- Islamic creed
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- Creed from the Quran and Sunnah
What is the gist of this religion?
Dear brother, this is lesson number 13 of Aqeedah lectures, and today we will talk about bearing witness that Muhammad PBUH is the Messenger of Allah.
Dear brother, the entire religion revolves around two axes: the first axis is to bear witness that there is no Deity worthy of worship but Allah Alone, and the second one is to bear witness that Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah. The first axis is the word of Tawheed (La Ilaha Illa Allah), and the second axis is the word of acting upon the method (Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah) which is brought to us through the Prophet PBUH. The Sunnah in fact elaborates to us what Allah the Almighty means, namely:
﴾ Say (O Muhammad PBUH to mankind): "If you (really) love Allah then follow me (i.e. accept Islamic Monotheism, follow the Qur'an and the Sunnah), Allah will love you and forgive you of your sins. ﴿
Requirements of bearing witness that Muhammad PBUH is Allah's Messenger?
Bearing witness that Muhammad PBUH is the Messenger of Allah has three requirements: the first requirement is the manners we should follow with the Prophet PBUH, the second one is the prerequisites of this word, and the third one is the nullifications of this word.
Some manners that are mentioned in the Noble Quran:
1- Asking for the Prophet's permission PBUH:
Pay attention to the following Ayah:
﴾ The true believers are only those, who believe in (the Oneness of) Allah and His Messenger (Muhammad PBUH)﴿
This means that when the believers used to be with the Prophet PBUH on some common matter, they would never go away until they asked for his permission:
﴾ The true believers are only those, who believe in (the Oneness of) Allah and His Messenger (Muhammad PBUH), and when they are with him on some common matter, they go not away until they have asked his permission. Verily! Those who ask your permission, those are they who (really) believe in Allah and His Messenger. So if they ask your permission for some affairs of theirs, give permission to whom you will of them, and ask Allah for their forgiveness. Truly, Allah is Oft-Forgiving, Most Merciful.﴿
If you are part of a group or a member in a family, you should coordinate with the head of the family (or group) concerning your matters. Is it rational that the son travels to a distant place without getting the permission of his father? This is impossible, and the society of believers is just like the family:
﴾ The believers are nothing else than brother (in Islamic religion).﴿
The Master of mankind and the beloved to Al-Haqq (i.e. Muhammad PBUH) is the leader of the believer's society, and since you belong to an Islamic society, you should coordinate with the rest of your brother in faith, and there should be leave asking between you and the one who teaches you Islamic knowledge.
Gentle reproof between two Muslim brother:
I used to give lectures in another Masjid, and the Imam of that Masjid is a person whom I respect and admire, but once he was absent for few weeks, and usually whenever he used to offer Umrah, he never showed up for weeks, so I thought that he was most likely performing Umrah. He came back to Imamah and upon greeting him, he said in a friendly reproach, "Why did you not visit me? I was ill." I said to him, "You used to be absent whenever you offer Umrah, so I thought that it had been one of those times, and that you had been in Umrah. Had you applied the Sunnah and told us each time you offer Umrah, I would have congratulated you when you came back home. Since you never told me before, I thought that the reason of your absence was being in Umrah." In fact, there is a flaw in our relations at the society level, as we abandoned applying "Isti'than" (leave-asking), notification or coordinating, given "Isti'than" establishes a good relation between you and your brother in faith.
What are we required to do in this Ayah?
The Prophet PBUH is the Master of mankind, so the believers were not allowed to travel before asking for his permission:
﴾ The true believers are only those, who believe in (the Oneness of) Allah and His Messenger (Muhammad ), and when they are with him on some common matter, they go not away until they have asked his permission. Verily! Those who ask your permission, those are they who (really) believe in Allah and His Messenger. So if they ask your permission for some affairs of theirs, give permission to whom you will of them, and ask Allah for their forgiveness. Truly, Allah is Oft-Forgiving, Most Merciful.﴿
One of the manners indicated in the Quran concerning respecting the Prophet PBUH is asking for his permission when one of the believers was about to travel.
2- Being polite with the Prophet PBUH:
There is a second manner; Allah the Almighty says:
﴾ Make not the calling of the Messenger (Muhammad PBUH) among you as your calling of one another.﴿
You are not allowed to address the Prophet PBUH like you address your brother or friend. One of the most specific interpretations of this Ayah is the one of Ibn Abbas. He said, "The believers used to say, 'O Muhammad,' or 'O Abu Al-Qasim', but Allah forbade them from doing that, as a sign of honoring His Prophet, and He told them to say, 'O Prophet of Allah,' 'O Messenger of Allah.'''
