Can I be like the Prophet?

Can I be like the Prophet?

ICNA-MAS 2012 Lecture by Sheikh Abdul Nasir Jangda

Opening

Allah is the Greatest. In the name of Allah, and praise be to Allah, and peace and blessings be upon the Messenger of Allah and upon his family and companions all. Peace be upon you and the mercy of Allah and His blessings.

The Central Question

So the question is, can I ever be like the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم). Peace and blessings be upon him. To qualify this question, even though there might be some people here who actually have that question on their minds.

Understanding Who the Prophet Was

But to qualify that question, I'd like to give you a full picture of exactly who the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم) was. Give you both sides of the story.

The Divine Perspective on the Prophet

On one side Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala in Surah Al-Ahzab is telling us:

Muhammad is not the father of any one of your men. Meaning he's not some just ordinary person. Rather, he is the messenger of Allah. And he is the seal of all the prophets.

Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala says in the Quran as Imam Suhaib very eloquently detailed:

That you most definitely, no doubt about the fact, are on top of, above, a very noble, amazing character.

Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala in the Quran as Imam Suhaib mentioned, in another place in the Quran, Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala swears by the life and the age of the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم)

Allah swears by the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم)

The Prophet's Multiple Roles

In Surah Al-Ahzab Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala says about the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم):

That most definitely we have sent you as a witness, as someone to deliver good news, and as someone to warn, and as a caller to Allah by His permission, and a bright illuminating force of light.

That the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم) enlightened people. He brought guidance to mankind. He delivered it to people's doorsteps.

The Prophet's Character and Presence

And not only that, but the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم) even in his character as Imam Suhaib was talking about. And as Imam Umar was explaining through the example of his mother. That it said about the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم) that when he walked into a room as he mentioned that the Prophet (صلی الله عليه وسلم) would always smile.

But then another Sahabi radiyallahu anhu says that when the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم) walked into a room, it's like he lit the room up. He brightened the room. That's who the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم) was.

Poetry of Hassan bin Thabit

Hassan bin Thabit, a companion of the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم) who was a poet and he was actually the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم) poet on demand. You know we have like video on demand.

He was the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم) as a poet on demand. Whenever anybody would write some poetry talking bad about the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم)talking bad about Islam, the Muslim, something. The Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم) would call Hassan and be like, let him have it.

And so Hassan radiyallahu anhu looking at the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم) he says:

I have never seen anything more excellent than you. My eyes have never witnessed anything more amazing than you. And no woman has ever given birth to anyone more beautiful than you. You were created free from any faults or shortcomings. It's as if you were created as you wanted to be created.

The Prophet's Leadership

Even the Prophet of Allah (صلى الله عليه وسلم) tells us himself, that he is:

(Sahih Muslim 2278)

He is the leader of all of humanity from the beginning till the end. He will be the leader of all of the children of Adam, all human beings on the day of resurrection. He is the beloved of the Lord of all the worlds.

So on one side you see that the Prophet of Allah (صلى الله عليه وسلم) was unbelievable. He was amazing. He was remarkable. He was mind-blowing.

The Divine Command to Follow the Prophet

That the Prophet of Allah (صلى الله عليه وسلم) was the most remarkable human being ever. He is the most remarkable of Allah's creation. And so naturally the question occurs, can I be like the Prophet? When you have speakers telling you this was the akhlaq of the Prophet, this is what the Prophet would do, this is what we need to do, what did the Prophet do and what are we doing today?

The question occurs, can I be like the Prophet? Is that fair for you to ask me that? Is it reasonable for you to demand that from me? Just last week I was giving a talk on the seerah to a college crowd, an MSA crowd, and a brother asked me the question just flat out in the session.

He's like, I understand what you're talking about. But do you really expect us to be able to be like the Prophet? Do you know what I'm dealing with? Do you know what's going on? Do you know all the distractions and all the difficulties and everything else? How difficult that would be for us? And not even just saying it as an excuse, but saying it, he's the Messenger of God. I'm this lowly, filthy piece of trash.

Can I be like the Prophet? Is that reasonable? Is that fair? Is that realistic?

But we understand, and Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala said in the Quran, surah number 33, ayah number 21, Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala told us:

The words of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala have preserved this. That Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala said in the Quran, that most definitely, without a shred of a doubt, the most excellent role model for you is in the Messenger of God. Peace and blessings be upon him.

