Etiquette towards The Messenger of Allaah

One of the joys that Allaah grants His servant is to love His beloved
Noble Prophet, and how can it be otherwise, when to love the Prophetis
one of the conditions of faith?
Imaam Al-Bukhaari, may Allaah have mercy upon hin, related from Abu
Hurayrahthat the Messenger of Allaahsaid:"I swear by Him in Whose
Hands mysoul lies, none of you will truly believe until I am more
beloved to him than his father and son."
Imaam Muslimrelated from Anasthat he said: The Messenger of
Allaahsaid:"None of you will truly believe until I am more beloved to
him than his family, wealth and all the people."
In the same way that love of the Prophetis a reason for attaining the
good of this world and the Hereafter, then loving him is also a reason
for achieving the sweetness of Eemaan (faith).
Al-Bukhaari and Muslim both related from Anasthat the Prophetsaid:
"Whoever possesses the following three qualities will taste the
sweetness(delight) of Eemaan: One to whom Allaah and His Messengerare
dearer than anything else;whoever loves his brother solely for
Allaah's sake; and whoever hates to convert to disbelief just as he
hates to be thrown into theFire."
The meaning of "sweetness of Eemaan", as the scholars have stated is:
"Deriving pleasure fromobedience and enduring hardshipin religion and
preferring this over worldly things." (Sharh An-Nawawee and Fat-
Hul-Baaree)
Loving the Prophetwill also be a means of taking one to the place of felicity.
It has been related by Al-Bukhaariand Muslim from 'Abdullaah Ibn
Mas'oodthat he said:[A man came to the Messenger of Allaahand said: 'O
Messenger of Allaah! What do you say of a man who loves a people and
never joins them?' The Messenger of Allaahsaid: The person will be
with those whom he loves (i.e.in the Hereafter)."](Al-Bukhaari &
Muslim)
We all claim that we love the Noble Prophetand that heis more beloved
to us than our fathers, sons and all the people. However, are we
really truthful in this claim? Does our claim have any value in the
Sight of Allaah?
The scholars have mentioned signs and criterion by which the love of
the Prophetcan be judged i.e. whether it is in a person's heart or
not. Some of the most apparent signs are the following:
1) being eager to see and keep company with him. Thus, theloss of
these two wishes would be worse than the loss of anything in the
world.
2) Having total willingness to sacrifice oneself and one's wealthfor him.
3) Following his orders and refraining from what he prohibited.
4) Making his Sunnah (Prophetic traditions) victorious and protecting
the Sharee`ah (Islamic law).
If one finds these signs in himself, then he should praise Allaah, The
Most Mighty and The Most Majestic, that he possesses in his heart the
true love for the beloved, the Noble [Prophet]. He should ask Allaah
for steadfastness upon this.
Whoever lacks some or all of these signs, should hold himself to
account before he is held to account, on a Day which will turn the
hair of children gray (i.e. the Day of Resurrection). Nothing willbe
hidden from Allaah and he (the slave) will not consider or attempt to
deceive Allaah and thebelievers; because one who attempts to deceive
Allaah will only deceive himself as Allaah says:
"They (think to) deceive Allaah and those who believe, while they
deceive not except themselves, and perceive (it) not."[Quran, 2: 9]
'Umar Ibn Al-Khattabsaid to Allaah's Messenger"O Messenger of Allaah,
you are more beloved to me than anything except my own self." Allaah's
Messengerthen told him, "No, by the One in Whose Hand is my soul, not
until I am more beloved to you than your own soul." 'Umar then told
him, "By Allaah, now you are more beloved to me than my own soul (i.e.
you will not truly believe)." Allaah's Messengerthen told him that now
he had true and correct faith."[Al-Bukhaari and Muslim]
Ibn Rajabsays about love of the Messenger:
Love for the Messengeris at two levels.
The first level is obligatory. This isthe love that requires one to
accept whatever the Messengerbrought from Allaah and to receive it
with love, pleasure, esteem and submission, without seeking guidance
from any other source whatsoever. This is then followed by excellent
following of him in whatever he conveyed from his Lord and to affirm
whatever he has reported of obligations, to remain away fromanything
he has prohibited of forbidden acts, to give support for his religion
and to strive against those who oppose him according to one's ability.
All of these are necessary components that one must possess and a
person's Faith is not complete without them.
The second level is superior [and not an absolutely necessary
component of Faith]. This type of love requires following his example
in an excellent way and fulfilling the following of his Sunnah
(tradition) with respect to his behavior, manners, voluntary deeds,
supererogatory actions, eating, drinking, dressing, excellent behavior
with his wives and other aspects of hisperfect manners and pure
behavior. It also includes learningabout the details of his life and
practices. It also includes the heart trembling when mentioning him,
exalting his mention often, out of what resides in the heart of love
for him, esteem for him and respect for him. It also includes loving
to listen to his words and preferringthem over the words of others
ofthe creation. And one of the greatest aspects of this love is to
follow him in his abstinence of this world, his being sufficed with
little of this world and his turning to and desiring of the
everlasting Hereafter.