An incident that took place in a religious session:
The posture of a student was not proper in a religious session, so the scholar said to him, "We are in need of your good manners more than your knowledge." In fact, life is all about good manners. The companions of the Prophet PBUH were amazed by his exalted character, so they asked him once, "What Adab (good conducts) that you have, O Messenger of Allah!" The Prophet, peace be upon him, said:
((My Lord perfected my good manners and conduct.))
Politeness marks solid faith:
You will value the good manners of the believer when you befriend a non-believer; the latter throws dirty jokes, uses obscene language and uses sexual indications to such an extent that you cannot listen to him out of shame, whereas the believer watches his tongue, his words are nice, he is tender and he apologizes in shame when he does something wrong. Thus, good manners are the title of faith, and for this very reason a scholar (Ibn Al-Qayyim, may Allah have mercy upon his soul) said, "Faith is good conduct, so whoever has better morals than yours has deeper faith than yours."
An Ayah about being polite with the Prophet PBUH:
Allah the Almighty says:
﴾ Make not the calling of the Messenger (Muhammad PBUH) among you as your calling of one another.﴿
As I said earlier the believers used to call the Prophet by His name Muhammad or his nick name Abu al-Qasim, but Allah the Almighty forbade them from doing so as a sign of respect towards His Prophet PBUH, and he asked them to call him Prophet of Allah or Messenger of Allah, because this is the proper manner. There is another Ayah which stresses this meaning:
﴾ O you who believe! Do not put (yourselves) forward before Allah and His Messenger, and fear Allah. Verily! Allah is All-Hearing, All-Knowing* O you who believe! Raise not your voices above the voice of the Prophet, nor speak aloud to him in talk as you speak aloud to one another, lest your deeds may be rendered fruitless while you perceive not* Verily! Those who call you from behind the dwellings, most of them have no sense.﴿
This means that your exalted manners reflect your sound faith.
Manners that reflect politeness:
Hamzah, may Allah be pleased with him, (the uncle of the Prophet PBUH) was once asked, "Who is Akbar (Akbar in Arabic has more than one meaning; it means older, bigger in size and greater, and here he was asked who was older in age) you or the Prophet PBUH?" He replied, "He PBUH is Akbar (greater) than me, but I was born before him (I am older than him)."
Our Master Yusuf PBUH showed his politeness when he said:
﴾ He was indeed good to me, when He took me out of the prison﴿
Which is more dangerous, being saved from prison or being saved from the well? The well was like inevitable death, yet Yusuf PBUH did not mention it in order not to remind his brother of their terrible plot against him. He PBUH said:
﴾ He was indeed good to me, when He took me out of the prison﴿
A manner of the believer:
The manners of your brother in faith are very exalted, and they are the fruits of his sound faith. The Prophet PBUH never mentioned anything that embarrassed people. Thus, the believer should not turn people's faces red (out of shame). Some people do so, and they put pressure on someone until they embarrass him and make him lie (to avoid embarrassment). Do not embarrass your brother, turn a blind eye to his shortcomings and accept his excuse though he might be lying. The Prophet PBUH said:
((Make seventy excuses for your Muslim brother.))
If a brother comes to you denying something he has done, accept it whether he is telling the truth or not. These Ayat point out the manners the believers had to adopt while dealing with the Prophet PBUH, and we should adopt them in dealing with our brother in faith.
