every person who truly loves and supports the prophet, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, should ask himself this vital question: how can i support this honorable prophet, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam? how can i defend his great honor? how can i repel the heinous attacks that distort and defame the honorable character of the prophet, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, in the east and the west? how can i give him his due estimation and prove my love and devotion to him?

before i answer these questions, you have to ask yourself the following question: is not the one who has such remarkable magnanimous attributes and who attained human perfection worthy of being loved?

how would you feel if you knew that he loved you? rather, how would you feel if you knew that he longed to meet you,5 wept for you, and felt sympathy for you?6

there is not the slightest doubt that you would say from the bottom of your heart: yes! i love the prophet, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam!

upon this, i say to you that declaring that you love the prophet, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, is not enough unless you practically fulfill what your beloved prophet, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, said: “none of you truly believes until i am more beloved to him than his child, his father and all the people.” [al-bukhaari and muslim]

this is the answer to all of the previous questions. in fact, we cannot support our prophet, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, unless we understand the reality of loving him practically and that our love for the prophet, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, should be greater than that of anyone else, and even greater than our love for ourselves. we have to turn that love into a tangible reality, not just claim it. it should be like the love that filled the heart of as-siddeeq, may allaah be pleased with him, to the extent that he felt that quenching the thirst of his beloved, the prophet, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, quenched his own thirst; and it was a true feeling, not just a claim or an exaggeration.

abu bakr as-siddeeq, may allaah be pleased with him, narrated about the journey of migration with his beloved (the prophet, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam) from makkah to madeenah and said, “we went past a shepherd and the messenger of allaah, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, was very thirsty so i milked a little milk into a cup. then the prophet, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, drank until i was satisfied.” [al-bukhaari and muslim]

o allaah, what great truthful love! “he drank until i was satisfied.” how could as-siddeeq be satisfied except when the thirst of his beloved, the prophet, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, was quenched! it was as if the thirst of abu bakr is what was quenched! in fact, abu bakr did not exaggerate, he simply expressed his real feelings that filled his heart towards the prophet, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam.

this is the same kind of love that filled the heart of this companion to the extent that he could not bear leaving his beloved; the prophet, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, so he returned to look at the face of the prophet, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam. rather, such love went beyond the limits of time and place to reach the day of resurrection. therefore, he said, “o messenger of allaah, you are dearer to me than myself and dearer to me than my family and my children. sometimes i am in my house and when i remember you, i cannot wait until i come to you and look at you. if i remember that i will die and you will die, i know that when you enter paradise you will be raised with the prophets but if i enter paradise i am afraid that i will not see you…” [at-tabaraani]

this is the same type of love that filled the heart of bilaal, may allaah be pleased with him, to the extent that he was pleased with death for he would then be able to see his beloved: the prophet, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam. on his death bed, his wife called out, "what grief!"

bilaal said, "what joy! tomorrow, we meet those we love, muhammad and his party!" [siyar a‘laam an-nubalaa’]

this is exactly what made zayd ibn ad-dathinah, may allaah be pleased with him, prefer to die and be pleased with death rather than let as much as a thorn hurt the prophet, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, wherever he is.

when the makkans drove zayd ibn ad-dathinah out of the sacred precincts of makkah to kill him, abu sufyaan said to him, "i ask you by allaah, zayd, do you not wish that muhammad were with us now to take your place so that we could cut off his head, and you were safe with your family?" zayd said, "by allaah, i would not wish muhammad to be now in a place where even a thorn could hurt him if that was the condition for my being with my family!" abu sufyaan remarked, "i have not seen any people who love anyone the way the companions of muhammad love muhammad." [seerat ibn hishaam]

it was the same kind of love that filled the heart of sa‘d ibn ar-rabee‘, may allaah be pleased with him. just before he died, he made supporting his beloved prophet, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, his last will to his people of the ansaar. zayd ibn thaabit, may allaah be pleased with him, said,

on the day of uhud, the messenger of allaah, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, sent me to search for sa‘d ibn ar-rabee‘.i found him among the injured with his last spark of life and he had about seventy strikes such as a stabs of a spear, strikes of a sword, and shots of arrows. i said to him, “o sa‘d, the messenger of allaah, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, ordered me to see whether you are among the living or the dead.” he said, “i am among the dead. therefore, i would like you to give the messenger of allaah, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, my salaam (salutation of islam), and tell him that sa‘d ibn ar-rabee‘ tells you, ‘may allaah reward you with the best thing that he rewards a prophet for his people!’ and give your people my salaam and tell them that sa‘d ibn ar-rabee‘ tells you, ‘you have no excuse before allaah if your prophet is hurt or harmed while your eyes still blink(i.e. you are still alive).’” then he passed away.” [al-haakim]

what, then, is the excuse of the islamic nation that consists of about a billion muslims today when the meanest and the most abject people have wronged and defamed their noble prophet, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam?

if our love for the prophet, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, truly filled our and it became a real fact, not only a claim, then it would inevitably be a practical and established reality that would appear clearly and affect our manners, behavior, concerns and our lives as a whole.

