عربي
Home


Articles

Articles

Revering the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him)
Author : Dr. Safwan Odaybat
Date Added : 01-10-2024

 

 

All perfect praise be to Allah the Lord of the Worlds. May His peace and blessings be upon Prophet Mohammad and upon all his family and companions.

Anyone who contemplates the verses of the Noble Quran, the hadiths of the pure and trustworthy Prophet, and the biography of the righteous predecessors will undoubtedly notice the numerous clear and eloquent verses, explicit prophetic statements, and shining examples of the predecessors that exalt the status of our Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him.

Indeed, the jurist Qadi Iyad, may Allah have mercy upon him, spoke the truth when he said: "It is not hidden from anyone who has engaged in any form of knowledge or has been granted even the slightest glimpse of understanding that Allah the Almighty has exalted the status of our Prophet, peace be upon him, and has bestowed upon him unique virtues, attributes, and qualities that cannot be fully enumerated. Allah has elevated him to a lofty station that surpasses the capabilities of tongues and pens to describe." (Al-Shifa Bi Ta'rif Huquq al-Mustafa, by Qadi Iyad, pp. 11)

Moreover, what greater exaltation is there than Allah's statement to His Prophet, peace be upon him (What means): "And We have exalted your mention." [Ash-Sharh/4]. Qatadah commented: "Allah has exalted his mention in this world and the Hereafter. There is no preacher, person uttering the Shahadah (Testimony of faith), or person leading a prayer who does not proclaim, 'I bear witness that there is no god worthy of worship except Allah and that Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah.'" (Tafsir Al-Tabari, Vol. 24/P. 494).

Thus, Allah has linked the mention of His Messenger, peace be upon him, with His own mention in the testimony of faith, the call to prayer, the Iqamah of prayer, the Tashahud during prayer, the Friday sermon, upon entering and leaving the mosque, and in many other places in the Quran. Indeed, Hassan ibn Thabit, may Allah be pleased with him, spoke the truth when he said:

"And Allah joined the name of the Prophet to His own name when the muezzin says in the five prayers, 'I bear witness' and He separated a part of His name to honor him for the Possessor of the Throne is the Praised One, and this is Muhammad."

Among the ways in which Allah has exalted His Prophet, peace be upon him, in the Quran is by linking obedience to Him with obedience to His Prophet and mentioning His name alongside His own name. Allah Says (What means): "Say, 'Obey Allah and the Messenger.' But if they turn away - indeed, Allah does not like the disbelievers." [Al-Imran/32].

In addition, Allah Says (What means): "Obey Allah and the Messenger that you may receive mercy." [Al-Imran/132].

Moreover, Allah Says (What means): "O you who have believed, obey Allah and His Messenger and do not turn away from Him while you hear." [Al-Anfal/20].

Furthermore, Allah Says (What means): "And obey Allah and His Messenger, and do not dispute, lest you weaken and your power depart. And be patient, indeed, Allah is with the patient." [Al-Anfal/46].

Among the ways in which Allah has exalted His Prophet, peace be upon him, in the Quran is that He addressed all the prophets by their names, saying: "O Adam," "O Noah," "O Abraham," "O Moses," "O David," "O Jesus," "O Zechariah," "O John." However, He addressed His Prophet, peace be upon him, only by saying: "O Messenger," "O Prophet," "O you who are wrapped in a garment," "O you who are wrapped in a blanket." [Al-Shifa, by Qadi Iyad, pp. 23].

As for the exaltation of the Prophet, peace be upon him, by the Companions, may Allah be pleased with them and this is a vast topic, as it shows the great status of the Messenger and indicates that true knowledge of Allah that can only be attained through the guidance of His Prophet, peace be upon him.

To illustrate this, I will mention a portion of the lengthy hadith about the Treaty of Hudaybiyyah, which is narrated by Imam Bukhari in his Sahih. When Othman Ibn Affan was sent to negotiate with the Quraysh, he observed the Companions of the Prophet, peace be upon him, and said: "By Allah, the Prophet (peace be upon him) did not spit except that it fell into the hands of one of them, and he would rub it over his face and skin. If he ordered them, they would rush to fulfill his command. When he performed ablution, they would nearly fight over the water of his ablution. When he spoke, they lowered their voices in his presence, and they would not look him directly in the eye out of reverence for him."

Upon returning to his people, 'Urwah reported: "O my people! By Allah, I have been to the courts of kings, to Caesar, Khosrau, and the Negus, but by Allah, I have never seen a king whose companions honor him as the companions of Muhammad (peace be upon him) honor him."

This shows the great respect that the Companions had for the Prophet, peace be upon him, and their deep understanding of his noble status and lofty position.