Allah warns us about committing the mistake mentioned in this Ayah:
There is another meaning of the Ayah:
﴾ Make not the calling of the Messenger (Muhammad PBUH) among you as your calling of one another.﴿
Al-Hasan Al-Basri, may Allah have mercy upon his soul, said, "Do not assume that the Prophet's Du'a (supplication) against people is like your Du'a against people, for his Du'a is responded to by Allah, so beware from deserving his Du'a against you, lest you are destroyed." Allah the Almighty says:
﴾And let those who oppose the Messenger's (Muhammad PBUH) commandment (i.e. his Sunnah legal ways, orders, acts of worship, statements, etc.) (among the sects) beware, lest some Fitnah (disbelief, trials, afflictions, earthquakes, killing, overpowered by a tyrant, etc.) befall them or a painful torment be inflicted on them.﴿
Following the Prophetic Sunnah marks loving the Prophet PBUH:
Dear brother, what proves your love to Allah is following the Sunnah of the Messenger of Allah PBUH, and the proof is in the following Ayah:
﴾ Say (O Muhammad PBUH to mankind): "If you (really) love Allah then follow me (i.e. accept Islamic Monotheism, follow the Qur'an and the Sunnah), Allah will love you and forgive you of your sins. ﴿
The purpose of the following Prophetic Hadith:
One of the authenticated As7adeth goes as follows:
((Our Master Umar bin Al Khattab, may Allah be pleased with him, said that the Prophet PBUH said, "I am holding you by your clothes saying 'Away from the Fire, away from the Fire.' But you overcome me falling into it like the insects fall into it. It is possible that I might release you of your clothes, while I precede you at the Pond. So you will come to me in groups and individually. I would know you from your looks and by your names, just like a man know his camel among a herd. You will be taken to the left and the right. So I will plead to the Lord of the worlds, 'My people, O my Lord. My people, O my Lord.' It will be said, 'O Muhammad. You do not know what they did after you. They turned back on their heels.' I will know one of you on the Day of Judgment carrying a goat bleating, (and the man) pleading to me, 'O Muhammad, O Muhammad,' and I replying, 'I have no power for you against Allah. I have already conveyed the message.' And, I will know one of you appear on the Day of Judgment carrying a camel growling and appealing to me, 'O Muhammad, O Muhammad', and I replying, 'I have no power for you against Allah. I have already conveyed the message.' And, I will know one of you appear on the Day of Judgment carrying a horse neighing and appealing to me, 'O Muhammad, O Muhammad,' and I replying, 'I have no power for you against Allah. I have already conveyed the message.' And, I will know one of you appear on the Day of Judgment carrying a leather bottle pleading to me, 'O Muhammad, O Muhammad,' and I replying, 'I have no power for you against Allah. I have already conveyed the message".))
In this long Hadith the Prophet PBUH stressed the fact that you will not come to the Prophet PBUH at the Lake-Fount (Hawd) on the Day of Resurrection unless you are righteous in the worldly life. Accordingly, if you take a sheep, a water-skin or a camel which does not belong to you, and you come to the Prophet PBUH on the Day of Resurrection and you say, "O Muhammad, O Muhammad", he PBUH will say to you, "I conveyed Allah's Message to you." Actually, when the Prophet PBUH invokes Allah the Almighty to save his Ummah, it will be said, 'You have no knowledge of what they innovated after you left.'
The crucial point in this regard is indicated in the following Hadith:
((O assembly of Quraysh, save yourselves from (the punishment) of Allah, I cannot do anything for you (to protect you from Allah). O Saffiyah the (paternal) aunt of the Messenger of Allah, I do not have anything (with which to protect you) from Allah. O Fatimah bint Muhammad, Ask me of what I have of wealth anything you wish; I do not have anything (with which to protect you) from Allah.))
((…whoever is delayed (slowed) by his own deeds, will not be hastened (pulled up) by his lineage))
((O Bani Hashim, do not come to me (on the Day of Judgement) without (righteous) deeds because of your lineage (to me).))
How can we be polite with the Prophet PBUH after his death?
Dear brother, what marks your respect to the Prophet PBUH is to be polite with him, but how can this be fulfilled after his death? Your respect to his Sunnah reflects your respect to him. I read a nice interpretation of the following Ayah:
﴾ O you who believe! Do not put (yourselves) forward before Allah and His Messenger,﴿
This Ayah is crystal clear, it means you should not put forth anything that contradicts this Ayah, you should not suggest anything that opposes the Prophetic Sunnah and you should not give any opinions contrary to what is mentioned in the two Divine Revelations (i.e. the Noble Quran and the Prophetic Sunnah):
﴾Do not put (yourselves) forward before Allah and His Messenger,﴿
Someone might mention a Prophetic Sunnah in an assembly, and one of the attendants might say, "Well this is irrational", so what does he do exactly? He puts forward before Allah and His Messenger, he opposes what the Prophet PBUH used to do and he says something contrary to the Prophetic biography. Thus, the Muslim's respect to the Prophet PBUH when he was alive is manifested in the companions' behavior towards him, and the Muslim's respect after the Prophet's death is manifested in glorifying his Sunnah (by applying it).
When is man safe from Allah's Torment?
Allah the Almighty says:
﴾ And Allah would not punish them while you (Muhammad PBUH) are amongst them,﴿
As long as they apply your Sunnah, they will be saved from Allah's Punishment. When man follows Sunnah, or when he asks for Allah's Forgiveness (in case he backslid), he will be saved from Allah's Punishment. As long as you are obedient to Allah, Allah the Almighty will grant you safety thereupon, and when you err and ask for His Forgiveness, you are also entitled to that safety. Thus, respecting the Prophet PBUH is an obligation upon every believer during his life, and respecting his Sunnah after his death PBUH is an obligation upon every believer as well.
