By Sheikh Osama Ibn Abdullah Khayāṭ – 09 Rabiul Awwal 1435
His Eminence Sheikh Osama Ibn Abdullah Khayāṭ – May Allah protect him – delivered this Friday’s Khutbah titled “The Obligations of the Muslim Ummah to its Prophet (May Allah’s Salat and Peace be upon him)” in which he addressed the great favour that Allah has bestowed on mankind; it is the sending of Prophet Muhammad (May Allah’s Salat and Peace be upon him). He explained the signs and indications of loving the Prophet (May Allah’s Salat and Peace be upon him) and concluded his Khutbah by mentioning signs of respect that every Muslim should observe vis-à-vis the Prophet (May Allah’s Salat and Peace be upon him) and his Sunnah. He also quoted some supportive verses from the Qur’ān and Hadith.
Praise be to Allah, Lord of the Worlds. I praise Him (May He be extolled) and praising Him as He should be duly praised. I bear witness that there is no deity worth worshiping except Allah alone, with no associate. To Him belongs ultimate sovereignty, and I bear witness that our Master Muhammad is Allah’s Servant and Messenger, the owner of the Greatest Intercession1 and the Honoured Status2 on the Day of Judgment. May our Lord send His Salat (Graces, Honours, Mercy) and Peace upon your Servant and Messenger Muhammad and be pleased with his family, Companions and tabi’in (the contemporaries of the Companions after the death of the Prophet [May Allah’s Salat and Peace be upon him]) and all those who followed them in righteousness, O Lord of the Worlds!
Now then,
I enjoin you, O Allah’s servants, to observe taqwa (fear of disobeying Allah): “And be afraid of the Day when you shall be brought back to Allâh. Then every person shall be paid what he earned, and they shall not be dealt with unjustly.” [Al-Baqarah: 281]
O Muslims!
If Allah’s favours were so plentiful, His bounties so varied, and His graces so enormous that they deserve, time and again, thanks and praise that lead to the satisfaction of the Almighty and the Most Praiseworthy, the greatest and unparalleled grace of all would be the divine bounty of sending this Prophet as a witness, a bearer of glad tidings, a cautioner, a bright light and mercy for mankind: “O Prophet (Muhammad)! Verily, We have sent you as witness, and a bearer of glad tidings, and a warner, And as one who invites to Allâh [Islâmic Monotheism, i.e. to worship none but Allâh (Alone)] by His Leave, and as a lamp spreading light (through your instructions from the Qur’ân and the Sunnah the legal ways of the Prophet)” [Al-Aḥzāb: 45-46] “Indeed Allâh conferred a great favor on the believers when He sent among them a Messenger (Muhammad) from among themselves, reciting unto them His Verses (the Qur’ân), and purifying them (from sins by their following him), and instructing them (in) the Book (the Qur’ân) and AlHikmah [the wisdom and the Sunnah of the Prophet (i.e. his legal ways, statements, acts of worship, etc.)], while before that they had been in manifest error.” [Al-Imarn: 164] “And We have sent you (O Muhammad) not but as a mercy for the ‘Alamîn (mankind, jinns and all that exists).” [Al-Anbiyā: 107]
The grace that delivers from ruin and from loss that would breed misery and misguidance in the herein as well as wrath and painful suffering in the hereafter incurs on the benefactor some duties that the Ummah as a whole should fulfil, pay back, and perfectly cherish.
