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How do you love the Prophet (peace be upon him) more than yourself?

loving Muhammad (peace be upon him)
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September 06, 2024
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In Surat At-Tawbah, Allah Almighty says:

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 لَا يَهْدِي الْقَوْمَ الْفَاسِقِينَ

Say, “If your fathers and your sons and your brothers and your spouses and your clan and the wealth you have earned and the trade you apprehend will recede and the homes you like are dearer to you than Allah and His Messenger and jihād in His way, then, wait until Allah comes with His command. Allah does not lead the sinning people to the right path.” (9:24)

The core of this ayah, as Imam Qurtubi commented is clear evidence about loving Allah and Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him). You put the Prophet (peace be upon him) before your parents, your children and your spouses – before anything. It has to be a priority for us as believers. He said:

In this verse, there is evidence of the obligation to love Allah and His Messenger, and there is no disagreement about this among the Ummah (Muslim community), and that this love takes precedence over all other loves.

This is further emphasised by multiple hadith which confirm this, such as:

Anas bin Malik (may Allah be pleased with him) reported Allah’s Messenger (peace be upon him) as saying:

وَعَنْ أَنَسٍ رَضِيَ اللَّهُ عَنْهُ قَالَ: قَالَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ: «لَا يُؤْمِنُ أَحَدُكُمْ حَتَّى أَكُونَ أَحَبَّ إِلَيْهِ مِنْ وَالِدِهِ وَوَلَدِهِ وَالنَّاسِ أَجْمَعِينَ». متفق عليه.

None of you believes until I am dearer to him than his father, his child, and all mankind. (Bukhari and Muslim)

Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him) narrated that Allah’s Messenger (peace be upon him) said:

عَنْ أَبِي هُرَيْرَةَ ـ رضى الله عنه ـ أَنَّ رَسُولَ اللَّهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم قَالَ ‏ “‏ فَوَالَّذِي نَفْسِي بِيَدِهِ، لاَ يُؤْمِنُ أَحَدُكُمْ حَتَّى أَكُونَ أَحَبَّ إِلَيْهِ مِنْ وَالِدِهِ وَوَلَدِهِ ‏”‏‏.‏البخاري.

By Him in Whose Hand my life is, none of you will have faith till he loves me more than his father and his children. (Bukhari)

In these the Prophet (peace be upon him) is addressing the issue that we love our families and our businesses more than him. When there is a conflict between our love for the Prophet (peace be upon him) and loving others, which one is the priority in our life? It has to be the Prophet (peace be upon him). Loving Allah leads us to love the Prophet of Allah because he was sent by Allah Almighty. In another narration, Anas bin Malik (may Allah be pleased with him) narrated that the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) said:

عَنْ أَنَسٍ قَالَ قَالَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ لَا يُؤْمِنُ أَحَدُكُمْ حَتَّى أَكُونَ أَحَبَّ إِلَيْهِ مِنْ مَالِهِ وَأَهْلِهِ وَالنَّاسِ أَجْمَعِينَ. النسائي.

None of you believes until I am dearer to him than his wealth, his family and all the people. (Nasa’i)

In a gathering, Abdullah bin Hisham, a young companion whose mother had presented him to the Prophet (peace be upon him) saying she wanted him to pledge allegiance to him (give baya), the Prophet (peace be upon him) said he was too young to pledge allegiance and so he stroked his head and made a special dua for him to have blessings.

Later Ibn Umar and the other Companions (may Allah be pleased with them) who were older than him, asked him to make dua for them and their business and trade would be blessed because of the supplication of the Prophet (peace be upon him) for Abdullah bin Hisham.

Abdullah bin Hisham (may Allah be pleased with him) narrated:

عن عَبْد اللَّهِ بْن هِشَامٍ، قَالَ كُنَّا مَعَ النَّبِيِّ صلى الله عليه وسلم وَهْوَ آخِذٌ بِيَدِ عُمَرَ بْنِ الْخَطَّابِ فَقَالَ لَهُ عُمَرُ يَا رَسُولَ اللَّهِ لأَنْتَ أَحَبُّ إِلَىَّ مِنْ كُلِّ شَىْءٍ إِلاَّ مِنْ نَفْسِي‏.‏ فَقَالَ النَّبِيُّ صلى الله عليه وسلم ‏”‏ لاَ وَالَّذِي نَفْسِي بِيَدِهِ حَتَّى أَكُونَ أَحَبَّ إِلَيْكَ مِنْ نَفْسِكَ ‏”‏‏.‏ فَقَالَ لَهُ عُمَرُ فَإِنَّهُ الآنَ وَاللَّهِ لأَنْتَ أَحَبُّ إِلَىَّ مِنْ نَفْسِي‏.‏ فَقَالَ النَّبِيُّ صلى الله عليه وسلم ‏”‏ الآنَ يَا عُمَرُ ‏”‏‏.‏ البخاري.

