None was dearer to me than the Messenger of Allah
Since 2012-11-21
A caravan departed Iraq in 394 A.H. for performing Hajj in a time of fear and scare of the Bedouins and the thieves of pilgrims. After performing Hajj, the leader of the caravan decided to return quickly to Baghdad and not to go to the Prophetic City for fear of those thieves. However,...
None was dearer to me than the Messenger of Allah (prayers and peace of Allah be upon him)
In the name of Allah the Most Gracious the Most Merciful
All praise is due to Allah the Lord of the worlds. And prayers and peace of Allah be upon the most honorable prophet and messenger, our prophet Muhammad, and all his family and companions.
A caravan departed Iraq in 394 A.H. for performing Hajj in a time of fear and scare of the Bedouins and the thieves of pilgrims. After performing Hajj, the leader of the caravan decided to return quickly to Baghdad and not to go to the Prophetic City for fear of those thieves. However, two young reciters stood at the forepart of the road that leads to the Prophetic City and recited: {It was not becoming of the people of Al-Madinah and the bedouins of the neighbourhood to remain behind Allâh’s Messenger (Muhammad prayers and peace of Allah be upon him when fighting in Allâh’s Cause) and (it was not becoming of them) to prefer their own lives to his life.} [Surat At-Tawba 9:120]
{مَا كَانَ لأَهْلِ الْمَدِينَةِ وَمَنْ حَوْلَهُمْ مِنَ الأَعْرَابِ أَنْ يَتَخَلَّفُوا عَنْ رَسُولِ اللَّهِ وَلا يَرْغَبُوا بِأَنْفُسِهِمْ عَنْ نَفْسِهِ} التَّوبة: 120
Transliteration: Ma kana liahli almadeenati wamanhawlahum mina alaAArabi an yatakhallafoo AAan rasooli Allahi walayarghaboo bianfusihim AAan nafsihi
Thereupon, people wept and the she-camels turned their necks toward them and all people including the leader turned to the Prophetic City and visited the Prophet then returned in peace to their country. Praise be to Allah and the all grace is from Him.
Verily, loving the Messenger of Allah (prayers and peace of Allah be upon him) is one of the greatest obligations; Allah Almighty says: {Say: If your fathers, your sons, your brothers, your wives, your kindred, the wealth that you have gained, the commerce in which you fear a decline, and the dwellings in which you delight are dearer to you than Allah and His Messenger, and striving hard and fighting in His Cause, then wait until Allah brings about His Decision (torment). And Allah guides not the people who are Al-Fasiqun (the rebellious, disobedient to Allah).} [Surat At-Tawba 9:24]
{قُلْ إِنْ كَانَ آبَاؤُكُمْ وَأَبْنَاؤُكُمْ وَإِخْوَانُكُمْ وَأَزْوَاجُكُمْ وَعَشِيرَتُكُمْ وَأَمْوَالٌ اقْتَرَفْتُمُوهَا وَتِجَارَةٌ تَخْشَوْنَ كَسَادَهَا وَمَسَاكِنُ تَرْضَوْنَهَا أَحَبَّ إِلَيْكُمْ مِنَ اللَّهِ وَرَسُولِهِ وَجِهَادٍ فِي سَبِيلِهِ فَتَرَبَّصُوا حَتَّى يَأْتِيَ اللَّهُ بِأَمْرِهِ وَاللَّهُ لا يَهْدِي الْقَوْمَ الْفَاسِقِينَ} التَّوبة: 24
Transliteration: Qul in kana abaokum waabnaokum waikhwanukum waazwajukum waAAasheeratukum waamwalun iqtaraftumooha watijaratun takhshawna kasadaha wamasakinu tardawnahaahabba ilaykum mina Allahi warasoolihi wajihadin fee sabeelihi fatarabbasoohatta yatiya Allahu biamrihi waAllahu layahdee alqawma alfasiqeena
‘Iyadd, the judge, said about this verse: “This is sufficient as encouragement, warning, guide and proof of the obligation of loving him which is an emphasized act he (prayers and peace of Allah be upon him) deserves. This is because Allah Almighty scolded whoever his money, wife and sons are dearer to him than Allah and His Messenger, and He threatened them by His saying: {then wait until Allâh brings about His Decision (torment)} then declared their disobedience at the end of the verse and declared to them that they are among those who had been strayed and not guided by Allah.”
The companions (may Allah be pleased with them) set the most marvelous examples in loving the Messenger of Allah (prayers and peace of Allah be upon him). Omar Al-Farouq (i.e. Omar ibn Al-Khattab may Allah be pleased with him) was used to say to Al-‘Abbas, the paternal uncle of the Messenger of Allah (prayers and peace of Allah be upon him): “To convert to Islam is dearer to my than the conversion of Al-Khattab, because this is dearer to the Messenger of Allah (prayers and peace of Allah be upon him).”
