I begin with the name of Allaah, the Entirely Merciful, the Especially Merciful.
“And verily, this is my Straight Path, so follow it, and follow not (other) paths, for they will separate you away from His Path. This He has ordained for you that you may become Al-Muttaqun (pious ones).” Qur’an 6:153
All praise be to Allaah, Who is Unique in His Attributes of Perfection, Beauty and Majesty. I bear witness through absolute realization and affirmation that there is no deity worthy of worship except Allaah, Him alone with no partner in His Divinity, nor rival in His Lordship and that there is nothing like unto Him in His Names and Attributes “There is nothing like unto Him, and He is the All-Hearer, the All-Seer.” Qur’an 42:11.
I also bear witness through absolute realization and affirmation that Muhammad is His servant and Messenger, who has been sent as a mercy to Aalameen (Mankind, Jinns and all that exists), Allaah sent him with guidance and the religion of truth in order to take mankind away from the servitude (worship) of the servants (creation) to the servitude (worship) of the Lord of the servants, and from the injustice and oppression of other religions to the Justice and equity of Islam, and from the narrowness of the world to the richness of the world and the Hereafter. May the peace and blessings of my Lord be upon him, and his honorable household and the entirety of his companions.
No individual can attain the greatest blessings of this world and the Hereafter except at the hands of Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) by believing in him and following him without deviating from his teachings which are explicitly clear with no doubts nor crookedness therein. He conveyed the message and fulfilled the trust, and strove for the sake of Allaah in the truest sense, until he left us with a clear path whose night is as clear as its day, and no one deviates from it but he is doomed.
It is a religious obligation to love Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) but this love could be genuine or fake. True love for the Prophet (peace be upon him) demands that the Muslims believe in what he has told them about events in the past, what he has informed them about the things that are yet to come, what he has permitted of halal things, what he has forbidden of haram things. It also demands that the Muslims obey and follow what he has commanded, and give up and avoid what he has forbidden, following his laws, adhering to his Sunnah in secret and in the open, accepting and submitting to his judgements and to believe that obeying him is obedience to Allaah, and disobedience to him is disobedience to Allaah. Fake and counterfeit love for the Prophet (peace be upon him) is to venerate him beyond the limit set by the Shari’ah and to invent new matters in the religion in the name of loving the Prophet (peace be upon him).
Indeed, the religion of Islam all of it, revolves around Tawheed (the Oneness of Allaah) and by virtue of this fundamental of the religion, Muslims are obliged to unite and to avoid sectarianism and splitting differing from one another. It is out of the Mercy of Allaah that He sent to us the best of His creations, the leader of the Prophets, Muhammad (peace be upon him) with one message, one path, one nation. Hence, it is inconceivable for the followers of Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) to differ regarding religious teachings when the message is one, because whatever is there for them to do in the name of Islam by means of which the pleasure and reward of Allaah is sought, must have been sufficiently explained or practiced clearly or silently approved by the Prophet (peace be upon him) leaving no room for newly-invented matters to overstep the boundaries of Sunnah. Allaah may He be Exalted, says: “And be not those who divided and differed among themselves after the clear proofs had come to them. It is they for whom there is an awful torment.” Qur’an 3:105
Loving the Prophet (peace be upon him) is a manifestation of the strength of a Muslim’s Faith. When he has strong faith, his love for the Prophet (peace be upon him) increases and this will be clearly seen in all of his actions. A narration on the strength of Anas (may Allaah be pleased with him) in Bukhari and Muslim clearly defined the zenith one can reach in loving the Prophet. He (peace be upon him) said: “None of you truly believes until I am more beloved to him than his father, his child and all the people.” The Muslims of today can never understand this love if they fail to understand how the Companions (may Allaah be pleased with them) demonstrated their absolute love for the Prophet (peace be upon him) because they are the best generation and had greater veneration and love for the Prophet (peace be upon him) than any generation could, till the Last Hour. Hence, no Muslim is to innovate a new concept in the name of demonstrating love for the Prophet (peace be upon him), a concept unknown to the Prophet (peace be upon him) himself, a concept that never crossed the minds of those that walked, spoke, listened, travelled, ate and supported him. The companions showed their love for him by sticking to his Sunnah and running away from any matter that might crop up in the religion of which the Prophet (peace be upon) has not approved of. Before any Muslim does anything in the name of Islam, he should remember this verse; Allaah may He be Exalted says: “And whoever contradicts and opposes the Messenger after the right path has been shown clearly to him and follows other than the believer’s ways, We shall keep him in the path he has chosen, and burn him in Hell — what an evil destination.” Qur’an 4:115
