الحمد لله، الحمد لله الذي أرسل رسولَه على خُلُقٍ عظيم، وجعل محبتَه الطريقَ الوحيدَ إلى النعيم، نحمده تعالى ونستعينه، ونشكره تعالى ونستغفره ونستغيثه، نعوذ بالله من شرور أنفسنا ومن سيئات أعمالنا، من يهد الله فهو المهتد ومن يضلل فلن تجد له وليا مرشدا، ونشهد أن لا إله إلا الله وحده لا شريك له، له الملك و له الحمد، يحيي ويميت، بيده الخير، وهو على كل شيء قدير،  ونشهد أن سيدنا و مولانا محمداً عبده ورسوله، وحبيبه وصفيه، بلغ الرسالة وأدى الأمانة ونصح الأمة، النبي الأمي الذي أرسله الله بالهدى والدين الحق، بشيرا ونذيرا بين يدي الساعة، صلى الله عليه وسلم وعلى آله وأصحابه ومن تبعهم بإحسان إلى يوم الدين.

أما بعد! فيا عباد الله اتقوا الله حق تقاته ولا تموتن إلا وأنتم مسلمون. يأيها الذين ءامنوا اتقوا الله وقولوا قولا سديدا يصلح لكم أعمالكم ويغفر لكم ذنوبكم. ومن يطع 

الله ورسوله فقد فاز فوزا عظيما. اتقوا الله فيما أمر وانتهوا عما نها عنه وزجر.

 

There are two essential bases to the deen of Allah - two things that every Muslim, that every believer must have, in order for his deen to be sound. The first of those, taqwa, we discussed last week. The second is mahabbat ar-rasuul - love of the Messenger. Allah says, 

 

قُلْ إِنْ كَانَ آَبَاؤُكُمْ وَأَبْنَاؤُكُمْ وَإِخْوَانُكُمْ وَأَزْوَاجُكُمْ وَعَشِيرَتُكُمْ وَأَمْوَالٌ اقْتَرَفْتُمُوهَا وَتِجَارَةٌ تَخْشَوْنَ كَسَادَهَا وَمَسَاكِنُ تَرْضَوْنَهَا أَحَبَّ إِلَيْكُمْ مِنَ اللَّهِ وَرَسُولِهِ وَجِهَادٍ فِي سَبِيلِهِ فَتَرَبَّصُوا حَتَّى يَأْتِيَ اللَّهُ بِأَمْرِهِ

 

the translation of which is, “Say: ‘If your fathers or your sons or your brothers or your wives or your tribe, or any wealth you have acquired, or any business you fear may slump, or any house which pleases you, are more beloved to you than Allah and His Messenger and doing jihad in His Way, then wait until Allah brings about His command.”

For without love of the Messenger of Allah, there can be no iman. And the fullness of iman can only be obtained by placing love of him before love of everything else. The Prophet said,

لا يؤمن أحدكم حتى أكون أحب إليه من أهله وماله والناس أجمعين

 

“None of you believes until I am more beloved to him than his family, his wealth and all people.” This level of love is well illustrated by the story of the sahabiyya, Sumayra’ bint Qays who lost five members of her family at Uhud, her two sons, her father, her husband and her brother, and yet the only question that was on her lips, the only concern that was in her mind was, “What has happened to the Messenger of Allah?” When she was told he was well, she said, “Let me see him!” And then when she saw him, she said, 

 

كل مصيبه بعدك جلل يارسول الله

 

“Every affliction is as nothing now that you are safe, Messenger of Allah.” Her love for him and joy at his well-being made all of the tremendous loss she had suffered seem slight in comparison and unworthy of attention.

A believer’s love for the Prophet must even exceed his love for himself. Then and only then can you truly say you are mu’min in the full sense of the word, for Allah says:

 

النَّبِيُّ أَوْلَى بِالْمُؤْمِنِينَ مِنْ أَنْفُسِهِمْ

 

one translation of which is, “The Prophet is preferable to the believers than themselves” And the Prophet said, 

لا يؤمن أحدكم حتى أكون أحب إليه من نفسه

 

“None of you believes until I am more beloved to him than himself.” This was the degree of love the Companions held for him., as is shown by their words and their actions. Umar ibn al-Khattab said,

 

والذي أنزل عليك الكتاب لأنت أحب إلي من نفسي التي بين جنبي

 

“By the one who sent you the Book, you are more beloved to me than my self that lies between my two sides.” And ‘Ali ibn abi Talib, despite his great youth, put his life on the line by taking the place of the Messenger of Allah in his bed on the night of the hijra when the idolaters of Quraysh were coming to assassinate him, knowing full well that they might kill him in his stead. And Talhah ibn Ubaydallah used his body to shield the Messenger of Allah from the attacks of the idolaters on the day of Uhud, suffering more than seventy wounds in the process, many of which would have killed a lesser man. So that the Prophet said of him, “Whoever wants to see a man still walking the earth after his death, look upon Talhah ibn Ubaydallah.”

