In the Name of Allah, Most Merciful, Most Compassionate
Assalaamu alaykum
Dear Friends
I pray that you are well.
Every Muslim knows and says "Muhammadur-Rasulullah" (Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah ﷺ) but in our time, time of distance from Allah, time of distance from the Messenger (Allah bless him and grant him peace), time of distance from the religion in general, it is difficult for many people to appreciate what it means for the Prophet (Allah bless him and grant him peace) to be the Messenger of Allah (Allah bless him and grant him peace).
When we say "Muhammadur-Rasulullah", we are testifying that Muhammad (Allah bless him and grant him peace) is the Messenger of Allah (Allah bless him and grant him peace).
However, Allah Himself has testified that Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah (Allah bless him and grant him peace):
... مُّحَمَّدٌ رَّسُولُ ٱللَّهِ[Qur'an, Al-Fath 48:29]
Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah...
It means your testimony or my testimony is not needed. It doesn't matter what anyone else said. Allah, the Creator of this universe, is speaking to you, to me and to every single human being personally, telling us that Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah (Allah bless him and grant him peace). He could have said Muhammad is My Messenger because He is the one who is speaking. But He said "Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah ﷺ". Why? Because whenever something is ascribed to Allah, it raises it, it elevates it. For something to be ascribed to Allah, it means it is very special.
The Messenger of Allah (Allah bless him and grant him peace) is not just a messenger of someone, not a messenger of a normal person or an important person like the president or king of a country, but he is the Messenger of Allah, the Master of every single atom in existence.
These words are momentous words, and they mean something. If a president of a country came to you and introduced his special envoy to you and then left, how would you treat this person? With great importance.
Why Allah sent the Messenger (Allah bless him and grant him peace)? He told us why in the Qur'an -- to be obeyed.
... وَمَآ أَرْسَلْنَا مِن رَّسُولٍ إِلَّا لِيُطَاعَ بِإِذْنِ ٱللَّهِ[Qur'an, An-Nisa 4:64]
And We did not send any messenger except to be obeyed by permission of Allah...
So the Messenger of Allah (Allah bless him and grant him peace) is the representative of Allah on earth. He was a significant person who had a role to play. If he was not significant and had no role to play, then Allah would not have sent the Qur'an with him. He would have sent down the Qur'an without the Messenger. Allah has things that He is commanding us with and the Messenger (Allah bless him and grant him peace) who conveys these commands to us.
There are people who said we only have to follow the Qur'an. These people made it seem as though the Messenger (Allah bless him and grant him peace) is nothing more than a mailman, who delivers a Book, and there is nothing else significant about him. Wrong! Allah says, "We did not send any messenger except to be obeyed..."
The word of the Messenger (Allah bless him and grant him peace) is the word of God. When the Messenger commands, it is God who is commanding; when the Messenger (Allah bless him and grant him peace) forbids, it is God who is forbidding.
Messengers of Allah don't come and say do this and do that but they are diplomats. If a head of state wants to send a diplomat to another state, he will send someone who is well-groomed, articulate, dresses nicely, intelligent, speaks the language of the people he sends to, and have the requisite experience. He sends the best possible person. If he sends a person with sub-optimal qualities, it will compromise the goal of sending the diplomat.
Allah Almighty sends His best creation to convey His message to us, someone whose character is the Qur'an, someone who lived and died for us.
Sa’ad, Allah be pleased with him, reported:
Once I went to Aisha and her father, Allah be pleased with them both, and asked them about the character and conduct of the Prophet, Allah bless him and grant him peace, to which Aisha, Allah be pleased with her, replied: Don't you read the Qur'an? I said: Yes. She said: The character of the Messenger of Allah is the Qur'an.
Allah Almighty says,
وَإِنَّكَ لَعَلَىٰ خُلُقٍ عَظِيمٍ ﴿٤[Qur'an Al-Qalam 68:4]
And verily, you (O Muhammad SAW) are on an exalted (standard of) character. (4)
لَقَدْ جَآءَكُمْ رَسُولٌ مِّنْ أَنفُسِكُمْ عَزِيزٌ عَلَيْهِ مَا عَنِتُّمْ حَرِيصٌ عَلَيْكُم بِٱلْمُؤْمِنِينَ رَءُوفٌ رَّحِيمٌ ﴿١٢٨[Qur'an At-Tawba 9:128]
There has certainly come to you a Messenger from among yourselves. Grievous to him is what you suffer; [he is] concerned over you and to the believers is kind and merciful. (128)
Allah sends the Messenger (Allah bless him and grant him peace) not to coerce, but to invite and to convince people to the way of Allah.
Allah Almighty says,
... ٱدْعُ إِلَىٰ سَبِيلِ رَبِّكَ بِٱلْحِكْمَةِ وَٱلْمَوْعِظَةِ ٱلْحَسَنَةِ ۖ وَجَـٰدِلْهُم بِٱلَّتِى هِىَ أَحْسَنُ ۚ[Qur'an, An-Nahl 16:125]
Invite to the way of your Lord with wisdom and good instruction, and reason with them in the best way...
The Messenger (Allah bless him and grant him peace) is wise and intelligent. Messengers need to be more intelligent than anyone else so everybody will look up to him with admiration. The Messengers are the best people of their time. When people see them, they are drawn to them and they want to follow them. Messengers are not sent with characteristics that drive people away from them. They are sent to the people as exemplars.
أَتَأْمُرُونَ ٱلنَّاسَ بِٱلْبِرِّ وَتَنسَوْنَ أَنفُسَكُمْ وَأَنتُمْ تَتْلُونَ ٱلْكِتَـٰبَ ۚ أَفَلَا تَعْقِلُونَ ﴿٤٤[Qur'an, Al-Baqarah 2:44]
Do you order righteousness of the people and forget yourselves while you recite the Scripture? Then will you not reason? (44)
It is unimaginable that the Prophet (Allah bless him and grant him peace) would merely be a mailman, who delivers a book, and everything about him is insignificant and ordinary. Prophets are very significant and very special people. This is how Muslims conceived their Prophet (Allah bless him and grant him peace) throughout the ages.
قُلْ إِن كَانَ ءَابَآؤُكُمْ وَأَبْنَآؤُكُمْ وَإِخْوَٰنُكُمْ وَأَزْوَٰجُكُمْ وَعَشِيرَتُكُمْ وَأَمْوَٰلٌ ٱقْتَرَفْتُمُوهَا وَتِجَـٰرَةٌ تَخْشَوْنَ كَسَادَهَا وَمَسَـٰكِنُ تَرْضَوْنَهَآ أَحَبَّ إِلَيْكُم مِّنَ ٱللَّهِ وَرَسُولِهِۦ وَجِهَادٍ فِى سَبِيلِهِۦ فَتَرَبَّصُوا۟ حَتَّىٰ يَأْتِىَ ٱللَّهُ بِأَمْرِهِۦ ۗ وَٱللَّهُ لَا يَهْدِى ٱلْقَوْمَ ٱلْفَـٰسِقِينَ ﴿٢٤[Qur'an, At-Tawba 9:24]
Say, [O Muhammad ﷺ], "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)
May Allah make Him and His Messenger more beloved to us than anything else and enable us to follow the footsteps of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ. Ameen.
Please don't forget us in your night prayers. Jazakallahu khairan.
And Allah knows best.
Wassalaam
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