In the Name of Allah, Most Merciful, Most Compassionate
Assalaamu alaykum
Dear Friends
I pray that you are well.
Whatever we do, our first and primary goal is for Allah سبحانه وتعالى. We should have the sincerity of seeking Allah.
We tend to abuse or misuse certain words to the point where we use such words and phrases without truly understanding their meaning and the inner state of being that should come with it. Amongst these words and phrases is for the sake of Allah (lillahi Ta`ala).
Allah Almighty warns us in the Qur'an,
يَـٰٓأَيُّهَا ٱلَّذِينَ ءَامَنُوا۟ لِمَ تَقُولُونَ مَا لَا تَفْعَلُونَ ﴿٢﴾ كَبُرَ مَقْتًا عِندَ ٱللَّـهِ أَن تَقُولُوا۟ مَا لَا تَفْعَلُونَ ﴿٣[Qur'an As-Saff 61:2-3]
O you who have believed, why do you say what you do not do? (2) Great is hatred in the sight of Allah that you say what you do not do. (3)
When we say we love Allah, we should obey Allah. And if we love Allah we should follow His Messenger
صلى الله عليه وسلم.
Allah Almighty says,
قُلْ إِن كُنتُمْ تُحِبُّونَ اللَّـهَ فَاتَّبِعُونِي يُحْبِبْكُمُ اللَّـهُ وَيَغْفِرْ لَكُمْ ذُنُوبَكُمْ ۗ وَاللَّـهُ غَفُورٌ رَّحِيمٌ ﴿٣١[Qur'an AleImran 3:31]
Say, [O Muhammad], "If you should love Allah, then follow me, [so] Allah will love you and forgive you your sins. And Allah is Forgiving and Merciful." (31)
The love of Allah and His Messenger صلى الله عليه وسلم should override any other love.
Allah Almighty says,
قُلْ إِن كَانَ ءَابَآؤُكُمْ وَأَبْنَآؤُكُمْ وَإِخْوَٰنُكُمْ وَأَزْوَٰجُكُمْ وَعَشِيرَتُكُمْ وَأَمْوَٰلٌ ٱقْتَرَفْتُمُوهَا وَتِجَـٰرَةٌ تَخْشَوْنَ كَسَادَهَا وَمَسَـٰكِنُ تَرْضَوْنَهَآ أَحَبَّ إِلَيْكُم مِّنَ ٱللَّـهِ وَرَسُولِهِۦ وَجِهَادٍ فِى سَبِيلِهِۦ فَتَرَبَّصُوا۟ حَتَّىٰ يَأْتِىَ ٱللَّـهُ بِأَمْرِهِۦ ۗ وَٱللَّـهُ لَا يَهْدِى ٱلْقَوْمَ ٱلْفَـٰسِقِينَ ﴿٢٤[Qur'an At-Tawbah 9:24]
Say, [O Muhammad], "If your fathers, your sons, your brothers, your wives, your relatives, wealth which you have obtained, commerce wherein you fear decline, and dwellings with which you are pleased are more beloved to you than Allah and His Messenger and jihad in His cause, then wait until Allah executes His command. And Allah does not guide the defiantly disobedient people. (24)
Thus, the essence of love should be due to Allah and His Messenger (صلى الله عليه وسلم), so too with the obedience. For the obedience is due to Allah and His Messenger (صلى الله عليه وسلم) and pleasing is due to Allah and His Messenger صلى الله عليه وسلم,
يَحْلِفُونَ بِٱللَّـهِ لَكُمْ لِيُرْضُوكُمْ وَٱللَّـهُ وَرَسُولُهُۥٓ أَحَقُّ أَن يُرْضُوهُ إِن كَانُوا۟ مُؤْمِنِينَ ﴿٦٢[Qur'an At-Tawbah 9:62]
They swear by Allah to you [Muslims] to satisfy you. But Allah and His Messenger are more worthy for them to satisfy, if they should be believers. (62)
The best way to obey Allah is by following the footsteps of His Messenger (صلى الله عليه وسلم)
If you want to become the best household, learn the household of the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم). If you want to be the best teacher, learn how the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم interacted and taught his many Companions (Sahaba), may Allah be pleased with them.