These are the rights of this magnanimous Prophet who gave a parable for the guidance and salvation that Allah Almighty has entrusted him with. He (May Allah’s Salat and Peace be upon him) said, “I and the message with which Allah sent me are like the man who told his people, ‘O people! I have seen the army with my own eyes, and I am the alarmed warner. So run for your lives! Run for your lives!’ A group heeded to what he said and fled during the night; therefore they were saved. Another group rejected his warning. So the next morning, while they were still at their abodes, the army ransacked the town and annihilated them. That is the parable of the one who obeys me and follows my message and the one who disobeys me and refuses to believe the right message that Allah Almighty has entrusted me with.” [Narrated by the two Sheikhs (i.e. Bukhari and Muslim) in their two Sahihs]
There is no doubt that knowing these rights and reminding others thereof are incumbent on Muslims as they are the guidelines to upholding them to the letter. The first and foremost of these rights is to obey the Prophet (May Allah’s Salat and Peace be upon him). For this constitutes a token of belief in him. Allah Almighty ordered us to obey the Prophet; He said, “O you who believe! Obey Allâh and His Messenger, and turn not away from him (i.e. Messenger Muhammad) while you are hearing.” [Al-Anfāl: 20]
Allah (May He be extolled) told mankind that he who obeys the Prophet obeys Him, and he who disobeys him disobeys Almighty Allah because the Prophet is only following Allah’s orders in telling people what to do and what to refrain from doing. “He who obeys the Messenger (Muhammad), has indeed obeyed Allâh, but he who turns away, then we have not sent you (O Muhammad) as a watcher over them” [An-Nisā: 80] Allah (May His Name be glorified) also said “And whatsoever the Messenger (Muhammad) gives you, take it, and whatsoever he forbids you, abstain (from it), and fear Allâh. Verily, Allâh is Severe in punishment.” [Al-Ḥashr: 7]
The benefits and outcomes of such obedience are infinite and incalculable. It is a reason for guidance to Almighty Allah’s straight path and to happiness in the herein and the hereafter, to name but a few. Allah, May He be extolled, said, “Say: “Obey Allâh and obey the Messenger, but if you turn away, he (Messenger Muhammad) is only responsible for the duty placed on him (i.e. to convey Allâh’s Message) and you for that placed on you. If you obey him, you shall be on the right guidance. The Messenger’s duty is only to convey (the message) in a clear way (i.e. to preach in a plain way).”” [Al-Nūr: 54]
Another reason is that obeying the Prophet (May Allah’s Salat and Peace be upon him) is a reason for Allah to send down mercy upon those who obey him, “And obey Allâh and the Messenger (Muhammad) that you may obtain mercy” [Āl-Imrān: 132]
Yet another reason for obeying the Prophet is that Allah (May He be extolled) has made paradise reward for obeying the Prophet (May Allah’s Salat and Peace be upon him). He who obeys the Prophet will enter paradise with the blessed prophets and next in rank, i.e. the righteous and the veracious who show extreme credulity and truthfulness in believing in the religion, the holy books and messengers of Allah (May He be extolled). They are among the favoured next to prophets, martyrs and sincere believers in public and in private. “And whoso obeys Allâh and the Messenger (Muhammad), then they will be in the company of those on whom Allâh has bestowed His Grace, of the Prophets, the Siddiqûn (those followers of the Prophets who were first and foremost to believe in them, like Abu Bakr AsSiddiq), the martyrs, and the righteous. And how excellent these companions are!” [Al-Nisā: 69]
That is why the unbelievers wish that they had obeyed Almighty Allah and the Prophet (May Allah’s Salat and Peace be upon him) when they experience excruciating torture and their faces turn over in the Fire. Allah Almighty said, “On the Day when their faces will be turned over in the Fire, they will say: “Oh, would that we had obeyed Allâh and obeyed the Messenger (Muhammad)”” [Al-Aḥzāb: 66]. They wish they had obeyed him, but alas! It would be much too late.