Outstanding quote:
The most outstanding saying a companion said is the one of our Master Sa'd Ibn Abi Waqqas. He said, "There are three things which whenever I do I consider myself a (real) man, and other than them I am just like the common people. One of these things is that I never heard anything from the Prophet PBUH, but I knew for sure that it is the truth revealed to Him from Allah the Almighty."
I hope that every believer reads the As7adeth of the Prophet PBUH, given the Prophetic As7adeth are the truth and going against which will bring man's doom, if we do so, our conditions will be better. The Prophet PBUH said in an inclusive Hadith:
((A slave fears but the consequences of his sins, and he makes Raja' but to his Lord (to forgive his sins).))
The thing man should fear the most is to commit a sin, and if he does, only Allah the Almighty can save him from that sin, so man should fear his sins and should please only his Lord.
The requirements of bearing witness that there is no Deity but Allah:
Dear brother, the requirement of La Ilaha Iallh Allah (There is no Deity worthy of worship but Allah Alone) entails that the believer had to respect the Prophet PBUH, while he was alive (by respecting his character and his orders), and you should respect him after his death by respecting his Sunnah. It also entails that you should believe that the Prophet PBUH never spoke of his own desires, but rather it is only an Inspiration that is inspired to him. The Prophet's words did not come from his educational background, from his experience or from his environment. Not to mention, they are not his own words, but rather they are Divine Revelation, and this means that he never spoke of his own desire, but it is only an inspiration that is inspired.
The requirements of bearing witness that the Prophet PBUH is Allah's Messenger:
1- Believing that he is a Prophet who received Divine Revelation from Allah:
What are the requirements and the basic elements of bearing witness that the Prophet PBUH is Allah's Messenger? The first requirement is to believe in the Prophet (as a Messenger sent from Allah). Faith is all about believing, while Kufr is all about denying. Therefore, you should not think of the Prophet PBUH as a genius person, a social mender or a distinguished character only, but rather you should believe in him as a Messenger of Allah, for he is for sure the Messenger of Allah. Unfortunately, the majority of people consider him as a genius person, a social mender and a person who succeeded in bringing the Ummah together, only this is not enough, because he is the Messenger of Allah who received the Divine Revelation.
As I have just said the first requirement of believing in the Prophet PBUH is to believe beyond doubt that he is the Messenger of Allah who conveyed Allah's Message and who received the Divine Shari'ah which abolished the previous Divine Shara'e' (plural of Shari'ah: the Divine Laws before the religion of Islam). Lots of people from other Shara'e' sanctify the Prophet PBUH and talk about his genius, and how he amended this Ummah and brought it together… etc.
The difference between you and those people is that you believe that he is Allah's Messenger who received the Divine Revelation, because glorifying the Prophet is easy (but believing in him as the Messenger of Allah is the gist of faith).
I would like to repeat one more time that the first requirement of believing in the Prophet PBUH is to believe that he is the Messenger of Allah who received the Divine Revelation from Allah the Almighty. Therefore, you should believe in this, and that he is the Messenger of Allah:
﴾ O you who believe! Believe in Allah, and His Messenger (Muhammad PBUH), and the Book (the Qur'an) which He has sent down to His Messenger, and the Scripture which He sent down to those before(him), and whosoever disbelieves in Allah, His Angels, His Books, His Messengers, and the Last Day, then indeed he has strayed far away.﴿
This is the belief of the believer:
The Prophet PBUH is for the believer the Messenger of Allah:
((Narrated Ibn 'Abbas: A delegation of the tribe of 'Abdul Qais came to the Prophet (PBUH) and said, "O Allah's Messenger (PBUH)! We are from the tribe of Rabi`a, and the infidels of the tribe of Mudar stands between us and you; so we cannot come to you except during the Sacred Months. Please order us to do something (religious deeds) which we may carry out and also invite to it our people whom we have left behind." The Prophet said, "I order you to do four things and forbid you four sh3er: (I order you) to have faith in Allah, and confess that none has the right to be worshipped but Allah, (and the Prophet (PBUH) gestured with his hand like this (i.e. one knot) and to offer prayers perfectly and to pay the Zakat, and to pay one fifth of the booty in Allah's Cause. And I forbid you to use Dubba', Hantam, Naqir and Muzaffat (all these are the names of utensils used for preparing alcoholic drinks)."))
Regarding faith, there is no third choice, for either you believe or you do not. Accordingly, your faith is manifested in believing that the Prophet PBUH is the Messenger of Allah, that he received Allah's Message and that all his sayings and actions and the matters he approved are the truth and they are inspired by Allah the Almighty to him. Such a belief puts an end to any objection, argument or criticism.
