my family but I chose to be here." Not that it's haram, obviously, going on those trips — but you will get to have the bragging rights. "Look at me. Look how far me waking up for hijab took me. I made it to Firdaus because I made sure I never missed a salah in my life."

May Allah allow us to brag in the Akhira. Because the losers, the wicked, and the criminals don't even want to talk in the Akhira. They put the book behind their back — "I don't want to talk now." It's like the one who gets a very bad grade in their exam and you ask them what their grade was and they say, "None of your business." May Allah protect us. That's how it is in the Akhira. May Allah grant us sincerity, Ameen Rabbil Alameen.

What Does Sacrifice Mean?

So with this afternoon's topic, inshallah — the topic of the sacrifice of Prophet Muhammad ﷺ. One of the things I want to talk about and mainly share — before I even talk about the stories and examples — something I encourage you all to do: when there's a topic and the title is one main word — which is "the sacrifice of the Prophet ﷺ" — it is worth investing time in understanding the word "sacrifice." What does sacrifice mean? It doesn't have to be complicated. It can take you 10 seconds, literally. But just make sure we are all on the same page so we can proceed.

So from the different answers we hear — giving up something, not getting what you want, putting yourself in a rough situation in return for helping someone be in a good situation, giving something for the sake of Allah. These are all very different perspectives. And that's why, when it comes to sacrifice, the same principle applies to almost every lecture. When someone talks about tawadu' — humbleness — what does it mean? Truthfulness — what does it mean? Trust — what does it mean? It can actually mean something different from one person to another.

So if at least we agree on one definition, even if it's a working definition, then we can carry a conversation. Because many times we are speaking about the same thing, we have the same goal, but we're just seeing things from a different angle — and we start fighting, when we actually agree on the same thing.

The Arabic Definition of Sacrifice: Tadhiya

The Ulema, when they discuss tadhiya — that's the word in Arabic — along with other words like fida and fidya — they say tadhiya is more encompassing, it has more meaning to it. So every fida is a tadhiya, but not every tadhiya is a fida — tadhiya is the bigger circle.

So let's see what tadhiya is:

To give up, to spend — it can be your own life, or your time, or your money, or anything that is valuable — for a noble, lofty goal — hoping for the reward. And I want to extend it: many people sacrifice hoping for something in return — you can have it from the people. Just like how many of us sacrifice things for others. You sacrifice some of your time so you can get a promotion in your job — nothing haram regarding that. But then there are others who sacrifice it for Allah. Fair enough?

Why Did the Sahaba Sacrifice? The Intelligent Investment

When it comes to sacrifice — when we hear stories of the Sahaba, it gets sometimes very emotional. You may cry, and that's great. But you need to look at the other dimension: why did they do that? What was the driver for that? Then you realize they are very intelligent people. They're not some uneducated person who just gave up this for that. There's an actual investment taking place — also known as opportunity cost. If I go to this event, what will I lose? You cannot have two in one. You cannot have both. Many times you have to give up something for something else.

Examples of the Prophet's ﷺ Sacrifice

Giving Away an Entire Valley After the Battle of Hunayn

After the Battle of Hunayn, the Prophet ﷺ had assets that covered a valley between two mountains. He was at that point in his life a multi-millionaire — easily. Now, a man came to him and saw all of that — the camels, the goats, the animals — think of a huge car dealership. The man looks at it. The Prophet ﷺ says: "Do you like it?" He's like, "Of course I like it! This is gorgeous!" So the Prophet ﷺ says: "It's yours — all of it."

The man knows the Prophet ﷺ speaks the truth. So he went to grab some of the camels, kept looking back — is the Prophet going to change his mind? Is this a prank? He kept taking and taking, until he was confident the Prophet meant it. So what did he tell the people?

(Referenced in Sahih Muslim, Book 43, Hadith 137 — the account of the Prophet's generosity after Hunayn)

"Become Muslims, everybody! Become Muslims! This man gives and gives — he does not fear poverty." So what happened? Rasulullah ﷺ knows: whenever I give, I get more in return. He knows: if I give, I get a lot of hasanat. I grow my level in Jannah — elevation. He knows: when I give someone who just became Muslim, I soften their heart. And whenever they pray, whenever they read al-Fatiha, whenever they do any act of Islam — I, Muhammad ﷺ, get rewarded for it. You see what just happened? It's an investment. It's an actual conscious decision. He is rahim — he wants the best for them — and also he gains immensely from it.

Giving Away a New Piece of Clothing

One time the Prophet ﷺ had a new piece of clothing — the first time he wore it, having perhaps been gifted it. A Sahabi looked at him and said, "Ya Rasool, this is beautiful." So the Prophet ﷺ went to his house, took off the clothing, wore something else — and gave it to that man. He wanted to make him happy. The Sahabi who had rebuked the man who complimented it had said, "Why would he do that? The Prophet doesn't have much clothing — he was just gifted this." But the Prophet ﷺ gave it to him anyway.