Obeying the Prophet (May Allah’s Salat and Peace be upon him) may be achieved by following in his example and guidance, by implementing his sunnah and giving it priority over people’s choices and preferences, and by adopting it in arbitration in all disputes. “So believe in Allâh and His Messenger (Muhammad), the Prophet who can neither read nor write (i.e. Muhammad) who believes in Allâh and His Words [(this Qur’ân), the Taurât (Torah) and the Injeel (Gospel) and also Allâh’s Word: “Be!” – and he was, i.e. ‘Iesa (Jesus) son of Maryam (Mary)], and follow him so that you may be guided.”” [Al-A’rāf: 158]
Allah (May He be extolled) has pinned veracity of faith on obeying the Prophet (May Allah’s Salat and Peace be upon him), accepting and submitting to his judgment with no objections, suspicion, or hesitation. “But no, by your Lord, they can have no Faith, until they make you (O Muhammad) judge in all disputes between them, and find in themselves no resistance against your decisions, and accept (them) with full submission.” [Al-Nisā: 65]
The greatest reward and the most palatable fruit of this obedience manifest themselves in gaining Allah’s favour granted to those who show obedience to the best of mankind (May Allah’s Salat and Peace be upon him) and in the expiation of their sins. “Say (O Muhammad): “Obey Allâh and the Messenger (Muhammad).” But if they turn away, then Allâh does not like the disbelievers.” [Āl-Imrān: 31]. Preserving this fruit and maintaining this abundant part and generous reward require renunciation of everything that runs against or undermines it through insubordination to the command of the Prophet (May Allah’s Salat and Peace be upon him), introducing heresies (innovations) into his religion and altering his sunnah.
Allah (May He be extolled) threatened those who oppose the Prophet to test them with unbelief and hypocrisy in the herein, and with agonizing torture in the hereafter, “And let those who oppose the Messenger’s (Muhammad) commandment (i.e. his Sunnah legal ways, orders, acts of worship, statements, etc.) (among the sects) beware, lest some Fitnah (disbelief, trials, afflictions, earthquakes, killing, overpowered by a tyrant, etc.) befall them or a painful torment be inflicted on them.” [Al-Nūr: 63]
Al-Irbādh Ibn Sāriyah (My Allah be pleased with him) reported that the Prophet (May Allah’s Salat and Peace be upon him) said, “I enjoin you to fear Allah, and to hear and obey even if it be an Abyssinian slave, for those of you who live after me will see a lot of differences. You must then follow my Sunnah and that of the rightly-guided caliphs. Hold to it and stick fast to it. Avoid novelties (in religion), for every novelty is an innovation, and every innovation leads people astray.” [Narrated by Imam Ahmad in his Musnad, Abu Dawud, Al-Termidhi and Ibn Majah in their Sunan. It is an authentic Hadith in all its versions]
He explained that personal novelties introduced into religion without Allah’s permission will be unacceptable and rejected categorically. This is stated in the Hadith narrated by Imam Muslim in his Sahih quoting ‘Āisha (May Allah be pleased with her) who reported that the Prophet said, “Any novelty introduced in our religion will be rejected.”
O Servants of Allah!
One of the Prophet’s rights upon the Muslim Ummah dictates that one should love him more than one’s parents, children and the rest of mankind. This is stated in the Hadith narrated by the two Sheikhs in their two Sahihs. The Prophet (May Allah’s Salat and Peace be upon him) said, “One would not be a true believer until one loves me better than he loves his parents, children and all mankind.”
Imam Bukhari narrated in his Sahih that Omar Ibn Al-Khattab (May Allah be pleased with him) told the Prophet (May Allah’s Salat and Peace be upon him), “O Allah’s Prophet, ‘My love for you outweighs my love for anybody else except myself.’, ‘No, by Allah! Until I am dearer to you than yourself,’ the Prophet answered. ‘By Allah, now you are dearer to me than myself.’ Omar continued. ‘Now, Omar!’ the Prophet concluded.
The greatness of reward for such true love is evidence for the loftiness of its position, the sublimity of its value and the unwavering enticement to gain it. In his Sahih, Imam Bukhari narrated, quoting Anas (May Allah be pleased with him) that a man came to the Prophet (May Allah’s Salat and Peace be upon him) and asked him, “When is the Hour (Judgment Day)?” ‘What have you prepared for it?’ the Prophet (May Allah’s salat, peace and blessings be upon him) asked. “I have not prepared much by way of prayers, fasting, or charity, but I love Allah and His Messenger,” The man answered. “You are with your loved ones,” the Prophet answered.