As for the love and respect that the Tabi'un (the generation after the Companions) had for the Prophet, peace be upon him, I will suffice with what Qadi Iyad narrated from Mus'ab Ibn 'Abdullah: "Whenever Malik ibn Anas mentioned the Prophet, peace be upon him, his color would change and he would bow down so much that those sitting with him would find it difficult. When he was asked about this one day, he said: 'If you had seen what I saw, you would not have questioned me about what you see. I used to see Muhammad Ibn Al-Munkidir, who was the leader of the readers, and whenever someone would ask him a hadith, he would weep until we felt sorry for him. I used to see Ja'far Ibn Muhammad Al-Sadiq, who was known for his humor and smiling, but whenever the Prophet, peace be upon him, was mentioned, his face would turn pale, and I never saw him narrate a hadith about the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him, except in a state of purity. I used to visit him for a long time, and I never saw him except in three states: either praying, or silent, or reciting the Quran, and he would not speak about anything irrelevant. He was one of the scholars and worshippers who feared Allah The Almighty. 'Abd Al-Rahman Ibn Al-Qasim would mention the Prophet, peace be upon him, and his color would change as if blood had been drawn from him. His tongue would dry up in his mouth out of respect for the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him. I used to visit 'Amr Ibn 'Abd Allah Ibn Al-Zubair, and whenever the Prophet, peace be upon him, was mentioned, he would weep until there were no tears left in his eyes. I used to see Al-Zuhri, who was one of the most cheerful and approachable people, but whenever the Prophet, peace be upon him, was mentioned, it was as if he did not know you or you did not know him. I used to visit Safwan Ibn Sulaym, who was one of the devout and diligent worshippers, and whenever the Prophet, peace be upon him, was mentioned, he would weep until people would leave him.' [Al-Shifa, by Qadi Iyad, pp. 265-266].

These are vivid examples from the lives of the Salaf (Early generations of Muslims) that show us the perfect manners they had towards our Prophet, peace be upon him. This isn`t strange, for they knew him, loved him, and therefore exalted him. The words written in this article are but a drop in the ocean compared to the vastness of the Prophet's status, which cannot be fully comprehended by human minds. How can a weak creature fully comprehend the one whom Allah, The Exalted described as having (What means): "an excellent character"? [Al-Qalam/4].

May Allah have mercy on whoever said:

"If you wish to know the status of Muhammad, Then refer to what Allah has said about him. Creation is unable to fully appreciate his worth And to utter words that do him justice. For Allah has honored him and raised his status There is nothing above the status of Muhammad except Allah."

It is incumbent upon us to love the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him, and our love for him should be expressed in our manners towards him in his biography, when mentioning him, when reading his Sunnah, and when visiting his noble shrine, peace be upon him. We should teach our children and call upon people to love and respect him as the Salaf did.

All praise is due to Allah, and peace and blessings be upon our Prophet Muhammad, his family, and companions.

 

The published article reflects the opinion of its author

Article Number [ Previous | Next ]

Read for Author




Comments


Captcha


Warning: this window is not dedicated to receive religious questions, but to comment on topics published for the benefit of the site administrators—and not for publication. We are pleased to receive religious questions in the section "Send Your Question". So we apologize to readers for not answering any questions through this window of "Comments" for the sake of work organization. Thank you.




Summarized Fatawaa

I can`t afford to get married, what should I do to curb my sexual drives?

You should offer a lot of voluntary fasting, keep busy with useful and permissible acts and make supplication to Allah, The Exalted.

What is the ruling on performing the night prayer (*qiyām al-layl*) between the first and second adhān of Fajr? And which is better: delaying the prayer until shortly before the Fajr adhān, or performing it earlier than that?

 