Without love of the Messenger of Allah, one cannot in truth have love of Allah, and all claims that one does are self-deluded and false. Allah says,

 

قُلْ إِنْ كُنْتُمْ تُحِبُّونَ اللَّهَ فَاتَّبِعُونِي يُحْبِبْكُمُ اللَّهُ

 

the translation of which is, “Say, if you love Allah, then follow me and Allah will love you” Thus, true love of Allah consists in loving and following the Messenger of Allah. Love of Allah and love of the Messenger are inextricably linked, for just as one cannot obey Allah without obeying the Messenger, so too can one not love Him without loving the Messenger. The Prophet said,

من أحبني فقد أحب اللَّهَ

 

“Whoever loves me has loved Allah.“ And Sahl ibn Abdallah said, 

 

علامة حب الله حب القرآن، وعلامة حب القرآن حب النبي صلى الله عليه وسلم

 

“The sign of love for Allah is love for the Quran, and the sign of love for the Quran is love for the Prophet.” The Perenialists have it all wrong, thinking that love of Allah and belief in him alone is enough, claiming that sincere Christians and sincere Jews are safe, so long as they are unitarians. They forget that there are two parts to the shahada and that both must be affirmed  for anyone to be ranked amongst the believers: ashhadu an la ilaha illa-Allah wa ashhadu anna Muhammadan rasulullah. There is but one gateway to Allah - all other doors are closed shut and all who seek to enter through them will be turned back.

Without love of the Messenger of Allah, one can not truly claim to be sane/ sound of mind, for he represents all that is best in the human being. He is the iswatun hasana, the best of the sons of Adam and that is no boast. He embodies all the best qualities of the human creature that all human beings from the dawn of creation have aspired to. And he calls only to what elevates us and makes our time on this world more enjoyable and fulfilling and guarantees us happiness in the Next. It is only the mad and insane who pass over what is best in favour of what is worse than it. It is only the mad and insane who would choose a rotten putrid fruit over one that is ripe, sweet and wholesome.

Without love of the Messenger, the best of what this world and the next world has to offer is denied you. 

As for this world, he is the source of all blessings and the reason for them coming our way, starting with our very existence. Imam al-Busayri says in the burdah,

 

 لولاه لم تخرج الدنيا من العدم

 

“If it were not for him, this world would not have emerged from nothingness.” It is on his account that Allah has granted you your life, your intellect, your family and your possessions. It is on his account that He has granted you all that you have. A mother is loved for the tenderness with which she treats you and raises you, a king is loved for implementing a just law, a benefactor is loved for his generosity even if it be only the once, and a rescuer is loved for rescuing you from damage or harm even when that damage or harm is only of a temporary nature. All this and more, the Messenger of Allah does for us, but on a much greater level, so how could we fail to love him. Is not loving him the very height of ingratitude to Allah!?

And as for the Next world, love of him is the cause of the punishment of the unbelievers being lightened, even if that love lasted but a moment and was superseded by hatred. Take Abu Lahab, for instance, who was one of the fiercest opponents and the Messenger of Allah and one of the very worst of mankind. And yet, even he, on account of a passing love of the Messenger of Allah, will be rewarded. For al-Abbas saw him in a dream where he he told al-Abbas that every Monday his punishment was lightened as a result of the joy he felt at the birth of the Messenger of Allah that caused him to free on the spot the slavegirl who brought him the good news, Thuwayba. 

And love of him is the cause of the believer being raised up to the Highest levels of the Garden, for that is where the Prophet will be and those who love him will be there with him. The Prophet said,

من أحبني كان معي في الجنة

 

“Whoever loves me will be with me in the Garden.” And he said, holding the hands of his two grandsons, al-Hasan and al-Husayn,

 

من أحبني و أحب هذين و أباهما و أمهما كان معي في درجتي يوم القيامة

 

“Whoever loves me and loves these two and their father and mother will have the same degree as me on the Day of Rising.” 

