All praise and adoration are due to Allah, the Exalted, as He is pleased with and worthy of being praised. I bear witness that there is none worthy of worship except Allah alone, and I bear witness that Muhammad ﷺ is His servant and Messenger.
Indeed, Allah has blessed this Ummah with countless blessings; blessings that cannot be enumerated or measured. Among the greatest of these blessings is that Allah عزوجل sent to this Ummah His Messenger, Muhammad ﷺ, with guidance and His Noble Book, the Qur’an, which is a light and guidance for whoever Allah wills to guide through it.
Among the greatest obligations upon this Ummah is to love the Messenger of Allah ﷺ. This love is not merely a claim of the tongue; rather, it is a love that manifests itself through obedience, following, submission, and adherence to his Sunnah.
THE OBLIGATION OF LOVING THE MESSENGER ﷺ
It was narrated from Abu Hurairah رضي الله عنه that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said:
By Him in Whose Hands my life is, none of you will have faith till he loves me more than his father and his children. By Him in Whose Hands my life is, none of you will have faith till he loves me more than his father and his children.
This hadith demonstrates the tremendous status of loving the Messenger of Allah ﷺ. His love is an essential part of true faith.
But what does genuine love for the Prophet ﷺ mean?
True love for him cannot merely be expressed through words, emotions, gatherings, poems, or claims. Rather, true love demands that a person follows what he ﷺ commanded, adheres to his Sunnah, imitates his guidance, and avoids introducing into the religion that which he neither taught nor practised.
Allah عزوجل says:
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, love is demonstrated through following.
THE BEST GUIDANCE IS THE GUIDANCE OF MUHAMMAD ﷺ
Jabir bin Abdullah رضي الله عنهما reported that when the Messenger of Allah ﷺ delivered a sermon, his eyes would become red, his voice would rise, and his anger would increase. He would warn the people and say:
The best of speech is the Book of Allah, and the best of guidance is the guidance of Muhammad. And the most evil of affairs are newly invented matters, and every innovation is misguidance.
Likewise, al-Irbadi ibn Sariyah رضي الله عنه narrated that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ once led them in prayer and then delivered a lengthy exhortation that caused the eyes to shed tears and the hearts to tremble.
A man then said:
“O Messenger of Allah, it seems as though this is a farewell exhortation, so what do you enjoin us with?”
The Prophet ﷺ said:
I enjoin you to fear Allah, and to hear and obey, even if an Abyssinian slave is appointed over you. Indeed, whoever among you lives after me will see much disagreement. So adhere to my Sunnah and the Sunnah of the rightly guided Caliphs. Hold firmly to it and cling to it with your molar teeth. Beware of newly invented matters, for every newly invented matter is an innovation, and every innovation is misguidance. [Sunan Abi Dawud, 4607]
This is a clear instruction from the Messenger ﷺ: when disagreement and trials arise, the way of safety is not to invent new practices, but to return firmly to his Sunnah and the way of the rightly guided Caliphs.
THE CELEBRATION OF THE PROPHET’S BIRTH: IS IT AN EXPRESSION OF LOVE?
Among the practices that have become widespread among some Muslims is the celebration of the day on which the Prophet ﷺ was born, commonly referred to as Mawlid.
Those who participate in such celebrations may claim that their intention is to demonstrate love for the Messenger of Allah ﷺ.
But a fundamental question must be asked:
Can true love of the Messenger ﷺ be demonstrated by doing something that he ﷺ did not do, did not command, and did not teach his Companions to do?
The Messenger of Allah ﷺ lived among his Companions. They loved him more than anyone who came after them could possibly claim to love him. They sacrificed their wealth, families, comfort, and even their lives for his sake.
Yet neither the Prophet ﷺ nor Abu Bakr, Umar, Uthman, Ali, nor the rest of the Companions رضي الله عنهم established an annual celebration of his birth.
Likewise, the generations whom the Prophet ﷺ praised for their excellence did not establish such a celebration.
