Why do we have to love, obey, follow and venerate our Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) the most (or more than any other person)?.
1 – Allaah has commanded us to obey the Prophet (peace
and blessings of Allaah be upon him). Allaah says (interpretation of the
meaning):
“And obey Allaah and the
Messenger (Muhammad), and beware (of even coming near to drinking or
gambling or Al‑Ansaab, or Al‑Azlaam) and fear Allaah. Then if you turn away,
you should know that it is Our Messenger’s duty to convey (the Message) in
the clearest way”
[al-Maa'idah 5:92]
2 – Allaah has told us that obedience to the Prophet
(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) is obedience to Allaah. Allaah
says (interpretation of the meaning):
“He who obeys the
Messenger (Muhammad), has indeed obeyed Allaah, but he who turns away, then
we have not sent you (O Muhammad) as a watcher over them”
[al-Nisa’ 4:80]
3 – Allaah has warned us against failing to obey him, and
that this may lead a Muslim into a fitnah that is the fitnah of shirk.
Allaah says (interpretation of the meaning):
“Make not the calling of
the Messenger (Muhammad) among you as your calling one of another. Allaah
knows those of you who slip away under shelter (of some excuse without
taking the permission to leave, from the Messenger). And let those who
oppose the Messenger’s (Muhammad’s) commandment (i.e. his Sunnah
legal ways, orders, acts of worship, statements) (among the sects) beware,
lest some Fitnah (disbelief, trials, afflictions, earthquakes, killing,
overpowered by a tyrant) should befall them or a painful torment be
inflicted on them”
[al-Noor 24:63]
Allaah has told us that the status of Prophethood which he
gave to His Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him)
requires the believers to respect and venerate the Prophet (peace and
blessings of Allaah be upon him). Allaah says (interpretation of the
meaning):
“Verily, We have sent
you (O Muhammad) as a witness, as a bearer of glad tidings, and as a warner.
9. In order that you (O
mankind) may believe in Allaah and His Messenger, and that you assist and
honour him, and (that you) glorify (Allaah’s) praises morning and afternoon”
[al-Fath 48:8-9]
4 – The Muslim’s faith cannot be complete unless he loves the
Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him), and until the
Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) is dearer to him
than his father, his son, his own self and all the people. It was narrated
that Anas said: The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him)
said: “No one of you truly believes until I am dearer to him than his
father, his son, his own self and all the people.”
Narrated by al-Bukhaari, 15; Muslim, 44.
It was narrated that ‘Abd-Allaah ibn Hishaam said: We were
with the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) when he
was holding the hand of ‘Umar ibn al-Khattaab. ‘Umar said to him: “O
Messenger of Allaah, you are dearer to me than everything except my own
self.” The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said:
“No, by the One in Whose hand is my soul, not until I am dearer to you than
your own self.” ‘Umar said to him: “Now, by Allaah, you are dearer to me
than my own self.” The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon
him) said: “Now (you are a true believer), O ‘Umar.” Narrated by
al-Bukhaari, 6257.
Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyah (may Allaah have mercy on him)
said: The reason why it is obligatory to love the Prophet (peace and
blessings of Allaah be upon him) and venerate him more than any other person
is that we cannot attain the greatest good in this world or in the Hereafter
except at the hands of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be
upon him), by believing in him and following him. That is because no one can
be saved from the punishment of Allaah, and the mercy of Allaah cannot reach
him except by means of the Prophet, by believing in him, loving him, being
loyal to him and following him. This is the means by which Allaah will save
him from punishment in this world and in the Hereafter. This is the means by
which he will attain what is good in this world and in the Hereafter. The
greatest blessing is the blessing of faith, which can only be attained
through him, and which is more beneficial than his own self and his wealth.
He is the one by means of whom Allaah brings people forth from darkness into
light, and there is no other way to Allaah. As for a person’s self and
family, they will not avail him anything before Allaah… Majmoo’
al-Fataawa, 27/246.
One of the scholars said: If a person thinks of the benefits
that he has been given through the Prophet (peace and blessings of
Allaah be upon him), through whom Allaah brought him forth from the darkness
of kufr into the light of faith, he will realize that he is the cause of his
soul remaining forever in eternal bliss, and he will understand that this
benefit is greater than all others. So he (the Prophet (peace and
blessings of Allaah be upon him)) deserves that his share of a person’s love
should be greater than anyone else’s. But people vary with regard to that,
depending on the extent to which they bear that in mind or neglect it.
Everyone who truly believes in the Prophet (peace and blessings of
Allaah be upon him) will inevitably have a strong love for him, but they
differ in the extent and depth of their love for him. Some of them have a
great deal of love for him and some have only a little, like those who are
absorbed in their own whims and desires most of the time. But when mention
of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) is made,
most of them long to see him, and prefers that to their own family, sons,
wealth and fathers. But that feeling quickly fades because of other
distractions. And Allaah is the One Whose help we seek. See Fath al-Baari,
1/59
This is what is referred to in the verse where Allaah says
(interpretation of the meaning):
“The Prophet is closer to the believers than their
ownselves”
[al-Ahzaab 33:6]
Ibn Katheer (may Allaah have mercy on him) said:
[Allaah] knew how compassionate His Messenger (peace and
blessings of Allaah be upon him) was towards his ummah, and how sincere he
was towards them, so He made him closer to them than their own selves, and
decreed that his judgement among them should take precedence over their own
preferences. (6/380).
Shaykh Ibn Sa’di (may Allaah have mercy on him) said:
Allaah tells the believers something by which they may
understand the position and status of the Messenger (peace and
blessings of Allaah be upon him, so that they might interact with him
appropriately. So He said: “The Prophet is closer to the believers than
their ownselves”, the closest that he could be to a person, and closer
than his own self. So the Messenger is closer to him than his own self,
because he (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) was so kind and
sincere and compassionate towards them. He was the kindest and most merciful
of mankind. The Messenger of Allaah did the greatest of favours to all of
mankind. Not the slightest good came to them and not the slightest harm was
warded off from them except through him. Hence if there is a conflict
between what a person himself wants or what other people want, and what the
Messenger wants, then what the Messenger wants must take precedence. What
the Messenger says cannot be overridden by what any person says, no matter
who he is. They should sacrifice their selves, their wealth and their
children, and put love for him before their love for all others.
What the scholars have said may be summed up by noting that
the wrath of Allaah and the Fire of Hell are the things that we fear the
most, and we cannot be saved from them except at the hands of the Messenger
(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him). The pleasure of Allaah and
the garden of Paradise are the things that we want the most, but we cannot
attain them except at the hands of the Messenger (peace and blessings
of Allaah be upon him).
The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him)
referred to the former when he said: “The likeness of me and you is that of
a man who lit a fire and grasshoppers and moths started falling into it, and
he tried to push them away. I am seizing your waistbands and trying to pull
you away from the Fire but you are trying to get away from me.”
(Muslim, 2285, from the hadeeth of Jaabir; a similar hadeeth
was narrated by al-Bukhaari, 3427 from the hadeeth of Abu Hurayrah).
What is meant by this hadeeth is that the Prophet (peace
and blessings of Allaah be upon him) likened the way in which the ignorant
and disobedient rush to fall into the Fire of the Hereafter by means of
their sins and whims and desires to the Fire, and their keenness to fall
into that Fire, even though he is trying hard to prevent them from doing so
to the way in which moths and other insects are fatally attracted to the
fire. Both of them are keen to destroy themselves because of their ignorance
of the consequences.
(Sharh Muslim by al-Nawawi)
The latter was referred to by the Prophet (peace and
blessings of Allaah be upon him) when he said: “All of my ummah will enter
Paradise except those who refuse.” They said: “O Messenger of Allaah, who
would refuse?” He said: “Whoever obeys me will enter Paradise and whoever
disobeys me has refused.”
Al-Bukhaari, 7280, from the hadeeth of Abu Hurayrah.
And Allaah is the Source of strength.
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