1- Giving Precedence to Loving the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, his words and commands over any other one. This is a form of revering him, starting from loving and hoping to see and accompany him and ending with acting upon his religion outwardly and inwardly out of deep love and longing. It is as the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, said: "None of you will truly believe until I become dearer to him than his child, his father and all of mankind." 

Loving the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, manifests clearly if loving of one of such beloved kin contradicts with what Allah, The Almighty, and His Messenger, peace and blessings be upon him, love and are pleased with (i.e. this will be a test for us; will one prefer loving Allah, The Almighty, and His Messenger over all other forms of love?).

Also, Al-Bukhaari, may Allaah have mercy upon him, narrated that ‘Abdullaah ibn Hishaam, may Allaah be pleased with him, said: "We were with the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, and he was holding the hand of ‘Umar ibn Al-Khattaab. 'Umar, peace and blessings be upon him, said to him, 'O Allaah's Messenger! You are dearer to me than everything except my own self.' The Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, 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, may Allaah be pleased with him, said to him, 'However, now by Allaah, you are dearer to me than my own self.' The Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, said: “Now, O ‘Umar, (now you are a believer.)"

The greatest honor will be for those whom are stated in the statement of the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him:  “The people most loved by me among my Ummah will be those who would come after me, but every one amongst them would have the keenest desire to catch a glimpse of me even at the expense of his family and his wealth.”

Amongst the matters that brings about loving and glorifying the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, is remembering the following:

A-          Remembering the circumstances of the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, in his keenness on his Ummah, his kindness and mercy towards them. Also, remembering the harms and plots that the Messenger, peace and blessings be upon him, suffered from the polytheists of Makkah and At-Taa'if and from the Jews and hypocrites in Medina. We will mention some of the situations and texts so that may refer well to his kindness which indicates the inward and outward greatness of the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him.

•   Allah, The Almighty, Says (what means):

-   {There has certainly come to you a Messenger from among yourselves. Grievous to him is what you suffer; [he is] concerned over you and to the believers is kind and merciful.} [Quran 9: 128]

-   {And We have not sent you, [O Muhammad], except as a mercy to the worlds.} [Quran 21: 107]

•   It was narrated that ‘Aa’ishah, may Allaah be pleased with her, asked the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him: "Have you ever faced any day more difficult than the day of Uhud?" He, peace and blessings be upon him, said: "I suffered at the hands of your people and the worst that I suffered was what I suffered at their hands on the day of ‘Aqabah. That was when I went to call Ibn ‘Abd Yalayl ibn ‘Abd al-Kalal to Islam, and he did not respond. I left, feeling depressed and hardly knowing where I was going. I did not recover until I found myself in Qarn al-Tha‘alib. I raised my head and saw that I was being shaded by a cloud. I looked, and saw Jibreel in the cloud. He called me and said: ‘Allah has heard what your people said and how they responded to you. He has sent the Angel of the Mountains so that you can tell him to do to them whatever you want.’ "The Angel of the Mountains called me and greeted me, then said: ‘ O Muhammad, Allaah has heard what your people have said to you, and I am the Angel of the Mountains and your Lord has sent me to you so that you may give me your orders. What do you want? If you wish I will bring together Al-Akhshabayn (i.e. the two mountains that stand opposite to each other at the extremities of Makkah) to crush them in between.' The Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, said to him: “I rather hope that Allaah will bring forth from their loins (i.e. their descendants) people who will worship Allaah alone, and will not associating anything to Him (in worship).”

•   It was narrated that Rabee‘ah  ibn ‘Abbad Ad-Daylee, may Allaah be pleased with him, said: “I saw the Messenger of Allah with my own eyes in a marketplace called Dhu-Al-Majaz and he was saying: ‘O people! Testify that there is no deity worthy of worship in truth except Allah and then you will be successful.’ Then there appeared behind him a man with a handsome face who wore his hair in two braids and he said: ‘O people, do not let such man deceive you and make you leave the religion of you and your forefathers.’ I (the narrator of the Hadeeth) said: ‘Who is that?’ They said: ‘He is Muhammad ibn ‘Abdullah and he says that he is a Prophet.’ I (the narrator of the Hadeeth) then said: ‘Who is the one calling him a liar?’ They said: ‘He is Abu Lahab.’ 

