Status of the Prophet (SAWS)

 

The life of Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) is full of countless examples that show his status as a role model for Muslim societies and individuals.

His life is one that was dominated by a superior morality, good habits, noble and gentle feelings and superior skills, all of which are characteristics that help prevent people from getting entangled in a web of sin.

The rich and the prosperous, the poor and the needy, the ruler and the ruled, the weak and the lonely, the teacher and the student, the merchant and the craftsman, the employer and the employee – in other words, every sort of person can find truths in Prophet Muhammad’s life that constitute an example for them to follow.

Allah SWT mentions our Prophe SAWS in Sura Al-ahzab, ayat 21:

“Verily in the messenger of Allah you have a good example for him who looks unto Allah and the Last Day, and remembers Allah much.”

A person who follows another person’s lead imitates that person; they follow their attitude and style. That is to say, they identify themselves with that person. In terms of Islamic faith, uswa, that is to say being an example or a role model, is an attribute that is found in those who possess goodness, beauty and righteousness.

The sunnah, are all the words, actions, teachings, characteristics, examples of the morality and personality of Prophet Muhammad SAWS.

This verse shows the importance of Prophet Muhammad’s sunnah in the lives of Muslims. As a matter of fact, the Quran clearly states that Prophet Muhammad SAWS has a superior character and demonstrates an exemplary life style.

When explaining the Islam to the disbelievers, often it has been said that the Quran is the theory and his Sunnah was the practical example of our faith. This further cements his status for each and every one of us.

In essence, his actions and his words, forms the face of Islam and gives it the characteristic features that we see all around the Islamic world.

Such is the status of our Prophet Muhammed SAWS that he is someone by whom Allah SWT Himself swears an oath:

By your life, they wandered blindly in their drunkenness.

Dear brothers and sisters, we previously did a khutba on oaths and the importance that Allah SWT placed in his Slaves not swearing an Oath on anything other than Allah SWT.

But through this verse of the Quran, Allah SWT is demonstrating to us the status that He places on Prophet Muhammed SAWS because he uses our messenger SAWSas the basis of the oath.

So what does this mean for us today? First of all, to know the status of our Leader and the best of all Mankind SAWS, is to justify the hurt we feel when his name, his memory is tarnished in the West.

In the current climate, it is not an easy topic to discuss with the non-believers, but if we begin to understand his status then we can begin to explain the worth he has in our hearts.

Secondly his status is something that should compel us to be more proactive in our lives as Muslims. If the Quran is the theory and the Prophet SAWS is the practice, then are we attempting to live by that template and those standards?

What effort have we made to imitate our Prophet SAWS teachings, sayings and actions?

The truth of the matter is that in this world, there are plenty of Role Models shown on the media, but only one matters.

We ought to be taking steps to follow our Prophet SAWS as a role model not just for ourselves but also for our youth to see and for our neighbours and co-workers to witness as a refutation to the image of Islam that is portrayed in the West.

And what are those steps? The khutba concludes with 3 steps we can all take to make this a practical part of our self-development:

  1. Learn about the life aka Seerah of the Prophet SAWS. There are some great writings on this crucial topic and we should all aim to read a book on it at some point.
  2. Download an app on Sunnah or Hadiths. There are dozens of these apps now on the Smart phone. Download one that has a daily reminder and you can benefit from increasing your knowledge through modern technology.
  3. Encourage one another to send salutations on the Prophet SAWS often. Remember that in our previous hadiths we have mentioned that our beloved Prophet SAWS, despite his status, has reserved his supplication to Allah SWT until the Day of Judgement upon which day he will request that his ummah, which includes us all today, are forgiven for all their sins.

Dear brothers and sisters, we are blessed to be a part of the best of creation’s community SAWS. Let’s not waste such a blessing and instead use it to propel ourselves to being of those who are referred to as his Ummah on the Day of Judgement.

May Allah SWT allow us to appreciate the status of Prophet Muhammed SAWS. May Allah SWT give us the drive to emulate him and may Allah SWT reward us for our efforts in doing this.

Ameen Walhamdullilahi Rabilalameen.

