The worst disaster ever to strike this nation was the death of the Prophet, sallallaahu ‘alaihi wa sallam, who instructed us to remember the affliction of his death whenever we are tried by any hardship, so that we may thereby condole ourselves and ease the impact of that hardship, which would be insignificant in comparison.
Signs that prove one’s love for the Prophet, sallallaahu ‘alaihi wa sallam:
1. Mentioning him frequently and exalting his mention. Allah Says what means: “Indeed, Allah exalts the mention of the Prophet, and His angels [ask Him to do so]. O you who have believed! Ask [Allah to] exalt his mention.” [Qur’an 33: 56]
There are many times and occasions when this is legislated to be done, such as during supplication. Ubay ibn Ka’b, radhiallah ‘anhu, reported: “I (once) said: ‘O Messenger of Allah! I frequently invoke Allah to exalt your rank; how much of my supplication should I devote to you?’ He, sallallaahu ‘alaihi wa sallam, said: “You may devote as much as you wish.” When I suggested a quarter, he said: “Do whatever you wish, but it would be better for you if you were to increase upon that.” I suggested half, and he, sallallaahu ‘alaihi wa sallam, said: “Do whatever you wish, but it would be better for you if you were to increase upon that.” I suggested two-thirds, and he, sallallaahu ‘alaihi wa sallam, said: “Do whatever you wish, but it would be better for you if you were to increase upon that.” I (finally) said: ‘Shall I devote all of my supplication to invoke Allah to exalt your rank?’ He, sallallaahu ‘alaihi wa sallam, said: “You would then be freed from your worries, and your sins would be forgiven.’’” [Ahmad & At-Tirmithi]
2. Longing to see him: The Prophet, sallallaahu ‘alaihi wa sallam, said: “I swear by the One in whose Hand the soul of Muhammad is! A day will come when not one of you will be able to see me (i.e., after my death) and seeing me then would be dearer to a person’s heart than his family and wealth.” [Ahmad & At-Tirmithi]
Losing one’s family and wealth is a minor issue in comparison to the great bounty of being a companion, whose sins are forgiven, of the Prophet.
3. Being sincere to the Prophet, sallallaahu ‘alaihi wa sallam: Imaam al-Maroozi said: “This was done during his lifetime by exerting all efforts to obey him, supporting him, helping him, sacrificing one’s wealth for his sake if he were to demand it, and hastening to attain his love. After his death, it is expressed by learning his Sunnah, his manners and etiquette, glorifying his commands and adhering to them, becoming angry at those who live according to anything other than his way, and loving those who adhere to it, as well as loving those who are from his descendants, those who migrated with him and those who supported him, and indeed anyone who was in his company even for as brief a period as an hour. Additionally, it entails imitating him in the way he dressed.”
Imaam Al-Qurtubi added: “It is to believe in his prophethood, to love those who supported him, to hate those who hate him, to glorify his Sunnah and revive, defend and spread it, as well as calling people to it and imitating him in his morals and conduct.”
4. Loving those whom he, sallallaahu ‘alaihi wa sallam, loved: If he loved Al-Hasan, Al-Husayn, ‘Ali and Faatimah, may Allah be pleased with them, then we also love them, and Allah is our witness to this love. Likewise, we love those who follow his Sunnah and his household, and they are, as Zayd, radhiallah ‘anhu, said when clarifying the narration of the Prophet: “My household; I remind you to fear Allah with regards to my household; I remind you to fear Allah with regards to my household; I remind you to fear Allah with regards to my household.” Zayd was asked: “Who are his household? Are his wives included in it?” He replied: “Yes (i.e., his wives are included), as are all those who are forbidden from taking Zakat after his death, namely: the family of ‘Ali, the family of ‘Aqeel, the family of Ja’far and the family of Al-‘Abbaas.” [Muslim]
We pray for all of them during our daily prayers; thus if somebody’s lineage is known to originate from the Prophet, sallallaahu ‘alaihi wa sallam, and they are a pious person with sound creed, and not a Sufi, a deviant or an innovator, then they should be loved for two reasons: One being their piety and the other being their relationship to the Prophet.