No doubt that if one truly loves the Prophet (May Allah’s Salat and Peace be upon him), then the sign of the truthfulness of this love must appear; otherwise it will be merely a claim with no proof. Evidence of true love manifests itself through a number of signs the most important of which is to follow in his footsteps, act according to his Sunnah, emulate his morals and ethics in times of difficulty and ease, in times of health and illness, show preference of what he (May Allah’s Salat and Peace be upon him) has done over one’s desires, stand up for his religion, defend his Sunnah and Sharia and remember him (May Allah’s Salat and Peace be upon him) constantly. Indeed, it is true that he who loves somebody keeps remembering him and anxiously desiring to meet him (May Allah’s Salat and Peace be upon him) exactly as a lover wishes to meet his beloved.
Another sign of the love of the Prophet (May Allah’s Salât and Peace be upon him) is to make Salat on him abundantly; whoever makes one salat on the Prophet, Allah will make ten such salats on him; this is confirmed in an authentic Hadith. Making salat on the Prophet (May Allah’s Salat and Peace be upon him) is advised in certain circumstances especially at the beginning and end of a supplication, after the call for prayer, whenever his name is mentioned, on entering and going out of the mosque, on Friday and its eve, and when making tashahud (the prayers one says in the sitting position during formal prayers after the second and the fourth rak’ah).
Other signs of his love include: glorifying and showing great respect for him (May Allah’s Salat and Peace be upon him) whenever his name is mentioned, when reading his Hadiths, and by seeking solace in one’s calamities by remembering his death which was the greatest calamity. Another sign of his love is to love those whom he (May Allah’s Salat and Peace be upon him) loved of his household, the Companions from among the Muhajireen (immigrants) and Ansaar (those who helped the early Muslim immigrants when they arrived to Madinah) and his wives. The Companions used to love what the Prophet (May Allah’s Salat and Peace be upon him) loved even of the permissible things. Al-Bukhari and Muslim narrate that Anas (May Allah be pleased with him) saw the Prophet (May Allah’s Salat and Peace be upon him) collect the pumpkin chunks from around the food bowl. Anas said: “Ever since, I have loved pumpkin.”
Ibn Omar (May Allah be pleased with both of them) used to wear sibti shoes (hairless leather shoes) and dye them yellow because the Prophet (May Allah’s Salat and Peace be upon him) used to do so as narrated by Bukhari and Muslim in their Sahih Books.
Signs of his love also include hating whomever Allah and His Prophet hate, considering as enemy anyone who takes the Prophet for an enemy, contradicts and violates his Sunnah, invents new things in his religion, hates or thinks difficult anything of his Sharia.
Other signs of his love include loving the Qur’an the Prophet was sent with, following its guidance, applying (working and worshipping Allah in light of) its muḥkam (verses that are entirely clear and exact in meaning), and believing in its mutashābih (verses that are not entirely clear and are open to more than one interpretation), reciting it and pondering over its verses.
Such signs of his love also include feeling compassion towards the Ummah of the Prophet (May Allah’s Salat and Peace be upon him), having mercy on Muslims, offering them advice, doing anything to improve their conditions and shove harm away from them, for he (May Allah’s Salat and Peace be upon him) was merciful and compassionate with them as Allah (May He be extolled) said: “Verily, there has come unto you a Messenger (Muhammad…) from amongst yourselves (i. e. whom you know well). It grieves him that youshould receive any injury or difficulty. He (Muhammad…) is anxious over you (to be rightly guided, to repent to Allah, and beg Him to pardon and forgive your sins in order that you may enter Parradise and be saved from the punishment of the Hell-fire); for the believers (he…is) full of pity, kind, and merciful. [Al-Tawbah: 128]
May Allah benefit you and me with His Book’s guidance and the Sunnah of His Prophet (May Allah’s Salat and Peace be upon him)! Having said this, I ask Allah, the Almighty, the Glorious to forgive my sins, yours and those of all Muslims; He is truly Oft-Forgiving, Most Merciful!
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