Do Not Separate the Motivations for Good Deeds

Do not separate things that sometimes confuse people. One time a guy came to me and said, "You know what — I don't know — maybe he had some breakdown or something — this whole ummah, all these brothers, are all selfish." I'm like, "Why do you say that?" He says, "Everybody in the masjid is selfish. You don't do anything except for something in return." I'm like, "What do you mean?" He says, "You give in sadaqah because you know if you give, Allah will give you more. You don't do it from your heart."

I said: The Prophet ﷺ says — cure the sick among you through charity. You won't find this in any biology class. It's in the hadith of the Prophet ﷺ — a prescription from Rasulullah ﷺ. Give sadaqah — it's a means of cure. So that's why you give sadaqah. People are separating things. And it gets worse when we talk about Jannah. "Brother, I don't worship Allah because I want Jannah — I worship Allah so He can be happy with me." You just dismissed hundreds of ayat in the Quran. Yes or no?

Don't confuse the world. Allah puts Jannah in everything so you can be motivated. Because where will you hear Allah saying, "I am pleased by you"? In the Akhira. In Jannah, Allah asks us all — inshallah we're all there — bi-idhnillah:

"Are you all pleased?" And we all say at the same time:

"And how could we not be pleased?" So Allah says, "There's more." We all say, "What's more than what you've given us?" He says, "For Me to be pleased by you, and I will never, ever be angry at you." And that's the peak:

May Allah allow us to be of those whom Allah is pleased by. Say Ameen.

The Three Lessons from Yusuf ﷺ Against Sin

When Yusuf ﷺ — the most honorable lineage ever on earth, per Muhammad ﷺ's own wording: Yusuf, a prophet, the son of Ya'qub, a prophet, the son of Ishaq, a prophet, the son of Ibrahim, a prophet — when that lady tried to seduce him, what does he say? Three things:

Number one:

"I seek Allah's refuge." Number two:

"My Lord has been good to me" — i.e., remembering the blessings of Allah. Allah made me so handsome — so I use it to seduce women? Allah made me physically very strong — so I use it to abuse people? Think of the ni'mah — that pushes the haram away from you. Allah gave me eyes so I can see — now I watch haram online? A'udhu billah. Number three:

"Indeed, the oppressors are never successful." Remember the punishment. There's punishment, there's pain — in dunya and akhira. So don't separate things. You cannot pick and choose. May Allah make it easy for all of us.

The Prophet ﷺ Being Stoned at Suq Dhi al-Majaz

The Prophet ﷺ — as he was finding his way out of Makkah, right before that he was giving da'wah as strong as he could. He went all out during Hajj season — da'wah, da'wah, da'wah.

In an authentic narration — if you have the wonderful booklet and PDF with the Shama'il of the Prophet ﷺ — there is a hadith about what happened at a market known as Suq Dhi al-Majaz, which some ulema say is next to Arafah or in Mina, in the Hajj area.

The narrator says: "I saw a man" — which is Muhammad ﷺ — "walking around the suq, calling out loud while wearing reddish-colored clothing, saying very loudly: 'O people! Say لَا إِلَهَ إِلَّا اللَّهُ and you will be successful — I guarantee you success!'" He does not specify dunya or akhira, because you get both — success of both worlds.

The narrator says: while this man, Muhammad ﷺ, is walking, there's a man behind him — very good-looking, and he describes his physical features — who has stones and throws them at that man in front. And he kept throwing. The amount of rocks he threw, the strength of the hit, the accuracy of the hit — made both of the Prophet's feet bleed — from the heels top to bottom, soaked in blood. And this man in the front does not stop: "O people! Say لَا إِلَهَ إِلَّا اللَّهُ and you will be successful!" And another rock is thrown. Allahu Akbar.

People asked: "Who is the one in front, and who is the one behind?" As for the one in front — he is a man who claims to be a prophet: Muhammad ﷺ. As for the man who is behind — it is Abu Lahab. And who is Abu Lahab? His own uncle.

Why is it so painful that it's his uncle? Because during Hajj, many people come from outside the city. When they hear "his uncle" — his uncle knows him better than anyone. His uncle looks respected. People around are not stopping Abu Lahab — that means Abu Lahab is of high status. And the Prophet does not stop.

Is that not sacrifice? He continues to give da'wah. What is he getting in return? Stones being thrown. Bleeding. Physical pain. Humiliation — it's very embarrassing. Imagine your own family member calling you a liar in front of the whole world. So there's humiliation, there's physical pain, there's mental and psychological pain.