2- Following the Prophet PBUH:
Dear brother, is it enough to believe that the Prophet PBUH is the Messenger of Allah, that he received the Divine Revelation and that whatever he put forth, said or approved is but from Allah, and it is thereof Tashree' which should be complied with by us? The answer to this question is: Yes and no. "Yes" we should believe in all that, and "No" it is not enough just to believe without following the Prophet's example. Being part of any group is easy, and it is very easy to propagate your affiliation to a party, but success lies in following this group which takes tremendous effort in fighting one's desires and relinquishing one's pleasures for the sake of pleasing Allah the Almighty, given following the Prophet's method means that you should abide by his method:
﴾ Say (O Muhammad PBUH to mankind): "If you (really) love Allah then follow me (i.e. accept Islamic Monotheism, follow the Qur'an and the Sunnah), Allah will love you and forgive you of your sins. ﴿
This is the key Ayah in this topic.
Things that mark your belief in the Prophet PBUH:
Allah the Almighty says:
﴾ O you who believe! Do not put (yourselves) forward before Allah and His Messenger, and fear Allah. Verily! Allah is All-Hearing, All-Knowing.﴿
This means that you should follow the Prophet PBUH, and you should not object or suggest the otherwise. Hence, it is unacceptable to suggest to make Al-Fajr Salah 4 Rak'at while Al-Zuhr Salah 2 Raka't, and you should neglect this suggestion, because you have learnt from the Prophet PBUH through Sunnah how to offer the five prayers, and the Prophet PBUH said:
((Pray as you have seen me praying.))
Due to man's weakness, he sometimes wishes that some matters were different from what they are, but what marks the believer's sound belief in the Prophet PBUH is to follow him from the bottom of his heart.
Characteristics of believers:
Let me remind you of two characteristics of the believers as they are mentioned in the Noble Quran:
﴾ It is not for a believer, man or woman, when Allah and His Messenger have decreed a matter that they should have any option in their decision. And whoever disobeys Allah and His Messenger, he has indeed strayed in a plain error.﴿
Just like the conferees who agree upon folding up some matters in the agenda of the conference, the believer should abide by whatever Allah the Almighty imposes as an Order or as Qada' and Qadar (Divine Preordainment and Predestination).
﴾ And your Lord has decreed that you worship none but Him. And that you be dutiful to your parents.﴿
When Allah imposes something, or when an order comes from the Prophet PBUH, your breast should not be narrow therefrom (but rather you should follow it).
You have the freedom of choice in permissible matters only:
Allah the Almighty says:
﴾ It is not for a believer, man or woman, when Allah and His Messenger have decreed a matter that they should have any option in their decision. And whoever disobeys Allah and His Messenger, he has indeed strayed in a plain error.﴿
You have options in the permissible matters, but not in the obligations and the Islamic rulings. Thus, what marks your sound faith is to follow what the Prophet PBUH ordered you to do.
When someone is about to do a permissible matter like buying a house, he has the option to buy this or that house according to its location, size or price, so man has options in the permissible matters, but he does not have any option to offer or not to offer Salah, for this is Fard (obligation), and the same goes for Sawm, Mirath (heritage) of the wife (after her husband's death) or other determined matter in religion, because they are imposed by Allah the Almighty (and they should be followed). Therefore, man has no option in following the rulings mentioned in the Quran and Sunnah, and this is a requirement for believing in Allah and in His Messenger PBUH:
﴾ It is not for a believer, man or woman, when Allah and His Messenger have decreed a matter that they should have any option in their decision. And whoever disobeys Allah and His Messenger, he has indeed strayed in a plain error.﴿
Tadabbor of the Quran (reading the Noble Quran attentively and comprehending its meanings) entails measuring yourself according to the Quranic standards and asking yourself, "Am I like this?"
Someone may be deprived of his share in a heritage, so will you object? As you know this share is determined by Allah the Almighty and Allah's Perfection is Absolute, so when Allah imposes something, and when the Prophet PBUH orders something, the believer does not have option in following it or not, for this is the Share' of Allah.
Beware of committing this mistake in believing in the Prophet PBUH:
I would like to mention another Ayah:
﴾ But no, by your Lord, they can have no Faith, until they make you (O Muhammad ) judge in all disputes between them, and find in themselves no resistance against your decisions, and accept (them) with full submission.﴿
These are the words of the Lord of the Worlds. If you have a disagreement with a brother of yours, and you resort to court, where the judge gives his verdict according to the Prophet's Sunnah, but do not accept this verdict, you should know that there is a big flaw in your faith.
