How Much Should the Prophet (Peace Be Upon Him) Be Loved and How
Answered by Mufti Muhammad ibn Adam
Question : How Much Should the Prophet be Loved and How.
Answer : This is a very short question, the answer of which requires a long treatise, coupled with a high level of piety and spirituality of which I am certainly void, thus not in a position to really answer it. It would be best answered by those who have reached the higher level of spirituality and possess the true love for the Messenger of Allah (Allah bless him give him peace). In any case, I will attempt to mention here briefly what I have heard from some of my teachers on this issue.
Loving the Messenger of Allah (Allah bless him & give him peace) is an obligation upon every Muslim male and female. Allah Most High says to the Messenger of Allah:
“Say: If you do love Allah, follow (and love) me, Allah will love you.” (3:31)
Sayyiduna Anas ibn Malik (Allah be pleased with him) narrates that the Messenger of Allah (Allah bless him & give him peace) said: “None amongst you is a (perfect) believer until I do not become more beloved to him than his father, his children and all the people.” (Sahih al-Bukhari, Kitab al-Iman, No. 15)
As for the question How much should the Prophet (Allah bless him give him peace) be loved?’ is concerned, this is answered in the following verse of the Qur’an:
“Say (O Messenger of Allah): If it be that your fathers, your sons, your brothers, your spouses, or your relatives, the wealth that you have gained, the commerce in which you fear a decline or the dwellings in which you delight are dearer to you than Allah, His Messenger or the striving in His cause, then wait until Allah brings about His decision, and Allah guides not the rebellions.” (Surah al-Tawba, 24)
Abdullah ibn Hisham (Allah be pleased with him) narrates: “We were with the Messenger of Allah (Allah bless him & give him peace) and he was holding the hand of Umar ibn al-Khattab (Allah be pleased with him). Sayyiduna Umar said to Him: “O Messenger of Allah! You are dearer to me than everything except my own self.” The Messenger of Allah (Allah bless him & give him peace) said: “No, by Him in Whose Hand is my soul, (you will not have complete faith) till I am dearer to you than your own self.” Then Umar (Allah be pleased with him) said to him: “However, now, by Allah, you are dearer to me than my own self.” The Messenger of Allah (Allah bless him & give him peace) said: “Now, O Umar (you are a complete believer).” (Sahih al-Bukhari)
The above verse of the Qur’an and the Hadith clearly illustrate the fact that, the love of the Messenger of Allah (Allah bless him & give him peace) which is obligatory is that you love him more than anything and everything besides Allah Almighty Himself. His love must be more than your own parents, children and all the beloved things.
This is something that is easy to claim, but the time of judging this would be when one is confronted with choosing between a command of the Messenger of Allah (Allah bless him & give him peace) and other worldly benefits. When one is faced with choosing between the command and desire of a beloved, such as one’s parents, children or spouse and the guidance of the blessed Messenger of Allah (Allah bless him & give him peace), or when one has to choose between temporary worldly monetary gains and the order of the Messenger of Allah (Allah bless him & give him peace) to abstain from it. In such cases, if one gave the Messenger of Allah’s command preference over other things, then that would be a sign of true love. However, if preference is given to wealth or the desires and wishes of a beloved over the command of the Messenger of Allah (Allah bless him & give him peace), then unfortunately, the person’s claim of having complete love for the Messenger of Allah (Allah bless him & give him peace) will be incorrect.
Therefore, the love for the Messenger of Allah (Allah bless him & give him peace) which is obligatory is that one adheres to all of his commands, implements his ways (sunnah) in one’s life and gives preference to him and his ways over everything and anything in this world.
As far as the second question ‘How should he be loved?’ is concerned, there are many ways of loving him.
My respected teacher and spiritual guide, Shaykh Mawlana Muhammad Yusuf Mutala (the patron of many Islamic institutes in the west including the famous Dar al-Uloom, Bury, UK, a great scholar of Hadith & Tasawwuf and the disciple of the famous Shaykh Muhammad Zakariyya al-Kandahlawi (Allah have mercy on him) is renowned for his extreme love for the Messenger of Allah (Allah bless him & give him peace). In his discourses, he relentlessly encourages the importance of loving the Messenger of Allah (Allah bless him give him peace) and encourages people to acquire this love. He normally gives the following advice:
“Love of the Messenger of Allah (Allah bless him & give him peace) is an obligation (fardh) similar to other obligations, such as performing Salat, giving Zakat, performing Hajj, etc. Every Muslim male and female must have this love for him unless the warning in the Qur’an is quite severe.
Many of us claim to have love for him but our actions imply the opposite. The way to love him is that every moment of our life, our hearts and minds must be kept focussed on him. Whatever we may be doing, our minds should be with the Messenger of Allah (Allah bless him give him peace). Each and every action we do, we should ask ourselves “Is the Messenger of Allah happy and pleased with this action of mine?” Don’t let your hearts and minds turn away from the mercy of both worlds for even one moment.” (End of Shaykh Yusuf’s advice)
The above shows the importance of keeping that special connection and bond with the Messenger of Allah (Allah bless him & give him peace) at all times. We must abstain from any action that may displease him and consequently displease Allah Almighty. We must strive to the best of our ability in following his Sunnah and guidance.
Secondly, we should learn and study about his personality and life in general (sirah). We should study his life in depth and then endeavour to follow in his footsteps.
Thirdly, we should send blessings (salat & salam) on him, as Allah Almighty Himself has ordered us in the Qur’an.
May Allah Almighty grant us all the true love of our beloved Messenger (Allah bless him give him peace) and that we follow his ways (sunnah), thus attain his pleasure in this world and intercession in the hereafter.
And Allah knows best
Muhammad ibn Adam
Darul Iftaa
Leicester , UK