The Sahaba were the best in following the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم). They understood the meaning of "If you love Allah, follow me." Follow how the Sahaba follow the sunnah. They are our next good role models. They are the best of communities. It is important to realize the high rank of the Sahaba.
The Sahaba are all those who met the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم and died as Muslims. Scholars have said that they were 114,000 in number [as stated by Abu Zur'ah, the teacher of Imam Muslim, and recorded by as-Suyootee]. They were not an ordinary group of people; they were an extraordinary group of people. Individual as well as collective stories can be found of perseverance, hardship, sacrifice, steadfastness, unwavering iman, taqwa and tawakkul all rolled up in one when we look at what the Sahaba's went through with the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم during the early days of the da'wah in Makkah to the latter days of the life of the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم when Islam was established in Madina and the subsequent expansion of the Islamic State through the whole of the Arabian peninsula. This is the context to the following hadiths and verses:
The Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم said,
The best of my nation is my generation then those who follow them and then those who follow them.[Bukhari]
They are praised in many Qur'anic verses,
كُنتُمْ خَيْرَ أُمَّةٍ أُخْرِجَتْ لِلنَّاسِ تَأْمُرُونَ بِٱلْمَعْرُوفِ وَتَنْهَوْنَ عَنِ ٱلْمُنكَرِ وَتُؤْمِنُونَ بِٱللَّـهِ[Qur'an AleImran 3:110]
You are the best nation produced [as an example] for mankind. You enjoin what is right and forbid what is wrong and believe in Allah...
In Surah At-Tawba, Allah سبحانه وتعالى says,
وَٱلسَّـٰبِقُونَ ٱلْأَوَّلُونَ مِنَ ٱلْمُهَـٰجِرِينَ وَٱلْأَنصَارِ وَٱلَّذِينَ ٱتَّبَعُوهُم بِإِحْسَـٰنٍ رَّضِىَ ٱللَّـهُ عَنْهُمْ وَرَضُوا۟ عَنْهُ وَأَعَدَّ لَهُمْ جَنَّـٰتٍ تَجْرِى تَحْتَهَا ٱلْأَنْهَـٰرُ خَـٰلِدِينَ فِيهَآ أَبَدًا ۚ ذَٰلِكَ ٱلْفَوْزُ ٱلْعَظِيمُ ﴿١٠٠[Qur'an At-Tawba 9:100]
And the first forerunners [in the faith] among the Muhajireen and the Ansar and those who followed them with good conduct - Allah is pleased with them and they are pleased with Him, and He has prepared for them gardens beneath which rivers flow, wherein they will abide forever. That is the great attainment. (100)
لَّقَدْ رَضِىَ ٱللَّـهُ عَنِ ٱلْمُؤْمِنِينَ إِذْ يُبَايِعُونَكَ تَحْتَ ٱلشَّجَرَةِ فَعَلِمَ مَا فِى قُلُوبِهِمْ فَأَنزَلَ ٱلسَّكِينَةَ عَلَيْهِمْ وَأَثَـٰبَهُمْ فَتْحًا قَرِيبًا ﴿١٨[Qur'an Al-Fath 48:18]
Certainly was Allah pleased with the believers when they pledged allegiance to you, [O Muhammad], under the tree, and He knew what was in their hearts, so He sent down tranquillity upon them and rewarded them with an imminent conquest (18)
Our attitude towards the Sahabah should be that of love, respect, peace and purity of our hearts and tongues. Allah has described this in His saying,
وَٱلَّذِينَ جَآءُو مِنۢ بَعْدِهِمْ يَقُولُونَ رَبَّنَا ٱغْفِرْ لَنَا وَلِإِخْوَٰنِنَا ٱلَّذِينَ سَبَقُونَا بِٱلْإِيمَـٰنِ وَلَا تَجْعَلْ فِى قُلُوبِنَا غِلًّا لِّلَّذِينَ ءَامَنُوا۟ رَبَّنَآ إِنَّكَ رَءُوفٌ رَّحِيمٌ ﴿١٠[Al-Hashr 59:10]
And [there is a share for] those who came after them, saying, "Our Lord, forgive us and our brothers who preceded us in faith and put not in our hearts [any] resentment toward those who have believed. Our Lord, indeed You are Kind and Merciful." (10)
And the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم said,
The sign of faith is love of the Ansar and the sign of hypocrisy is the hatred of Ansar[al-Bukharee, Muslim].
