Of all human beings who will come until the Day of Judgement, why is the status of the Companions of the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wasallam the greatest? What was special about them? What were their qualities due to which Allah was happy with them? This has been mentioned in the Qur’an - their words and actions have been mentioned in the Qur’an. Qur’anic verses were revealed due to their high rank. What was it about them? They were human beings like us. What was their quality? What worship or action did they possess that enabled them to attain such a rank, that until Qiyamah, no Qutb, no Gawth, nor any other status that a human being can attain, can reach the dust on the feet of the Sahaba-e-Karam. Those Companions who kept his company for just for a second and saw the blessed face of the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wasallam, Allah ta’ala has given this reward to that person for the moment that he spent.
What was the quality? What did they possess, what worship or deed did they implement that Allah ta’ala liked. My brothers, there was just one thing: they were true lovers of Rasoolullah sallallahu alayhi wasallam. Their every vein, every artery, every cell and atom, and all the blood that flowed through their veins was full of love for the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wasallam. Allah subhana wa ta’ala created the noble Companions in this way, that in their hearts, they had ‘Ishq, deep-seated passion, for the Holy Prophet sallallahu alayhi wasallam. And it was this love, this deep-seated passion and affection, that meant they would give their lives for every single action of the Holy Prophet sallallahu alayhi wasallam. They would give their all for him, for his smile, for his sadness, for his anger, his walking, his sitting, his sleeping – whatever action was connected to the Holy Prophet sallallahu alayhi wasallam. Even his thoughts were so valuable –they had deep love even for them. And this was deep love, not some minor, small-scale love. Their love was tested and proven, as attested to in Sahih al-Bukhari, which is in front of you today.
My brothers, Sahih al-Bukhari contains all of the actions that the noble Companions preserved in their hearts, and those actions have been shared with us until the Day of Judgement. What did Imam Bukhari rahmatullah alayh record in his Sahih? All of the beloved actions of the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wasallam are contained in his Kitab. All of the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wasallam’s methods – how he slept, how he wore clothes, what cloth he liked, what he liked to eat, when he liked to rest, what his smile was like, how his teeth looked when he smiled, how his smile looked on his blessed face, how he wore his blessed turban, how the tail hung behind it, which colour of clothes he wore at which time – this is Sahih al-Bukhari. This is the memory of the love of the Sahaba-e-Karam, SubhanAllah.
Now if, for example, someone loves a person, and he writes a book in their memory – that is what Sahih al-Bukhari is! It is a memory of the love of the Sahaba-e-Karam. They say, ‘This is our love, so that today you can see and witness his actions!’ Only a person who has love in his heart can record those actions – otherwise, who remembers somebody in that much detail? If a person has a beloved in the world, and he records and remembers, then when he gets old, he can still remember every action of his beloved. There are poets who praise the hair of their beloved, the eye, the ear, or the smile, but this is nothing! Love is what the noble Companions had for Rasoolullah sallallahu alayhi wasallam, and it was such a love for his actions that they had during his life that Allah ta’ala has mentioned this in the Qur’an. Allah ta’ala has given the testimony in the Qur’an about the love of the Sahaba radhiAllahu anhum, SubhanAllah! What heights and level the Sahaba attained. They loved and recorded the actions of the Holy Prophet that we see and hear and read today, SubhanAllah.
The surprising thing is this, that such actions, such beautiful actions of the Holy Prophet sallallahu alayhi wasallam that Allah ta’ala loves, that the angels, that the noble Companions love – just imagine the Barakaat in those actions, how many mercies there must be in his Sunnah! How many blessings and virtues and mercies are in each and every single individual action of the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wasallam. This is from Allah ta’ala’s mercy that He created that generation of Sahaba who recorded all of this and delivered that knowledge to us – and how much do we appreciate this? It is shocking, deeply shocking, that we, you, me, call ourselves Mu’mins, we call ourselves Muslims, and our methodology of life is according to our own desires, according to how we want to live. On the other hand, if we implement the guidance and the lifestyle of the Holy Prophet sallallahu alayhi wasallam, if in the morning, or during the day, we implement one Sunnah, our whole day will be filled with massive, massive blessings. There are so many blessings in one Sunnah of the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wasallam, that the whole day will be illuminated. If, on waking up in the morning, a person implements a method of the Holy Prophet sallallahu alayhi wasallam’s Sunnah, his whole day will become blessed.
