Introduction:

   Mr. Bilal:

﴾ 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. ﴿

 

[Al-Ahzab, 21]

 

 

If we travel at dark and you are our leader

  Your leadership is enough for us to follow

  And if we lose our way and can’t find a lead

Our lead will be the light of your face

 

 

 The good example is a pearl in the exalted Islamic Shari’ah, so let us learn how to take the prophet PBUH as a good example and how should we follow him PBUH in our words and deeds.

  In the Name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful, He created man and taught him eloquence, and may He bless and grant peace to Muhammad, the Faithful and the Honest, and may Allah bless his folks and companions.

     Dear spectators, May Allah grant you happiness and goodness wherever you are.

  Assalam Alaikum Wa Rahmato Allah Wa Barakatoh, welcome to a new pearl of the exalted Islamic Shari’ah and to a new meeting in order to seek shade under one of the Islamic conducts.

  First allow me in your behalf to welcome Dr. Mohammad Rateb Al Nabulsi.

Welcome to our TV show sir.

 

 

 Dr. Nabulsi:

   May Allah bless you and may Muslims benefit your efforts.

 Mr. Bilal:

 

 

Dr. Nabulsi our topic today is about the good example, Allah says:

 

﴾ 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. ﴿

 

[Al-Ahzab, 21]

 

 

 How can we follow the lead of our good example the prophet PBUH?
 

 

 The good example:

   Dr. Nabulsi

   In the Name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful. Praise be to Allah, the Lord of the Worlds, and may He bless and grant peace to Muhammad, the Faithful and the Honest, and may Allah bless his folks and companions.

   The prophetic Sunnah by definition (according to scholars) is everything said, done or approved by the prophet PBUH in addition to his exalted traits PBUH.

   
Thus when we say “Sunnah” it means first the prophet’s sayings PBUH and the proof is:

﴾ And whatsoever the Messenger (Muhammad ) gives you, take it, and whatsoever he forbids you, abstain (from it)﴿

 

[Al-Hashr, 7]

 

 

 “Sunnah” also refers to the prophet’s actions:

 

﴾ 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. ﴿

 

[Al-Ahzab, 21]

 

 

 “Sunnah” refers to the way the prophet PBUH dealt with his companions, wives, children and the way he dealt with hardship and prosperity. It also refers to the way the prophet PBUH acted in war and peace, in giving and withdrawing, in anger and in content and it refers to the treatment he PBUH showed to his wives, companions and neighbors. “Sunnah” above all that is about the moves and stances he PBUH took and they all represent his practical Sunnah.

Hence Sunnah is the prophet’s sayings PBUH:

 

﴾ And whatsoever the Messenger (Muhammad ) gives you, take it, and whatsoever he forbids you, abstain (from it)﴿

 

[Al-Hashr, 7]

 

 

 Whatever the prophet PBUH commanded us to do should be followed, and whatever the prophet PBUH prohibited us from should be avoided, while his practical Sunnah is about his actions PBUH.

  We learn also from the prophet’s actions like when we learn that if the prophet PBUH shook hands with someone, he would be the last to withdraw his hand from this shaking, or when Ramadan is received, he PBUH used to be the most generous and giving person.

     Therefore, Sunnah refers to the prophet’s words and actions, given the prophetic texts which convey to us his Sunnah (the verbal and practical) should be authenticated.

   If a companion said a word for example in front of the prophet PBUH and the prophet PBUH kept silent, this means that he PBUH approved what the companion said, because had this word been wrong, the prophet PBUH would have never kept silent.

   The proof is:

 

 

 A Companion fought with the Prophet, peace be upon him, and was seriously injured, so when the Prophet, peace be upon him, came into his house, he had been already dead. Upon his arrival to the house, the Prophet, peace be upon him, heard a woman saying, "Congratulation, O Aba As-Sa'ib! I testify that Allah has honored you." Listen to the words of the Prophet, peace be upon him, which showed his politeness with Allah. He, peace be upon him, said, "Who told you that Allah has honored him? You should say instead, "I hope that Allah will honor you" Then the Prophet, peace be upon him, said, "As for him, death has come to him and I wish him all good from Allah. By Allah, though I am Allah's Apostle, I neither know what will happen to me, nor to you."
 

