Obligation of Loving the Prophet (SAW)

All praise is due to Allah. He guided us to the straight path. And favored us by sending the leader of the messengers.

Al Imran (3) 164: Certainly did Allah confer [great] favor upon the believers when He sent among them a Messenger from themselves, reciting to them His verses and purifying them and teaching them the Book [i.e., the Qur’ān] and wisdom, although they had been before in manifest error.

The Prophet ﷺ was the most genuine advisor. And was the most conscious of Allah.

At Tawbah 128: There has certainly come to you a Messenger from among yourselves. Grievous to him is what you suffer; [he is] concerned over you [i.e., your guidance] and to the believers is kind and merciful.

Allah selected the best of His messengers for this ummah (nation). And He chose for him names that indicate commendation and praise. So he named him Mohammed. For he ﷺ is praised with Allah Almighty. Praised by the angels. Praised by his fellow messengers (peace be upon them). Praised by all the inhabitants of the earth even if some of them disbelieve in him. Because his attributes are praiseworthy to rational people even if the person is arrogant and disbelieves. He ﷺ described himself:
“I am the leader of the sons of Adam, and it is no boast. I will be the first one for whom the earth will be split open (on the Day of Resurrection). I will be the first to intercede. The banner of praise will be in my hand (on the Day of Resurrection) under it will be Adam and those other than him. [Ibn Habbaan]

Through him, Allah Almighty helped mankind who were floundering in the darkness of polytheism, ignorance and superstition. Through him ﷺ, He took away the darkness, removed the distress, and reformed the ummah (nation). For he ﷺ is the absolute leader in guidance for the first and last of the children of Adam.

Through him, Allah Almighty guided the misguided and stray and taught the ignorant. And through him ﷺ, Allah Almighty opened blind eyes and deaf ears and closed hearts. And through him ﷺ, Allah Almighty increased after scarcity, dignified after humiliation, and enriched after poverty.

He acquainted mankind with their Lord and Deity to the fullest possible extent. And he did not leave for the ummah (nation) a need for knowledge beyond that, not from those who came before him and not from those after him. Rather he ﷺsufficed them, rectified them, and made them independent of all who spoke in this regard.

Al Ankaboot (29) 51: And is it not sufficient for them that We revealed to you the Book [i.e., the Qur’ān] which is recited to them? Indeed in that is a mercy and reminder for a people who believe.

And he ﷺ taught them the path to their Lord and how to attain His pleasure and His honored abode. And he ﷺ did not leave any good but commanded to it. And not any ugliness but he prohibited it. And he informed them of their state upon coming to their Lord; he revealed the matter and made it clear. And he did not leave a door of knowledge, that is beneficial to people and brings them closer to their Lord, except that he opened it. And not an issue except that he clarified and explained it. Through him the hearts were guided from their misguidance and through him ailments were cured and ignorance was lifted. So which human being has the most right to be loved? May Allah reward him, on our behalf and on behalf of all his ummah (nation), the best reward.

Loving him ﷺ is obligatory upon every Muslim. And it is part of loving Allah Almighty. And the one who claims to love Allah Almighty and does not love Mohammad ﷺ, his close friend the best of mankind, has lied.

This is indicated in textual evidences from the Quran and sunnah.

At Tawbah (9) 24: Say, [O Muḥammad], “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 striving in His cause, then wait until Allah executes His command. And Allah does not guide the defiantly disobedient people.”

The verse states that the love of Allah Almighty and the love of His Messenger ﷺ must take priority over every object of love whatever it is.

The Judge Eyaadh (may Allah have mercy upon him) said regarding this verse: This is enough admonition and warning. And proof and evidence of the obligation to love him ﷺ. And its criticality and the importance of its realization. For Allah warns those whose wealth, wives and sons are more beloved than Allah and His messenger:
At Tawbah (9) 24: Then wait until Allah executes His command.

Then in the conclusion of the verse, He declared them defiantly disobedient and informed them that they are among those whom Allah Almighty will not guide.

And in the matter of prioritizing his ﷺ love over the love of mother, father, wife, son and every beloved other than Allah Almighty, it was related by Anas (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Prophet ﷺ said:
None of you believes till I am dearer to him than his father, his child, and all mankind. [Bukhari 14, Muslim 44b]

And in the matter of prioritizing his ﷺ love over loving oneself, Al Bukhari narrated that Abdallah bin Hashem (may Allah be pleased with him) said:
We were with the Prophet ﷺ and he was holding the hand of `Umar bin Al-Khattab. `Umar said to Him, “O Allah’s Messenger (ﷺ)! You are dearer to me than everything except my own self.” The Prophet (ﷺ) said, “No, by Him in Whose Hand my soul is, (you will not have complete faith) till I am dearer to you than your own self.” Then `Umar said to him, “However, now, by Allah, you are dearer to me than my own self.” The Prophet (ﷺ) said, “Now, O `Umar, (now you are a believer). [Bukhari 6632, Muslim]

Oh Muslims:
If the believer realizes the love for the messenger ﷺ and this love takes hold in his heart and he prioritizes it over every beloved, he harvests the fruit of this love through sweetness that he finds in his heart. And great pleasantness that sweeps his soul. This is not attained through prestige and is not bought through wealth. And it is not attained except by the love of Allah and His messenger taking hold in his heart. Just as the Prophet ﷺ said:
There are three things, whoever attains them will find therein the sweetness of faith: When Allah, the Mighty and Sublime, and His Messenger are dearer to him than all else; and a person only loves for the sake of Allah and hates to return to disbelief just as he hates to be thrown into the fire. [Bukhari 21, Muslim 43a]

And through this sincere love for the Messenger of Allah, a person attains the intercession and is resurrected in his group and accompanies him in paradise as was narrated by Anas (may Allah be pleased with him) who said:
A man came to Allah’s Messenger ﷺ and said: Oh Allah’s Messenger, when is the Hour? Thereupon he (the Prophet) said: What preparation have you made for the Hour? He said: The love of Allah and of His Messenger. He (the Prophet) responded: For you will with whomever you loved. Anas said: After the joy of Islam, we did not rejoice more than when Prophet’s said: You will be with whomever you loved. Anas said I love Allah and His Messenger and Abu Bakr and Umar, and I hope that I would be with them even though I do not do deeds like them. [Bukhari 6171, Muslim 2639d]

And one should not think that this love is only realized by the companions (may Allah be pleased with them) or the first preferred generations. Such that one despairs from being able to realize it and comes short in attaining it. For even though the first generations attained it more than others, individuals from the latter part of this ummah (nation) will realize it. And they will prioritize the love of Allah Almighty and the love of the Messenger ﷺ over every beloved. And they wished that they sacrificed for the Prophet ﷺ with their souls. And they wish to see him ﷺ even at the expense of their families and wealth as was related by Abu Hurairah (may Allah be pleased with him) that the messenger of Allah ﷺ said:
From the people of my ummah (nation) who have the greatest love for me, are those who will come after me that wish to see me even if it is at the expense of his family and wealth. [Muslim 2832]

We ask Allah Almighty to make us among them and to fill our hearts with love for Allah Almighty and for His prophet ﷺ. Indeed, Allah is All Hearing, Answering.

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