We are Mu’mins, so it is surprising and shocking that we live our lives the way we want. We have such a valuable method, so valuable and priceless, but we waste it. That is why the Qur’an says:
{فِى قُلُوبِهِم مَّرَضٌ۬ فَزَادَهُمُ ٱللَّهُ مَرَضً۬اۖ وَلَهُمۡ عَذَابٌ أَلِيمُۢ بِمَا كَانُواْ يَكۡذِبُونَ}
Allah says that this Nifaq is the biggest disease that is in the heart of a person. Who were the Munafiqs? This was their disease, that most of all, astaghfirullah, they despised and disliked the actions of Rasoolullah sallallahu alayhi wasallam. And today, we the Mu’mins, forget about practicing the Sunnah, we dislike hearing about the Sunnah or talking about it. We don’t want to know about it. We say that the Sunnah is the biggest obstacle to success. That’s why the Qur’an says {فِى قُلُوبِهِم مَّرَضٌ۬}; this is the biggest disease that is inside us, that is in this Qawm, in this nation.
So in other words, the action that made those people Munafiq at the time this verse was revealed, which was revealed about them, for which they were defined as Munafiqs at that time, was because they disliked and hated the Shari'ah and Sunnah of the Holy Prophet sallallahu alayhi wasallam. So if today’s Mu’min does this action, if he has dislike in his heart for Rasoolullah sallallahu alayhi wasallam’s Tariqa, when he has bad, negative feelings, thinking ‘Oh this is an obstacle for us; it is a barrier for us in the Dunya; we cannot reach anywhere in the world. If we want to be wealthy, if we want to get somewhere, then we can’t with the Shari'ah and Sunnah.’ This is the reason that we put forward – and then we call ourselves Muslim? So then, what is hypocrisy, my brothers? Let us think for a minute.
Allah says in the Qur’an that this is the difference between the Munafiq and the Mu’min - this is the defining line. The Mu’min is that person who, in his heart, has the same style of love for Rasoolullah sallallahu alayhi wasallam that the Sahaba had. He will embrace every Sunnah and Tariqa of Rasoolullah sallallahu alayhi wasallam. And the Munafiq will be who? He will use the name of Islam and embrace the name of the Mu’min for the sake of showing people ‘I am a Mu’min; I am a believer; I follow Islam.’ But in reality, there will be no Deen in that person, no Sunnah. In reality, he will dislike and give objection to the Sunnah of the Holy Prophet sallallahu alayhi wasallam. He will feel coolness and dislike. So Allah ta’ala has announced ‘If you do not control and cure this disease in your heart, and it increases’, then Allah says:
{وَلَهُمۡ عَذَابٌ أَلِيمُۢ بِمَا كَانُواْ يَكۡذِبُونَ}
So the biggest consequence of this will not just be a punishment, but {عَذَابٌ أَلِيمُۢ}, a painful consequence.
This was the quality of the noble Companions, so whoever imitates the Companions radhiAllahu anhum until the end of his life, and embraces the Shari'ah and Sunnah of Rasoolullah sallallahu alayhi wasallam, it doesn’t matter how many difficulties he has to take during his life, during each day - just like the Sahaba-e-Karam. This is love for Rasoolullah sallallahu alayhi wasallam. The definition of love for Rasoolullah sallallahu alayhi wasallam is not articulated by any other action. The love of Rasoolullah sallallahu alayhi wasallam is defined as one thing only, that this love, outside, inside, eating, drinking, standing, sitting - every single action - should be according to the Sunnah of Rasoolullah sallallahu alayhi wasallam. That is it - end of.
Why? Because this will be the proof. For example, if I drink water, and I say ‘I won’t drink like this, I will drink in the way that the Holy Prophet sallallahu alayhi wasallam drank’, this proves that my Aqeedah is attached to Rasoolullah sallallahu alayhi wasallam. My whole Aqeedah and belief is that if I drink water in the way that the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wasallam drank, I will have Barakah, blessings, Fadhail and millions of diseases will be cured due to this action. In other words, I have belief that if I do Amal on this Sunnah, then it will give me extreme success. And whoever leaves this, then it proves that ‘I don’t want to follow that way, I don’t want to follow.’ This proves that he doesn’t have the Aqeedah that he has to follow the Sunnah!