 

 [Al Hakim on the authority of Umm Ala’ Al Ansariyah]

 

 Amongst the conducts of being a true slave of Allah is not to judge the future for certain, but instead one should say: “I invoke Allah for that” and this but reflects transcendence in dealing with Allah the Almighty and exalted politeness.

   Again, the prophetic Sunnah includes the prophet’s verbal commands, his practical actions, the things he PBUH approved and his exalted conducts.

  We should follow his steps in everything including the way he washed his body, the way he shook hands and the way he smiled…etc.

   A man once attended the prophet’s assembly, and he said: “Who is Mohammad?” this short question reflects exalted matters that might be said at length, for it means that the prophet PBUH didn’t have a special seat for him or a special posture which distinguished him PBUH from the sh3er.

     In one of the narrations, this man guessed and his guess was right so the prophet PBUH said: “Yes you are right, it is me” and in a second narration, one of the companions said to the man: “It is this man with the radiant face”.

 

((it was decided the companions would sacrifice a lamb for dinner. One of them volunteered: "I will sacrifice the lamb." Another said: "I will skin it." and The Prophet PBUH said: "I will gather the wood from the desert." So the group said: "O Messenger of Allah, it is not becoming of you to discomfort yourself as such. You rest. We will be honored to do all this on our own."

  The Prophet PBUH answered: "I know that you are eager to do it all, but Allah isn't pleased with the slave who distinguishes between himself and his companions, and considers himself better than sh3er."))

 

 [Mentioned in relic]

 

 

 In Badr, the Muslims were fewer in number and less adequate in equipment. In fact, the Prophet (PBUH) and his Companions had nothing more than seventy camels, though the distance between Medina and Badr was more than one hundred and sixty kilometers. So the Prophet (PBUH) decided that every three men should share one camel. He said:

     “Ali, Abu Lubaba, and I will share one camel”. Imam Ahmad narrated that Abdullah Ibn Mas’oud (may Allah be pleased with him) said: “On the day of Badr, every three of us shared one camel in turns. Abu Lubaba and Ali Ibn Abi Talib were the partners of the Messenger of Allah (PBUH). So when it was the Prophet’s turn to walk, they said to him: “We shall walk instead of you.” But he said: “No! You are not stronger than I am in walking; and I am in need of reward no less than you are.”

   In fact, the prophet’s sayings, actions, the matters he approved and his conducts are his Sunnah PBUH.

 

 

 Mr. Bilal:

   Ustaz Rateb, are you saying that the prophetic Sunnah, which we are ordered to follow, is multi-source?

   He tasted richness, poverty, power and weakness, so what is the secret behind tasting all these paradoxes?
 

 

 Following the prophetic Sunnah:

   Dr. Nabulsi
 

 

 

 The following is a great example of the Prophet's optimism manifested in the way he behaved when he migrated from Makkah to Al-Madinah. Killing him was declared lawful, and a reward of 100 camels would be given to whoever brought him, may Allah have peace and blessings upon him, whether dead or alive. When Suraqah could follow the Prophet, may Allah have peace and blessings upon him, the Prophet, may Allah have peace and blessings upon him, told him, "O Suraqah, I wonder how you will feel like when you put on the bracelets of Kisra on your wrists?" As if the Prophet, may Allah have peace and blessing upon him, told Suraqah, " I am pretty sure that Allah will save me and I will reach Al-Madinah, establish a state there, establish an army, fight the two most powerful empires in the world, defeat them and then the loots of Kisra will be brought to me. O Suraqah, I will give you his bracelets."

 Then during Umar’s succession, Umar received the treasures of Kisra so he said: “Where is Suraqah”, then he gave him the bracelets of Kisra and said: “Praise be to Allah Who took these of the Chosroes and put them on Suraqa.”