The hadith shows us the status to which the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم viewed the companions and the ayat from the noble Qur'an reaffirms the unique position of the Sahaba's in the sight of Allah سبحانه وتعالى. There were 10 specific Sahaba's who are referred to as 'Al-'Ashara al-Mubasharin' – those that were granted Jannah while on the Dunya. This status was bestowed upon them as a result of their dedication and sacrifices for the sake of Islam.
Abdul Rahman bin 'Awf narrates that the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم said,
Abu Bakr is in paradise, Omar is in paradise, Uthman is in paradise, Ali is in paradise, Talha is in Paradise, Az- Zubair is in paradise, Abdul Rahman bin 'Awf is in paradise, Saad is in paradise, Saeed is in paradise and Abu Ubaida bin al- Jarrah is in Paradise.[Tirmidhi]
The Sahaba's were so magnificent, in particular the 'Al-'Ashara al-Mubasharin', that children of future Muslim generations were and still are named after them. It is not uncommon to come across names being bestowed upon children who are named after the Sahabas, in the hope that one day the child will grow up to be like the sahabi whom they have taken their name after.
If you want to be the best wife, learn about wives of the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم. If you want to be the best child, learn about the young Sahaba. If you want to be the best friend, learn about the key Sahaba like Abu Bakr, Omar, Othman and Ali, may Allah be pleased with all of them. If you want to be the best student, learn about the Sahaba.
The Sahaba had this heartfelt attachment to the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم day in and day out. Every their waking moment they want to know what the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم do so they can follow. They are more worried about the Prophet, Allah bless him and grant him peace, more than their own lives. Their first concern is the Prophet, Allah bless him and grant him peace. They undoubtedly had an immense love of the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم, and they embodied the true spirit of the sunnah. All the Sahaba were known to be upright and just. That's why when a Sahaba narrated a hadith (e.g. a mursal hadith), we take such hadith, end of discussion.
The Sahabah are the ones who we should try to love and follow them as much as we can. How many of us studied or follow the life of famous people (an entertainer, a head of state, etc.) and even know their intimate details but don't even know even the names of the famous Sahaba?
We cannot love someone until we know the person. So learn about the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم and as many companions as possible. Make it a goal to read daily the life of the Prophet and the Sahaba including the Prophetic household صلى الله عليه وسلم.
You will be with the one whom you have loved. Anas ibn Malik said,
A man passed the Messenger of Allah صلى الله عليه وسلم who was in the company of some people, so a man from those with him said, 'Indeed I love that person for Allah's sake.' So the Messenger of Allah صلى الله عليه وسلم said, ' Have you informed him?' He said, 'No.' He (the messenger of allah) said,' Go to him and inform him.' So he went and informed him, so he replied, 'May the One for whose sake you have loved me love you.' Then he returned and the Messenger of Allah صلى الله عليه وسلم asked him and he told him what he had said. So the Messenger of Allah صلى الله عليه وسلم said, 'You will be with the one whom you have loved and there will be for you the reward that you hoped for.'[Reported by Abu Dawud, Ahmad, al-Haakim, and others. Its isnaad is saheeh]
We should strive ourselves in increasing our love for the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم and his Sahaba and following their examples.
May Allah make our footsteps firm in following the footsteps of the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم and his best Companions, and join us with them in the highest Paradise. Ameen.
Please don't forget us in your night prayers. Jazakallahu khairan.
And Allah knows best.
Wassalaam
Related Arvhive:
Actions Speak Louder
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