How can we understand the importance and benefits of loving and being acquainted with our Prophet Muhammadﷺ ; mercy to all creation and the greatest gift Allah has given mankind?
Firstly, it is integral for our syahadah. it is important to be acquainted with Prophet Muhammad ﷺ because Allah has commanded His servants to believe in this noble Messenger [Quran 64:8]. To believe in Him demands that we come to know about our Prophet Muhammadﷺ: his merit, his perfections, his refined and noble manners, exalted character and beautiful attributes.
Secondly, Allah linked and promised His love, forgiveness and guidance to those who follow the Prophet Muhammad. Inhere, to follow requires one to love and in turn requires one to be acquainted with the Rasulullah ﷺ Quran 3:31, Quran 7:158]
Thirdly , loving Prophet Muhammad ﷺ will earn us Allah’s favours and gifts. [Quran 4:69]
Forth, Allah has warned against loving and prioritising our worldly desires and possessions ahead of Prophet Muhammad ﷺ. Allah has made it obligatory for believers to love the Prophet more than their fathers, children, spouses, families, businesses and wealth. [Quran 9:24] Prioritising one’s lowly desires and worldly possessions above the teachings of the Prophet ﷺ causes one to fall into misdeeds, dangers, loss, emotional instability and bad ending.
Fifth, loving Prophet Muhammad ﷺ is a manifestation of one’s obedience and love to Allah. As the Prophet mentioned, “Whoever loves me, indeed he has loved Allah. And anyone who obeys me, indeed he has obeyed Allah”.
Sixth, one will taste the sweetness of faith and will attain the perfection of faith [iman].
Seventh, one will be with the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ in the day of resurrection, in the hereafter.
Reasons how loving Prophet Muhammad ﷺ will make you victorious and successful.
It is a formula guaranteed by Allah Almighty that will guarantee success for the one to adopts it. One who loves and obeys the Prophet ﷺ will be given Divine favours, guidance and help. Moreover, the one who is attached and follows the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ is loved by Allah. When Allah is with you, will there be anyone or anything who can overcome you?
The Prophet ﷺ is the perfect role model. No one is better than him in knowledge, strength nor anything else. The Prophet ﷺ never acted and instructed from his own whims and desires, except that it was the command of Allah Almighty. Learning and adhering to the Prophet’s ﷺ teachings will allow one to unpack all the recipes, secrets and treasures there is about life in this world and hereafter. Striving to emulate him will allow one to be as close to perfection as possible, thus attaining happiness and success.
It is tried and tested formula achieve by many of our predecessors. The achievement these great individuals attained are not only limited to this world and also assured paradise, high ranks and salvation in the hereafter. For example, Sayyidina Umar, is one of those companions promised by Allah in the Quran and through the words of the Prophet Muhammad to have attained paradise and Allah’s pleasure. During the time he became Caliph, Islam spread throughout the world under his leadership. Many great scholars in recent times also succeeded in benefit humanity greatly because of their love of the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ.
It addresses the trials and tribulations of the end of times. Loving the Prophet ﷺ necessitates that one learns about the Prophet ﷺ and this is only attainable through acquiring of knowledge about the religion from the proper teachers and proper methodologies. When an individual studies about the shamail (characteristics) of Prophet Muhammad ﷺ, one becomes aware of who the true guide is who is also known as the Muhammadan inheritor. A means and fruit of being attached to Prophet Muhammad ﷺ is to do selawat. When one does selawat, Allah, the Prophet Muhammad will pray and guide you in return bringing you from darkness to light, difficulty to ease, confusion and uncertainty to certainty and clarity.
How then do we bring ourselves to love our Prophet ﷺ?
Amongst the ways as taught by scholars is to:
- be in the company of those who love him- be making abundance of selawat upon Rasulullah ﷺ- learning about him