All praise is due to Allah, and peace and blessings be upon our master, the Messenger of Allah.
The time for night prayer (qiyām al-layl) begins after the Maghrib prayer and lasts until the second adhān of Fajr. The best time for it is the last third of the night, and best of all are the fourth and fifth sixths of the night. If the night is divided into two halves, the latter half is better.
Whoever intends to pray at night is encouraged to delay the Witr until he has prayed the night prayer. If he knows that he will not wake up, it is better for him to pray and perform Witr before sleeping, so that he does not miss both the night prayer and the Witr.
It is stated in Mughnī al-Muḥtāj (Vpl.1/p.462): “I say: The voluntary prayer of the night, that is, the absolute voluntary prayer (al-nafl al-muṭlaq), is better than the absolute voluntary prayer of the day, because of the report in Muslim: ‘The best prayer after the obligatory prayer is the night prayer.’ In another narration of his: ‘In the night there is an hour that no Muslim man meets while asking Allah for any good of this world and the next except that He gives it to him, and that is every night.’ It is also because the night is a time of heedlessness. I restricted the voluntary prayer to the absolute kind following the commentator, although what the ḥadīth and the underlying meaning require is that the night rawātib be preferred over the day rawātib, since the jurists preferred the two rakʿahs of Fajr over everything except Witr. The middle of the night is better than its two ends if it is divided into thirds, because heedlessness is greatest then and worship is hardest. If he wishes to pray during some third, the best is the fourth and fifth sixths, based on the ḥadīth in the two Ṣaḥīḥs: ‘The most beloved prayer to Allah the Exalted is the prayer of Dāwūd: he would sleep half the night, stand for a third of it, and sleep for a sixth.’ Then the latter part is better than the first if he divides it into two halves, because of the saying of Allah the Exalted: ‘And in the hours before dawn they would ask forgiveness’ [al-Dhāriyāt: 18], and the report of the two Shaykhs: ‘Our Lord, Blessed and Exalted, descends,’ meaning His command descends, ‘to the lowest heaven when the last third of the night remains, and says: Who calls upon Me, that I may answer him? Who asks of Me, that I may give him? Who seeks My forgiveness, that I may forgive him?’”
It is also stated in ʿUmdat al-Sālik (p. 60): “It is better to perform it [the Witr] immediately after the sunnah of ʿIshāʾ, unless he has tahajjud, in which case it is better to delay it so that he performs Witr after it. If he performs Witr and then wishes to pray tahajjud, he prays two rakʿahs at a time and does not repeat the Witr, nor does he need to cancel it with a single rakʿah before the tahajjud. It is recommended that he not deliberately pray after it.”
Qiyām al-layl is a term applied to any prayer performed at night. Tahajjud, on the other hand, refers to the night prayer that follows sleep, whether it is prayed after Maghrib or after ʿIshāʾ, or the prayer performed after ʿIshāʾ without sleep. On this basis, the Witr is also called tahajjud, since it is only prayed after ʿIshāʾ.
It is stated in al-Majmūʿ (Vol.4/p.84): “The sound position, as stated in al-Umm and al-Mukhtaṣar, is that the Witr is called tahajjud.”
It is stated in Nihāyat al-Zayn (Vol.1/p.114): “Among the absolute voluntary prayers is qiyām al-layl. If it is performed after sleep, even during the time of Maghrib and after having prayed ʿIshāʾ early (taqdīman), it is called tahajjud.”
And it is stated in Ḥāshiyat al-Bujayrimī ʿalā al-Khaṭīb (Vol.1/p.418): “His statement: ‘(the night prayer)’: the genitive construction (iḍāfah) carries the sense of fī, meaning a prayer in the night. His statement: ‘(it would be more fitting)’: the reason it is more fitting is that the night prayer includes both tahajjud and other prayers.” And Allah Almighty knows best.

What is the wisdom behind legislating the Udhiyah?

The Muslim must know that through the Uḍḥiyah, he complies with the command of Allah, the Exalted, and performs a worship that brings him closer to Allah and distances him from the Fire.
 
The Uḍḥiyah holds profound wisdoms and noble meanings, including:
 
1-Reviving the Sunnah of Abraham, peace be upon him: He complied with Allah's command when He ordered him to slaughter his son Ishmael. Abraham, peace be upon him, succeeded in the test, and when he was about to slaughter his son, Allah sent down a ram to ransom Ishmael and commanded him to slaughter it instead. Allah, the Exalted, says {what means]: "And when he reached with him [the age of] exertion, he said, 'O my son, indeed I have seen in a dream that I [must] sacrifice you, so see what you think.' He said, 'O my father, do as you are commanded. You will find me, if Allah wills, of the steadfast.' And when they had both submitted and he put him down upon his forehead, We called to him, 'O Abraham, You have fulfilled the vision.' Indeed, We thus reward the doers of good. Indeed, this was the clear trial. And We ransomed him with a great sacrifice." [Al-Ṣāffāt/102-107]. Thus, the sacrificial offering became an enduring Sunnah until the Day of Judgment, and Muslims offer their wealth as sacrifices, drawing closer to Allah, the Exalted, reviving this great Sunnah.
 
2-Providing abundance for people on Eid day and the Days of Tashrīq: Among the wisdoms of the Uḍḥiyah is that the Muslim provides generously for his family, neighbors, relatives, and the poor during these days. The Muslim is encouraged to eat from his sacrifice, give charity from it to the poor, and gift from it to his wealthy neighbors. Thus, goodness spreads throughout the entire community. The Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, said: "The Days of Tashrīq are days of eating and drinking." (Narrated by Muslim). Allah, the Exalted, says {what means}: "And the camels and cattle We have appointed for you as among the symbols of Allah; for you therein is good." [Al-Ḥajj/36]. This good includes the good of both this world and the Hereafter.

Where should a woman who is led by her husband in prayer stand?

All perfect praise be to Allah The Lord of The Worlds                                                                                                                                                                          It is from Sunnah (Prophetic tradition) that she stands behind him. And Allah Knows Best.

See More