What will help him endure all of this? Knowledge. And that's what helps you with sacrifice. He knows:

Allah will never assign the soul — not the body, the nafs, the soul — something beyond its capacity. Allah will never burden your soul with something beyond your capacity. Nothing you are tested with except that you can spiritually pass it. Allah tested Muhammad ﷺ with one of the worst human beings that ever walked on earth:

The fact that Allah willed that Muhammad's uncle is Abu Lahab means that Muhammad ﷺ can handle Abu Lahab. That's why you and I don't have Abu Lahab — because we may not handle it. So nothing in your life of difficulty or test except that you have the capacity of your soul to pass it — maybe not your body.

How many times do people who are on their deathbed due to cancer — may Allah cure those who are sick, Ya Rabb al-Alameen — and then people come to visit them, and the ones who are dying give hope to the ones who are healthy? Yes or no? SubhanAllah.

And this comes to show you that He — Allah — will not put someone like that in your life except that you can handle it, you can sacrifice, you can manage this, inshallah.

Every khutbah, what does the khatib say — almost every single khutbah:

Do everything necessary, do everything under the sun, to die as a Muslim. That's your mission. My mission is that I want to die as a Muslim. I'm willing to give up everything in the world. May Allah make it easy for us.

The Importance of Knowledge in Sacrifice

When it comes to sacrifice — there's another tier here. You need to have the knowledge to know what to sacrifice. People sacrifice things right and left and don't know the priority. And some of us may be doing it way too wrong — putting too much pain for the gain.

The Hadith of Juwairiyah and the Powerful Dhikr

The Prophet ﷺ — a very beautiful, famous authentic narration — he was in the house of Juwairiyah رضي الله عنها. As he was leaving for Fajr, Juwairiyah was already sitting, doing dhikr. He prayed Fajr and stayed for maybe a couple of hours. When he came back home, what was Juwairiyah doing? Still in the same position. So he wanted to verify:

(Sahih Muslim, Book 48, Hadith 90)

"Are you still in the same spot since I left?" We're talking 2 to 3 hours. She said, "Yes, I was here since you left." Allahu Akbar. So look at what the Prophet ﷺ does. He says: "I mentioned 4 statements, 3 times — and if it were to be compared to the reward that you got from the 3 hours, it would outweigh them." What are the 4 statements?

"Glory and praise be to Allah — as much as the number of His creation, and His own pleasure, and as heavy as His throne, and as much as the ink of His words." Allah's knowledge, Allah's wisdom — which is infinite. Allahu Akbar. What happened? Knowledge makes you know what to sacrifice and what not to. When we have that knowledge, we're able to do things appropriately.

The Story of Abdullah ibn Amr ibn al-As: The Right Balance

A perfect example — Abdullah ibn Amr ibn al-As had just gotten married. His father, Amr ibn al-As, walks into the house and knocks on the door. His daughter-in-law opens the door, and she does not look like she just got married. So he asks, "How's your husband doing?" She says, "Your son? MashaAllah — all night he prays and every day he fasts."

The father Amr ibn al-As gets really angry — at his son. Why? Because he's a scholar. He understands the deen. So he goes to the Prophet ﷺ and says, "Ya Rasulullah, my son does this." So then the Prophet ﷺ goes to Abdullah ibn Amr ibn al-As and says:

(Sahih al-Bukhari, Hadith 1975; Sahih Muslim, Book 13, Hadith 187)

"Have I not heard that you pray all night and fast every day? Don't ever do that again. Fast some days and break your fast some days. Sleep part of the night and wake up part of the night. Your eye has a right over you. Your body has a right over you. And your wife has a right over you."

The one who has sacrificed the most is educating the people on what is to be sacrificed, how much, how long, what and what not. So now Abdullah ibn Amr ibn al-As spending part of the night with his wife and not in Qiyam al-Layl — what does that tell you? That him not praying Qiyam al-Layl in that part gets him more hasanat than praying Qiyam al-Layl. That means him not fasting gets more ajr than had he fasted. But what does it require? Knowledge (ilm). The more knowledge, the clearer the picture becomes.

And no one will teach you and me what sacrifice is better than Muhammad ﷺ. That's why you're attending this Seerah Intensive — 100%.

The Greatest Sacrifices of the Prophet ﷺ

Physical Hunger and the Boycott

Rasulullah ﷺ said that times passed by when all he found to eat was what Bilal was able to hide under his armpit — that was the only food he could eat. If you've come through the story of the boycott — three years with hardly any food, people eating tree leaves. Rasulullah had no food except what Bilal had to hide under his armpit. May Allah make it easy for all of us.

Saving His Ultimate Du'a for the Ummah

One of the absolute greatest sacrifices was when Rasulullah ﷺ said:

"Every single prophet has an ultimate du'a" — a du'a that is guaranteed to be answered. Some ulema say Nuh ﷺ used his when it was made clear to him that no one from his ummah would ever become Muslim — so he made his ultimate du'a:

Some said Sulaiman ﷺ's ultimate wish was a kingdom that no one ever had and no one will ever have — but he used it for Allah. Some said Zakariyya ﷺ's ultimate wish was to have Yahya.

