By Imam Murtadha Gusau
In the name of Allah, the Most Merciful, the Bestower of Mercy
All praise is for Allah, we praise Him, we seek His help, we ask for His forgiveness, and we seek refuge with Allah from the evils of our own souls and the wickedness of our actions, whoever Allah guides, there is none that can lead him astray, and whoever Allah allows to go astray, there is none that can lead him to the right path.
I testify and bear witness that there is no deity worthy of worship in truth but Allah, alone, without any partners. And I testify and bear witness that Muhammad (Peace be upon him) is His Servant and Messenger. As for what’s after:
Dear brothers and sisters! Know that, the existence of a good role model is an absolute necessity for the Muslim; for him to emulate and to acquire positive traits. And to be a motivator for purifying the soul, energising it, and elevating it towards the highest levels.
Among the most prominent characteristics of what Allah has endowed upon this ummah (nation) is its fragrant history since its inception and throughout the ages and until our time. All of which is a source of pride and a way of life for the Muslim. Allah sent His Prophet (Peace be upon him) who charted a way for the ummah (nation) to follow what he himself applied and his companions followed. Allah Almighty said:
“Certainly did Allah confer [great] favour upon the believers when He sent among them a Messenger from themselves, reciting to them His verses and purifying them and teaching them the Book [i.e., the Qur’an] and wisdom, although they had been before in manifest error.” [Qur’an, 3:164]
Before his (Peace be upon him) mission, all mankind was in a state of error, disbelief, atheism and polytheism. The Prophet (Peace be upon him) said:
“Allah looked at the people of the earth and detested them, their Arabs and non-Arabs, except for the remnants of the People of the Book.” [Muslim]
So Allah Almighty conferred favour by sending a messenger from Him to them. And this great favour is multiplied by virtue of this Messenger being from among themselves. Recounting to them the Almighty’s verses and words. And working towards purifying, cleansing and refining them; purifying their hearts, perceptions and feelings; purifying their homes and honour; purifying their lives, society and structure. Purifying them from the filth of associating others with Allah, idolatry and superstitions and the blameworthy rituals, customs and traditions.
Ibn Khuzaimah related the authentic narrative of the companions (may Allah be pleased with them) who emigrated from Makkah to Abyssinia (Habasha/Ethiopia). And in it he described Ja’afar Ibn Abi Talib (may Allah be pleased with him) as he spoke to Negus (Najjashi) confronting the two messengers that Quraish sent to him:
“O king: We were a people of ignorance. We worshipped idols, and we ate the dead, and we committed indecencies, and we cut the ties of kinship, and we had bad neighbourliness, and the strong devoured the weak. So we were upon that until Allah sent to us a messenger from among ourselves, whose lineage, truthfulness, trustworthiness and purity we know. So he called to Allah alone, to His oneness and to worship Him. And to abandon what we and our forefathers worshipped aside from Him of stones and idols. And he commanded us with truthful speech, and fulfilling the trust, and joining the kinship, good neighbourliness, and refraining from the prohibited and (spilling) blood, and he forbade us from immorality and false speech, and devouring the orphan’s wealth and libeling chaste women. Then Negus (Najjashi) said: Do you have with you anything from which he brought? And he had summoned his bishops and commanded them, so they distributed scrolls around him. Then Ja’afar, may Allah be pleased with him, responded: yes, then he recited for them a portion of the Chapter of Maryam. So Negus (Najjashi) wept until his beard was wet. And his bishops wept until they wet their scrolls. Then he (Negus) said: Indeed these words came out of the lamp that Musa brought. Proceed you are guided.” [Sahih Ibn Khuzaimah]
Allah Almighty sent Muhammad (Peace be upon him) as a messenger to all mankind. Allah Almighty said:
“Say, [O Muḥammad], O mankind, indeed I am the Messenger of Allah to you all.” [Qur’an, 7:158]
And he was the seal of the Prophets and messengers. Allah Almighty said:
“Muhammad is not the father of [any] one of your men, but [he is] the Messenger of Allah and seal [i.e., last] of the Prophets.” [Qur’an, 33:40]
Allah exalted the Prophet’s mention. Allah honoured the Prophet (Peace be upon him) by conferring His and His Angel’s blessings upon him. And commanded the believers on earth to ask Allah to confer blessings upon the Prophet. Allah Almighty said:
“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.” [Qur’an, 33:56]
Allah – the Exalted and Majestic – singled him out among the other Prophets by addressing him as messenger and Prophet. Allah Almighty said:
“Oh Messenger.” [Qur’an, 5:41]
And Allah Almighty said:
“Oh Prophet.” [Qur’an, 8:64]
And He the Almighty addressed other Prophets by their names saying: Oh Ibrahim, oh Yahya, oh Musa, oh Isa and oh Dawud.
Allah Almighty made following the Prophet (Peace be upon him) a proof of loving Him the Almighty. Allah Almighty said:
“Say, [O Muhammad], “If you should love Allah, then follow me, [so] Allah will love you and forgive you your sins. And Allah is Forgiving and Merciful.” [Qur’an, 3:31]
Thus one will not attain Allah’s love, pleasure, and reward except by believing in what the Messenger (Peace be upon him) brought and carrying out his commands and avoiding what he forbade.