So this is the difference - and this is Nifaq, hypocrisy. Otherwise, what else is the definition? This is what the Qur’an says, what the Qur’an has defined as hypocrisy – choosing to leave the Sunnah. So what we realise is that the lives of the noble Companions were a collection of love for Rasoolullah sallallahu alayhi wasallam. Every action, every single method of the Holy Prophet sallallahu alayhi wasallam, they would make every single thing they observed in the life of Rasoolullah sallallahu alayhi wasallam part of their lives. And why did they do this? Why did they implement this? Because Allah ta’ala had to maintain this difference between the Mu’mineen and the Munafiqeen until Qiyamah; the defining line would be this one defining line. This would be the proof that differentiates between who is a Muslim and who is a Munafiq, a hypocrite. This will be the single action to determine who is a Mu’min and who is a Munafiq. This will be the measuring tool to differentiate between the Mu’min and the Munafiq.
It is not a matter of all his other actions being fine, no. Allah ta’ala says no. Its not a matter of taking a sample of Islam, a few particular actions, and saying ‘Oh I’ve got this much Deen, and I can’t go beyond this, and everything else is too hard for me; it is oppression, no, no, I cannot practice this.’ People say this.
If I have love, how much Barakah and blessings there will be in following and imitating just one Sunnah of the Holy Prophet sallallahu alayhi wasallam! Let us analyse just one Sunnah. I say that Sunnah is so great that it will refine, correct and align thousands of issues in our lives. Look at the Sahaba-e-Karam, the noble Companions. Which Muslims are like this today, my brothers? Who has this Fikr, this deep concern, this worry? Nobody. Nobody has this. So every Insan has his own style of showing his Fikr, of demonstrating his concern and worry; they have their own ways. For example, if we have problems and issues, we think ‘Oh, how do I get rid of them?’ Now let’s see what the Tariqa of the Holy Prophet sallallahu alayhi wasallam was to solve such issues. This is in Tirmidhi Sharif – this is Deen! What a great way of life! If there was no importance in this, then how would this action have come into the Sunan-e-Tirmidhi? This is all from Allah. Allah established the laws and recorded the laws that have been delivered to us today in Tirmidhi Sharif, for us to read and study.
So who is the narrator of this Hadith? Abu Hurayrah radhiAllahu anh - what a great lover was Abu Hurayrah radhiAllahu anh! Imagine his status, his deep love – he recorded and shared this one action, this Sunnah of Rasoolullah sallallahu alayhi wasallam, with the whole Ummah. He had concern and worry, and he has presented the cure for grief in front of us. Why? Because the Iman, the belief of a Mu’min, is that the Holy Prophet sallallahu alayhi wasallam, if he has demonstrated the way that he solved problems and difficulties and issues, then there is no greater cure than that until the Day of Judgement that can show us how to solve problems. If we close our eyes and blindly implement the Sunnah, this will be the solution. So the solution as to how to rid ourselves of worries is presented by Abu Hurayrah radhiAllahu anh, who said ‘What did my Maula, my master, the Holy Prophet sallallahu alayhi wasallam do when he had worry and concern?’
Every state and emotion was demonstrated by the Holy Prophet sallallahu alayhi wasallam – happiness, sadness, everything was shown to us. And how he dealt with it, that is the cure. So Abu Hurayrah radhiAllahu anh said that when the Holy Prophet sallallahu alayhi wasallam would become concerned or worried, then he would do one action. This is a Sunnah in Tirmidhi, so I have total Yaqeen in the Sahaba that the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wasallam did this action at the time of concern, and that it would get rid of the biggest concern. So come, let us share this Sunnah, and promise in our hearts that we will have so much love for the Shari'ah and Sunnah of Rasoolullah sallallahu alayhi wasallam that our every action will be in accordance with the Holy Prophet sallallahu alayhi wasallam. His Shari'ah and Sunnah will come into our lives, and that’s when our heart will get rid of Nifaq and the diseases that the Qur’an has mentioned and explained to us.
{فِى قُلُوبِهِم مَّرَضٌ۬} SubhanAllah, this refers to the people at that time who were against the Holy Prophet sallallahu alayhi wasallam, who used to dislike the Holy Prophet sallallahu alayhi wasallam’s Sunnah and Shari'ah. It gives the example of them – may Allah ta’ala protect us from such examples. So how can we be two-faced in our lives? We say ‘Oh Prophet sallallahu alayhi wasallam, we are with you and we love you’, but our state is that we dislike him, or we dislike his Sunnah and Shari'ah. We don’t prefer it, and we think that it is difficult for us and hard for us in our lives, and we don’t want to practice it.