The Companions understood this completely and loved the Prophet utterly, longing to be in his company, longing to lay eyes on him and hating to be apart from him even for a moment. This was how it was for them when he was alive and his death only served to increase their longing. It is narrated that when Abdallah ibn Zayd heard that the Messenger of Allah had passed on, he could not bear for his eyes to look on anything in this world after they had gazed upon the Messenger of Allah, so he called out to his Lord saying,

 

اللهم أعمني فلا أرى شيئا بعد حبيبي حتى ألقى حبيبي

 

“O Allah, make me blind so that I see nothing after my beloved until I again meet with him.” and he became blind on the spot. Other companions longed for death so that they could once again be with him and found it difficult to be around anything that reminded them of him, since it also reminded them of his absence. So strongly did Bilal feel that that his voice could not call the adhan in the mosque of the Prophet as he had done in the time of the Prophet, and he felt compelled to leave Medina, a city whose every nook and cranny brought memories of his companionship with his beloved. So he left for Syria and fought in every battle seeking to become shahid. But every time he returned alive and safe. Then the plague struck Damascus while he was there and 25 thousand people died. But Bilal was spared. And the entire time, his longing to see the Prophet remained unabated. Until, when eventually the time of his death did come, and he felt its approach, his sadness turned to joy, and he shouted out,

واطرباه! غداً ألقى الأحبة  محمداً و حزبه

 

“What joy! Tomorrow I will meet those I love, Muhammad and his party!” 

We ask Allah to grant us true love of the Messenger of Allah, like the love these Companions held for him, and to raise us up in his company. We ask Him to make the Prophet more beloved to us than our families and possessions, indeed more beloved to us than our own selves. And give us the strength to emulate him and put his sunna into practice.

 

أقول قولي هذا و أستغفر الله لي و لكم و لسائر المسلمين من كل ذنب فاستغفروه إنه هو الغفور الرَّحيم.الحمد لله الحمد لله رب العالمين، وأشهد أن لا إله إلا الله وحده لا شريك له وأشهد أن محمداً عبده ورسوله، صلى الله وسلم وبارك عليه وعلى آله وصحبه، والتابعين وتابعي التابعين ومن تبعهم بإحسان إلى يوم الدين.

أما بعد! فيأيها الذين ءامنوا اتقوا الله ما استطعتم واسمعوا وأطيعوا وأنفقوا خيرا لأنفسكم. يا عباد الله أوصيكم وإياي بتقوى الله وطاعته وأحذركم وإياي عن معصيته ومخالفته.

 

Know that there are many people who claim to love the Messenger of Allah, but their claims are no more than empty words. Simply saying that one loves someone does not make it so. Rather, in order to ascertain whether that love is true and sincere, one must look to see whether they manifest its signs. In his Shifa, Qadi Iyad lists eleven of these signs. I will make do with mentioning but a few of them

One is to emulate him, apply his Sunna, follow his words and deeds, obey his commands, avoid his prohibitions and take on his adab in times of ease and hardship, and joy and despair, preferring all that he wanted and called for over all your own nafs wants and calls for. This is the primary measuring stick, for as we mentioned last week:

 

لو كان حُبُكَ صَادقاً لأطعتَهُ إنَّ المحبَ لمن يحبُ مطيعُ

 

“If your love were true you would have obeyed him, 

for the lover is the one who obeys the one he loves.” 

No matter how much a person’s words or appearance may please you, take nothing from them unless they are following the sunna. About such people, Allah says:

 

وَإِذَا رَأَيْتَهُمْ تُعْجِبُكَ أَجْسَامُهُمْ وَإِن يَقُولُواْ تَسْمَعْ لِقَوْلِهِمْ كَأَنَّهُمْ خُشُبٌ مُّسَنَّدَةٌ يَحْسَبُونَ كُلَّ صَيْحَةٍ عَلَيْهِمْ هُمُ ٱلْعَدُوُّ فَٱحْذَرْهُمْ

 

the translation of which is, “When you see them, their outward form appeals to you, and if they speak you listen to what they say. But they are like propped-up planks of wood. They imagine every cry to be against them. They are the enemy, so beware of them.” 

Another is to mention him often, for as the Prophet himself said,

 

من أحب شيئاً أكثر من ذكره

 

“Whoever loves something, mentions it a lot.” And the more he mentions it, the more he thinks on it and remembers it, the stronger his love becomes. With respect to the Prophet, this manifests itself in dedication to reading or writing his seera, remembering and commemorating the events of his life and especially his birth, praying for him at every opportunity and singing his praises constantly. This was the hallmark of the noble Companions of the Messenger of Allah, and of the great men of Allah of this umma, men like Qadi Iyad, Imam al-Jazuli, Imam as-Suyuti, Imam al-Busayri and others, men whose lives, whose words and whose thoughts were fashioned by their immense unquenchable love for him, men who continue to mention and praise the Messenger of Allah even after the deaths by us reading and reciting what they wrote about him. May Allah give them an immense and everlasting reward and may He give us a love of the Prophet to rival theirs.