Loving his wives, who are the mothers of the believers, is also part of this, as Allah Says what means: “The Prophet is more worthy of the believers than themselves, and his wives are [in the position of] their mothers...” [Qur’an 33: 6]
His wives were: Khadeejah bint Khuwaylid, ‘Aa’ishah bint Abu Bakr, Hafsah bint ‘Umar, Umm Habeebah bint Abu Sufyaan, Umm Salamah, Zaynab bint Jahsh, Zaynab bint Khuzaymah Al-Hilaaliyyah, Juwayriyyah bint Al-Haarith, Safiyyah bint Huyay and Maymoonah bint Al-Haarith Al-Hilaaliyyah - may Allah be pleased with them all.
A sign of loving the Prophet, sallallaahu ‘alaihi wa sallam, is to love the mothers of the believers and not to harm or slander them in any way.
Loving his Companions accepting the guidance they conveyed to us, and emulating them.
Many are those who claim to love the Prophet, sallallaahu ‘alaihi wa sallam, even from amongst the innovators, but the “proof” of their love for him is that they worship him alongside Allah, and supplicate to him instead of Allah, and seek forgiveness from him; these people exclude and forget Allah. Is this love, or is it association with Allah, which he, sallallaahu ‘alaihi wa sallam, hated more than anything else? He alluded to this when he said: “Do not praise me as the Christians praised the son of Maryam.” [Al-Bukhari]
By this statement, he did not forbid all types of praise for him, but rather only the type that the Christians did (and do) for Jesus (‘Eesaa), which is where they raise his rank to one above that which Allah granted him, which is that of a slave and a messenger, and they worship him instead of Allah. This is similar to what the deviant Sufis and other sects did and do.
On the other hand, Ahlus-Sunnah Wal-Jamaa’ah prove their love for the Prophet, sallallaahu ‘alaihi wa sallam, by obeying his commands, following his Sunnah and adhering to his guidance; this is how one follows his way, as Allah Says what means: “Say [O Muhammad]: If you should love Allah, then follow me, [so] Allah will love you and forgive you your sins…” [Qur’an 3: 31] This is real love!
Article source: http://www.islamweb.net/emainpage/
Examples set by the Companions
‘Abdullaah ibn Mas’ood, radhiallah ‘anhu, reported that the Messenger of Allah, sallallaahu ‘alaihi wa sallam, said: “Never has a Prophet been sent before me by Allah to his people except that he had, among his people, disciples and companions who followed his way and obeyed his command. Then there came after them their successors who proclaimed what they did not practice, and practiced what they were not commanded to do. (He) who strove against these (people) with his hand was a believer; he who strove against them with his heart was a believer; and he who strove against them with his tongue was a believer; and beyond that there is no grain of faith.” [Muslim]
The Companions comprehended this very well and also kept in mind the saying of the Prophet, sallallaahu ‘alaihi wa sallam, which was reported by Anas : “He who shuns my Sunnah is not from me.” [Al-Bukhari] These sayings made them love the Sunnah of the Prophet, sallallaahu ‘alaihi wa sallam, and spread and propagate it amongst their successors.
The Companions fulfilled their duty and played their expected role in spreading and propagating the Sunnah of the Prophet, sallallaahu ‘alaihi wa sallam; they taught it to others with sincerity and advised those who shunned it to adhere to it, warning them against their actions. Huthayfah, radhiallah ‘anhu, once saw a man rushing during his prayer and failing to be tranquil in his bowings and prostrations; so he said to him: “You did not pray! Had you died in that state then you would have died upon other than the way of Muhammad.” [Al-Bukhari] He was bringing his attention to the fact that being tranquil and submissive during prayers was how the Prophet, sallallaahu ‘alaihi wa sallam, would perform them.
‘Abdullaah ibn ‘Umar, radhiallah ‘anhu, would sit on his buttocks during the Tashahhud in his prayer, so his son began imitating him; when ‘Abdullaah saw this, he forbade him from doing so and informed him that this was not how the Prophet, sallallaahu ‘alaihi wa sallam, performed his prayers, so his son said to him: “I saw you praying this way.” His father informed him that his legs were injured from the time of the Battle of Khaybar, and that he could not therefore adhere to the Sunnah in this position of prayer. [Al-Bukhari]
‘Abdullaah ibn ‘Umar did not consider this part of prayer a minor or trivial issue which he could overlook when seeing someone performing it a way other than that of the Prophet’s; compare this to the way some people consider certain acts of the Sunnah to be minor, thereby undermining them.