﴾ But no, by your Lord, they can have no Faith,﴿
Actually it is more than having a flaw in your faith, for in this case you are not a believer at all:
﴾ But no, by your Lord, they can have no Faith, until they make you (O Muhammad PBUH) judge in all disputes between them, and find in themselves no resistance against your decisions, and accept (them) with full submission.﴿
If someone signs a marriage contract with a young woman, but after few days he finds out that he does not like her, and so he intends to divorce her, in this case she is entitled to keep half of the Mahr (dowry) though they are only few days. How could you be upset about applying the Islamic ruling on divorcing her? This woman is from a respectful family, and she has her social stand. Let alone, her feelings are hurt in the process (when you intend to divorce her) after people know about her engagement, so she is entitled to keep half of the dowry. This is the Islamic ruling, so if the dowry is one million, she is entitled to take half million even if she is engaged only for 5 days, which means every day is worth 100.000:
﴾ But no, by your Lord, they can have no Faith, until they make you (O Muhammad PBUH) judge in all disputes between them, and find in themselves no resistance against your decisions, and accept (them) with full submission.﴿
Pay attention to the following Ayat, please:
Dear brother, the following three Ayat show that following the Prophet PBUH is a crucial part of your faith:
﴾ O you who believe! Do not put (yourselves) forward before Allah and His Messenger, and fear Allah. Verily! Allah is All-Hearing, All-Knowing.﴿
﴾ It is not for a believer, man or woman, when Allah and His Messenger have decreed a matter that they should have any option in their decision. And whoever disobeys Allah and His Messenger, he has indeed strayed in a plain error.﴿
﴾ But no, by your Lord, they can have no Faith, until they make you (O Muhammad PBUH) judge in all disputes between them, and find in themselves no resistance against your decisions, and accept (them) with full submission.﴿
Beware of holding unto bad thoughts about the Prophet PBUH:
It was reported that before the battle of Badr, the Prophet PBUH, said:
((Do not kill my uncle Al-Abbas.))
The companions, may Allah be pleased with them, mistakenly thought that Al-Abbas was Mushrik, so one of the companions, may Allah be pleased with them, did not accept what the Prophet PBUH, said, and he said, "One of us kills his own father and brother, and he tells us not to kill his uncle?!" His uncle was Mushrik in his eyes, he lived in Makkah, and he was with the Mushrikeen army which was fighting the Prophet PBUH. Therefore, he was hurt, and he held unto bad thought about the Prophet PBUH, and he accused him of bigotry. However, he discovered later that Al-Abbas (the uncle of the Prophet PBUH was Muslim at that time, and he was the eyes and ears of the Prophet PBUH, among Mushrikeen, so the Prophet PBUH had no choice but to keep that a secret, given Al-Abbas belonged to the elite of Quraish and he conveyed every decision they made to the Prophet PBUH.
The reverend companion, may Allah be pleased with him, who thought wrongly about the Prophet PBUH said, "By Allah, I kept giving charity for ten years hoping that Allah would forgive me my wrong thought of the Prophet PBUH."
When does the servant of Allah taste the sweetness of faith?
((It is narrated on the authority of 'Abbas b. 'Abdul-Muttalib that he heard the Messenger of Allah saying: He has found the taste of faith (iman) who is content with Allah as his Lord, with Islam as his religion (code of life) and with Muhammad (PBUH) as his Prophet.))
You should believe in the Prophet PBUH as the Messenger of Allah, you should believe that his words are Divine Revelation and that his actions and the matters he approved are Tashree', and this is all about it.
Dear brother, the Prophet PBUH received the Quran and therewith as much, so what is the meaning of "therewith as much"? It means "Sunnah". Thus, the Quran and the Sunnah are the two revelations from Allah the Great; the Quran is the reauthord Revelation, while the Sunnah is the Revelation that is not reauthord.
3- Purifying the soul by following the Prophet's guidance and Sunnah:
Believing in the Prophet PBUH entails purifying your soul by following his guidance and Sunnah. You should ponder over the way he used to treat his family, his children, his neighbors and his companions. Also, you should ponder over how he used to react whenever he got angry, and whenever he was content. Furthermore, you should learn how he used to treat his wife. By doing so, you purify your soul since you follow his guidance, and the proof is in the following Ayah:
﴾ Indeed in the Messenger of Allah (Muhammad PBUH) you have a good example to follow for him who hopes in (the Meeting with) Allah and the Last Day and remembers Allah much.﴿
Knowing the Sunnah of the Prophet PBUH is obligatory on every individual Muslim:
Dear brother, according to a Fiqhi rule, "Whatever is important for Fard to be completed is Fard itself, whatever is important for Sunnah to be completed is Sunnah and whatever is important for a Wajeb
﴾ (mandatory) is Wajeb." For example, Salah cannot be completed without Wudu, so Wudu is Fard. You should apply this rule to the Prophetic Sunnah. Allah the Almighty says:And whatsoever the Messenger (Muhammad PBUH) gives you, take it, and whatsoever he forbids you, abstain (from it)﴿
What does this Ayah entail? It entails taking whatever the Prophet PBUH gave you and refraining from whatever the Prophet PBUH forbade, right? How can you do that without knowing what the Prophet PBUH gave you? Hence, learning the Prophetic Sunnah (the sayings, actions and matters he PBUH approved) is obligatory on every individual Muslim. As for offering Salah and Sawm, you offer them because they are Fard. Likewise, you are supposed to know the Prophetic Sunnah including all the orders and bans given to you by the Prophet PBUH, because following the Prophet's Sunnah is Fard.