Another is great yearning to meet him. Every lover longs for their beloved, and with each passing moment that yearning grows stronger. Absence truly makes the heart grow fonder. Such was the longing of many of the Companions of the Messenger of Allah, that they used to look with envy upon those of them who were on the point of death, knowing that those men and women would soon be in the company of their beloved. Some stories of this longing the Companions felt were mentioned in the first khutba, but it is by no means limited to those who actually physically met him, for among those with the greatest yearning to meet him are those who never got the chance to accompany him in this world. Abu Hurayra narrated that the Messenger of Allah said, 

 

أشد أمتي لي حباً يكونون بعدي، يود أحدهم لو رآني بأهله وماله

 

“Those in my community with the strongest love for me are the people who will come after me. Some of them would give their family and wealth to have seen me.” May Allah grant us that degree of sincerity in our love for His Prophet.

Another is to exalt and respect him whenever one mentions him and display humility and abasement whenever one hears his name. Ishaq at-Tujibi said, 

 

كان أصحاب النبي صلى الله عليه وسلم بعده لا يذكرونه إلا خشعوا واقشعرت جلودهم وبكوا. وكذلك كثير من التابعين 

 

“Whenever the Companions of the Prophet heard his name after he died, they were humble, their skins trembled and they wept. And it was the same with many of the Followers.” Indeed, Abu Bakr could often not even mention something he صلى الله عليه وسلم said or did without trembling and weeping, as is narrated by Abu Hurayra.

Another is loving those who love the Prophet and loving his family and Companions for his sake. And being against those who hate them and curse them. Whoever loves anyone, loves the ones he loves, and they were certainly people whom he loved:

The Prophet said about his grandsons, al-Hasan and al-Husayn, 

 

من أحبهما فقد أحبني، ومن أحبني فقد أحب الله، ومن أبغضهما فقد أبغضني، ومن أبغضني فقد أبغض الله

 

“Whoever loves them loves me. Whoever loves me loves Allah. Whoever hates them hates me. Whoever hates me hates Allah.” And about his Companions, 

 

الله الله في أصحابي، لا تتخذوهم غرضاً بعدي، فمن أحبهم فبحبي أحبهم، ومن أبغضهم فببغضي أبغضهم، ومن آذاهم فقد آذاني، ومن آذاني فقد آذى الله، ومن آذى الله يوشك أن يأخذه 

 

“Allah! Allah! My Companions! Do not make them targets after me! Whoever loves them loves them by loving me. Whoever hates them hates them by hating me. Whoever does something hurtful to them does something hurtful to me. Whoever does something hurtful to me does something hurtful to Allah. Whoever does something hurtful to Allah is about to be seized.”

Indeed, whoever loves someone, loves not just everyone but everything he loves, and that was certainly the case with Salaf, for Anas ibn Malik once saw the Prophet reaching for the pumpkin in a plate, and said, “I have loved pumpkin from that day.”

Another is hating anyone who hates Allah and His Messenger, and avoiding the company of those who ignore or belittle his Sunna. The true lover yearns for and seeks out the company of those who love the Messenger of Allah and hates the company of those who do not, to the degree that even a single second spent in their company is torment. Allah says, 

 

لاَ تَجِدُواْ قَوْماً يُومِنُونَ بِاللهِ وَالْيَوْمِ الآخِرِ يُوَادُّونَ مَنْ حَادَّ اللهَ وَرَسُولَهُ وَلَوْ كَانُواْ آبَاءَهُمُ أَوَ اَبْنَاءَهُمُ أَوِ اِخْوَانَهُمُ أَوْ عَشِيرَتَهُمُ

 

the translation of which is, “You will not find people who have iman in Allah and the Last Day having love for anyone who opposes Allah and His Messenger, though they be their fathers, their sons, their brothers or their clan.” Many of the Companions fought and killed loved ones, even their fathers and sons, to gain the pleasure of the Prophet. ‘Abdullah ibn ‘Abdullah ibn Ubayy, the son of the leader of the hypocrites, said to the Prophet,

 

لو شئت لأتيتك برأسه - يعني أباه

 

“If you were to have wanted it, I would have brought you his head (i.e. his father’s).”