So Abu Hurayrha radhiAllahu anh stated that the Holy Prophet sallallahu alayhi wasallam’s blessed habit was that when he was concerned or worried, he would implement an action – what was that? The Prophet sallallahu alayhi wasallam would raise his head slightly towards the heavens and make a statement: ‘SubhanAllahi-l-Adheem, SubhanAllahi-l-Adheem!’ He would say this, SubhanAllah. What an action! This blessed action has been preserved and recorded in Tirmidhi Sharif and shared by Abu Huyrayrah radhiAllahu anh. For what reason? It was recorded, and then shared and shared and shared until it reached us, recorded and sealed in Tirmidhi Sharif, the Hadith collection.
So do we leave this action, and take other strange people’s solutions, taking this tablet, this anti-depressant and do this action or that action, or shaytani, wicked actions when trying to get rid of problems, and then say we are Ummatis, members of the Holy Prophet sallallahu alayhi wasallam’s nation? My brothers, what a beautiful solution! When a person has a concern, a worry, or an anxiety, let him slightly raise his head towards the sky and say ‘SubhanAllahi-l-Adheem!’ Recite this. That’s the Holy Prophet sallallahu alayhi wasallam’s Sunnah.
What will be the result? By implementing this one Sunnah to get rid of worries, the first thing is that definitely, that worry and concern will be gone, with the Fadhl of Allah. You will get contentment and peace. After that, because you are implementing this blessed action of the Holy Prophet sallallahu alayhi wasallam, implementing this Sunnah with love, because you like this Sunnah of the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wasallam, Allah says ‘He has revived an action of My Mehboob, so I will also make him My beloved!’ In the Court of Allah, in Allah’s book, you will be beloved to Allah due to one Sunnah.
The Holy Prophet sallallahu alayhi wasallam promised that in such a time as this, in the age of Fasaad and wickedness, then for reviving the Sunnah of Rasoolullah sallallahu alayhi wasallam, a person will gain the reward of one hundred Shaheed; and you will also get the Thawab of being Allah’s beloved. One hundred Shaheed! Beyond that, Rasoolullah sallallahu alayhi wasallam said ‘When any person, at any time, takes the method of my Sunnah and follows my Tariqa, then that person becomes my beloved; I love him!’ So we become the beloved of Allah, we become his beloved sallallahu alayhi wasallam, and we get the Thawab of one hundred Shaheed! And beyond that, Allah ta’ala gets rid of that grief, that problem that you had, and then through the Barakaat of the Sunnah, the blessings of the Sunnah, the mercies of the Sunnah, and the Noor of the Sunnah, the whole day will become radiant and illuminated, SubhanAllah!
May Allah ta’ala give us the Tawfeeq to implement the Sunnah of Rasoolullah sallallahu alayhi wasallam. This should be our life in our every second, in our breathing, and the very reason for our living. If it isn’t, then read the Qur’an:
{ فِى قُلُوبِهِم مَّرَضٌ۬ فَزَادَهُمُ ٱللَّهُ مَرَضً۬اۖ وَلَهُمۡ عَذَابٌ أَلِيمُۢ بِمَا كَانُواْ يَكۡذِبُونَ}
How does Allah ta’ala define those people who do not follow the Shari'ah and Sunnah of Rasoolullah sallallahu alayhi wasallam? Allah says that they are liars! ‘They are liars, and for them there will a big { عَذَابٌ أَلِيمُۢ} that I have prepared’, Allah ta’ala says. May Allah subhana wa ta’ala save us from this life of lying which is devoid of the Sunnah and Shari’ah of Rasoolullah sallallahu alayhi wasallam. Let us promise this today, in whatever Amal we do, in whatever action we do.
‘Ilm, knowledge is this indeed: what was the way Rasoolullah sallallahu alayhi wasallam did this? What was his method? In other words, what did Rasoolullah sallallahu alayhi wasallam do at this time, on this day? What was his blessed action? What was his method? How did Rasoolullah sallallahu alayhi wasallam sleep? How did he wake up? How did he drink water? How did he put on his shoes? If he felt pain, what would he say? When he was ill, what would he do? When he had a fever, what would he do? This is all a cure! This is the solution - all of this is the solution. SubhanAllah, glory be to Allah! This is the lifestyle. His standing was a solution, his sitting was a solution, his lying was a solution – it was a cure! His standing, sitting, and lying down was a cure – everything of his was a cure!
May Allah ta’ala give us all the ability to become true lovers of Rasoolullah sallallahu alayhi wasallam.