 

 

 The prophet PBUH had trust in The Divine victory and in the future. Muslims nowadays become very pessimestic and upon hearing and watching the bad events in the Islamic and Arabic world, they say: “It is over” No it is not over, for we should learn from our prophet PBUH how to be optimistic. When he was about to migrate from Mecca to Madinah, the infidels gave the permission to kill him and the hopes narrowed down to nothing in having victory at the time, yet the trust, which the prophet PBUH put in Allah the Almighty, didn’t change.

   Mr. Bilal:

   We should follow the example of the prophet PBUH in the way he trusted Allah the Almighty.

   Dr. Nabulsi:

   That is true especially now.

   Mr. Bilal:

   May Allah reward you Ustaz Rateb. I want to reach the point when the prophet PBUH expressed that he is just like any other human being since he tasted all sorts of hardship, so how can we take him PBUH as an example as a human being?
 

 

 The prophet PBUH is a human being:

   Dr. Nabulsi:

 May Allah bless you dear brother.

   Had he not been a human being with all the characteristics of human beings, he would not have been the master of all mankind.

   He suffered hunger:

Anas narrated that the prophet PBUH said: "Indeed I have feared for the sake of Allah, such that no one has feared, and I have been harmed for the sake of Allah, such that no one has been harmed. Thirty days and nights have passed over me, and there was no food with Bilal and I forced something with a liver to eat, except what Bilal could conceal under his armpit."

 

 [At Tirmizi on the authority of Anas bin Malik]

 

 

 He tasted poverty and richness.

   A man asked the Prophet, PBUH: To whom does this valley full of sheep belong? The prophet answered: It is yours. The man said: Are you making fun of me? The Prophet answered: No, am not, by Allah. The man said: You give as someone who does not fear poverty, so I do witness that you are Allah’s Messenger.

   He tasted triumph.

   He was triumphant, conqueror, yet when he entered Makka he was bending his head till the edge of his turban was about to touch the neck of his camel, as a way of modesty to Allah.

  In the trench battle (Al Khandaq) Muslims were in grave danger so was Islam, at that crucial moment the hypocrites said:  "How can your companion (meaning the Prophet) promise us the conquest of the countries of Caesar and Kisra (the emperor of Persia) when none of us can even feel secure enough as to go and relieve himself?"

   He tasted oppression, victory, poverty, richness, glory, worries and fear, and had he not been a human being with all the characteristics of the human beings, he wouldn’t have become the master of mankind.

   Furthermore, he tasted the bitterness of being insulted with regard to his wife’s honor, yet he showed forbearance, patience, wisdom and optimism.

   Mr. Bilal:

   Dr. Nabulsi may Allah reward you abundantly.

     In the last part of our meeting I want to draw the attentions to the importance of following the example of the prophet PBUH.

     Some people mistakenly assume that learning the prophetic Sunnah (the verbal and the practical) is Fard Kifayah (a duty which is imposed on the whole community of believers (ummah); if enough members in the Muslim community discharge the obligation, the remaining Muslims are freed from the responsibility before Allah.), as if only the specialists in the Islamic knowledge are the ones who learn the prophetic Sunnah, so is not learning the prophetic Sunnah and biography Fard Ayn on every individual Mulsim?
 

 

 We learn from the prophet’s sayings and actions:

 Dr. Nabulsi:

   The believer is a human being, and every person comes to this life in order to get to know Allah. Allah the Almighty, Who no vision can grasp, sent the messenger PBUH and He made him say the truth, move in the cause of the truth, give and withdraw for the sake of the truth and get angry and satisfied only for the truthful matters, thus the prophet PBUH is our mentor in his sayings, actions and perfect conducts, and in order to reach the truth, man should follow the prophet PBUH in his sayings, actions, the matters he approved and his exalted traits.

   This is Sunnah.

   Mr. Bilal:

 Dr. Nabulsi, is not setting a good example as parents and individuals part of following the example of the prophet PBUH?

 

 

 The religion should be applied entirely:

   Dr. Nabulsi:

   This is very true. If we say: “This physician is a surgeon” this means that whenever he intends to give the patient an injection he should sterilize the skin and follow the usual procedure in this respect, but what if we say: “This person is a nurse” will that change any of the procedure followed to give the patient an injection? Nothing will change.

     Much in the same line, there are matters which are done by the elite of people and the common people alike.

     This means that the prophetic Sunnah is conveyed to us in order to apply it, not to sing its praises only, because there is no passive admiration in Islam (like when someone just admires Islam without applying it).

   Thus it is not accepted that someone says to you: “Islam is great, our prophet PBUH is the best among prophets, the Islamic Method is superior and the Quran and Sunnah are excellent” this passive admiration is not accepted and it is meaningless.

   Allah says:

 

 

﴾ Then, there has succeeded them a posterity who have given up As-Salat (the prayers) [i.e. made their Salat (prayers) to be lost, either by not offering them or by not offering them perfectly or by not offering them in their proper fixed times, etc.] and have followed lusts. So they will be thrown in Hell.﴿

 

 [Maryam, 59]

 

 

 This means that they offer Salah, yet their Salah didn’t meet the Divine Standards (because their Salah didn’t prevent them from sinning) and for that their Salah was not accepted and thus they were punished by Al Ghai (hardship in worldly life and hellfire in the Hereafter). Unfortunately this is happening to Muslims nowadays.

 

   Mr. Bilal:

     Dr. Nabulsi, should not the scholars, the callers to Allah, the educators and the social reformers set good examples before saying a word?
 

 

 Setting a good example precedes Dawah:

   Dr. Nabulsi:

   This is very true.

     Mr. Bilal:

   They shoud set a good example first.

     Dr. Nabulsi

   This is true because people tend to learn by watching more than learning by listening.

   The prophet PBUH was described as “A walking Quran” and it is said: “The Quran is a speaking universe, the universe is a silent Quran and the prophet PBUH is a walking Quran”.

   The majority of people are touched by Islam when they see a good example in front of them, and the good example is the believer who abides by Islam, who is honest if he speaks with you, who is trustworthy if he is entrusted and who is chaste if his desires are inauthord.

   Mr. Bilal:

   Dr. Nabulsi, I want to end this meeting by a story I heard from you before we started this interview, it is the story of the Imam who was very close to sell the entire Islam for 20 pennies, so will you please share this story with our spectators?

 

 

 People learn by watching more than by listening:

 
  Dr. Nabulsi

 

 

 

 

 An Imam of a Masjid used to live in London, but he moved later on to live in Manchester, so he had to go to his Masjid by bus. He took the same bus which was driven by the same bus driver every day.. One day the Imam gave the driver a bill of twenty pounds, and the driver gave him the change. When the Imam counted the money, he found out that there were twenty pennies more than what he deserved, so he said to himself: "I will give this money back to the driver before I get out of the bus." However, a while later, an evil thought occurred to him, so he said to himself: “The company of this bus is a well known one and its returns are very huge. This money will do no harm to it if taken. I need it badly, so I’ll take it." He thought he can go back to a fatwa that would justify his bad deed. However, his piety overtook his logic, and what happened later is that when he was about to leave the bus, he put his hand in his pocket, and subconsciously he gave the extra twenty pennies to the driver, so the latter smiled and said:

     “"Are not you the Imam of this Masjid? The Imam answered, “"Yes, I am. ". Then the driver said: “"By Allah I was thinking about visiting you in the Masjid to worship Allah, but I wanted to test you before I come."”

     This man passed out because he realized the grave crime he would have committed if he had not given the extra money to the driver, and when he recovered from his shock, he said, "O Allah, I was almost about to sell the entire Islam for twenty pennies.”

   How many are the Muslims nowadays who sell Islam for a false declaration? This is a problem.

  People learn by watching not by listening, and unless they see a walking Islam in front of them who applies Islam to the letter, they will not be convinced of Islam at all.
 

 

 Conclusion:

   Mr. Bilal:

   This is the importance of setting a good example and it was the topic of our meeting today.

     May Allah reward you Dr. Nabulsi and bless you and make Muslims benefit your knowledge.

   Dear spectators, at the end of this episode of your show “Pearls” I would like to thank you for being with us and I invoke Allah to bestow you with good health.

   Until next episode, I will leave your religion, trust and last deeds in the care of Allah.

  Wassalam Alaikum Wa Rahmato Allah wa Barakatoh.