We were with the Prophet (peace be upon him) and he was holding the hand of Umar bin Al-Khattab. Umar said to Him, “O Allah’s Messenger (peace be upon you)! You are dearer to me than everything except my own self.” The Prophet (peace be upon him) said, “No, by Him in Whose Hand my soul is, (you will not have complete faith) until I am dearer to you than your own self.” Then Umar said to him, “However, now, by Allah, you are dearer to me than my own self.” The Prophet (peace be upon him) said, “Now, O Umar, (now you completed your faith). (Bukhari)

The Hijrah explains the meaning of this hadith. How the Companions of the Prophet (peace be upon him) sacrificed their parents, their friends, their businesses, their homes and migrated to Madinah from Makkah to obey the Prophet (peace be upon him)

The Prophet (peace be upon him) said

في روايةِ أحمدَ: «لا يؤمِنُ أحَدُكم حتى أكونَ عنده أحَبَّ إليه مِن نَفْسِه».

None of you believe until I am more beloved to him than himself. (Ahmad)

It is a challenge to put the Prophet (peace be upon him) ahead of our wealth and ahead of ourselves.

Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him) reported Allah’s Messenger (peace be upon him) as saying:

فعن أبي هريرة رضي الله عنه: أن رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم قال: ((مِن أشد أمتي لي حبًّا: ناس يكونون بعدي، يود أحدهم لو رآني بأهله وماله))؛ رواه مسلم

Amongst those of my Ummah who love the most intensely are people who will come after me each of whom would have the keenest desire to catch a glimpse of me even at the cost of his family and wealth. (Muslim)

This means that in the generations after the Companions, there will be people – hopefully we can be among them – who will love the Prophet (peace be upon him) more than anything else in their life and they are willing to sacrifice anything just to see him. Every one of us should check ourselves. Do we really belong to this group of people? Do we love the Prophet (peace be upon him) more than anything else and would we sacrifice everything we have to see him? Or will our personal interests and businesses take precedence?

Or would we sacrifice his teachings when they conflict with what we perceive are our interests? In reality, when we sacrifice his teachings it is to our own detriment – not in our interest. Although Shaytan paints a rosy picture that we will have happiness if we pursue our interests, our real happiness lies in following the edicts of Allah Almighty and His Messenger (peace be upon him).

This is why Allah Almighty states in the Quran, in Surat An Nur,

قُلْ أَطِيعُوا۟ ٱللَّهَ وَأَطِيعُوا۟ ٱلرَّسُولَ ۖ فَإِن تَوَلَّوْا۟ فَإِنَّمَا عَلَيْهِ مَا حُمِّلَ وَعَلَيْكُم مَّا حُمِّلْتُمْ ۖ وَإِن تُطِيعُوهُ تَهْتَدُوا۟ ۚ وَمَا عَلَى ٱلرَّسُولِ إِلَّا ٱلْبَلَـٰغُ ٱلْمُبِينُ ٥٤

Say, “Obey Allah and obey the Messenger. But if you turn away, then he is only responsible for his duty and you are responsible for yours. And if you obey him, you will be ˹rightly˺ guided. The Messenger’s duty is only to deliver ˹the message˺ clearly.” (24:54)

How do we check our love for the Prophet (peace be upon him)?

Ask yourself, are you really following his (peace be upon him) commands in your life? Are you praying on time? Are you being kind to your family? Are you generous to those in need around you? Do you emulate the attributes of his character?

Live the character of the Prophet (peace be upon him) in your actions. We certainly have many gaps and many shortcomings but it is not an excuse to not improve ourselves and become better. The true love for the Prophet (peace be upon him) is not about singing nasheeds, but following his guidance, follow his Sunnah.

In Surat Ale-Imran, Allah Almighty said:

قُلۡ إِن كُنتُمۡ تُحِبُّونَ ٱللَّهَ فَٱتَّبِعُونِی یُحۡبِبۡكُمُ ٱللَّهُ وَیَغۡفِرۡ لَكُمۡ ذُنُوبَكُمۡۚ وَٱللَّهُ غَفُورࣱ رَّحِیم

Say (O Prophet): “If you really love Allah, then follow me, and Allah shall love you and forgive you your sins. Allah is Most-Forgiving, Very-Merciful.” (3:31)

This is how we translate our emotion into action. The Prophet (peace be upon him) always supported those who were in need and this should be our priority, especially as our brothers and sisters in Palestine are oppressed and suffering. We have to support those whom he would have supported. At least we can make dua, give donations, and attend the marches, and keep urging the government to stop the killing and bring peace to the people of Palestine.

Based on the Khutbah of Shaykh Haytham Tamim on 6th September 2024, 2nd Rabbi al Awwal

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Shaykh Haytham Tamim is the founder and main teacher of the Utrujj Foundation. He has provided a leading vision for Islamic learning in the UK, which has influenced the way Islamic knowledge is disseminated. He has orchestrated the design and delivery of over 200 unique courses since Utrujj started in 2001. His extensive expertise spans over 30 years across the main Islamic jurisprudence schools of thought. He has studied with some of the foremost scholars in their expertise; he holds some of the highest Ijazahs (certificates) in Quran, Hadith (the Prophetic traditions) and Fiqh (Islamic rulings). His own gift for teaching was evident when he gave his first sermon to a large audience at the age of 17 and went on to serve as a senior lecturer of Islamic transactions and comparative jurisprudence at the Islamic University of Beirut (Shariah College). He has continued to teach; travelling around the UK, Europe and wider afield, and won the 2015 BISCA award (British Imams & Scholars Contributions & Achievements Awards) for Outstanding Contribution to Education and Teaching.

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