وَءَاخِرُ دَعۡوَٮٰهُمۡ أَنِ ٱلۡحَمۡدُ لِلَّهِ رَبِّ ٱلۡعَـٰلَمِينَ
Of all human beings who will come until the Day of Judgement, why is the status of the Companions of the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wasallam the greatest? What was special about them? What were their qualities due to which Allah was happy with them? This has been mentioned in the Qur’an - their words and actions have been mentioned in the Qur’an. Qur’anic verses were revealed due to their high rank. What was it about them? They were human beings like us. What was their quality? What worship or action did they possess that enabled them to attain such a rank, that until Qiyamah, no Qutb, no Gawth, nor any other status that a human being can attain, can reach the dust on the feet of the Sahaba-e-Karam. Those Companions who kept his company for just for a second and saw the blessed face of the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wasallam, Allah ta’ala has given this reward to that person for the moment that he spent.
What was the quality? What did they possess, what worship or deed did they implement that Allah ta’ala liked. My brothers, there was just one thing: they were true lovers of Rasoolullah sallallahu alayhi wasallam. Their every vein, every artery, every cell and atom, and all the blood that flowed through their veins was full of love for the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wasallam. Allah subhana wa ta’ala created the noble Companions in this way, that in their hearts, they had ‘Ishq, deep-seated passion, for the Holy Prophet sallallahu alayhi wasallam. And it was this love, this deep-seated passion and affection, that meant they would give their lives for every single action of the Holy Prophet sallallahu alayhi wasallam. They would give their all for him, for his smile, for his sadness, for his anger, his walking, his sitting, his sleeping – whatever action was connected to the Holy Prophet sallallahu alayhi wasallam. Even his thoughts were so valuable –they had deep love even for them. And this was deep love, not some minor, small-scale love. Their love was tested and proven, as attested to in Sahih al-Bukhari, which is in front of you today.
My brothers, Sahih al-Bukhari contains all of the actions that the noble Companions preserved in their hearts, and those actions have been shared with us until the Day of Judgement. What did Imam Bukhari rahmatullah alayh record in his Sahih? All of the beloved actions of the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wasallam are contained in his Kitab. All of the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wasallam’s methods – how he slept, how he wore clothes, what cloth he liked, what he liked to eat, when he liked to rest, what his smile was like, how his teeth looked when he smiled, how his smile looked on his blessed face, how he wore his blessed turban, how the tail hung behind it, which colour of clothes he wore at which time – this is Sahih al-Bukhari. This is the memory of the love of the Sahaba-e-Karam, SubhanAllah.
Now if, for example, someone loves a person, and he writes a book in their memory – that is what Sahih al-Bukhari is! It is a memory of the love of the Sahaba-e-Karam. They say, ‘This is our love, so that today you can see and witness his actions!’ Only a person who has love in his heart can record those actions – otherwise, who remembers somebody in that much detail? If a person has a beloved in the world, and he records and remembers, then when he gets old, he can still remember every action of his beloved. There are poets who praise the hair of their beloved, the eye, the ear, or the smile, but this is nothing! Love is what the noble Companions had for Rasoolullah sallallahu alayhi wasallam, and it was such a love for his actions that they had during his life that Allah ta’ala has mentioned this in the Qur’an. Allah ta’ala has given the testimony in the Qur’an about the love of the Sahaba radhiAllahu anhum, SubhanAllah! What heights and level the Sahaba attained. They loved and recorded the actions of the Holy Prophet that we see and hear and read today, SubhanAllah.
The surprising thing is this, that such actions, such beautiful actions of the Holy Prophet sallallahu alayhi wasallam that Allah ta’ala loves, that the angels, that the noble Companions love – just imagine the Barakaat in those actions, how many mercies there must be in his Sunnah! How many blessings and virtues and mercies are in each and every single individual action of the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wasallam. This is from Allah ta’ala’s mercy that He created that generation of Sahaba who recorded all of this and delivered that knowledge to us – and how much do we appreciate this? It is shocking, deeply shocking, that we, you, me, call ourselves Mu’mins, we call ourselves Muslims, and our methodology of life is according to our own desires, according to how we want to live. On the other hand, if we implement the guidance and the lifestyle of the Holy Prophet sallallahu alayhi wasallam, if in the morning, or during the day, we implement one Sunnah, our whole day will be filled with massive, massive blessings. There are so many blessings in one Sunnah of the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wasallam, that the whole day will be illuminated. If, on waking up in the morning, a person implements a method of the Holy Prophet sallallahu alayhi wasallam’s Sunnah, his whole day will become blessed.