That means it is a realistic goal.

The Human Side of the Prophet

But that becomes a real goal for us when we understand and learn who the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم) was. When we begin to read the life of the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم)some of Imam Suhaib talked about, some of Imam Umar mentioned.

The Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم) bled. He was a human being at the end of the day. He bled. He was hurt. He was injured. On the day of Uhud, he wasn't immortal.

A lot of times when we talk about heroes, you know, with the Avengers out right now. That's a lot of times our perception of a hero. It's somebody who flies through the sky with a hammer.

Right? It's a dude who turns into a big angry green monster. Also known as a masjid uncle. Right? You have a masjid uncle who's like the Hulk? I know I do.

All right? That's our perception of a hero. That's what happens. So our minds are warped in that sense.

The Prophet's Physical Suffering

But when we read the life of the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم),we see he is the ultimate hero. But he bled. On the day of Uhud, the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم)when he was injured, his face was cut very deeply.

He was bleeding so bad that they couldn't make the bleeding stop. Ali radiyallahu anhu went and got a bucket of water, and poured it onto the face and the head of the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم) to make him stop bleeding, but the blood kept flowing. And so finally Fatima radiyallahu anha, the daughter of the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم)came and he was sitting on a straw mat while they were tending to him, they were treating him.

And she tore a piece of the mat and she burned it until it became like hot ashes. And then she stuffed that into the wounds and then finally the bleeding stopped. He bled.

The Prophet's Emotional Pain

The Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم) cried. He cried. He suffered pain. He went through adversity and trouble and difficulty.

Anas bin Malik radiyallahu anhu mentions in a hadith of Bukhari, that the Prophet of Allah (صلى الله عليه وسلم) was checking on his son, Ibrahim, who was 18 months old. He went to go check on him and he was

sitting with him and he took him and he kissed him and he hugged him and he was sitting with him.

And he says that we came a little while later to the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم) and Ibrahim was actually sick. And at that point in time the child was basically dying. The child, Ibrahim, the son of the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم)was struggling to breathe.

And they say that the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم) started to cry. And tears were flowing from his eyes. Abdurrahman bin Auf radiyallahu anhu sitting next to the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم) looked at him and said, You cry like this, O Messenger of Allah?

The Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم) said:

(Sahih Bukhari 1303)

That this is mercy. And then he followed after that by saying:

(Sahih Bukhari 1303)

That the eye, it cries, it sheds tears and the heart, it is in pain. But we won't say anything except that which is pleasing to our Lord. But I miss you so much, my son. I miss you so much, Ibrahim.

The Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم) cried. He suffered through pain.

More Examples of the Prophet's Humanity

When he was burying his daughter, Umm Kulthum. When he was burying his daughter, Umm Kulthum, he was crying. The Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم),one of his grandchildren, one of the great children of the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم)one of the sons of Zaynab, the daughter of the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم).

The grandson of the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم). She sent a message to him that your grandson is very, very sick and ill. When the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم) went there, and he held the son, then he held the body of his grandson in his hands, and he cried, And they say that I heard a Sahabi radiyallahu anhu who was there with the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم) He says that I heard Usama bin Zaid He says I heard a sound from the chest of the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم) that literally it sounded like He was sobbing on the inside.

He was shaking and trembling. He was crying so much at the loss of his grandson So the Prophet (صلی الله عليه وسلم) suffered pain.

The Prophet's Joy and Celebrations

The Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم) laughed He had moments of joy. He had moments of happiness in his life He had celebrations in his life when he got married he hosted all of his companions for a waleema at his house and He was very human.

We have right now we have trouble We don't humanize the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم). We don't understand at a human level who the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم) was He was so human that there are ayat in the Quran that he called everyone over for a waleema for a celebration He just got married. Come on everybody party time and After everybody ate and after everybody, you know had eaten food and everyone was partying.

It was such a good party. Nobody wanted to leave So everyone just kept hanging out and the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم) wanted everybody to leave Because he just got married. He wants you know, he wants to be with his family You need some personal time, but nobody's leaving and he was shy, you know, you don't kick people out of your house So He didn't say anything Allah subhanahu wa'ta'ala had to send down ayat in the Quran:

That listen when you go to the house of the Prophet you've been you've been Invited to the house of the Prophet then go but once you've eaten your food and everything's done then go In that Allah said that you were you were troubling you were causing trouble to the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم) But he was shy.