Taawoos said: “We asked Ibn ‘Abbaas, radhiallah ‘anhu, about sitting in the position of Iq’aa’ between the two prostrations (which is to sit with one’s buttocks on his heels while bending his toes and directing them towards the Qiblah). He informed them that it was the Sunnah, but they remarked: ‘We do not see it befitting a man to sit in such a manner.’ But he repeated and emphasised to them the fact that the Prophet, sallallaahu ‘alaihi wa sallam, would sit this way.” [Muslim]
This is one of the ways he, sallallaahu ‘alaihi wa sallam, would sit, while the other and most common practice of his was that he would sit on his left foot and have his right foot raised while having its toes pointing towards the direction of the Qiblah.
These were some examples of how the Companions would propagate the Sunnah of the Prophet, sallallaahu ‘alaihi wa sallam, and they would also openly forbid those who contradicted the Sunnah, as in the story when Marwaan ibn ‘Abdul-Malik delivered the Khutbah of ‘Eid before the prayer, which is directly contrary to the Sunnah, so a man stood up whilst he was delivering the Khutbah and told him that he had opposed the way of the Prophet, sallallaahu ‘alaihi wa sallam, by doing what he did. Marwaan paid no attention to what the man said, and so Abu Sa’eed said: “This man (i.e., the one who spoke to Marwaan) has fulfilled his duty by informing him of the Sunnah and attempting to forbid him from continuing; I heard the Prophet sallallaahu ‘alaihi wa sallam say: “He who sees an evil must change it with his hands (i.e. physically); if he is unable to, then he must change it with his tongue (i.e. verbally), and if he is unable to, then with his heart (i.e., hating it) - and this is the weakest level of faith.” [At-Tirmithi]
Acts of worship were not the only thing which the Companions learned the ways of the Prophet, sallallaahu ‘alaihi wa sallam - he even taught them their manners. Anas, radhiallah ‘anhu, said: “Once the Prophet came to our house and asked for something to drink, so we milked a sheep for him and I gave him the milk to drink while Abu Bakr,‘Umar and other senior companions were sitting to his left, and a Bedouin was sitting to his right. When he finished drinking, ‘Umar said: ‘O Messenger of Allah! Abu Bakr, radhiallah ‘anhu, is to your left’ in an attempt to bring that to his attention, but he turned to the Bedouin and handed him the container to drink from, saying: “It is the right of those to your right, It is the right of those to your right, It is the right of those to your right.” [Muslim]
All the Companions old and young, were keen to adhere to the Sunnah of the Prophet, sallallaahu ‘alaihi wa sallam; it was never reported from a single one of them that they said about any part of it: “This is only a Sunnah and is not mandatory… this is only recommended and not obligatory… this is a minor issue and not a major one, and we should not waste our time in it… this is a trivial matter” quite unlike what many people say nowadays about the Sunnah, thereby giving it a low ranking in their list of importance. Instead, the Companions would apply anything that came to them from the Prophet, sallallaahu ‘alaihi wa sallam, and would practise it fully and very precisely. Even in matters that were related to man’s natural disposition, such as growing the beard, using the Siwaak (a special twig that is used as a toothbrush) and so on.
Is it not time for us to apply the Sunnah in our practices and actions, our families, the way we dress, our children, our homes, our prayers and all other affairs?
Article source: http://www.islamweb.net/emainpage/
Establish prayers and the prize is Paradise
Allah Almighty Says (what means): “And when you have completed the prayer, remember Allah standing, sitting, or [lying] on your sides. But when you become secure, re-establish [regular] prayer. Indeed, prayer has been decreed upon the believers a decree of specified times.” [Qur’an 4:103]
For forty consecutive years, Sa’eed Ibn al-Musayyib, may Allah have mercy upon him, was to be found in the mosque before the Athaan (call to prayer) was made. ‘Umar, may Allah be pleased with him, became unconscious after he was stabbed, and according to Al-Miswar Ibn Makhramah, may Allah have mercy upon him, it was said: “Nothing would wake him up except the call to prayer, if he is still alive.” So people said to him: “The prayer has finished, O Chief of the Believers!” He therefore awoke and said: “The prayer! I swear by Allah that there is no share of Islam for whoever abandons the prayer.” He then performed the prayer while his wound was bleeding.