We are Mu’mins, so it is surprising and shocking that we live our lives the way we want. We have such a valuable method, so valuable and priceless, but we waste it. That is why the Qur’an says:
{فِى قُلُوبِهِم مَّرَضٌ۬ فَزَادَهُمُ ٱللَّهُ مَرَضً۬اۖ وَلَهُمۡ عَذَابٌ أَلِيمُۢ بِمَا كَانُواْ يَكۡذِبُونَ}
Allah says that this Nifaq is the biggest disease that is in the heart of a person. Who were the Munafiqs? This was their disease, that most of all, astaghfirullah, they despised and disliked the actions of Rasoolullah sallallahu alayhi wasallam. And today, we the Mu’mins, forget about practicing the Sunnah, we dislike hearing about the Sunnah or talking about it. We don’t want to know about it. We say that the Sunnah is the biggest obstacle to success. That’s why the Qur’an says {فِى قُلُوبِهِم مَّرَضٌ۬}; this is the biggest disease that is inside us, that is in this Qawm, in this nation.
So in other words, the action that made those people Munafiq at the time this verse was revealed, which was revealed about them, for which they were defined as Munafiqs at that time, was because they disliked and hated the Shari'ah and Sunnah of the Holy Prophet sallallahu alayhi wasallam. So if today’s Mu’min does this action, if he has dislike in his heart for Rasoolullah sallallahu alayhi wasallam’s Tariqa, when he has bad, negative feelings, thinking ‘Oh this is an obstacle for us; it is a barrier for us in the Dunya; we cannot reach anywhere in the world. If we want to be wealthy, if we want to get somewhere, then we can’t with the Shari'ah and Sunnah.’ This is the reason that we put forward – and then we call ourselves Muslim? So then, what is hypocrisy, my brothers? Let us think for a minute.
Allah says in the Qur’an that this is the difference between the Munafiq and the Mu’min - this is the defining line. The Mu’min is that person who, in his heart, has the same style of love for Rasoolullah sallallahu alayhi wasallam that the Sahaba had. He will embrace every Sunnah and Tariqa of Rasoolullah sallallahu alayhi wasallam. And the Munafiq will be who? He will use the name of Islam and embrace the name of the Mu’min for the sake of showing people ‘I am a Mu’min; I am a believer; I follow Islam.’ But in reality, there will be no Deen in that person, no Sunnah. In reality, he will dislike and give objection to the Sunnah of the Holy Prophet sallallahu alayhi wasallam. He will feel coolness and dislike. So Allah ta’ala has announced ‘If you do not control and cure this disease in your heart, and it increases’, then Allah says:
{وَلَهُمۡ عَذَابٌ أَلِيمُۢ بِمَا كَانُواْ يَكۡذِبُونَ}
So the biggest consequence of this will not just be a punishment, but {عَذَابٌ أَلِيمُۢ}, a painful consequence.
This was the quality of the noble Companions, so whoever imitates the Companions radhiAllahu anhum until the end of his life, and embraces the Shari'ah and Sunnah of Rasoolullah sallallahu alayhi wasallam, it doesn’t matter how many difficulties he has to take during his life, during each day - just like the Sahaba-e-Karam. This is love for Rasoolullah sallallahu alayhi wasallam. The definition of love for Rasoolullah sallallahu alayhi wasallam is not articulated by any other action. The love of Rasoolullah sallallahu alayhi wasallam is defined as one thing only, that this love, outside, inside, eating, drinking, standing, sitting - every single action - should be according to the Sunnah of Rasoolullah sallallahu alayhi wasallam. That is it - end of.
Why? Because this will be the proof. For example, if I drink water, and I say ‘I won’t drink like this, I will drink in the way that the Holy Prophet sallallahu alayhi wasallam drank’, this proves that my Aqeedah is attached to Rasoolullah sallallahu alayhi wasallam. My whole Aqeedah and belief is that if I drink water in the way that the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wasallam drank, I will have Barakah, blessings, Fadhail and millions of diseases will be cured due to this action. In other words, I have belief that if I do Amal on this Sunnah, then it will give me extreme success. And whoever leaves this, then it proves that ‘I don’t want to follow that way, I don’t want to follow.’ This proves that he doesn’t have the Aqeedah that he has to follow the Sunnah!