such true love would lead, from the outset, to support the religion of our beloved prophet, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam. in carrying that out, we should explore every possible avenue in calling people to it, preserve it, adopting the motto of the greatest and the most truthful person who loved him, abu bakr, may allaah be pleased with him, when the religion of his beloved, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, was vulnerable to danger, he declared his everlasting words loudly, “the revelation will not be sent down any longer. the religion was completed and it cannot be harmed as long as i am alive.” [jaami‘ al-usool fi ahaadeeth ar-rasool]

hence, the imaam of madeenah; imaam maalik, may allaah be pleased with him, said, “whoever introduces any innovation into islam claiming that it is good, is implying that muhammad, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, betrayed the message entrusted to him, because allaah the almighty says (what means): {this day i have perfected for you your religion.} [quran 5:3]”

so, whatever was not part of the religion of islam at that point should not be part of the religion of islam today. [al-i‘tisaam by ash-shaatibi]

so i wonder: how can some people claim that they love the prophet, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, when they are the first to destroy his religion and fight his honorable sunnah through introducing innovations into his religion, and turning a blind eye to the warning of the messenger of allaah, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, in which he said: “beware of newly-invented matters, for every newly-invented matter is an innovation and every innovation is misguidance.” [abu daawood, at-tirmithi and ibn maajah; al-albaani: saheeh (authentic)]

the person who truthfully loves the prophet, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, and sincerely wishes to support him has to strictly follow the prophet, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, in all matters and accept and have firm belief in the judgments and rules of his honorable religion and also give his sunnah its due estimation.

the person who truthfully loves the prophet, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, and sincerely wishes to support him has to obey his enjoinments and not exaggerate nor elevate him above the status that allaah the almighty gave him: that he is the servant and messenger of allaah, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam.

the person who truthfully loves the prophet, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, and sincerely wishes to support him has to be very keen on learning the sunnah and the biography of his beloved prophet, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, and teaching it to his children, his family and his workcolleagues.

the person who truthfully loves the prophet, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, and sincerely wishes to support him has to adhere very strictly to the remarkable magnanimous manners of the prophet, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, in order to be a good example and bear the greatest message of the religion of the prophet, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam. this will make him draw closer to the prophet, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, on the day of resurrection and this can only be attained by adopting noble manners, for the prophet, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, said:

“among the dearest of you to me and those who will sit closest to me on the day of resurrection are the best of you in manners.” [at-tirmithi; al-albaani: saheeh (authentic)]

the person who truthfully loves the prophet, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, and sincerely wishes to support him has to have everlasting love for the prophet, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam. he always remembers the great virtues and favors of the prophet, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, upon him and upon every individual of the islamic nation for he conveyed the message to the people in full, and he fulfilled the trust properly and advised his ummah sincerely.

the person who truthfully loves the prophet, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, and sincerely wishes to support him has to love and respect the pious members of ahl al-bayt (members of the household of the prophet, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam) which include his wives, offspring and all his righteous relatives. one has to be loyal to them and hate whoever hates and disrespects them.

it was narrated that abu bakr as-siddeeq, may allaah be pleased with him, said, “by the one in whose hand my soul is, kinship with the messenger of allaah, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, is dearer to me than kinship with my own people.” [part of a long hadeeth reported by al-bukhaari and muslim]

the person who truthfully loves the prophet, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, and sincerely wishes to support him, has to love and respect all the companions of the prophet, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa

sallam. he has to follow in their footsteps, speak well of them, refrain from talking about any disputes that happened between them, invoke and ask allaah the almighty to forgive them all, believe in their superiority over all those who came after them in knowledge, righteous deeds, rank, and should hate whoever hates or disrespects them.

the person who truthfully loves the prophet, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, and who sincerely wishes to support him has to love and respect all the pious and righteous scholars and faithful muslim preachers, give them their due estimation and appreciation, and obey them in all types of good deeds. one should not follow or search for their errors and mistakes. one has to seek their opinions and obey them, speak well of them, defend them for what they have and teach the religion of our beloved, the prophet, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam.

the person who truthfully loves the prophet, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, and sincerely wishes to support him has to keep his tongue moist and busy with sending peace and blessings upon his beloved prophet, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, at all times and whenever he hears his honorable name.

how could one ever get tired when sending blessings on his beloved prophet, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, who is the light of his eyes, the happiness and joy of his heart, the relief and comfort of his soul, the source of pleasure, the alleviation of distress and grief, the musk of gatherings, the bliss of life, the beauty of time, the sign of love, the witness of following his example, and the very proof of loyalty?the most stingy person is he who does not send blessings on him7, and humiliation and disgrace will be the punishment of the one who refuses to do it.8

the person who truthfully loves the prophet, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, and sincerely wishes to support him has to guard his beloved vigilantly so that no one can wrong him or try to belittle him, and should feel a lot of anger for that. such anger should, however, be positive and not just an insensible or aimless anger.

he should adopt the example of those who truly love the prophet, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, such as the one who prevented his own father from entering madeenah and said to him, "by allaah, you will not enter through here until the messenger of allaah, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, allows you to do so, for you have to know that he is the honorable one and you are the disgraced.'' his father said to him, “are you doing this to your father!” when the messenger of allaah, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, came by, he found ‘abdullaah putting his hand on the camel of his father (preventing him from entering) while ibn ubayy was saying, “i am more disgraced than children, i am more disgraced than women.” the messenger, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, said to him, “let your father enter.” so the son said, "enter, now that the messenger of allaah, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, has given you permission to.''9

he prevented his own father from entering his city until the prophet, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, gave him permission; this was to make his father – and the whole world – know that all honor is for allaah the almighty and his messenger, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, and that the one who wronged the prophet, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, could not in any way live among them and that he would be the most disgraced person forever.

such is the anger that we want from the person who truthfully loves; such is the anger that makes one leave what he likes and loves only for the sake of the prophet, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam.