الحَمْدُ لِله، الحَمْدُ لله الذِي جَعَلَ مَحَبَّةَ الصَّحَابَةِ الْكَرَامِ مِنْ مَحَبَّةِ نَبِيِّهِ، وَجَعَلَهُمْ كَالنُّجُومِ بِأَيِّهِمُ اقْتَدَى الإِنْسَانُ اهْتَدَى إِلَى هَدْيِهِ، نَحْمَدُهُ تَعَالَى وَنَسْتَعِينُهُ، وَنَشْكُرُهُ تَعَالَى وَنَسْتَغْفِرُهُ وَنَسْتَغِيثُهُ، نَعُوذُ بِاللهِ مِنْ شُرُورِ أَنْفُسِنَا وَمِنْ سَيِّئَاتِ أَعْمَالِنَا، مَنْ يَهْدِ اللهُ فَهُوَ المُهْتَدِ، وَمَنْ يُضْلِلْ فَلَنْ تَجِدَ لَهُ وَلِّيّاً مُرْشِداً، وَنَشْهَدُ أَنْ لاَ إِلَهَ إِلاَّ اللهُ وَحْدَهُ لاَ شَرِيكَ لَهُ، لَهُ المُلْكُ وَلَهُ الحَمْدُ، يُحْيِي وَيُمِيتُ، بِيَدِهِ الخَيْرُ، وَهُوَ عَلَى كُلِّ شَيْءٍ قَدِيرٌ، وَنَشْهَدُ أَنَّ سَيِّدَنَا وَمَوْلاَنَا مُحَمَّداً عَبْدُهُ وَرَسُولُهُ، وَحَبِيبُهُ وَصَفِيُّهُ، بَلَّغَ الرِّسَالَةَ وَأَدَّى الأَمَانَةَ وَنَصَحَ الأُمَّةَ، النَّبِيُّ الأُمِّيُّ الذِي أَرْسَلَهُ اللهُ بِالْهُدَى وَالدِّينِ الحَقِّ، بَشِيراً وَنَذِيراً بَينَ يَدَيِ السَّاعَةِ، صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ وَعَلَى آلِهِ وَأَصْحَابِهِ وَمَنْ تَبِعَهُمْ بِإِحْسَانٍ إِلَى يَوْمِ الدِّينِ.
    أَمَّا بَعْدُ! فَيَا عِبَادَ اللهِ اتَّقُوا اللهَ حَقَّ تُقَاتِهِ وَلاَ تَمُوتُنَّ إِلاَّ وَأَنْتُمْ مُسْلِمُونَ. يَأَيُّهَا الذِينَ  ءَامَنُواْ اتَّقُواْ اللهَ وَقُولُواْ قَولاً سَدِيداً يُصْلِحْ لَكُمُ أَعْمَالَكُمْ وَيَغْفُرْ لَكُمْ ذُنُوبَكُمْ. وَمَنْ يُطِعِ اللهَ وَرَسُولَهُ فَقَدْ فَازَ فَوْزاً عَظِيماً. اِتَّقُواْ اللهَ فِيمَا أَمَرَ وَانْتَهُواْ عَمَّا نَهَا عَنْهُ وَزَجَرَ.

