Answering objections and clearing misconceptions
In this final part we will end by answering some common doubts and objections. What has been mentioned in the previous parts should be sufficient to educate anyone on the importance of loving the Messenger of Allah ﷺ and how this love has manifested through the centuries. Unfortunately however, due to a new ideology which emerged in recent times, many Muslims are led to believe that it is improper to have too much love for the Messenger of Allah ﷺ. As a result, many misconceptions have gripped the thinking of Muslims. Many of these points have been answered indirectly in the previous parts but now we will answer them directly, and if Allah Most High wills, put an end to these misconceptions.
Misconception 1: Loving the Prophet ﷺ is only in following his Sunnah
This claim, as the claimants will insist, tells us that loving the Messenger of Allah ﷺ can only manifest in one’s life by following his Sunnah outwardly. Whilst it is undoubtedly true that following the Sunnah is a sign of real and true love, it is problematic to claim that this is the only sign. Take the following narration for example about a Sahabi who had a problem with drinking alcohol:
During the lifetime of the Prophet ﷺ there was a man called Abdullah whose nickname was Donkey, and he used to make the Messenger of Allah ﷺ laugh.
The Prophet ﷺ lashed him because of drinking (alcohol). One-day he was brought to the Prophet ﷺ on the same charge and was lashed (again).
On that, a man among the people said, “O Allah, curse him! How frequently he has been brought (to the Prophet ﷺ on such a charge)!”
The Prophet ﷺ said, “Do not curse him, for by Allah, I know he loves Allah and His Messenger.“
Bukhari
This is clear and explicit evidence that a person can be distant from the Sunnah, so much so that he is involved in major sins, yet still be a lover of Allah Most High and His Messenger ﷺ. This is because obeying someone is not always a guaranteed sign that a person loves the one he is obeying. A person may obey his manager, his father or his friend for other reasons such as incentives, fear or peer pressure1.
Also, we know that the Khawarij2 were a sect whom apparently were very pious and would outwardly follow the Sunnah. The Messenger of Allah ﷺ said about them:
If you were to compare your prayer and fasting to theirs, you would look down upon your own. Yet they will go out of the religion as a hunter’s arrow goes out of the prey he is hunting.
Bukhari
He ﷺ also said that they would recite the Quran but “it would not go past their throats”. There are a number of other narrations where the Prophet ﷺ speaks against the Khawarij very strongly, making clear that whilst they may worship and appear pious, they are anything but.
The clearest indication of the point being made here is arguably the famous dialogue between the Prophet ﷺ and Sayiduna Umar:
Umar said to the Prophet ﷺ “O Messenger of Allah! You are more beloved to me than everything except my own self.”
The Prophet ﷺ said, “No, by Him in Whose Hand my soul is, (you will not have perfect faith) till I am dearer to you than your own self.”
Then ‘Umar said to him, ”Now, by Allah, you are dearer to me than my own self.”
The Prophet ﷺ said, “Now, O ‘Umar, (now you are a perfect believer).”
Bukhari
What caused the Messenger of Allah ﷺ to become more beloved to Umar than himself within just a moment? Which Sunnahs did he follow or which good deeds did he perform in that moment which caused the love of the Prophet ﷺ to overtake the love for even his own self? Clearly, it was something internal. It was something which took place in the heart of Sayiduna Umar.
It should be emphasised once again that following the Sunnah and sticking to the Sharia is imperative. If somebody truly loves the Messenger of Allah ﷺ they will do their utmost to obey him and follow him. However, human beings are weak and many people struggle with this, not out of a lack of love for Allah and His Messenger ﷺ, but due to a weakness in resisting the Shaitan who invites towards sin.
We do not have the ability to see into people’s hearts so we cannot determine who truly loves Allah Most High and His Prophet ﷺ. The Prophet ﷺ was however given knowledge of the unseen by Allah and he ﷺ was able to see that the Sahabi mentioned above, despite having a drinking problem, truly did love Allah and His Messenger ﷺ. In the same way, he ﷺ was able to see that the Khawarij, despite outwardly praying and fasting, were actually unrighteous. And Allah knows best.
Misconception 2: We shouldn’t love or praise the Prophet ﷺ too much as it may lead to shirk.
