Rabbana Zidna ‘Ilma!!

The Prophetic Reason

Praise be to Allah who revealed to His servant the Book and placed therein no crookedness. He has made it straight in order that He may warn of a terrible punishment from Him and that He may give glad tidings to the believers who work righteous deeds that they shall have a great reward wherein they shall abide forever.

The Prophet Muhammed (SAWS) said: “I was given the Quran and something like it. I fear lest a man will sit contently reclining and say: ‘You must follow this Quran. Whatever you find therein permissible, permit it, and whatever you find therein prohibited, forbid it.’ Nay, for indeed whatever Allah ’s Messenger has prohibited, it is as if Allah has prohibited.”

This is the statement of the final messenger, Muhammad (SAWS). A name which was not common at all before the final revelation, but a name that is called out five times a day in every corner of the globe, where the heads of every righteous slave is lowered to the lowest level of the earth, pronouncing the divinity of there Lord, and a name that is held by millions if not billions of Muslims through out the world. But why should we follow him? Is humanity really in need to inquire the knowledge of his life? Can mankind endure this life without his teachings? There exists in the heart of every man a sense of pride, a sense of superiority, a sense of dominance, that makes man believe that he is of the highest of intelligence, that the apparent world is in need of him. This is the principle of the man who is deaf, dumb, and blind. For it is man who is in need, for it is man who is helpless, for it is man who is destroyed. Humanity is in great need, which is why Allah sent Messengers, to quench that need, as He The Most High says:

And I (Allah ) created not the jinns and humans except they should worship Me (Alone).
Surah Az-Zariyat: 56

If this is the purpose of our lives, if this is why Allah the Most Merciful created us, if this is His Command, then how can we fulfill this obligation? Who is there to inform us, who is there to teach us, who is there to guide us, it is non other then the Prophets (AS). Allah created us to worship Him, which is why we need the guidance of the Prophets, educating us about Allah , and teaching us how to worship Him. Imagine a life not knowing your parents, every part of your body, from your eyes to your arms would desire to meet those whom you call your mother and father, it desires to hold the hand of the one who breast fed you and held you when you opened your eyes to this world. Now what about you’re Creator, the One who gave you your life, the One who gave you this world, the One who gave you you’re parents. This is why the Prophets were sent, to educate you about your Creator, and to teach you how to worship Him. No one can know Allah ; their Creator without following the Prophet that was sent to them, for it is the Prophets who bring with them the truth. As He the Most Merciful says:

And thus We have sent to you (O Muhammad SAW) Ruhan (an Inspiration, and a Mercy) of Our Command. You knew not what is the Book, nor what is Faith? But We have made it (this Qur’ân) a light wherewith We guide whosoever of Our slaves We will. And verily, you (O Muhammad SAW) are indeed guiding (mankind) to the Straight Path (i.e. Allâh’s religion of Islâmic Monotheism). Surah Ash-Shura: 52

What the prophets bring to humanity (Ruh) are like souls to the bodies, without it you have no life, this message sent by Allah through the Prophets is light and guidance for all mankind. And it is the scholars who say that the most important chapter in the books of akida is ‘To believe in Prophets and Messengers’, because it teaches us to know our Creator. So who was sent to us, who was the last and final Messenger, who brought to us the truth, and guidance, it is Muhammad Ibn Abdullah Ibn Abdul-Muttalib Al-Qurashee. He was unlike any other prophet, he was not sent only to his people, rather Allah says:

And We have not sent you (O Muhammad SAW) except as a giver of glad tidings and a warner to all mankind, but most of men know not. Surah Saba:28

He was not sent to the Arabs of his time, but to all mankind that includes you and me, and it is an obligation from Allah upon us to follow his teachings, for Allah revealed more then 30 verses ordering us to obey and follow the Messenger Muhammad (SAWS). As He says:

Say (O Muhammad SAW): “Obey Allah and the Messenger (Muhammad SAW).” But if they turn away, then Allah does not like the disbelievers. Surah Al-Imran: 32

During the night of miraj, Allah ordered the Prophets to follow and obey him SAWS in prayer, now what about us. Today there is an epidemic that is in the hearts and tongues of the Muslims, today we question the sunnah, we try to avoid applying the sunnah in our lives, we have become lax in the prophetic traditions. This is truly a disease of the heart, for the Sahabas, his companions never asked if such and such sunnah is makroo or mustahab, they applied it without any doubts, but you and I have issues with it. When news came that the direction of the Qibla changed, many were already in prayer, many were already in sujood, but they obeyed the command of there Prophet, they turned in their prayer, they turned in there sujood. Another example, a sahabi was entering the marsjid, when the Prophet (SAWS) told everyone to sit, as soon as this sahabi heard the command of the Prophet (SAWS) he sat, and he sat with one leg in and one leg out of the masjid. This is the love they had for the Prophet SAWS, and this love is an obligation to reach, and place in our hearts, as the Prophet SAWS said: “None of you believe until I am more beloved to him than his parents, children and all people.” Now ask yourself, do we really love the Prophet SAWS, do we really uphold his teachings, the sunnah, and apply it in our lives, as those of our pious predecessors. The examples are in the likes of Imam Malik (RA), who in order to narrate a hadith, must first make ghusl, put on new clothing, pray two raka , put on incense, and then narrate the hadith. But when it came time for him to give his rulings, he would give it in any condition, why? Because it was only his opinion. Who are we compared to him.

This is the love for a Prophet, a Prophet who also loved us, a Prophet who did everything possible to give us what we have today, by the Permission of Allah , and that is emaan. He made dua for us, he cried for us, he bled for us, and on the Day of Judgement, his love for us will not end, for he will seek Shafa for us. So why do we not love him, what keeps us away from following him, the one who is a mercy to you and I, instead we have more love for our favorite singers, our favorite actors, our favorite athletes. We love them so much that we try to replicate them, we try to duplicate them, we try to look like them, and dress like them, we have their pictures hanging in our rooms, this is the meaning of true love, but it is only love in the wrong direction.

Humanity is in need of their prophet, for Allah sent the Prophet (SAWS) to establish justice on earth, for our own well being, for our own protection, to protect us from us. We the humans are our own worst enemy, we harm each other more then any plague or disease in history. We shed our own bloods, we destroy our own homes, and we confiscate and steal that which is not ours. So it is justice that the Prophet (SAWS) was sent to establish, and justice means to put something where it belongs, that is why worship belongs only to Allah . It is tawheed that is the greatest justice, it is tawheed that he SAWS was sent to establish, and it is shirk that is the greatest injustice, and it is shirk that he was sent to destroy. As Ibn Hazm said, “Allah will give victory to a secular just government over a religious unjust government.” This is what we the Muslims must return to, as he SAWS said, “Allah will never bless any nation, where a poor person cannot ask for his right.” And the only way to return back to this justice is to establish the sunnah first in our hearts, in our actions, in our lives, in our families, and then in our society.

Posted by: Brother Khatab

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