    ‘mahabbat ar-rasul’, love of the Messenger of Allah. There is no doubt that this is one of the most essential conditions of the mu’min, and one of the most vitals parts of his deen. It is the key that unlocks the pleasure of Allah. Without it, that door will remained locked and the human being will remained misguided and astray. And not just any form of love will do, only one that is true. One that gives primacy to the Messenger of Allah and his requests and desires, and places them before everything else, even one’s parents or children. 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.”
        And even before one’s own self. 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.” What does this mean? It means that if a person truly loves the Messenger of Allah to the degree that he deserves to be loved, then that person will gladly give up his wealth, his family, even his own life to protect him and do what brings him pleasure. Look at his Companions. Look at Sumayra’ bint Qays who lost five members of her family at Uhud - her two sons, her father, her husband and her brother - and yet her greatest concern, the first thought that crossed her mind, the first question that passed her lips was for the welfare of the Messenger of Allah. And she would not be placated until she had seen him and knew for certain he was well. And the fact that he was well made all other afflictions seem trifling and of little concern.
    Look at ‘Ali ibn abi Talib - despite his great youth and his entire life lying before him, still was he prepared to put his life on the line to safeguard the Messenger of Allah, by lying in his bed and pretending to be him 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.
    Look at Talhah ibn Ubaydallah at the battle of Uhud, where he used his body to shield the Messenger of Allah from the weapons of the idolaters, suffering more than seventy wounds in the process, many of which would have killed a lesser man. After that the Messenger of Allah used to say of him, “Whoever wants to see a man still walking the earth after his death, look upon Talhah ibn Ubaydallah.”       
    Look at Abdallah ibn Zayd, who when he heard that the Messenger of Allah had passed on, could not bear for his eyes to look on anything in this world after having gazed on 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.
    Look at Bilal, who when the moment of his death came, far from being saddened at the loss of his life, was overjoyed at his imminent reunion with his beloved. And so he exclaimed, exultantly,
واطرباه! غداً ألقى الأحبة  محمداً و حزبه

        “What joy! Tomorrow I will meet those I love, Muhammad and his party!”
        This is the love that all of us must aspire to and the understanding of existence that all of us must acquire. For it is by the degree that a person loves the Messenger that he loves Allah, and love of Allah is the sole purpose for any of us being here on this earth. The Prophet said,
من أحبني فقد أحب اللَّهَ
    “Whoever loves me has loved Allah.”
        And that is clear to anyone who uses his intellect - the Messenger of Allah did not just deliver the Message, he embodied it. Everything he said, everything he did, the way he acted and interacted, the way he sat, the way he stood, the way he prayed, the way he slept, the way he ate, the ate he fasted. Every aspect of his life without exception. He was the Command of Allah. And that is why Allah says,
مَنْ يُطِعِ الرَّسُولَ فَقَدْ أَطَاعَ اللَّه

        the translation of which is, “Whoever obeys the Messenger has obeyed Allah.” And that is why true love of the Messenger extends to loving everything that he loves, and honouring and revering everything that he honoured and revered, even to the degree of loving the types of vegetables he loved or the types of sandals he preferred. It is narrated that Anas once saw the Prophet reaching for the pumpkin wherever it was on the platter, so he said,

فما زلت أحب الدباء من يومئذ

    “From that day, I have loved pumpkin.” And it is narrated that when Abdallah ibn ‘Umar saw the Messenger of Allah wearing a pair of tanned sandals dyed yellow, he wore the same type of sandals from that day forth. Nothing was too trivial when it came to love of the Messenger of Allah, because no part of the affair of the Messenger of Allah was trivial. Every aspect of his life, everything that he said and did, was momentous and contained a great secret. And those who truly loved him and who continue to truly love him know that and live by that, loving all that he loved and hating all that he hated. Those are the Muslims.
        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 وأستغفر الله لي ولكم ولسائر المسلمين من كل ذنب فاستغفروه إنه هو الغفور الرَّحيم.
الحَمْدُ لِله، الحَمْدُ للهِ رَبِّ الْعَالَمِينَ كَمَا يَنْبَغِي لِجَلاَلِ وَجْهِهِ وَعَظِيمِ سُلْطَانِهِ، أَشْهَدُ أَنْ لاَ إِلَهَ إِلاَّ اللهُ وَحْدَهُ لاَ شَرِيكَ لَهُ وَأَشْهَدُ أَنَّ مُحَمَّداً عَبْدُهُ وَرَسُولُهُ، صَلَّى اللهُ وَسَلَّمَ وَبَارَكَ عَلَيْهِ وَعَلَى آلِهِ وَصَحْبِهِ، وَالتَّابِعِينَ وَتَابِعِي التَّابِعِينَ وَمَنْ تَبِعَهُمْ بِإِحْسَانٍ إِلَى يَوْمِ الدِّينِ.
أَمَّا بَعْدُ! فَيَأَيُّهَا الذِينَ ءَامَنُواْ اتَّقُواْ اللهَ مَا اسْتَطَعْتُمْ وَاسْمَعُواْ وَأَطِيعُواْ وَأَنْفِقُواْ خَيْراً لِأَنْفُسِكُمْ. يَا عِبَادَ اللهِ أُوصِيكُمْ وَإِيَّايَ بِتَقْوَى اللهِ وَطَاعَتِهِ، وَأُحَذِّرُكُمْ وَإِيَّايَ عَنْ مَعْصِيَتِهِ وَمُخَالَفَتِهِ. قال القاضي عياض رحمه الله في شفائه، بالحقيقة من أحب شيئاً أحب كل شيء يحبه