I used to ask this question: when do you treat yourself from the high blood pressure? You do so when you know that you have high blood pressure. Much in the same line, when can you take what is given to you by the Prophet PBUH, and when can you refrain from what he forbade? You can do so when you know what the Prophet PBUH ordered you to do and what he forbade you from doing, right? Thus, the previous Ayah entails that learning the verbal Prophetic Sunnah is obligatory on every individual Muslim.
What does the following Ayah entail?
Allah the Almighty says to you:
﴾ Indeed in the Messenger of Allah (Muhammad ) you have a good example to follow for him who hopes in (the Meeting with) Allah and the Last Day and remembers Allah much.﴿
How can you take the Prophet PBUH as an example if you do not know his biography? Thus, this Ayah means that you should learn the Prophetic Sunnah, and it means that learning the verbal and practical Prophetic Sunnah is Fard Ayn (it relates to tasks every Muslim is required to perform, such as daily prayer) on every individual Muslim:
﴾ And whatsoever the Messenger (Muhammad ) gives you, take it, and whatsoever he forbids you, abstain (from it)﴿
These two Ayat indicate that learning Sunnah is Fard Ayn and that knowing the verbal and practical Sunnah is an obligation. I recommend that every Muslim should have Sahih Sunnah books and books of the Prophetic biography in his house.
What does the following Hadith mean?
((Narrated Anas: The Prophet (PBUH) said "None of you will have faith till he loves me more than his father, his children and all mankind."))
The precise meaning is: How can the Prophet PBUH be more beloved to you than your parents, children and the entire world? In fact this happens when you are face to face with choosing between following Sunnah and pleasing people. For example, if your son asks you to help him start unlawful business like selling CDs that contain movies and songs, and you want to please him, you will disobey the Prophet PBUH at the cost of pleasing your son. Therefore, the real love towards the Prophet PBUH is manifested in applying his Sunnah regardless of what your parents, children and the entire world wish you to do.
((Abu Hurairah reported Allah's Messenger (PBUH) as saying: "The people most loved by me from amongst my Ummah would be those who would come after me but everyone amongst them would have the keenest desire to catch a glimpse of me even at the cost of his family and wealth."))
What kind of a character would you like to be?
Frankly, each one of us dreams of a personality he wishes he has, and he looks up to it, and he degrades a personality which he does not like to have and he has the personality he already has, in this case I will say, "Tell me about the personality you look up to, and I will tell you what you are made of?" People of the worldly life talk about the person who has astronomical wealth, they idealize the one who made 300 million in one bargain and they admire the person who buys a land. Thus, these people idealize the personality they look up to (which is to own huge wealth), and the same goes for the world of commerce and industry, for they idealize the one who owns a huge factory with three night shifts and whose production is close to 300.000 pieces. Accordingly, ask yourself this question: what is the personality I idealize and look up to? The believer definitely looks up to the Prophet PBUH and he longs to follow his steps, example and method.
When does the Prophet PBUH become a good example for us?
I would like to mention the second Ayah. Allah the Almighty says:
﴾ Indeed in the Messenger of Allah (Muhammad PBUH) you have a good example to follow for him who hopes in (the Meeting with) Allah and the Last Day and remembers Allah much.﴿
The Prophet PBUH will not be your good example to follow unless you seek Allah's Pleasure, His Messenger's pleasure and the gains of the Hereafter and unless you remember Allah abundantly.
Some of the exalted conducts of the Prophet PBUH:
((It was narrated that A'ishah the Mother of the Believers said: "The Prophet (PBUH) entered upon me one day and said: 'Do you have anything (to eat)?' We said: 'No.' he said: 'Then I am fasting.'))
In comparison, if get back home, and you find that the food is not ready yet, or it will be served a little late, you may raise Hell. The believer should follow the Prophetic example, so if he enters his house and faces any problem, he should do as the Prophet PBUH used to do.
The Prophet PBUH was forbearing and warmhearted.