After Ar-Rabee’ Ibn Khaytham, may Allah have mercy upon him, became partially paralysed, he would go to the mosque helped by two men. He was told: “O Abu Yazeed! You have been given permission to pray at home.” He replied: “You have said the truth, but I heard the caller say: ‘Hayya ’ala al-falah’ (rush to success), and so I thought that whoever hears this call should answer it, even by crawling.”
‘Uday Ibn Haatim, may Allah be pleased with him, said: “Every time the time for prayer arrives, it finds me eager and ready to perform it (i.e. in the state of ablution).”
Abu Bakr Ibn ‘Abdullaah al-Muzani, may Allah have mercy upon him, said: “Who is like you, O son of Aadam? Whenever you desire, you use water and make ablution, go to the place of worship and thus enter the presence of your Lord (i.e. start praying) without a translator or barrier between you and Him!”
Abu Rajaa’ al-’Ataaridi, may Allah have mercy upon him, said on his deathbed: “I am not grieved by leaving anything behind, except that I used to bow down on my face five times a day before my Lord, the Exalted and most Honoured.”
Abul-’Aaliyah, may Allah have mercy upon him, said: “I would travel for days to meet a man and the first thing I would note about him would be his prayer. If he was one who established the prayer perfectly and on time, I would stay with him and hear the knowledge he had to impart. If I found him to be careless concerning the prayer, I would leave him and say to myself that for things other than the prayer, he would be even more careless.”
When ‘Ali Ibn Al-Husayn, may Allah have mercy upon him, would perform ablution, the colour of his face would change. His family asked him why this would always happen and he would reply: “Do you know before Whom I am about to stand (in prayer)?”
Yazeed Ibn ‘Abdullaah, may Allah have mercy upon him, was asked: “Should we make a roof for our mosque?” He replied: “Purify your hearts and your mosque (in its current state) will suffice you.”
‘Uday Ibn Haatim, may Allah be pleased with him, said: “Ever since I became a Muslim, I always made sure to have ablution when the Athaan is called.”
‘Ubayd Ibn Ja’far, may Allah have mercy upon him, said: “I never saw my uncle Bishr Ibn Mansoor miss the first Takbeer (that commences the congregational prayer in the mosque), and whenever any person stood up in our mosque to ask people for help, he would always give him something.”
Ibn Sam’ah, may Allah have mercy upon him, said: “For forty years, I only missed the first Takbeer once, and that was when my mother died. If you know of a man’s disinterest in being present in the mosque for the first Takbeer, then wash your hands of him (i.e. know that there is no good in him).”
Sufyaan Ibn ‘Uyaynah, may Allah have mercy upon him, said: “Honouring the prayer includes arriving before the Iqaamah (the call that establishes the prayer) is called.”
Maymoon Ibn Mahraan, may Allah have mercy upon him, was once delayed from coming to the mosque on time. When he did eventually arrive, he was told that the people had already concluded the prayer: “We all belong to Allah and to Him shall be our return! I value the congregational prayer more than being made governor of Iraq,” he lamented.
Yoonus Ibn ‘Abdullaah, may Allah have mercy upon him, said: “What is the matter with me? If I lose a mere chicken I feel concerned, but when I miss a prayer in congregation it does not grieve me!”
‘Umar, may Allah be pleased with him, once said while standing on the pulpit: “A man may have white hair in Islam (i.e. reach old age while being Muslim), but has not yet completed even a single prayer for Allah the Exalted!” He was asked: “Why is that?” He replied: “Because he does not perfect the prayer’s required Khushoo’ (solemness) and fails to be attentive to Allah with his heart.”
Hammaad Ibn Salamah, may Allah have mercy upon him, said: “I have never stood up for prayer without imagining that the Hellfire is before my eyes.”
Mu’aath Ibn Jabal, may Allah be pleased with him, advised his son saying: “My son! Pray the prayer of he who is just about to leave this world, and imagine that you may never be able to pray again. Know that the believer dies between two good deeds: one that he has just performed, and the other that he intended to perform next.”