Shirk (polytheism) is to ascribe partners with Allah. It is to believe that something other than Allah Most High is worthy of worship. Clearly, praising the Messenger of Allah ﷺ cannot be shirk since as we know the Sahaba themselves praised the Prophet ﷺ more than we ever could! We have already discussed how they would venerate and love the Prophet ﷺ and recite poetry in praise of him. The great poet from the Sahaba, Hasaan bin Thabit famously said in one of his poems:
‘And more excellent than you, my eye has never seen,
Hasaan bin Thabit
And more beautiful than you, no woman ever gave birth to;
You were created free from any flaw whatsoever,
As though you were created just the way you desired.’
Look at the level of praise in these lines of poetry! Had it been wrong, yet alone shirk, the Prophet ﷺ would have stopped him.
The detractors will often quote the famous Hadith where the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said:
Do not extol me as the Christians have done with the son of Mary (Jesus).
Bukhari
To ‘extol’ another is to excessively praise them. The key words in the Hadith are ‘…as the Christians have done with the son of Mary.‘ How did the Christians overly extol Isa (alayhi salam)? It was by falsely saying he was God! The meaning of the Hadith therefore is ‘do not do what the Christians did with Jesus and say I am God’. If the meaning of the Hadith was that we should not abundantly praise the Prophet ﷺ, then how would we explain all of the praise and love the Sahaba displayed?
Therefore, to mention his ﷺ perfect physical features, beautiful characteristics, extensive knowledge, noble virtues, flawless character and endless nobility is permissible and praiseworthy because all of these things are true and proven from the Quran and Hadith. Imam Busiri spoke excellently in his Burdah when he said:
“Avoid what the Christians claimed about their prophet and then say whatever you wish in praise of him.”
Imam al-Busiri in Qasida al-Burda
Alhamdulillah, no Muslim in history has ever worshipped the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ or said he is God (wal iyathu billah!). Therefore, those who fear falling into shirk through praising and loving the Prophet ﷺ should reconsider and remember that they can never understand the religion better than the Sahaba.
Misconception 3: Too much concern with the Prophet ﷺ will distract us from Allah Most High
This is another misconception which has arisen due to a misunderstanding of the central role of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ in Islam. Allah Most High has sent him to guide mankind and has made him the foremost path to Himself. Every day we implore Allah to guide us to the Straight Path (as-Sirat al-Mustaqeem). Allah Most High tells the Messenger of Allah ﷺ in the Quran:
وَإِنَّكَ لَتَهْدِىٓ إِلَىٰ صِرَٰطٍ مُّسْتَقِيمٍ
Surah al-Shura: 52
And indeed you [O Muhammad], you guide to a straight path
Allah Most High has made His Messenger ﷺ a guide to the straight path. He ﷺ cannot divert you from Allah nor take you away from Him. This is not possible. Rather, he ﷺ can only guide you to Allah. Trying to take a path to Allah whilst bypassing the Prophet ﷺ is impossible since such a path does not exist. Why is this the case? Simply because Allah Most High has made this the case. He has chosen and decided that ultimate success in the next life will only be achieved by those who worship Him alone and accept Muhammad ﷺ as the final Messenger.
Allah Most High says about the Prophet ﷺ:
وَمَا يَنطِقُ عَنِ ٱلْهَوَىٰٓ
Surah al-Najm: 3
The Messenger of Allah ﷺ does not speak or act according to caprice, desires or personal motives. Rather, everything he does and says is for a wisdom, inspired by Allah, and intended to guide us. Everything about the Prophet ﷺ guides to Allah. He can never distract us from Allah, he ﷺ can only guide to Him.
May Allah Most High send blessings and salutations upon our master Muhammad and upon his family and companions. And all praise belongs to Allah, Lord of the worlds.
Footnotes
- It goes without saying that we should not attempt to apply this to ourselves by saying “Yes I sin but it is ok because I love Allah and His Messenger ﷺ.” Even if a person is embroiled in sin, they should dislike it and should desire that one day they will drop that sin.
- The Khawarij were an early sect which appeared at the time of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ and he ﷺ informed us that their ideology would continue to appear in later generations. The Muslim scholars today are in agreement that groups like ISIS are a manifestation of the Khawarij in our time. For more information, read ‘Refuting ISIS’ by Sheikh Muhammad al-Yaqoubi.
Orthodox Muslim 