In the previous part of this article we were discussing the right of the Prophet ﷺ and the month of RabiulAwwal being his birth month. 9th RabiulAwwal is the actual day of his birth.
- To respect and honor the Prophet ﷺ
One of the greatest rights of our Prophet ﷺ is to respect and honor him ﷺ sincerely. To mock him is to deny or do kufr. One who does this falls out of the folds of Islam. Allah (عَزَّوَجَلَّ) says in the Qur’an:
إِنَّا أَرْسَلْنَاكَ شَاهِدًا وَمُبَشِّرًا وَنَذِيرًا ، لِّتُؤْمِنُوا بِاللہِ وَرَسُولِهِ وَتُعَزِّرُوهُ وَتُوَقِّرُوهُ وَتُسَبِّحُوهُ بُكْرَةً وَأَصِيلًا
Indeed, We have sent you as a witness and a bringer of good tidings and a warner
That you [people] may believe in Allah and His Messenger and honor him and respect the Prophet and exalt Allah morning and afternoon.
[Al-Fath 7-8]
In another place in the Qur’an we are taught:
يَاأَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا لَا تَرْفَعُوا أَصْوَاتَكُمْ فَوْقَ صَوْتِ النَّبِيِّ وَلَا تَجْهَرُوا لَهُ بِالْقَوْلِ كَجَهْرِ بَعْضِكُمْ لِبَعْضٍ أَنْ تَحْبَطَ أَعْمَالُكُمْ وَأَنْتُمْ لَا تَشْعُرُونَ
O you who have believed, do not raise your voices above the voice of the Prophet or be loud to him in speech like the loudness of some of you to others, lest your deeds become worthless while you perceive not.
[Al-Hujurat: 2]
It is evident from these verses that it is incumbent upon a Muslim to honor him above everyone. What it means to honor is to respect and all that is related to him. Do not call him by his name without adding SAW after it. To respect him is to respect his teaching, his Sunnah, his wives, his companions and also to honor his city.
- To be well-wishing of the Prophet ﷺ
In a hadith we learn:
الدِّينُ النَّصِيحَةُ ” قُلْنَا لِمَنْ قَالَ ” لِلَّهِ وَلِكِتَابِهِ وَلِرَسُولِهِ وَلأَئِمَّةِ الْمُسْلِمِينَ وَعَامَّتِهِمْ ”
“The Religion is sincerity.” We said, “To whom?” He said “To Allah, to His Book, To His Messenger, and to the leaders of the Muslims and their masses.”
(Sahih Muslim: 55a)
What well-wishing really means in the context is to believe in the Prophet ﷺ. It is to understand deen and then help the cause of Islam by spreading it to others.
In an explanation of this hadith, Imam Khattaby (Rahimullah) writes:
What ‘sincerity’ means for Allah (عَزَّوَجَلَّ) is to rectify the aqeedah (belief) to believe in His Oneness, to have sincere intentions in our acts of worship and to be sincere for His Book. It means to believe in it and to act upon what is ordained in it. Sincerity for the Prophet ﷺ is to confirm his Prophethood and to follow what he ﷺ has commanded and to abstained from what he ﷺ has forbidden. Sincerity with the leaders of the Believers is to follow them in what is haq (the truth) and if they are unjust then do not raise your swords against them. Sincerity for the Believers is to guide them to what is better for them. n do not raise your swords against them. Sincerity for the Believers is to guide them to what is better for them. n do not raise your swords against them. Sincerity for the Believers is to guide them to what is better for them.
(Mua’lim AlSunan of AlKhattaby 126/4)
- To not oppose the Prophet ﷺ
Another right of the Prophet ﷺ is to abstain from his ﷺ’s opposition. It is important not to add on or subtract from the Deen he has given us. Allah (عَزَّوَجَلَّ) says in the Qur’an:
فَلْيَحْذَرِ الَّذِينَ يُخَالِفُونَ عَنْ أَمْرِهِ أَن تُصِيبَهُمْ فِتْنَةٌ أَوْ يُصِيبَهُمْ عَذَابٌ أَلِيمٌ
So let those beware who dissent from the Prophet’s order, lest fitnah strike them or a painful punishment
[Surah An-Nur: 63]
This verse is a proof that our benchmark as Muslims is the Sunnah that the Prophet ﷺ has brought. We need to indisputably accept it and implement it.
- To accept the Prophet ﷺ as a leader
One other right of the Prophet ﷺ is to turn towards his ways, teachings and instructions during times of dispute. Many a times we are unsure of what to do when a problematic situation arises or if there is an argument that needs to be resolved. Allah (عَزَّوَجَلَّ) instructs us to find the solution with the Prophet ﷺ and how he has advised us.
فَلَا وَرَبِّكَ لَا يُؤْمِنُونَ حَتَّىٰ يُحَكِّمُوكَ فِيمَا شَجَرَ بَيْنَهُمْ ثُمَّ لَا يَجِدُوا فِي أَنفُسِهِمْ حَرَجًا مِّمَّا قَضَيْتَ وَيُسَلِّمُوا تَسْلِيمًا
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.
[Surah An-Nissa: 65]
What this means is that to have doubts about the commands of the Prophet ﷺ or feel a constraint in our hearts in following them is not part of imaan. This verse is especially for those who deny the hadith but includes all those who feel the same way about these commandments. There are may who deny, oppose and even question the hadith of our Prophet ﷺ and fall in the category mentioned above.
In a hadith we learn,
فإنه من يعِشْ منكم بعدي فسيرى اختلافًا كثيرًا، فعليكم بسنتي وسنةِ الخلفاءِ المهديّين الراشدين تمسّكوا بها، وعَضّوا عليها بالنواجذِ، وإياكم ومحدثاتِ الأمورِ فإنَّ كلَّ محدثةٍ بدعةٌ، وكلَّ بدعةٍ ضلالةٌ
for those of you who live after me will see great disagreement. You must then follow my sunnah and that of the rightly-guided caliphs. Hold to it and stick fast to it. Avoid novelties, for every novelty is an innovation, and every innovation is an error.
(Sunan Abi Dawud 4607)
- To not introduce in Deen of the Prophet ﷺ
In a hadith we learn:
A’isha (رَضِيَ ٱللَّٰهُ عَنْهُ) informed me that Allah’s Messenger (ﷺ) said:
مَن عَمِلَ عَمَلًا ليسَ عليه أمْرُنا فَهو رَدٌّ
He who did any act for which there is no sanction from our behalf, that is to be rejected.
(Sahih Muslim 1718b)
It is not allowed to add anything to the already prescribed Shariah. We need to just try and implement what has been given to us and not try to find shortcuts nor additions that have not been practiced before us.
- To send blessings upon the Prophet ﷺ
It is important for us to realize that our beloved Prophet ﷺ brought us this Deen after alot of sacrifices and enduring a lot of pain for us. It his favor upon us and we need to repay him ﷺ in the best of way possible. It is mentioned in the Qur’an:
إِنَّ اللہَ وَمَلَائِكَتَهُ يُصَلُّونَ عَلَى النَّبِيِّ يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا صَلُّوا عَلَيْهِ وَسَلِّمُوا تَسْلِيمًا
Indeed, Allah confers blessing upon the Prophet, and His angels [ask Him to do so]. O you who have believed, ask [Allah to confer] blessing upon him and ask [Allah to grant him] peace.
[Surah Al-Ahzab: 56]
With these ten rights of the Prophet ﷺ, we have brought to light what needs to be done to respect our Prophet ﷺ. May Allah (عَزَّوَجَلَّ) give us the ability to be able to follow them and pass them on. (Aameen)
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