Ali ibn Abu Talib (may Allah be pleased with him) was asked: “How was your love to the Messenger of Allah (prayers and peace of Allah be upon him)?” Whereupon he said: “By Allah, he was dearer to us than our money, sons, fathers, mothers and even the cold water at the time of thirst.” (Ash-Shifâ` by ‘Iyadd: 2/568)
And here is Amr ibn Al-‘Aas (may Allah be pleased with him) says when he was about to die: “None was dearer to me than the Messenger of Allah and none was more sublime in my eyes than he. Never could I, gain courage to catch a full glimpse of his face due to its splendor. So if I am asked to describe his features, I cannot do it because I didn’t fill my eyes from him.” [Reported by Muslim in the book of faith, Hadeeth No. 192]
Love is the origin of every deed and action in this world; every act in the world is a result to love and will. Loving the Messenger of Allah (prayers and peace of Allah be upon him) is one of the heartily and emotional issues, and this love demands its requirements of acts and sayings.
Loving the messenger of Allah (prayers and peace of Allah be upon him) necessitates defending him (prayers and peace of Allah be upon him) and standing up for his Sunnah recalling by that patience on whoever wronged him. Consider what is mentioned in the Hadîth of ibn Abbas (may Allah be pleased them) where he said: “A blind man had a slave-mother who used to insult the Prophet (prayers and peace of Allah be upon him) and revile him. He forbade her but she did not stop. He rebuked her but she did not give up her habit. One night she began to slander the Prophet (prayers and peace of Allah be upon him) and insult him. So he took a dagger, placed it on her belly, pressed it and killed her. A child who came between her legs was smeared with the blood that was there. When the morning came, the Prophet (prayers and peace of Allah be upon him) was informed about it. He assembled the people and said: ‘I adjure by Allah the man who has done this action and I adjure him by my right to him that he should stand up.’ Jumping over the necks of the people and trembling, the man walked till he sat before the Prophet (prayers and peace of Allah be upon him) and said: ‘O Messenger of Allah, I am her master; she used to abuse you and disparage you. I forbade her, but she did not stop, and I rebuked her, but she did not abandon her habit. I have two sons like pearls from her, and she was my companion. Last night she began to insult and disparage you. So I took a dagger, put it on her belly and pressed it till I killed her.’ Thereupon the Prophet (prayers and peace of Allah be upon him) said: ‘Oh people be witness, her blood spilled lawfully (as a punishment for her bad mouthing the prophet)’.” [Reported by Abu Dawûd 4361, and An-Nasâ`i 7/99]
«أنَّ أعمى كانت له أم ولد تشتم النّبيّ -صلّى الله عليه وعلى آله وسلّم- وتقع فيه فينهاها فلا تنتهي ويزجرها فلا تنزجر. قال: فلمَّا كانت ذات ليلةٍ، جعلت تقع في النّبيّ -صلّى الله عليه وعلى آله وسلّم- وتشتمه أخذ المِغْول فوضعه في بطنها واتكأ عليها فقتلها، فوقع بين رجليها طفل فلطخت ما هناك بالدَّم. فلما أصبح ذُكر ذلك لرسول الله -صلّى الله عليه وعلى آله وسلّم- فجمع النَّاس فقال: أنشد الله رجلًا فعل ما فعل، لي عليه حقّ، إلا قام. فقام الأعمى يتخطى النَّاس، وهو يتزلزل حتى قعد بين يدي النّبيّ -صلّى الله عليه وسلّم- فقال: يا رسول الله! أنا صاحبها، كانت تشتمك وتقع فيك فأنهاها فلا تنتهي، وأزجرها فلا تنزجر، ولي منها ابنان مثل اللؤلؤتين، وكانت بي رفيقة، فلمَّا كانت البارحة جعلت تشتمك وتقع فيك، فأخذت المِغْول فوضعته في بطنها واتكأت عليها حتى قتلتها، فقال النّبيّ -صلّى الله عليه وسلّم-: ألا اشهدوا: أن دمها هدر» أخرجه أبو داود 4361 والنِّسائي 4081 وصحَّحه الألباني، واللفظ لأبي داود
Consider what this man (who is endowed with insight) did to stand up for the Messenger of Allah (prayers and peace of Allah be upon him). Although he was blind and that the woman was a slave-mother in addition to her being his companion and mother for two pretty sons of him, he gave priority to loving the Messenger of Allah (prayers and peace of Allah be upon him) and standing up for him over all of these favored matters. May Allah be pleased with him.