So this is the difference - and this is Nifaq, hypocrisy. Otherwise, what else is the definition? This is what the Qur’an says, what the Qur’an has defined as hypocrisy – choosing to leave the Sunnah. So what we realise is that the lives of the noble Companions were a collection of love for Rasoolullah sallallahu alayhi wasallam. Every action, every single method of the Holy Prophet sallallahu alayhi wasallam, they would make every single thing they observed in the life of Rasoolullah sallallahu alayhi wasallam part of their lives. And why did they do this? Why did they implement this? Because Allah ta’ala had to maintain this difference between the Mu’mineen and the Munafiqeen until Qiyamah; the defining line would be this one defining line. This would be the proof that differentiates between who is a Muslim and who is a Munafiq, a hypocrite. This will be the single action to determine who is a Mu’min and who is a Munafiq. This will be the measuring tool to differentiate between the Mu’min and the Munafiq.
It is not a matter of all his other actions being fine, no. Allah ta’ala says no. Its not a matter of taking a sample of Islam, a few particular actions, and saying ‘Oh I’ve got this much Deen, and I can’t go beyond this, and everything else is too hard for me; it is oppression, no, no, I cannot practice this.’ People say this.
If I have love, how much Barakah and blessings there will be in following and imitating just one Sunnah of the Holy Prophet sallallahu alayhi wasallam! Let us analyse just one Sunnah. I say that Sunnah is so great that it will refine, correct and align thousands of issues in our lives. Look at the Sahaba-e-Karam, the noble Companions. Which Muslims are like this today, my brothers? Who has this Fikr, this deep concern, this worry? Nobody. Nobody has this. So every Insan has his own style of showing his Fikr, of demonstrating his concern and worry; they have their own ways. For example, if we have problems and issues, we think ‘Oh, how do I get rid of them?’ Now let’s see what the Tariqa of the Holy Prophet sallallahu alayhi wasallam was to solve such issues. This is in Tirmidhi Sharif – this is Deen! What a great way of life! If there was no importance in this, then how would this action have come into the Sunan-e-Tirmidhi? This is all from Allah. Allah established the laws and recorded the laws that have been delivered to us today in Tirmidhi Sharif, for us to read and study.
So who is the narrator of this Hadith? Abu Hurayrah radhiAllahu anh - what a great lover was Abu Hurayrah radhiAllahu anh! Imagine his status, his deep love – he recorded and shared this one action, this Sunnah of Rasoolullah sallallahu alayhi wasallam, with the whole Ummah. He had concern and worry, and he has presented the cure for grief in front of us. Why? Because the Iman, the belief of a Mu’min, is that the Holy Prophet sallallahu alayhi wasallam, if he has demonstrated the way that he solved problems and difficulties and issues, then there is no greater cure than that until the Day of Judgement that can show us how to solve problems. If we close our eyes and blindly implement the Sunnah, this will be the solution. So the solution as to how to rid ourselves of worries is presented by Abu Hurayrah radhiAllahu anh, who said ‘What did my Maula, my master, the Holy Prophet sallallahu alayhi wasallam do when he had worry and concern?’
Every state and emotion was demonstrated by the Holy Prophet sallallahu alayhi wasallam – happiness, sadness, everything was shown to us. And how he dealt with it, that is the cure. So Abu Hurayrah radhiAllahu anh said that when the Holy Prophet sallallahu alayhi wasallam would become concerned or worried, then he would do one action. This is a Sunnah in Tirmidhi, so I have total Yaqeen in the Sahaba that the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wasallam did this action at the time of concern, and that it would get rid of the biggest concern. So come, let us share this Sunnah, and promise in our hearts that we will have so much love for the Shari'ah and Sunnah of Rasoolullah sallallahu alayhi wasallam that our every action will be in accordance with the Holy Prophet sallallahu alayhi wasallam. His Shari'ah and Sunnah will come into our lives, and that’s when our heart will get rid of Nifaq and the diseases that the Qur’an has mentioned and explained to us.
{فِى قُلُوبِهِم مَّرَضٌ۬} SubhanAllah, this refers to the people at that time who were against the Holy Prophet sallallahu alayhi wasallam, who used to dislike the Holy Prophet sallallahu alayhi wasallam’s Sunnah and Shari'ah. It gives the example of them – may Allah ta’ala protect us from such examples. So how can we be two-faced in our lives? We say ‘Oh Prophet sallallahu alayhi wasallam, we are with you and we love you’, but our state is that we dislike him, or we dislike his Sunnah and Shari'ah. We don’t prefer it, and we think that it is difficult for us and hard for us in our lives, and we don’t want to practice it.
