Connecting to the Prophet (s.a.w.)

بِسۡمِ ٱللهِ ٱلرَّحۡمَـٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ

The following is the text of lecture given by Mawlana Wafi’ Muhammad, at the Penal Rock Road Masjid, on the auspicious occasion of Mawlid an-Nabi, on the 04^th February 2012. 

My dear brothers and sisters; congratulation on you all for recognising the greatness of Prophet Muhammad (s.a.w.) by your assembling here tonight.  I pray that Allah (s.w.t.) Blesses us all immensely for associating ourselves with the personality of Prophet Muhammad (s.a.w.) and may He Cause us all to Rise with the righteous on the Day of Accountability. 

Brothers and sisters, Allah (s.w.t.) Surprised the angels when He Informed them that He Made man His representative on earth.  Why?  Because this representative was a small piece of clay.  The Greatness of Allah (s.w.t.) is not known to anyone.  He is so Great and Mighty.  His Capacity is Limitless, so how can a tiny piece of clay represent Him?  Allah (s.w.t.) then Gave the angels a little consolation by permitting Adam (a.s.) to demonstrate things that they could not do.  We are all gathered here to celebrate the coming of Prophet Muhammad (s.a.w.).  In so many qaswa’id, the poets wrote so many beautiful things concerning him.  Before we proceed, I want to advise you not to get involved with those who constantly argue haram, bid’ah, shirk.  Allah (s.w.t.) Knows your intention.  We worship Allah (s.w.t.) and also aim to get close to Prophet (s.a.w.) and if you keep this in mind, do not worry about what the detractors say, because it is only Allah (s.w.t.) Who can Judge your intention. 

With the coming of Prophet Muhammad (s.a.w.) the term “sunnah” became popularised.  What is the sunnah of Prophet (s.a.w.)?  It encompasses his sayings, his actions and those things he gave consent to.  The term “sunnah” was not coined by him though, but by Allah (s.w.t.).  The Sunnah of Allah (s.w.t.) are those things that He Engages in such as Rewarding the His obedient servants.  And Allah (s.w.t.) will never change his Sunnah.  Allah (s.w.t.) Sent 124,000 Messengers to Earth.  So many generations of mankind came and went.  But none of them had the capacity to manifest the Sunnah of Allah (s.w.t.) except Prophet Muhammad (s.a.w.).  Allah (s.w.t.) Gave him unimaginable capabilities. 

One of Allah’s (s.w.t.) Sunan, which we uphold, is to send salaam on Prophet Muhammad (s.a.w.).  Allah (s.w.t.) Says: 

سُوۡرَةُ الاٴحزَاب

إِنَّ ٱللَّهَ وَمَلَـٰٓٮِٕڪَتَهُ ۥ يُصَلُّونَ عَلَى ٱلنَّبِىِّۚ يَـٰٓأَيُّہَا ٱلَّذِينَ ءَامَنُواْ صَلُّواْ عَلَيۡهِ وَسَلِّمُواْ تَسۡلِيمًا (٥٦) 

Verily, Allah, and His angels, Send Blessings on the Prophet: O you that believe!  Send you blessings on him, and salute Him with all respect. (Surah al-Ahzab:56) 

By sending salaam, you are connecting yourself to the Special Blessing that Allah (s.w.t.) is Sending upon Prophet Muhammad (s.a.w.).  And Allah (s.w.t.), out of His Love for us, Allows us to Benefit from the Blessing being Sent to Prophet (s.a.w.) through the institution of swalawat.  There is no doubt that Allah (s.w.t.) Loves each and every one of you.  Prophet Muhammad (s.a.w.) once saw a mother being most loving to her baby.  Upon seeing this Prophet Muhammad (s.a.w.) told his companions “Allah Loves his servants more than this mother loves her baby.” 

Today, unfortunately, Satan is using the institution of sending salaam on Prophet Muhammad (s.a.w.) to cause division amongst the Muslims.  There are those who argue against respectively standing to honour Prophet (s.a.w.).  Let me ask you all a question; when Allah (s.w.t.) says that He and His angels are Sending salutations upon Muhammad (s.a.w.), are they standing or sitting?  We do not know, so please do not make this an issue.  If you want to stand and sing the praises of Prophet (s.a.w.), do so and pay no heed to those who argue about it.  Send as many salutations upon your beloved Messenger (s.a.w.).  That will serve you better in the long run rather than arguing. 