If celebrating his birthday were a means of drawing closer to Allah and an expression of love that Allah legislated, the Companions would have preceded us in it, and the Prophet ﷺ would have taught them its manner.
Their absence from such a practice is therefore something that deserves serious reflection.
LOVE IS NOT MERELY A CLAIM
A person may say, “I love the Messenger of Allah ﷺ.“
But the reality of that love is tested by one’s actions.
The Prophet ﷺ said:
None of you truly believes until his desires are in accordance with what I have brought. [Hadith 41, an-Nawawi’s Forty Hadith]
Therefore, genuine love requires a believer to prefer the guidance of Muhammad ﷺ over his own desires, customs, emotions, and newly introduced practices.
True love means:
• following his Sunnah;
• obeying his commands;
• believing what he informed us of;
• avoiding what he prohibited;
• worshipping Allah in the manner he taught;
• and abandoning religious practices that he did not legislate.
Love of the Prophet ﷺ is not proven by opposing his guidance. Rather, it is proven by submitting to it.
THE DANGER OF FOLLOWING PREVIOUS NATIONS
The Messenger of Allah ﷺ also warned this Ummah against blindly following the paths of those who came before it.
Abu Sa’id al-Khudri رضي الله عنه narrated that the Prophet ﷺ said:
“You will follow the ways of those who came before you, handspan by handspan and cubit by cubit, so much so that even if they entered the hole of a mastigure, you would follow them.”
The Companions asked:
“O Messenger of Allah, do you mean the Jews and the Christians?”
He ﷺ replied:
“Who else?” [Sahih al-Bukhari, 3456]
This warning teaches us that Muslims must be extremely careful not to imitate religious practices originating outside the revelation or introduce into Islam practices based upon the customs of other religions.
The Prophet ﷺ came to distinguish the Ummah through revelation and the Sunnah, not to make it dependent upon the religious practices of previous nations.
A WARNING TO EVERY BELIEVER
The issue is therefore not simply about a ceremony or a gathering. It is about a greater principle:
Will we worship Allah according to revelation, or according to what we think is good?
Islam is not built upon what our emotions consider beautiful, nor upon what society has become accustomed to. Worship requires evidence.
Allah عزوجل says:
So let those beware who dissent from the Prophet’s order, lest fitnah strike them or a painful punishment. [Qur’an 24:63]
This verse should cause every believer to reflect deeply.
The Messenger ﷺ was sent to be followed, not merely praised.
He was sent to be obeyed, not merely remembered.
He was sent to be loved, and the greatest evidence of that love is following his guidance ﷺ.
Therefore, whoever truly loves the Messenger of Allah ﷺ should strive to learn his Sunnah, revive it, practise it, teach it, and defend it. He should also distance himself from innovations and religious practices that have no foundation in the Qur’an and authentic Sunnah.
THE PATH OF TRUE LOVE
Let us therefore renew our love for the Messenger of Allah ﷺ џ not merely through words, but through action.
Let us read his biography.
Let us learn his Sunnah.
Let us send abundant authentic salawat upon him.
Let us obey his commands.
Let us imitate his noble character.
Let us teach our families and communities his guidance.
And let us hold firmly to what he ﷺ left behind for this Ummah.
For the greatest testimony of love is not simply to say:
“I love Muhammad ﷺ.“
Rather, it is to live in a manner that says:
“I love Muhammad ﷺ, therefore I follow him.”
May Allah grant us sincere love for His Messenger ﷺ, make us firm upon his Sunnah, protect us from misguidance and religious innovations, and grant us the ability to worship Him according to the Qur’an and authentic Sunnah.
May Allah resurrect us among the followers of Muhammad ﷺ and grant us his companionship in Jannah.
اللهم صل وسلم وبارك على نبينا، محمد وعلى آله وصحبه ومن تبعهم بإحسان إلى يوم الدين.
سبحانك اللهم، وبحمدك أشهد أن لا إله إلا أنت، أستغفرك وأتوب إليك.
Islamic Affairs Board, MSSNOAU