Allah Almighty made obedience to the Prophet (Peace be upon him) a way to guidance and attainment of the highest ranks in Paradise. Allah Almighty said:
“And if you obey him, you will be [rightly] guided.” [Qur’an, 24:54]
And Allah Almighty said:
“And whoever obeys Allah and the Messenger – those will be with the ones upon whom Allah has bestowed favour of the Prophets, the steadfast affirmers of truth, the martyrs and the righteous. And excellent are those as companions.” [Qur’an, 4:69]
And Abu Hurairah (may Allah be pleased with him) related that the Prophet (Peace be upon him) said:
“All my ummah (nation) will enter paradise except those who refuse.” It was said: And who will refuse oh Messenger of Allah, he said: “He who obeys me will enter paradise, and he who disobeys me has refused.” [Bukhari]
Respected servants of Allah! Loving, obeying and supporting the Prophet (Peace be upon him) is not one of the completions and complements of Iman (faith), rather it is one of the foundations of Iman (faith), and one of its pillars. One does not believe in Allah until he realises it. The Prophet (Peace be upon him) said:
“None of you has believed until I am dearer to him than his father, and his children and all the people.” [Bukhari]
So the horizon of loving the Messenger of Allah (Peace be upon him) is giving precedence to his obedience and love over one’s own affairs – rather over that of any creature on the face of the earth.
Allah Almighty said of the well-known incident of the slandering of Aisha (Hadithatul-Ifk, may Allah be pleased with her):
“Do not think it bad for you; rather, it is good for you.” [Qur’an, 24:11]
And incidents in which the character of our Prophet Muhammad (Peace be upon him) is assailed and our final religion is offended agitate the chests and seethe the hearts. And turn the attention of non-Muslims towards this religion and its noble Prophet, and stir up stagnant waters among Muslims and others. And there is no good in an ummah (nation) that does not get angry when its Prophet (Peace be upon him) is offended. And there is no good in anger over the Messenger of Allah (Peace be upon him) that leads to the displeasure of Allah and His messenger.
And if the Muslims made good use of such incidents, it leads to progress and grace. And if they mishandle them, it becomes a setback and repulsion.
The goodness with which this nation is described is an absolute and indivisible goodness. It is mandatory for Muslims to show their goodness in their reactions. Increasing in adherence to the guidance of their Prophet and following his example. And propagating his biography and acquainting others with him, making use of the various global media channels as many Muslims have thankfully done. For in this, is the most comprehensive response to the offenders. And in the future they would refrain from offending because of what they witness of the fruitful response. For this response is undesirable for the offenders and results in the opposite of what they intended.
Supporting the Prophet (Peace be upon him) and his Sunnah must increase the ummah (nation) in adherence to its religion and devotion to its Prophet, and return them to following his Sunnah and learning it and teaching it to their children; through reliable and authentic biographies of the Prophet (Peace be upon him) such as The Sealed Nectar by Safiur Rahman Mubarakpuri and A Biography of The Prophet of Islam, In the Light of the Original Sources An Analytical Study by Sheikh Mahdi Rizqullah Ahmad. Through reading these books and learning what is in them. And it is good to read them with all members of the household. There is benefit in even reading a small amount such as one page – for they would learn, the angels would encompass them, and blessings would descend upon the home.
May Allah fill all our hearts with the love of our Prophet (Peace be upon him) and with knowing his rights and knowledge of his Sunnah and following his way. Indeed Allah is All Hearing, Answering.
I conclude with this and send prayers of blessings and peace upon our beloved Prophet as your Lord commanded:
“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.” [Qur’an, 33:56]
O Allah, guide us with those whom You have guided, grant us well-being among those You have granted well-being, be an ally to us along with those whom You are an ally to, and bless what You have bestowed upon us, and save us from the evil of what You have decreed. For verily You decree and none can decree over You. He whom You support can never be humiliated. Glory is to You, our Lord, You are Blessed and Exalted.
O Allah, We ask You for all that is good, in this world and in the Hereafter, what we know and what we do not know.
O Allah, we seek refuge with You from all evil, in this world and in the Hereafter, what we know and what we do not know.
O Allah, we ask You for the good that Your servant and Prophet has asked You for, and we seek refuge with You from the evil from which Your servant and Prophet sought refuge.
O Allah, we ask You for Paradise and for that which brings one closer to it, in word and deed, and we seek refuge in You from Hell and from that which brings one closer to it, in word and deed. And we ask You to make every decree that You decree concerning us good.
Servants of Allah. Indeed, Allah orders justice and good conduct and giving to relatives and forbids immorality and bad conduct and oppression. He admonishes you that perhaps you will be reminded.
Remember Allah, the Great – He will remember you. Thank Him for His favours – He will increase you therein. And seek forgiveness from Him – He will forgive you. And be conscious of Him – He will provide you a way out of difficult matters. And, establish the prayer.
All praises and thanks are due to Allah alone, Lord of the worlds. May the peace, blessings and salutations of Allah be upon our noble Messenger, Muhammad, and upon his family, his Companions and his true and sincere followers.
Wishing you and all your loved ones a Joyous Jumu’ah Mubarak.
Murtadha Muhammad Gusau is the Chief Imam of Nagazi-Uvete Jumu’ah and the late Alhaji Abdur-Rahman Okene’s Mosques, Okene, Kogi State, Nigeria. He can be reached through: gusauimam@gmail.com or +2348038289761.
This Jumu’ah Khutbah (Friday sermon) was prepared for delivery today Friday, Rabi’ul Awwal 25, 1444 AH (October 21, 2022).