The other Sunan of Allah (s.w.t.) that we are fortunate to engage in is the recitation of His Glorious Words.  Imam al-Ghazali (r.a.) wrote; “Fifty thousand years before Creation, Allah was reciting Surah ThaHa and Surah YaSin.”  If Allah (s.w.t.) Recited parts of the Qur’an then and we recite it, are we not following the Sunnah of Allah (s.w.t.)?  He has Blessed us with this Great Blessing; something which no other creature possesses.  This piece of clay has the capacity to recite Allah’s (s.w.t.) Words.  The same Words that, if it were to be Revealed upon a mountain, would cause it to crumble to dust. 

As Allah (s.w.t.) Says, if He Wants anything to be Done, regardless of the magnitude, all He has to say is “Kun”, “Be.”  The sheer power of Kun, and it is Mentioned so many times in the Qur’an.  And the heart of Prophet Muhammad (s.a.w.) was able to able to receive this great Book.  When the Qur’an was Taken Out of Lawh Mahfuzh, it was Impressed in the heart of the Prophet (s.a.w.).  There was no interference or tampering with it.  You may ask, if the Qur’an was in Prophet’s (s.a.w.) heart, why did he not tell the people.  Why did he have to wait on angel Gabriel?  The reason of this was that Prophet (s.a.w.) never said anything out of his own desire.  Everything he said was on the basis of Divine Ordination.  So dedicated and submissive he was.  Can you imagine his personality?  This is why Allah (s.w.t.) Says: 

سُوۡرَةُ آل عِمرَان

لَقَدۡ مَنَّ ٱللَّهُ عَلَى ٱلۡمُؤۡمِنِينَ إِذۡ بَعَثَ فِيہِمۡ رَسُولاً۬ مِّنۡ أَنفُسِهِمۡ يَتۡلُواْ عَلَيۡہِمۡ ءَايَـٰتِهِۦ وَيُزَڪِّيہِمۡ وَيُعَلِّمُهُمُ ٱلۡكِتَـٰبَ وَٱلۡحِڪۡمَةَ وَإِن كَانُواْ مِن قَبۡلُ لَفِى ضَلَـٰلٍ۬ مُّبِينٍ (١٦٤) 

Allah did Confer a Great Favour on the believers when He Sent, among them, an apostle from among themselves, rehearsing unto them the Signs of Allah, sanctifying them, and instructing them in Scripture and Wisdom, while, before that, they had been in manifest error. (Surah Ali ‘Imran:164) 

My brothers and sisters, when you leave this world as a believer you will go to Paradise, insha’Allah and leave all your troubles and difficulties behind.  So, believers should not be downhearted about death.  To me, however, I have come to realise that when I die, I would not have the opportunity to recite the Worlds of Allah (s.w.t.) in total mind, body and soul.  I only possess the capability of reciting the Holy Qur’an in total personality in this world.  We are here for a special purpose; to thank our Lord for Sending this great Messenger (s.a.w.).  If we can get close to him, the better it would be for us.  And the only way we can get close to him is by loving him.  And in connection to this he says, “He is not a true believer until he loves me more than his father, his children and mankind at large.” 

On this auspicious occasion of Mawlid an-Nabi, ask yourself, “How much of the Sunnah of Allah (s.w.t.) am I upholding and how close am I to Prophet Muhammad (s.a.w.)”?  Just now, you will die and one of the questions you will be asked in the grave is “Who is that man”?  Ask yourself now how we will be able to recognise the Messenger of Allah (s.a.w.) if we are not close to him.  Try your best in this world to see him.  He is reported to have said “Whosoever sees me in a dream has really seen me as Satan cannot copy my form.”  And there is another narration from the mashaykh that whoever sees Muhammad (s.a.w.) will not go to Hell. 

Thank Allah (s.w.t.) for this opportunity to assemble and honour the Beloved of Allah (s.a.w.).  But remember, one day, we will leave this world and our bodies will become food for worms.  Make amends now and strengthen your relationship with Allah (s.w.t.) and His Messenger (s.a.w.).  O Allah (s.w.t.), Convey blessings and peace always and forever upon Your Beloved (s.a.w.), the Best out of All of Creation.