        Qadi Iyad says in his Shifa, “Whoever loves someone loves everything he loves.” And one of the things the Messenger of Allah loved the most was his noble Companions, so love of them is a fundamental part of true love of the Messenger of Allah. And anyone who says otherwise is astray and any claims he makes of loving the Messenger are demonstrably false. Qadi Iyad says,

وَمِنْ تَوْقِيرِهِ وَبِرِّهِ صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَيْهُ وَسَلَّمَ تَوْقِيرُ أَصْحَابِهِ وَبِرُّهُمْ، وَمَعْرِفةُ حَقِّهِمْ وَالاِقْتِدَاءُ بِهِمْ، وَحُسْنُ الثَّنَاءِ عَلَيْهِمْ وَالاِسْتِغْفَارُ لَهُمْ، وَالإِمْسَاكُ عَمَّا شَجَرَ بَيْنَهُمْ، وَمُعَادَاةُ مَنْ عَادَاهُمْ، وَالإِضْرَابُ عَنْ أَخْبَارِ المُؤَرِّخِينَ وَجَهَلَةِ الرُّوَاةِ وَضَلَالِ الشِّيعَةِ وَالمُبْتَدِعِينَ الْقَادِحَةِ فِي أَحَدٍ مِنْهُمْ.

        “Part of respecting and obeying the Prophet, consists in respecting his Companions, obeying them, recognising what is due to them, following them, praising them, asking forgiveness for them, refraining from discussing their differences, showing enmity to those who are hostile towards them and shunning the misguidance of the Shi‘a and the innovators and the reports of any historians or ignorant transmitters who detract from any of them.”
        We do not detract from any of them. Rather we revere them all. It is enough for us that Allah and His Messenger were pleased with them. Allah says:

لَقَدْ رَضِيَ اللهُ عَنِ المُومِنِينَ إِذْ يُبَايِعُونَكَ تَحْتَ الشَّجَرَةِ.

        the translation of which is, “Allah was pleased with the believers when they gave allegiance to you under the tree.” It is enough for us that the Messenger of Allah, who said,

المرء على دين خليله فلينظر أحدكم من يخالل

        “A person takes on the deen of those whom he takes as close friends and companions, so look closely at those whom you befriend,” chose to take these men and women as his close Companions, and surrounded himself with them and lived his entire life as a Prophet amongst them.
        It is enough for us that the Prophet himself praised them on numerous occasions and called on Muslims to love and follow them. And he could not have done that unless they were worthy, for it is impossible for him to tell a lie. Ibn Mas’ud narrated that the Prophet said,

خير الناس قرنى ثم الذين يلونهم ثم الذين يلونهم

        “The best of people are my generation, then those who come after them and then those who come after them.” And, indeed, he went even further and said that Allah chose them over everything else in existence apart from the Prophets. He said,

إِنَّ اللهَ اخْتَارَ أَصْحَابِي عَلَى جَمِيعِ الْعَالَمِينَ سِوَى النَّبِيِّينَ وَالمُرْسَلِينَ، وَاخْتَارَ لِي مِنْهُمُ أَرْبَعَةً: أَبَا بَكْرٍ وَعُمَرَ وَعُثْمَانَ وَعَلِيّاً، فَجَعَلَهُمْ خَيْرَ أَصْحَابِي، وَفِي أَصْحَابِي كُلِّهِمْ خَيْرٌ.