And it is mentioned in Maghazi Al-Waqidy (and see also Al-Sarem Al-Masloul by Ibn Taymiyyah): “Marawan ibn Al-Hakam, who was the governor of Medina, said to Binyamin the Jew: ‘How was the kill of ibn Al-Ashraf?’ Whereupon Binyamin said: ‘It was treachery.’ Muhammad ibn Maslamah (may Allah be pleased with him), who was old at this time, was present; so he said: ‘O Marawan, could the Messenger of Allah (prayers and peace of Allah be upon him) be accused of disloyalty at your presence? By Allah, we killed him only with the order of the Messenger of Allah (prayers and peace of Allah be upon him), and I swear by Allah that no roof will join us except a roof of a Masjid. And as for you, Binyamin, I swear by Allah that if I got away and possessed the ability over you while having a sword in my hand, I would hit your head with it.’ Therefore, Binyamin no longer became able to get out Bani Quraidha before sending a messenger to know where is Muhammad ibn Maslamah; then if he was in some of his lands, he would get out for fulfilling his needs and then return, otherwise he would not get out. But there was a time where Muhammad ibn Maslamah was in a funeral during the existence of Binyamin in Al-Baqi’. Muhammad took humid palm branches stripped of their leaves and started beating him with them one after another till he broke them on his face and head and exhausted his health, then he left him with no power and said: ‘I swear by Allah, that if I had had the ability of holding the sword, I would have hit you with it.’” (Ash-Shifa’ for ‘Iyad, and see Majmo’ Al-Fatawa for Ibn Taymiyyah)
Actually, loving the Messenger of Allah (prayers and peace of Allah be upon him) necessitates greatening, honoring and glorifying him. When Malik ibn Anas (may Allah mercy him) was asked about Ayyub As-Skhtiany, he said: “I had never talked to you about somebody but Ayyub is better than him”, and he added: “And Ayyub had performed Hajj twice and I used to watch him (during his Hajj) without hearing from him, but whenever the Prophet (prayers and peace of Allah be upon him) was mentioned, he wept till I felt pity for him. Then, after seeing such things in addition to his glorification to the Prophet (prayers and peace of Allah be upon him) I wrote about him.”
Moreover, Mus’ab ibn Abdullah said: “Whenever the Prophet (prayers and peace of Allah be upon him) was mentioned in the presence of Malik his color was changed and he would incline till his fellows feel pity for him. Then, one day people talked with him about that; so he said: ‘If you saw what I saw, you would not disprove that. I used to see Muhammad ibn Al-Munkadir, who was the master of the reciters of the Holy Quran, never was asked about a Hadeeth but he wept till we felt pity for him.’”
Glorifying the Messenger of Allah (prayers and peace of Allah be upon him) is in a moderate rank between excessiveness and remissness, overstatement and estrangement. Ibn Abdel-Hadi defined this moderation by saying:
“Glorifying the Messenger of Allah (prayers and peace of Allah be upon him) is in the heart, tongue and limbs. As for glorifying him by the heart it is what follows considering him a Messenger; such as loving him more than the self, son, father and all people. This kind of love is declared sound by two things:
First: Making monotheism abstract; because he (prayers and peace of Allah be upon him) was the person who abstracted monotheism most till he cut all reasons and means of polytheism, and the core of his religion is built on this origin which is the pivot of his salvation. None had ever declared what he (prayers and peace of Allah be upon him) declared through his saying, acts and guidance or refuted the contrary argumentations but him; therefore, glorifying him (prayers and peace of Allah be upon him) is by following his path not going against it.
Second: Following him abstractly and taking the judgment of him (alone) in all the affairs of religion, whether they are major or minor, and accepting his judgment and submitting to him and turning away from whoever contradicted with him, until he (i.e. the Prophet) is the only ruler whose saying is acceptable, as well as his Lord Almighty is the only worshipped God that to Him we turn our faces in desire and fear.
As for glorifying him by the tongue, it is by praising him with what is suitable to him, which he praised himself with and his Lord praised him with, without excessiveness or remissness. Actually, the remiss negligent person is neglectful to glorifying him as well as the excessive extravagant
As for glorifying him by the limbs; it is obeying him, seeking making his religion prominent, exalting his words, standing up for his mission and fighting whoever conflicts with him.”
The things that induce loving the Messenger of Allah (prayers and peace of Allah be upon him) most are two:
One: Considering his characteristics and morals. He (prayers and peace of Allah be upon him) was the most perfect man in bringing up, and he was known for trustworthy, piousness, justice, good manners, neglecting the evils and injustice and every evil characteristic before prophet hood, and everybody knew him confessed with that. Moreover; after prophet hood, all people whether they believed in him or not, did not have anything against him in his sayings, deeds or morals, nor anybody ever accused him with lying, injustice or fornication. Furthermore, his shape and figure was the best and most perfect figure and it contained every charming quality that proves his perfectness …
The other: Considering his beneficence and favors for his people; such as being patient with them, having mercy toward them, guiding them, having sympathy towards them, being full of pity and mercy for the believers, being mercy to the worlds, being bearer of glad tidings and a warner, being inviter to Allah by His will and as a lamp spreading light, reciting Qur`an to them, purifying them and teaching them the Book (the Qur`an) and wisdom.
Ibn Hajar, the memorizer, said: “When the person considers the benefits that came to him from the Messenger of Allah (prayers and peace of Allah be upon him), who got him out the darkness of disbelief to the light of faith, either directly or indirectly, he will know that he is the reason of his stay in the eternal bliss, and he will know that this benefit is greater than all other kinds of benefits. Therefore, loving him deserves to be greater than any other love, because the benefits that cause love come from him more than any other source. However; people vary in this according to their realizing, or being inattentive, to it.”
O Allah, grant Your prayers, peace and blessings upon Your servant and messenger, Muhammad, and his family and companions.
Compiled by: Dr. Abdel-Aziz ibn Muhammad Al-Abdel-Latif
Madar Al-Watan
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