He didn't want to say anything Allah don't care. Allah will tell you like it is get out Time to go home That's how human the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم) was.

The Prophet's Family Life

The Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم) had moments of intimacy Romantic gestures and experiences in his marriage The beautiful story of Aisha radiyallahu anha Watching the the the Africans do their whole display of skill in art where she she stood behind the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم) and kind of perched up on his back and Put her face against the face of the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم) and watched and the narration says he asked her Are you done? She said no Watched a little bit longer. They said are you done? She said no wash a little bit longer He said are you done? She goes? Yeah, we're good now You know like when you go to with your wife to the bazaar And you're carrying bags.

Are we done? No Okay, no problem so next time do what the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم) did all right no problem dear yes, yes, ma'am And you keep walking. Are we done? No It gets scarier every time Right don't make her angry But the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم) experienced that in his life.

The Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم) playing with children playing with kids The Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم) at the house of his uncle Abbas one of the babies in the house He lied down he would often go in the afternoon time to the house of his uncle Abbas radiyallahu anhu when just late eat some food and lay down and just kind of hang out and visit with the family and There was a baby in the house and he put the baby on his chest and he was bouncing the baby on his chest the baby started to have a little too much fun and The baby peed on the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم) Yeah that happened to him He that happened to him that's who he was very human.

The Prophet's Domestic Life

That the Prophet of Allah (صلى الله عليه وسلم) at home He was always just he was involved in at home. He spent time with his family members He cleaned his own clothes. He sewed his own shoes. He picked up after himself So the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم) When we read the life of the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم) when we learn the life of the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم) Yes, he was amazing. Like I said before but there was this human side to the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم) It's this balanced understanding of who the Messenger of Allah peace and blessings be upon him was And when we understand that we realize we can be like the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم) We share a lot with the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم).

Finding Connection Through Shared Experiences

When we understand this we I know a gentleman Who is about in his early 30s has two small children babies and his wife passed away His life fell apart He didn't know what to think.

He didn't know how to make sense of anything And then I sat down with him. He came to talk to me I sat down with him and I told him about the passing of Khadija radiyallahu anha And how difficult that was for the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم) and he realized he had a connection with the Messenger of Allah.

There's a there's a family in our community where I live There's a brother who comes to the masjid every single day Two to three times a day Fajr Maghrib Isha every day and every day in Maghrib or Isha depending on the season He would always bring his five-year-old son Beautiful child always comes and goes and asks the Imam. How are you doing today Imam? every single day would check on the Imam and Then we got a call a very tragic call late at night one day that he was hit by a car And we went there and eventually the boy passed away.

He died The father and the mother nothing they didn't know what to do nothing made sense to them there they were there they were destroyed So I told them about the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم) you

know something remarkable the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم) had seven children Six of those children died during the lifetime of the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم) He buried six of his own children with his own hands, can you imagine what that was like?

That's who the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم) and Allah subhanahu wa'ta'ala would console the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم) understanding the human side of the Messenger of Allah (صلى الله عليه وسلم) that when the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم) went through the death of Ibrahim and it was so tragic for him the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم) all of a sudden became very happy and the Sahaba radiyallahu anhum asked him what happened O Messenger of Allah He said that Allah subhanahu wa'ta'ala has just informed me that Ibrahim was still Nursing Ibrahim was still drinking milk when he passed away So Allah subhanahu wa'ta'ala has appointed two women in paradise to continue feeding him and nursing him until he can complete his nursing period He was consoled by Allah that your baby boy is taken care of and the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم) found comfort in that that my baby Boy will be alright This is the human side of the Messenger (صلى الله عليه وسلم).

The Prophet's Concern for Humanity

His concern for humanity had a bleeding heart He was worried about people concerned about people It's a very famous story the story of Ta'if when he traveled and he was treated very badly by the people He was stoned and pelted and he bled After he bled and finally they left him alone and he bled profusely He passed out literally from the experience when he came to his senses He saw a man serving him the people in whose garden he had taken refuge. They had a Christian servant by the name of Adas and They sent him to look after the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم) When he was serving the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم) taking care of him and Offered him food and drink and things like that and the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم) said bismillah And he said what he what did you just say? There's something different about you. You're not like the rest of your people.

They don't talk like this and the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم) asked him What's your name? He said Adas. He said where you're from? He said I'm from Nineveh The Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم) said really do you know Yunus and he said of course we do It's a famous Prophet of God Very famous man from our town very blessed man. He says he's my brother.