•   Salmaan, may Allaah be pleased with him, reported that it was said to him: "Your Messenger, peace and blessings be upon him, teaches you about everything, even about excrement. He replied: Yes, he has forbidden us to face the Qiblah (i.e. prayer direction) at the time of excretion or urination, or cleansing with right hand or with less than three pebbles, or with dung or bone.

•   It was narrated that the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, talked about war prisoners of Badr saying, "Had Al-Mut‘im ibn ‘Adi been alive and interceded with me for these mean people, I would have freed them for his sake."  That is because he granted shelter to the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, when he returned from At-Taa'if. Also, he was the one who ordered the paper that laid siege to Bani Haashim to be torn out.

•   It was narrated that the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, gave his garment to ‘Abdullah ibn Ubayy ibn Salool and shrouded him in it when he died. The Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, did so because he ‘Abdullaah ibn Ubayy had given Al-‘Abbaas ibn Abdel Mutalib, the paternal uncle of the Messenger of Allaah, peace and blessings be upon him, a garment to wear when he was taken prisoner on the day of Badr, so the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, gave him a garment in return while Ibn ‘Ubayy was such as such (the leader of the hypocrites as we all know this)….. 

•   It was said about the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, that he is magician, poet, insane and Sabi'. He, peace and blessings be upon him, was stricken over his head, was strangled with camel’s intestines, his molar teeth were broken, his face was made to bleed, was accused in his wife and of being unjust in distributing things. In spite of all such hardships, he, peace and blessings be upon him, used to say: "May Allah bestow His Mercy on Moses, for he was harmed more (in a worse manner) than this; yet he endured patiently."

•   It was narrated that Ibn ‘Umar, may Allaah be pleased with them, said: "The following poetic verse occurred in my mind while I was looking at the face of the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, while he was praying for rain. He did not get down till the rain water flowed profusely from every roof-gutter:

And a white (person) who is requested to pray for rain and who takes care of the orphans and is the guardian of widows 

B-          Remembering the immediate rewards and effects that one gets in the worldly life and Hereafter which was reported regarding loving and sending peace and blessing upon the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him. Amongst such regards are the following:

•   Attaining the good life that mingled with the sweetness of faith and ultimate happiness. It was narrated on the authority of Anas ibn Maalik, may Allaah be pleased with him, that the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, said: “One who attains the following three things will taste the sweetness of faith: To make Allaah and His Messenger more beloved to himself than anything else; to love a person for no other reason except for the sake of Allaah; and to hate to return to disbelief just as much as he would hate to be thrown into fire.”

•   Perfection of faith can never be attained except with loving, glorifying and revering the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, as it was stated in the Hadeeth: "None of you will truly believe until I become dearer to him than his child, his father and all of mankind." 

As for the basic principle of loving the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, which means obedience, submission and total surrender, there is absolutely no doubt that it is something obligatory. Allah, The Almighty, Says (what means): {But no, by your Lord, they will not [truly] believe until they make you, [O Muhammad], judge concerning that over which they dispute among themselves and then find within themselves no discomfort from what you have judged and submit in [full, willing] submission.} [Quran 4: 65]

Therefore, it is not permissible for anyone to disobey the Messenger, peace and blessings be upon him, and turn away from his commands. Rather, it is obligatory upon all of us to obey and submit ourselves to the orders and prohibitions of the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, and giving them precedence over our desires and inclinations.