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The final Sermon of the Prophet Muhammed (Peace be upon him)

Dear brothers, today is a momentous day in the Islamic calendar. Today is the day of Arafat.

Millions of Muslims are gathered today on the mountain plains of Arafat, supplicating to their Lord and thus sealing their Hajj pilgrimage.

Today also marks the day in which millions over the world are stepping up their acts of worship. Many are fasting on this day in order to seek the pleasure and forgiveness of Allah SWT.

Besides the exhilaration that the events of this day brings, there is also a tinge of sadness associated with this day as it is the day that our beloved Prophet SAWS delivered his final sermon to his nation or Ummah.

His final sermon, like everything else in his speech, was full of love and compassion for all. Allah SWT mentions the messenger SAWS in Sura Al Toba:

There has certainly come to you a Messenger from amongst yourselves. Grievous to him is what you suffer; he is concerned over you and to the believers is kind and merciful.

Dear brothers, we are so blessed to belong to his nation, his ummah. Allah SWT tells us in the Quran how lucky we are in Sura Al-Baqarah. In this ayat, prophet Ismael (peace be upon him), is supplicating to Allah SWT for our Prophet’s arrival:

Our Lord, and send among them a messenger for themselves who will recite to them Your verses and teach them the Book and wisdom and purify them. Indeed you are the Exalted in might, the wise.

Dear brothers, the final sermon by the Prophet SAWS was delivered on this day and shortly before his death and is considered by many to be one of the earliest declarations of human rights in written history.

In this sermon, Muslims find their deep commitment to the universal human values such as sacredness of life and property, equality, justice, peace and more. Upon these high universal values, the religion of Islam was built.

What follows is his final sermon for us all to ponder upon in this blessed day:

 

“O People, listen well to my words, for I do not know whether, after this year, I shall ever be among you again. Therefore, listen to what I am saying to you very carefully and take these words to those who could not be present here today.

O People, just as you regard this month, this day, this city as Sacred, so regard the life and property of every Muslim as a sacred trust. Return the goods entrusted to you to their rightful owners. Treat others justly so that no one would be unjust to you. Remember that you will indeed meet your LORD, and that HE will indeed reckon your deeds. God has forbidden you to take usury (riba), therefore all riba obligation shall henceforth be waived. Your capital, however, is yours to keep. You will neither inflict nor suffer inequity. God has judged that there shall be no riba and that all the riba due to `Abbas ibn `Abd al Muttalib shall henceforth be waived.

Every right arising out of homicide and blood-killing in pre-Islamic days is henceforth waived and the first such right that I waive is that arising from the murder of Rabi`ah ibn al Harith ibn `Abd al Muttalib.

O people, the Unbelievers indulge in tampering with the calendar in order to make permissible that which God forbade, and to forbid that which God has made permissible. With God the months are 12 in number. Four of them are sacred, three of these are successive and one occurs singly between the months of Jumada and Sha`ban. Beware of the devil, for the safety of your religion. He has lost all hope that he will ever be able to lead you astray in big things, so beware of following him in small things.

O People, it is true that you have certain rights over your women, but they also have rights over you. Remember that you have taken them as your wives only under God’s trust and with His permission. If they abide by your right then to them belongs the right to be fed and clothed in kindness. Treat your women well and be kind to them, for they are your partners and committed helpers. It is your right and they do not make friends with anyone of whom you do not approve, as well as never to be unchaste…

O People, listen to me in earnest, worship God (The One Creator of the Universe), perform your five daily prayers (Salah), fast during the month of Ramadan, and give your financial obligation (zakah) of your wealth. Perform Hajj if you can afford to.

All mankind is from Adam and Eve. An Arab has no superiority over a non-Arab nor a non-Arab has any superiority over an Arab; also a white has no superiority over a black nor a black has any superiority over white except by piety and good action. Learn that every Muslim is a brother to every Muslim and that the Muslims constitute one brotherhood. Nothing shall be legitimate to a Muslim which belongs to a fellow Muslim unless it was given freely and willingly. Do not, therefore, do injustice to yourselves.

Remember, one day you will appear before God (The Creator) and you will answer for your deeds. So beware, do not stray from the path of righteousness after I am gone.

O People, no prophet or messenger will come after me and no new faith will be born. Reason well, therefore, O People, and understand words, which I convey to you. I am leaving you with the Book of God (the Quran) and my Sunnah (the life style and the behavioral mode of the Prophet). If you follow them you will never go astray.

All those who listen to me shall pass on my words to others and those to others again; and may the last ones understand my words better than those who listen to me directly. Be my witness O God, that I have conveyed your message to your people.”

Dear brothers, that concludes the final sermon of our beloved messenger SAWS. May Allah SWT give us the ability to appreciate the words of his final sermon. May Allah SWT enable us to adhere to the guidance given in his final sermon. And may Allah SWT include us in his mercy on this blessed day of Arafat.

 

Ameen wal hamdullilahi rabilalameen.

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Love of our Prophet (Peace be upon him)

It’s hard, living away from a man we love so much. It’s hard, not being able to see his blessed face ourselves, or smell the sweet smell that he was famous for emitting.

It is hard not having witnessed the epitome of human mercy. It is hard not being able to hear his blessed voice reciting the Quran. But most of all, it is hard not knowing – would he love me if he knew me? My brothers, take comfort in the fact that he loved you more than you can even imagine.

We know that the relationship between the messenger (peace be upon him) and the companions was a very unique relationship. They loved him greatly and it was easy to see that he loved them as well.

There are plentiful examples of the mercy he showed upon the people in his time. One of the examples is at Eid-ul-Adha, he would sacrifice on his behalf and upon the behalf of people who could not afford to sacrifice.

Also when he ascended to the heavens, he took the opportunity in his meeting with Allah SWT to reduce the burden of prayers from 50 daily to 5 daily all the while keeping the reward for us of the original 50 prayers.

Further examples of his mercy towards his people was when the suffering of the muslims was too much to bear in Mecca, the prophet, peace be upon him, instructed his companions to go to Abysinnia to escape the suffering.

The companions believed in the message that he brought from Allah SWT whilst many of his tribe mocked and ridiculed him. They were by his side in the tough times, willing to sacrifice their very own lives for him. One can often wish and crave that we were in their shoes, loving the prophet (peace be upon him) wholeheartedly and being loved by him.

Our Prophet (peace be upon him) love for his people is described by Allah SWT in Sura Toba, ayat 128:

Verily, there has come unto you a messenger from amongst yourselves. It grieves him when you suffer; he is concerned over you and to the believers is kind and merciful.

Our beloved messenger, peace be upon him, a few days before the greatest calamity, his own death, was walking by his companions and spoke the following words which fill any Muslim’s heart with joy and comfort. He said to his companions:

I wish that I could meet my brothers

Upon first hearing this statement, it can be easy to assume that the beloved Prophet, peace be upon him, is talking about the previous prophets or messengers from the past. The companions with him were also confused and so they asked him:

Are we not your brothers?

To which our beloved Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, replied:

You are my companions, my brothers are those who will believe in me, without having seen me.

 

My brothers, think about the above for a moment. He yearned to meet each and every one of us. His heart was filled with true love for us; the ones who believe in him yet have not seen him, and if there is one thing we know about the love of the Prophet, peace be upon him, it is that it was not superficial love.

There is no greater feeling in this world than to love and be loved back. Now imagine loving the best of all creation and knowing for a fact that he loved you right back.

One final example of this demonstration of love and probably the most valuable for you and I is a Sahih Bukhari hadith in which Abu Hurairah narrated:

The beloved messenger stated “Each and every messenger had one duaa or supplication accepted and I am saving mine for the Day of Judgement to use to help my people”

 

May Allah SWT generate that undiminishing love for our beloved Prophet, peace be upon him, in our hearts. May we be included in those whom he speaks about when he says ‘my brothers are those who will believe in me, without having seen me’. And may we be blessed with his blessed companionship in Jannah and never again have to be separated from our beloved sal Allahu alayhi wa salam.

 

Ameen wal hamdullilahi rabilalameen

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