Bakr al-Muzani, may Allah have mercy upon him, said: “If you want your prayer to be of benefit to you then say to yourself prior to it that you may not have the chance to perform another prayer.’”
Shubrumah, may Allah have mercy upon him, said: “We once accompanied Qarz al-Harithi on a journey; whenever we would camp down in an area, he would scan it with his eyes and when he found a good piece of land that he liked, he would go to it and pray there until it was time for us to leave.”
Al-Qaasim Ibn Muhammad, may Allah have mercy upon him said: “Whenever I went out in the morning, I would visit (my aunt) ‘Aa’ishah, may Allah be pleased with her, and greet her. One day, I found her performing the Al-Dhuha prayer (two unit of supererogatory prayer performs in between sunrise and forenoon) while crying and invoking Allah by reciting one verse from the Qur’an repeatedly. The verse of the Qur’an was (which means): “So Allah conferred favour upon us and protected us from the punishment of the Scorching Fire.” [Qur’an 52:27] I stood there until I felt weary, then I left and went to the marketplace, telling myself that I would return to her when I finish. Later, when I did return to her, I found her still standing in prayer, reciting the same verse, and crying and invoking Allah.’”
Maymoon Ibn Hayyan, may Allah have mercy upon him, said: “I never saw Muslim Ibn Yasar turn his head while praying, whether the prayer was short or long. Once, a part of the mosque collapsed while he was praying in the mosque and the noise caused people who were as far away as the market to be terrified, but he felt no fear whatsoever and continued praying without even moving his head.” He also said: “I accompanied ‘Ataa’ Ibn Rabah for 18 years. When he became old and weak, he would stand in prayer and read close to two hundred verses from Chapter Al-Baqarah while standing so firmly that no part of him would move.”
Abu Bakr Ibn ‘Ayyash, may Allah have mercy upon him, said: “If you saw Habeeb Ibn Abu Thabit while in prostration, you would think that he was dead due to its extended length.”
‘Ali Ibn Al-Fudhayl, may Allah have mercy upon him, said: “I saw Ath-Thawri go into prostration while praying, and I performed Tawaaf (circumambulation) around the House (i.e., the Ka’bah) seven times before he raised his head from prostration.”
‘Uthmaan Ibn Abi Dahrash, may Allah have mercy upon him, said: “I never performed a prayer without invoking Allah afterwards to forgive me for falling into shortcomings in the way I performed it.”
Mu’aawiyah Ibn Murrah, may Allah have mercy upon him, said: “I lived among 70 of the companions of the Prophet, sallallaahu ‘alaihi wa sallam, and had they lived among you today, they would not recognise any of your acts except the Athan!” He also said: “If a man from our predecessors was resurrected among you today, the only thing he would recognise would be your Qiblah (prayer direction).”
When Haatim al-Asamm, may Allah have mercy upon him, was asked about his prayer, he replied: “When the time for prayer draws near, I perform a perfect ablution, go to where I will pray and sit there until I am fully cognisant of what I am about to do. Then, I stand up and pray, imagining that the Ka’bah is in front of my eyes, Paradise to my right, Hell to my left and the Angel of Death behind me. I imagine that it is the last prayer I will ever perform; I stand up in hope of Allah, His Paradise and His rewards, and in fear of Allah’s torment in the Hellfire. I then say the Takbeer (Allahu Akbar – Allah is the Greatest) while having full attention. I recite the Qur’an calmly, bow humbly, prostrate with humility and attentiveness and then sit on my left leg, with my left foot laid on the floor and the right foot raised up - all the while praying with sincerity. Afterwards, I have no certainty about whether that prayer was accepted from me or not.”
One of our pious predecessors said: “O son of Aadam! You need your share of this life, but your need of the Hereafter is far greater. If you take care of your share of this life then you will lose your share of the Hereafter, and you will very soon lose your share of this life, too. But if you take care of your share of the Hereafter then you will also win your full share of this life with ease.”
Talq Ibn Habeeb, may Allah have mercy upon him, said: “Allah’s rights are greater than the slave’s capacity and ability to fulfil them. Therefore, reach every morning in a state of repentance and every night also in a state of repentance.”
Article source: http://www.islamweb.net/emainpage/