•   Loving and sending peace and blessing upon the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, which are a form of remembering Allah, The Almighty, imply  driving away distresses, amending one's condition, forgiving misdeeds, and expiating sins. Allah, The Almighty, Says (what means): {And those who believe and do righteous deeds and believe in what has been sent down upon Muhammad - and it is the truth from their Lord - He will remove from them their misdeeds and amend their condition.} [Quran 47: 2]

•   It was also narrated that Ubayy ibn Ka‘b, may Allaah be pleased with him, said: "When two-thirds of the night had passed, the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, would say: “O people, remember Allah, remember Allah. The first Trumpet is about to sound, and will soon be followed by the second; death has come with all that it entails, death has come with all that it entails.” Ubayy said: I said: O Messenger of Allah, I send blessings upon you a great deal; how much of my prayer (du’aa’) should be for you? He, peace and blessings be upon him, said: “Whatever you wish.”

I said: One quarter? He, peace and blessings be upon him, said: “Whatever you wish, and if you do more it is better for you.”

I said: Half? He, peace and blessings be upon him, said: “Whatever you wish, and if you do more it is better for you.”

I said: Two thirds? He said: “Whatever you wish, and if you do more it is better for you.”

I said: Should I make all my du’aa’ for you? He, peace and blessings be upon him, said: “Then your concerns will be taken care of and your sins will be forgiven.”

•   The one who loved him will have more right to him as the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, said for the one who loved him and prepared this love for the day of Resurrection: “You will be with those whom you love.” 

If we set out at nightfall and you are in front of us, then remembering you is really a sufficient guidance for us.

C-          Remembering the tolerance of Islam by sending the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, and his Sharee‘ah (i.e. Islamic divine laws) as Allah, The Almighty, Says (what means): {…who enjoins upon them what is right and forbids them what is wrong and makes lawful for them the good things and prohibits for them the evil and relieves them of their burden and the shackles which were upon them…} [Quran 7: 157]

Allah, The Almighty, also Says (what means): {And We have not sent you, [O Muhammad], except as a mercy to the worlds.} [Quran 21: 107]

Furthermore, it was narrated that the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, said: "I am but a divinely-bestowed mercy." 

He, peace and blessings be upon him, also said to Abu Moosa Al-Ash‘ari and Mu‘aath ibn Jabal, may Allaah be pleased with them: "Facilitate things to people (concerning religious matters), and do not make it hard for them and give them good tidings and do not put people off, be in harmony and do not differ." 

D-          Loving what the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, loves, hating what he, peace and blessings be upon him, hates. This applies to all dealings and morals. Rather, no love can be sound except by adhering firmly to what the beloved loves and keeping away from whatever he hates as the poet once said:

I seek his love while he seeks deserting me, so I will leave what I seek for what he seeks.

Another poet said:

If you said to me die I will do obeying and submitting myself to you and even I will say welcome to the Angle of Death.

There is also a Hadeeth reported from the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, bearing the same meaning:  "None of you (truly) believes until his desire is in accordance with what I have brought."

The same thing was stated in the Noble Quran which is the strongest proof: {It is not for a believing man or a believing woman, when Allah and His Messenger have decided a matter, that they should [thereafter] have any choice about their affair...} [Quran 33: 36]

Your love that is in my heart makes me submissive and obedient.

You have taken my heart and sight, you have taken sleep away from me.

So, leave my heart and take my sleep, but he said: Nay, both of them.

Therefore, it was reported that some people spoke about loving the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, at the presence of Thu'l-Nun Al-Misri, may Allaah have mercy upon him, who said: Keep quite so that our souls may not heart it and thus claim it.

They get satisfied with mere hopes and are afflicted with desires, traveled allegedly through the seas of love while never got wet.

They did not move from their places and did not do anything while they got exhausted. 

Accordingly, one should be keen on devoting all of one's deeds and intentions for the sake of Allah, The Almighty, so that one may have the real meaning of faith perfected. The Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, pointed out this meaning saying:

 “Whoever loves for the sake of Allaah and hates for the sake of Allaah, gives for the sake of Allaah and withholds for the sake of Allaah, will have perfected his faith.”

O you who love the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, love him more and perfume your tongue with remembering him.

Do not care of liars for the sign of loving Allah, The Almighty, is loving His beloved.

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