What is the essence of loving the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ)?

Eating with your right hand is important because Prophet Muhammad (ﷺ) instructed us to do so. People argue over this to be a small thing while they say we have to establish an Islamic state, while they are smoking with their right hand and eating with their left. It is important to establish the deen in our lives and within ourselves so that we can establish it in our countries. Allah said,

‘Fear Allah as much as you can’.[1]

We have to do everything as much as possible. If we build on the foundation of small things we are able to do, the little things, then we are fooling ourselves and it is a joke. Islam is built on revelation not on speculation or logic but on revelation. That revelation came in two forms in the form of Qur'an and the form of Sunnah.

The Sunnah is revelation because Allah said

“Your comrade did not speak of his own desires what he spoke to you is revelation.”[2]

This cannot be separated. Some only consider the Qur'an and neglect the Sunnah totally and place the Qur'an in a high place. Prophet (ﷺ) never said that we should place the Qur'an in a high place without reading it.

In Taiwan, a generation ago, Mao Zedong Sung went on long march for communism in China. Many Muslim Chinese fled China and some went to Hong Kong and other to Taiwan. A family went to Taiwan, with the belief that the Qur'an should be in highest places and established business there and after they passed away, the only thing the children learnt from their parents was to keep the Qur'an in a high place. Their children would hang the Qur'an into a net and suspended it from ceilings and performed their Buddhist rights on it. If that is all we can convey of Islam to our children, our future generations are lost. They only read the Qur'an in Ramadan and place it back on the high place. So we can imagine the status of Sunnah.

Prophet (ﷺ) said, “There would come a time when a man would recline on his couch and someone would relate to him a hadeeth from prophet and he will say I have between you and me this Qur'an whatever I find in it as halal I will take it as halal and whatever I find in it haram I will take it as haram.” [3]

 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.[4]

In Saheeh Muslim, during the battles of Khyber, Prophet Muhammad (ﷺ) instructed Talhah (رضى الله عنه), to forbid eating of domesticated donkeys.

Yahya related to me from Malik from Ibn Shihab from Abdullah and Hasan, the sons of Muhammad ibn Ali ibn Abi Talib from their father, (رضى الله عنه), that the Messenger of Allah forbade temporary marriage with women and the flesh of domestic donkeys on the Day of Khaybar. [5]

It is not possible to marry a woman and her daughter or two sisters simultaneously. Allah allowed that beyond this all women are permissible to marry. However, the Prophet (ﷺ) said,

“Do not marry a woman and her paternal niece or maternal niece one.”[6] The principle of breaking family ties is found in the marriages of both.

We cannot use the Qur'an and neglect the Sunnah. It is not enough to just follow the Qur'an, because we need the Sunnah to understand the Qur'an. Moreover we cannot take the translation of Qur'an and ask anyone or kids for the explanation of the Qur'an, its meaning. It is not for everybody to explain or commentary to everyone but everyone should access it and read it and follow it. It is not for selected few only to read but anyone who has firm knowledge of Qur'an and grounded learning of it can explain to people and not everyone

“With clear signs and Books (We sent the Messengers). And We have also sent down unto you (O Muhammad (ﷺ)) the Dhikr [the reminder and the advice (the Qur'ân)], that you may explain clearly to men what is sent down to them, and that they may give thought.”[7]

A person who does not have knowledge of Sunnah will misguide in making tafseer of the Qur'an and will misguide others. We have to respect Qur'an not by placing it in high shelves and getting dust gather and using it as fortune, using it to name children and so on. The Qur'an was not revealed for this purpose. People make a big issue if the Qur'an falls and we don’t pick up and kiss it or if we place it on our laps, or place it on the ground.

If a woman reads the Qur'an she must cover her head - this did not come from the Prophet (ﷺ) or the Sahabah. People have made up many rituals which they feel is respect of the Qur'an, the same people do not follow the instruction of the Qur'an. Prophet brought the Qur'an and lived by it. When Aisha (رضى الله عنها) was asked about the character of the Prophet (ﷺ) she said, “His character was the Qur'an.”

Prophet also said “I have not been sent except to complete moral character.”[8]

Righteousness is good character. Love of the Prophet (ﷺ) should be reflected in our character. We should live by the character he brought forth. The Muslim community indulges in fights in the Masjids but we have means of resolving disputes, by resorting to the Qur'an and Sunnah. We cannot resolve the means except by adopting good character.

The matters which are his personal choices and mundane activates are not for us to do. He wore particular sandals of two straps; this does not mean it is Sunnah because if an Eskimo were to do this, his feet would freeze. The deen is universal and does not make it impractical to follow. He did not like the dessert Lizard but some Arabs ate it and it is permissible. We have to love the Prophet because Allah loves him. If we do not love those whom Allah loved, we are headed for Hell. We have to love the Prophet (ﷺ) and this love is to be expressed by doing what he instructed us to do as much as we can. We have to start with compulsory things and when the little things can be accomplished, we will be able to implement the bigger things.

Clean shaven people with trousers below the ankle, speaks of establishing the Khilafa and overthrowing the corrupt governments. If we are not able to implement the small things how can we implement the bigger things? To break the razor and shorten the pants is easier, but they do not because it is not in style. However, back in the sixties it was stylish to keep the trousers above the ankle and people would have done that. The fact is we Muslims are proud of the way of the Sunnah of Kuffar and not the Sunnah of the Prophet (ﷺ). We don’t want to wear what the Prophet (ﷺ) commanded because we feel odd and not comfortable. If we are not able to implement Shari’ah in keeping garments above ankle how can we implement it when America threatens us to wipe out Shari’ah?

The Satan makes us indulge in big issues, tear apart from things which we cannot change and we can only talk about which are worth two cents we can write about it but there is nothing we can do about it. Prophet (ﷺ) told us that we should not sleep on our stomach. There was an articles in time magazine about back problem and the number one recommendation from doctors was to not to sleep on stomach recommended to sleep on sides. Moreover there was sudden rise of cot deaths - sudden deaths of infants. They conducted research on the infants, to find the common factor in all the deaths. They found that most of the deaths took place when the babies were made to sleep on their stomachs. Newspaper and medical journals warned people from putting their babies to sleep on their stomach. It was later found out that 80% of the deaths had reduced after this was stopped.

This is the proof that what Prophet (ﷺ) advised us to do is best for us. Do we have to wait for some medical experts to tell us? If we start from little things and we follow the way of Prophet (ﷺ), it is the way to salvation.

References:

[1] [Qur’an 64:16]

[2] [Qur'an 53:3-4]

[3] [Sunan Abu Dawood]

[4] [Qur'an 4:80]

[5] [Malik's Muwatta Book 28, Number 28.18.41]

[6] [Saheeh Muslim]

[7] [Qur'an 16:44]

[8] [Narrated by al-Bukhaari in al-Adab al-Mufrad (273)]