Loving the Prophet (peace be upon him) dictates that the Muslims learn his Sunnah (legal ways, orders, acts of worship, statements), practice on it, teach others and defend it wherever they find themselves. Loving the Prophet (peace be upon him) is not real if the Muslims reduce it to rhetorics, chants, dancing and celebration of his “birthday” of which they have no any pious predecessor that has preceded them in such alien practices. The rule is to stop at where the Prophet (peace be upon him) and his companions (may Allaah be pleased with them) stopped regarding the Shar’ah and say what they said (without innovating new concepts in the religion) and follow the guidance with which he came, this was echoed by Imam al-Awzaai’. In trying to prove the love they have for the Prophet (peace be upon him) some Muslims have overstepped beyond the boundaries of Sunnah least realizing that Allaah may He be Exalted, issues a stern warning against doing so. He says: “And let those who oppose the Messenger’s (Muhammad’s) commandment beware, lest some Fitnah (disbelief, trials, afflictions, earthquakes, killing, overpowered by tyrant) should befall them or a painful torment be inflicted on them.” Qur’an 42:63
A believer’s love for the Prophet (peace be upon him) is confirmed through his stern opposition against anything that opposes the Sunnah of the Prophet (peace be upon him). A true lover of the Prophet (peace be upon him) opposes bid’ah (innovation in religious matters) and spends his days and nights in trying to take people away from anything that is contrary to the practice of the Prophet (peace be upon him) to that which is consistent with his Sunnah through words of wisdom enshrined in Qur’an and Sunnah and actions demonstrated by the Prophet (peace be upon him). None truly loves the Prophet (peace be upon him) without going through trials and difficulties, they are the constants of Siraat al-Mustaqeem (Straight Path).
A believer’s love for the Prophet (peace be upon him) is increased when he realizes the trials and difficulties suffered by the Prophet (peace be upon him) in order to bring Islam to us. He (peace be upon him) was persecuted, insulted, hit, slandered, accused of madness, sorcery, lying. He was expelled from Makkah his hometown and his enemies lunched series of wars against him and he stood his ground just to bring Islam to the world. The greatest disservice any Muslim can do to Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) is to invent-new matters (bid’ah) in Islam. The hadith on the strength of the mother of believers, Aisha (may Allaah be pleased with her) recorded by Bukhari and Muslim is apt in this regard. The Prophet (peace be upon him) said: “Whoever innovates something in this matter of ours that is not a part of it will have it rejected.”
In conclusion, Allaah may He be Exalted says: “But no, by your Lord, they can have no Faith, until they make you (O Muhammad SAW) judge in all disputes between them, and find in themselves no resistance against your decisions, and accept (them) with full submission.” Qur’an 4:65. He also says: “Indeed in the Messenger of Allaah (Muhammad SAW) you have a good example to follow for him who hopes in (the Meeting with) Allaah and the Last Day and remembers Allaah much.” Qur’an 33:21. In another place He states that: “Say (O Muhammad SAW to mankind): “If you (really) love Allaah then follow me, Allaah will love you and forgive you of your sins. And Allaah is Oft-Forgivng.” Qur’an 3: 31
The pinnacle of love for the Prophet (peace be upon him) is to follow his Sunnah in word and deed, so that it becomes the guiding principle in all of a Muslim’s life. This also entails following the ‘aqeedah (belief) of his noble Companions, and the ‘aqeedah of the Taabi’een who followed them, and the ‘aqeedah of those who followed their path until the present day, namely Ahl al-Sunnah wa’l-Jamaa’ah, and avoid bid’ah (innovation). Nothing in the Shari’ah stipulates celebrating the Prophet’s birthday, but we know much of the Shari’ah that orders Muslims to follow the path of the Prophet (peace be upon him), to emulate him and take him as a role model in word and deed. This is love for the Prophet (peace be upon him), this is Sunnah.
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