Another is love for the Qur'an that the Prophet brought, and by means of which he guided and was guided. This love for the Qur'an shows itself in frequent recitation of it, reflection on its meanings, and putting its laws and prescriptions into practice. Ibn Mas‘ud said,

لا يسأل أحد عن نفسه إلا القرآن، فإن كان يحب القرآن فهو يحب الله ورسوله

 

“No one needs to ask himself about anything except the Qur'an. If he loves the Qur'an, he loves Allah and His Messenger.” These are some of the main signs that manifest themselves in those whose love is sincere. So put these into practice in yourself and seek out the company others who embody them. And when you find them, cling on to them with all your might and do not leave them even for a single instant, for they are the ones whom Allah loves and they are the ones through whom he will bring about His Will upon the earth. It is with them that you will find the Messenger of Allah, for you must know, as Allah says in Surat al-Hujurat, that the Messenger of Allah is among you.

 

إِنَّ اللهَ وَمَلَائِكَتَهُ يُصَلُّونَ عَلَى النَّبِيِّ، يَا أَيُهَا الذِينَ آمَنُواْ صَلُّواْ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلِّمُواْ تَسْلِيماً. اللَّهُمَّ صَلِّ وَسَلِّمْ وَبَارِكْ عَلَيْهِ وَعَلَى آلِهِ وَصَحْبِهِ  أَجْمَعِينَ. 

وَارْضَ اللَّهُمَّ عَنِ الْخُلَفَاءِ الرَّاشِدِينَ أَبِي بَكْرٍ وَعُمَرَ وَعُثْمَانَ وَعَلِيٍّ، وَعَنْ سَائِرِ الصَّحَابَةِ أَجْمَعِينَ، خُصُوصاً اِلأَنْصَارَ مِنْهُمْ وَالمُهَاجِرِينَ، وَعَنِ التَّابِعِينَ وَتَابِعِي التَّابِعِينَ وَمَنْ تَبِعَهُمْ بِإِحْسَانٍ إِلَى يَوْمِ الدِّينِ.

اللَّهُمَّ اهْدِ وُلَاةَ أُمُورِ المُسْلِمِينَ لِمَا يُرْضِيكَ وَلِاتِّبَاعِ سُنَّةِ نَبِيِّكَ صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ، وَثَبِّتْ أَقْدَامَهُمْ عَلَى الصِّرَاطِ المُسْتَقِيمِ، وَأَصْلِحْهُمْ يَا رَبَّ الْعَالَمِينَ.

اللَّهُمَّ بَارِكْ عَلَى شَيْخِنَا، وَعَلَى أَمِيرِنَا، وَعَلَى جَمِيعِ أُمَرَاءِ وَزُعَمَاءِ المُسْلِمِينَ.  

اللَّهُمَّ بَارِكْ عَلَى المُسْلِمِينَ فِي هَذِهِ المَدِينَةِ، وَوَفِّقْهُمْ لِمَا تُحِبُّهُ وَتَرْضَاهُ يَا أَكْرَمَ الأَكْرَمِينَ. 

اللَّهُمَّ أَعِزَّ الإِسْلَامَ وَالمُسِْلمِينَ (3) وَاخْذُلِ الْكُفْرَ وَالْكَافِرِينَ، وَانْصُرِ المُجَاهِدِينَ فِي سَبِيلِ اللهِ. وَاجْعَلْ كَلِمََتَكَ هِيَ العُلْيَا وَكَلِمَةَ الْكُفْرِ هِيَ السُّفْلَى.

رَبَّنَا ءَاتِنَا فِي الدُّنْيَا حَسَنَةً وَفِي الآخِرَةِ حَسَنَةً وَقَِنَا عَذَابَ النَّارِ. 

اللَّهُمَّ لاَ تَدَعْ فِي مَقَامِنَا هَذَا ذَنْباً إِلاَّ غَفَرْتَهُ، وَلاَ عَيْباً إِلاَّ سَتَرْتَهُ، وَلاَ مَرِيضاً إِلاَّ شَفَيْتَهُ وَعَافَيْتَهُ، وَلاَ مَسْجُوناً إِلاَّ طَلَقْتَ سَرَاحَهُ، وَلاَ مُسَافِراً فِي بَرِّكَ وَبَحْرِكَ إِلاَّ سَلِِمْتَهُ وَغَنِمْتَهُ.

إِنَّ اللهَ يَامُرُ بِالْعَدْلِ وَالإِحْسَانِ وَإِيتَاءِ ذِي الْقُرْبَى، وَيَنْهَى عَنِ الْفَحْشَاءِ وَالمُنكَرِ وَالْبَغْيِ، يَعِظُكُمْ لَعَلَّكُمْ تَذَّكَّرُونَ، وَلَذِكْرُ اللهِ أَكْبَرُ وَاللهُ يَعْلَمُ مَا تَصْنَعُونَ. وَقُومُواْ إِلَى صَلاتِكُمْ يَرْحَمُكُمُ اللهُ.