        “Allah chose my Companions over everything else in existence except for the Prophets and the Messengers. He chose four of them for me: Abu Bakr, ‘Umar, ‘Uthman and ‘Ali and made them the best of my Companions, although all of my Companions are good.”
        This is the rank of the Companions in the eyes of Allah and his Messenger, and therefore in the eyes of the deen. And so love of them is an integral part of the deen. Indeed Imam Malik is narrated as having said,

كان السلف يعلمون أولادهم حب أبى بكر وعمر كما يعلمون السورة من القرآن

  “The salaf used to teach their children to love Abu Bakr and Umar in the same way that they used to teach them suras of Quran,” So, that being the case, what can we say about those who badmouth and insult them? What can we say about those who express hatred for them instead of love? The Prophet said,

مَنْ سَبَّ أَصْحَابِي، فَعَلَيْهِ لَعْنَةُ اللهِ وَالمَلَائِكَةِ وَالنَّاسِ أَجْمَعِينَ، لاَ يَقْبَلُ اللهُ مِنْهُ صَرْفاً وَلاَ عَدْلاً.

        The Prophet said, “Anyone who curses my Companions has the curse of Allah on him, as well as that of the angels and all people. And Allah will not accept any exchange or recompense from him.” And we too must have nothing to do with them and must not fall for their ‘taqiyya’, for their claims of a superior love of the Prophet on account of their doctrine of Imamate and their near worship of his family are patently false, while they slander his wives and closest Companions and refer to them as hypocrites and liars.
        The Shi’a cannot be considered part of mainstream Islam, so long as they continue to insult and call into question the truthfulness of those who preserved the deen and passed it on to us. And so long as they accuse the Messenger of Allah of deliberately putting hypocrites in charge of the affairs of the Muslims, for it was he who instructed Abu Bakr to lead them in prayer. Unless and until they desist, we must avoid them at all costs and warn others of their perversions. For they are the ones about whom the Messenger warned us when he said,

لاَ تَسُبُّواْ أَصْحَابِي، فَإِنَّهُ يَجِيءُ قَوْمٌ فِي آخِرِ الزَّمَانِ يَسُبُّونَ أَصْحَابِي فَلَا تُصَلُّواْ عَلَيْهِمْ، وَلاَ تُصَلُّواْ مَعَهُمْ، وَلاَ تُنَاكِحُوهُمْ، وَلاَ تُُجالِسُوهُمْ، وَإِنْ مَرَضُواْ فَلَا تَعُودُوهُمْ.

        “Do not curse my Companions. A people will come at the end of time who will curse my Companions. Do not pray over them or behind them, do not marry with them and do not sit in their assemblies. And when they are ill, do not visit them.”
        We ask Allah to increase us in love of Him and His Prophet. And we ask Him to increase us in love of His family and Companions and give us the means to defend them from any who seek to revile them and cast aspersions upon them. We ask Him to allow us to see the truth as being true and give us the strength to follow it and falsehood as being false and give us the strength to avoid it. We ask Allah to, by the rank of the shahadatayn that links us to them, to guide the Shi’a back to the truth. We ask Him to cleanse their hearts of hatred for the Sahaba and cleanse their tongues of the vile insults that defile them. We ask Him to join the hearts of the Muslims and give victory to His deen.

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، وعن خديجة وعائشة وسائر أزواج النبي، 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.
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.