So Abu Hurayrha radhiAllahu anh stated that the Holy Prophet sallallahu alayhi wasallam’s blessed habit was that when he was concerned or worried, he would implement an action – what was that? The Prophet sallallahu alayhi wasallam would raise his head slightly towards the heavens and make a statement: ‘SubhanAllahi-l-Adheem, SubhanAllahi-l-Adheem!’ He would say this, SubhanAllah. What an action! This blessed action has been preserved and recorded in Tirmidhi Sharif and shared by Abu Huyrayrah radhiAllahu anh. For what reason? It was recorded, and then shared and shared and shared until it reached us, recorded and sealed in Tirmidhi Sharif, the Hadith collection.
So do we leave this action, and take other strange people’s solutions, taking this tablet, this anti-depressant and do this action or that action, or shaytani, wicked actions when trying to get rid of problems, and then say we are Ummatis, members of the Holy Prophet sallallahu alayhi wasallam’s nation? My brothers, what a beautiful solution! When a person has a concern, a worry, or an anxiety, let him slightly raise his head towards the sky and say ‘SubhanAllahi-l-Adheem!’ Recite this. That’s the Holy Prophet sallallahu alayhi wasallam’s Sunnah.
What will be the result? By implementing this one Sunnah to get rid of worries, the first thing is that definitely, that worry and concern will be gone, with the Fadhl of Allah. You will get contentment and peace. After that, because you are implementing this blessed action of the Holy Prophet sallallahu alayhi wasallam, implementing this Sunnah with love, because you like this Sunnah of the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wasallam, Allah says ‘He has revived an action of My Mehboob, so I will also make him My beloved!’ In the Court of Allah, in Allah’s book, you will be beloved to Allah due to one Sunnah.
The Holy Prophet sallallahu alayhi wasallam promised that in such a time as this, in the age of Fasaad and wickedness, then for reviving the Sunnah of Rasoolullah sallallahu alayhi wasallam, a person will gain the reward of one hundred Shaheed; and you will also get the Thawab of being Allah’s beloved. One hundred Shaheed! Beyond that, Rasoolullah sallallahu alayhi wasallam said ‘When any person, at any time, takes the method of my Sunnah and follows my Tariqa, then that person becomes my beloved; I love him!’ So we become the beloved of Allah, we become his beloved sallallahu alayhi wasallam, and we get the Thawab of one hundred Shaheed! And beyond that, Allah ta’ala gets rid of that grief, that problem that you had, and then through the Barakaat of the Sunnah, the blessings of the Sunnah, the mercies of the Sunnah, and the Noor of the Sunnah, the whole day will become radiant and illuminated, SubhanAllah!
May Allah ta’ala give us the Tawfeeq to implement the Sunnah of Rasoolullah sallallahu alayhi wasallam. This should be our life in our every second, in our breathing, and the very reason for our living. If it isn’t, then read the Qur’an:
{ فِى قُلُوبِهِم مَّرَضٌ۬ فَزَادَهُمُ ٱللَّهُ مَرَضً۬اۖ وَلَهُمۡ عَذَابٌ أَلِيمُۢ بِمَا كَانُواْ يَكۡذِبُونَ}
How does Allah ta’ala define those people who do not follow the Shari'ah and Sunnah of Rasoolullah sallallahu alayhi wasallam? Allah says that they are liars! ‘They are liars, and for them there will a big { عَذَابٌ أَلِيمُۢ} that I have prepared’, Allah ta’ala says. May Allah subhana wa ta’ala save us from this life of lying which is devoid of the Sunnah and Shari’ah of Rasoolullah sallallahu alayhi wasallam. Let us promise this today, in whatever Amal we do, in whatever action we do.
‘Ilm, knowledge is this indeed: what was the way Rasoolullah sallallahu alayhi wasallam did this? What was his method? In other words, what did Rasoolullah sallallahu alayhi wasallam do at this time, on this day? What was his blessed action? What was his method? How did Rasoolullah sallallahu alayhi wasallam sleep? How did he wake up? How did he drink water? How did he put on his shoes? If he felt pain, what would he say? When he was ill, what would he do? When he had a fever, what would he do? This is all a cure! This is the solution - all of this is the solution. SubhanAllah, glory be to Allah! This is the lifestyle. His standing was a solution, his sitting was a solution, his lying was a solution – it was a cure! His standing, sitting, and lying down was a cure – everything of his was a cure!
May Allah ta’ala give us all the ability to become true lovers of Rasoolullah sallallahu alayhi wasallam.
وَءَاخِرُ دَعۡوَٮٰهُمۡ أَنِ ٱلۡحَمۡدُ لِلَّهِ رَبِّ ٱلۡعَـٰلَمِينَ