Following The Prophet g
﴿ لَقَدْ كَانَ لَكُمْ فِى رَسُولِ اللَّهِ أُسْوَةٌ حَسَنَةٌ لِّمَنْ كَانَ يَرْجُواْ اللَّهَ وَالْيَوْمَ للْـٰٔخِرَ وَذَكَرَ اللَّهَ كَثِيرًا ﴾
Certainly, for you in the Messenger of Allah g is a good example for one who has hope in Allah and the Last Day and remembers Allah much. [33:21]
Allah f is telling us that the perfect role model and perfect example for all of us is our beloved Prophet Muḥammad g. We must reflect over the way we perceive the Prophet Muḥammad g.
We must also compare ourselves to the Ṣaḥābah j. The Prophet g was their role model. They respected him, honoured him and showed him the reverence he deserved. They loved him more than their families. ‘Alī h, the cousin of the Prophet g was the first among the children to embrace Islam, and he became the leader of the believers and was very close to the Prophet g. He was asked:
كَيْفَ كَانَ حُبّكُمْ لِرَسُولِ اللهِ ﷺ؟ قَالَ : كَانَ وَاللهِ أَحَبُّ إِلَيْنَا
مِنْ أَمْوَالِنَا وَآبَائِنَا وَأُمَّهَاتِنَا ، وَمِنَ المَاءِ البَارِدِ عَلَى الظَّمَأِ
How was your love for the Messenger of Allah g? He replied,
“By Allah! He was more beloved to us than our mothers, fathers, our children and cold water when thirsty.” [1]
Cold water was a very rare commodity due to the hot climate.
This is how much they loved and respected the Prophet g.
‘Umar h, the leader of the Muslims, once addressed ‘Abbās h and said,
فَوَاللهِ لَإِسْلَامكَ حِينَ أَسْلَمْت كَانَ أَحَبَّ إِلَيَّ مِنَ إِسْلَامِ الْخَطَّابِ أَبِي لَوْ أَسْلَمَ ،
وذلك أَنِّي عَرَفْتُ أَنَّ إِسْلَامَكَ أَحَبَّ إِلَى رَسُولِ الله ﷺ مِنْ إِسْلَامِ الْخَطَّابِ !
By Allah. Your acceptance of Islam is more beloved to me then my father Khaṭṭāb embracing Islam because I know that by you accepting Islam, the Prophet Muḥammad g will be happier than the Islam of al Khaṭṭāb [2]
These are just a few examples of love that the Ṣaḥābah j had for the Prophet Muḥammad g.
STORY OF JULAIBĪB h
Julaibīb h, a Companion of the Prophet ﷺ was a man of no societal standing. In the Arabic language, ‘Julaibīb’ means ‘small grown’ indicating that Julaibib h was perhaps a dwarf.
He was also described as being ‘damīm’, meaning ‘deformed or repulsive’. Nobody knew his parents, or his tribe, and he was very poor financially, hence no value came in the form of either lineage or wealth.
One day, he asked the Prophet g:
“Yā Rasūl Allah! Do you think the only woman I will get is the Hūr al ‘īn (a woman in Jannah), inshā ‘Allah?” The Prophet g replied,
“No! From this Dunyā (world) and also from the Ākhirah (Hereafter).”
So, with Julaibīb h in mind, Prophet Muḥammad g went to an Anṣārī and said:
“I want to have your daughter married.” She replied in joy:
“How wonderful and blessed – what a delight to the eye this would be!”
Prophet Muḥammad g explained that he was asking on behalf of Julaibīb h and not himself.
The Anṣārī, who had rejected far better proposals for his daughter before, went to consult with his wife. His wife protested:
“To Julaibīb! No, never to Julaibīb! No, by God, we shall not marry (her) to him.”
It is said that the daughter was so beautiful that there was none among the women of that clan who could compete with her looks. Her mother told her about Julaibīb h while crying. The daughter said,
“O Mother, how blessed is the status of Julaibīb h, that Allah f and His Messenger g are asking for your daughter’s hand on his behalf.”
She agreed and was hence married to Julaibīb h. Soon after his marriage, he went on an expedition and was martyred.
The Companions j found his diminutive body lying next to seven men that he had slain. Prophet g held his body and said,
“O Allah, he is from me, and I am from Him. (Repeating this thrice).” [3]
Allah f also says in the Qur’ān:
﴿ رَضِيَ اللَّهُ عَنْهُمْ وَرَضُوا عَنْهُ ﴾
Allah f is pleased with them and they are pleased with Him. [9:100]
STORY OF ABŪ ‘AQĪL AL ANṢĀRĪ h
Abū ‘Aqīl al Anṣārī h was one of those Companions of the Prophet g who had the smallest of pockets but the biggest of hearts.
The previous name of Abū ‘Aqīl h was ‘Abd al ‘Uzzā’, which meant the slave of the famous idol called ‘Uzzā’. The Prophet ﷺ changed it to ‘Abd al Raḥmān’ and gave him the nickname ‘Aduww al-Awthān’, which meant ‘The Enemy of the Idols’.
When Prophet Muḥammad g asked the Muslims to bring forth their Ṣadaqah (charity) for the expedition of Tabūk, he had nothing to give. So, he went looking for work and found a job with a Jew who needed some water hauling.
Abū ‘Aqīl h was hence among the last to come forth with charity – a Ṣā‘ of dates (a few dates). He said:
“O Allah’s Messenger! This is a Ṣā‘ of dates. I spent the night bringing water and earned two Ṣā‘ of dates for my work. I kept one Ṣā‘ (for my family) and brought you the other Ṣā’.”
The Messenger of Allah g ordered him to spread it over all the charity that the others brought. His Ṣadaqah was little but carried the weight of the mountain of ‘Uḥud’.
Some men mocked Abū ‘Aqīl h, saying,
“Allah and His Messenger g are not in need of this charity. What benefit would this Ṣā‘ of yours bring?” They laughed at him, saying,
“Allah f does not need the Ṣā‘ of Abū ‘Aqīl h.” It was then that Allah f revealed the following verse of the Qur’ān:
﴿ الَّذِينَ يَلْمِزُونَ الْمُطَّوِّعِينَ مِنَ الْمُؤْمِنِينَ فِي الصَّدَقَاتِ وَالَّذِينَ لَا يَجِدُونَ إِلَّا جُهْدَهُمْ
فَيَسْخَرُونَ مِنْهُمْ سَخِرَ اللَّهُ مِنْهُمْ وَلَهُمْ عَذَابٌ أَلِيمٌ ﴾
Those who criticize the believers who give willingly to charities, and those who can see nothing but their effort, and thus ridicule them, Allah will ridicule them, and for them is a painful punishment. (9:79) [4]
The Prophet g is the best example. He is the most excellent example for mankind. We need to follow in his footsteps. We need to love him and demonstrate this love in our actions by being obedient to him and Allah f.
[1] ‘Iyāḍ, Qādī, Al Shifā’ bi Ta‘rīf Huqūq al-Musṭafā, 2:22.
[2] Sulṭān Muḥammad, A, Sharḥ al Shifā, 2:41.
[3] Al-Ṣan‘ānī, A. R. Muṣannaf ‘Abd al-Razzāq 6:155; Ibn Kathīr, Tafsīr al-Qur’ān al-‘Aẓīm, 6:422.
[4] Bukhārī, 4668.
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“The best among you (Muslims) are those who learn the Qur’an and teach it.”
The Prophet (peace be upon him)