Why am I referring to this? Because the Prophet ﷺ says: every single prophet has a mustajab al-du'a — that one ultimate du'a. Then he says: "As for my ultimate wish — I'm going to hold tight to it. Keep it. Save it." Until when? Until the Akhira. Why? To include you, and me inshallah.

SubhanAllah — we want to feel this hadith more. This is one of the greatest examples of sacrifice. You came across al-Qasim dying, correct? And you came across Rasulullah ﷺ having his other son Abdullah pass away. And soon you will encounter — I don't want to spoil it — but on the return from one of the battles, the daughter of Rasulullah ﷺ passes away.

Could he not say, "O Allah, cure my daughter"? Could he not say, "O Allah, let al-Qasim live a long life"? With the Battle of Uhud coming — the Prophet ﷺ loses his teeth, the helmet enters his cheeks — could he not say, "Allah, don't ever let me be injured in a battlefield"? So when you go back to this hadith — "I want to save it for the Akhira" — that is some serious sacrifice.

Haram ibn Milhan: Eyes on the Prize

Haram ibn Milhan was one of the great Sahaba and scholars. He was sent to give da'wah — an ambassador. And ambassadors are never harmed, in any way, shape or form. But the man he's speaking to gives a sign to someone behind Haram ibn Milhan — kill him. Which is unheard of, absolutely abnormal. A man from behind — while Haram ibn Milhan is speaking — a spear is thrown that hits him from the back and exits from his stomach.

Then — authentically narrated in Sahih al-Bukhari — the Sahabi says: he looked at it, grabbed the blood, put it over his face and his head, and said:

(Sahih al-Bukhari, Hadith 4091 — narration related to the event of Bi'r Ma'una)

"I won! By the Lord of the Ka'bah — I am a winner!" What kind of human being is that? What kind of focusing — keeping your eyes on the prize. What did he sacrifice? His life — the most valuable thing. His nafs is exiting his body. But what did he win? Jannah inshallah.

They saw the Prophet ﷺ attending battles where he could have stayed home — every single battle. And he even said — in an authentic hadith — if it were up to him, he would never miss a single battle, except that he felt rahma for the people who stayed behind. They saw his sacrifice, and they said: "I won. Because I will never give up something except that I'll get something more in return." May Allah allow us to be with Muhammad ﷺ.

The Story of Abu al-Dahdah: A Transaction for Jannah

Look at the example of Abu al-Dahdah رضي الله عنه — an authentic narration. A humble man is trying to build a fence to be able to live safely. The neighbor has a nakhla — a palm tree — that is coming in an awkward position, making it hard for the man to finish his lot. He tells the Prophet ﷺ: "Ya Rasulullah, can you tell the brother to give me the palm tree?" In other words, he wants the brother to give it in charity.

Look what the Prophet ﷺ does. He goes to that man and says: "Give him your nakhla — Allah will give you a nakhla in Jannah." The man says: no.

I'll be very honest — when I reviewed this hadith, I know I'm not at that level. I just pray to Allah to be like Abu al-Dahdah and his wife. Because a nakhla in Jannah meant more to them than the entire world of dunya.

Abu al-Dahdah — when he heard "nakhla in Jannah" — went to the owner of the palm tree and said: "Give me your one palm tree and I will give you my entire farm." The owner said: "Where do I sign?" So then Abu al-Dahdah went to the Prophet ﷺ and said: "Ya Rasulullah, I sold my entire farm for the one palm tree." The Prophet ﷺ said: "Then give the palm tree to the brother." And Abu al-Dahdah — nothing. "Yes. Here. Take it."

Then the Prophet ﷺ kept repeating: "How many heavy branches of the palm tree in Jannah are awaiting Abu al-Dahdah!" Allahu Akbar.

Abu al-Dahdah then goes back to his farm — he sees his wife. He tells his wife: "Let's leave. I gave away this entire farm. I sold it — for a palm tree in Jannah." And this wonderful wife of his says: "That was a smart move. That was a great transaction."

And that's who the Sahaba were. That's who the Sahabiyyat were — learning from the greatest man that ever sacrificed in the way of Allah. Because he taught us something: whenever you leave something for Allah, Allah will give you more. So trust Allah, the way Abu al-Dahdah trusted the Prophet ﷺ.

Conclusion

May Allah allow us to be able to sacrifice things within the appropriate ways that are pleasing to Allah — with knowledge and education, and of course, sincerity. Thank you so much for your patience and sacrifice. May Allah reward you well. May Allah's peace, mercy, and blessings be upon you.