((The Prophet, peace be upon him, was once travelling with his companions. They stopped at a place to have something to eat and then rest. They decided to slaughter a sheep and roast it. One of them said, "I shall do the slaughtering." The other said, "I shall remove the skin." The third one said, "I shall do the roasting." Each one of them volunteered to do one piece of work. The Prophet, peace be upon him, said, "I shall collect and bring the firewood from the forest."))
Some people in trips rely on sh3er to work and prepare food, and they just relax and sleep, unlike the Prophet PBUH.
((The Prophet, peace be upon him, said, "I shall collect and bring the firewood from the forest." The companions said, "O Prophet! You need not take the trouble. We shall attend to everything." The Prophet, peace be upon him, said, "I know you can do everything. But I do not like to enjoy a preferential treatment from you. Allah the Almighty does not like to see His servant distinguishing himself from his peers."))
(("The Prophet (PBUH) entered upon me one day and said: 'Do you have anything (to eat)?' We said: 'No.' he said: 'Then I am fasting.'))
He was easygoing, forbearing and tender. Whenever a sick man was brought to him, or whenever he visited a sick man, he used to make Du'a for him:
((Aishah (may Allah be pleased with her) reported: When the Prophet (PBUH) visited any ailing member of his family, he would touch the sick person with his right hand and would supplicate: "Allahumma Rabban-nasi, adhhibil-ba'sa, washfi, Antash-Shafi, la shifa'a illa shifa'uka, shifaan la yughadiru saqaman [O Allah! The Rubb of mankind! Remove this disease and cure (him or her)! You are the Great Curer. There is no cure but through You, which leaves behind no disease]."))
When you visit a sick person you should have these traits.
The Prophet PBUH used to facilitate any complicated matter:
((It was narrated that 'Aishah said: "When the Messenger of Allah (PBUH) saw something he liked, he would say: 'Al-hamdu lillahil-ladhi bi ni'matihi tatimmus-salihat (Praise is to Allah by Whose grace good deeds are completed).' And if he saw something that he disliked, he would say: 'Al-hamdu lillahi 'ala kulli hal (Praise is to Allah in all circumstances).'"))
This represents the Prophetic guidance, traits and exalted conducts. He used to say in the morning and in the evening:
((We have reached the morning whilst being upon the Firtah of Islam, upon the statement of Ikhlaas and upon the religion of our Prophet muhammad PBUH and the way of our forefather Ibraheem, who was haneefan (one who singled out Allah in worship and distanced himself from everything worshipped besides Allah) and Musliman (a true Muslim), and he was not of those who associated partners to Allah (in worship).
The following Hadith contains what the Prophet PBUH used to say whenever he ate or drank:
((Narrated Abu Ayyub al-Ansari: When the Messenger of Allah (PBUH) ate or drank, he said: "Praise be to Allah Who has given food and drink and made it easy to swallow, and provided an exit for it.))
He used to greet the little boys, and he used to walk in a way that never showed that he was helpless or lazy.
What does this Hadith indicate?
((Narrated Abdullah Ibn Umar: I heard the Messenger of Allah, (PBUH) say: "When you enter into the inah transaction, hold the tails of oxen, are pleased with agriculture, and give up conducting jihad (struggle in the way of Allah). Allah will make disgrace prevail over you, and will not withdraw it until you return to your original religion."))
Inah (transaction) denotes in the Hadith the Riba that disguised as commerce, and so the believer should not resort to relaxation.
Learn this moral lesson:
The moral lesson of the last paragraph is: You should read the Prophetic biography, you should follow the Prophetic guidance and you should purify your soul by following the Prophetic guidance in your health and sickness, in your settlement and travel, in your intimate relations with your family and children and in your relations with your brother and neighbors and you should always ask yourself, "How did the Prophet PBUH use to do in so and so case?"
The most important point in this lecture is to purify your soul by following the Prophetic guidance. This entails that you should learn the Prophetic biography and you should adopt the Prophetic traits, because only then we can say that you are following the good example of the Prophet PBUH. Furthermore, he will not be the example you follow unless you seek Allah's Pleasure, His Messenger's Pleasure and the gains of the Hereafter, and unless you remember Allah abundantly.
Praise be to Allah the Lord of the Worlds.
Du'a:
In the Name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful; praise be to Allah, the Lord of the Worlds, and peace and blessings upon our Master Muhammad, the faithful and the honest.
O Allah, increase us [in Your Blessings] and do not decrease us, honor us and do not humiliate us, give us [from Your Gifts] and do not deprive us, be in favor of us and not against us and make us satisfied and be satisfied with us.
O Allah, send Your Blessings on our Master Muhammad, the illiterate Prophet, his Family and Companions.