He said I'm gonna be your brother He said he's a messenger of God. And so am I The man accepted Islam the Prophet was bleeding. He was unconscious But he was worried and concerned about another human being and their salvation and their guidance and then finding their way to Allah subhanahu wa'ta'ala This is who the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم) was.

Practical Ways to Be Like the Prophet

So Going back to the question at hand. Can we be like the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم)? Can I be like the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم)? Absolutely And what are some practical realizations of how we can be like

the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم) the theme of this conference talking about Sharia What is a huge chunk in a big part of our Sharia? The teachings of the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم) is the as Imam Suhaib talked about Imam Umar commented the akhlaq and the character of the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم) and They told you a lot about the beautiful conduct and character of the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم) I'II talk about some of the just the commonness of the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم) being a man of the people.

The Prophet's Humility and Accessibility

Anas radiyallahu anhu says the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم) used to visit the sick. He would attend funerals He would ride on a donkey You know what a donkey is the equivalent of a donkey is the equivalent of a Honda Civic with different colored doors You know I'm talking about I know what I'm talking about I used to drive one of those bad boys All right. I Told the door fell off The Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم) used to ride around on a donkey He accepted the invitations of slaves Slaves who are property when they would invite him Oh messenger of Allah.

Please come break some bread with me He would show up and Accept their invitation and show up to eat with them. What would a slave eat? What could a slave provide as hospitality and the Prophet would accept their invitations and show up the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم) Accepted and attended invitations and Anas radiyallahu anhu who who was this assistant who went everywhere with him? He says that the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم) accepted invitations where bread made of barley was provided and stale fat Not even meat but the fat of an animal that had been stale It was a few days old would be served and he would sit there and he would eat it with a smile on his face There's a color. Thank you very much.

Alhamdulillah. This is awesome That's who the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم) was.

The Prophet's Financial Simplicity

You know right now a lot of people are struggling financially Economic difficulty, it's tough times The Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم) had pawned what an armor that he owned Some armor that the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم) owned. He had pondered to a Jewish man For a loan and Anas radiyallahu anhu says that the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم) For the rest of his life never had enough money to be able to go and get that armor back He died and that Jewish man still had the armor Difficult times financial difficulty the Prophet of Allah (صلى الله عليه وسلم).

He the Sahaba say that Anas radiyallahu anhu says that when then the Prophet of Allah They say no one was more beloved to the Sahaba than the Prophet of some but when he would walk in They would not stand up because they knew he didn't like them to do that He didn't want them to do that Anas radiyallahu anhu mentions a Hadith of the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم) says:

Reference: Sahih Bukhari 2568

No, who do you like a big heroine like a bintu that if somebody brought me the the bone Like the leg bone of an animal I would accept it as a gift if somebody brought as a gift the bone of an animal I would accept it. Thank you very much like a lot here That's who the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم) was.

The Prophet's Kindness to All People

The Prophet of Allah (صلى الله عليه وسلم) one time a man came to visit the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم) Aisha the wife of the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم) was sitting with him and The Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم) told her to basically kind of go inside because and just to let her know about the situation He said this guy kind of has you know, he's he's a little notorious He's known as a little bit of a troublemaker in his people. So you go ahead and go inside Then the man came and the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم) spoke to him very nicely very politely very gently like he would talk to any Other human being when the man left to Aisha radiyallahu anha came out and said you were being really nice and friendly with him You're being really cool and chill with him. I thought you said he's a bad man.

Why weren't you mean to him? Since he's such a terrible man The Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم) says:

Reference: Sahih Bukhari 6054

That as bad as he might be the worst person is somebody who is rude who is mean To other people maybe because of their indecency Because somebody else has got some problems when you are bad to that person that actually makes you the worst person in the room That's the teachings of the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم).

The Story of Tufayl bin Amr

There's a beautiful story kind of a lengthy story. So I'm gonna short I'm gonna shorten it about a man from the Tribe Trying to remember the exact name but there's a sahabi radiyallahu anhu who accepted Islam he came from a faraway tribe subhanAllah.

I'm just forgetting the name But a sahabi came to accept Islam and he was a very very smart man He was he was very well known for his genius amongst his people From the tribe of Daws Tufayl radiyallahu anhu was from the tribe of Daws. He came and he accepted Islam long story short. He accepted Islam It's a beautiful story for another day inshallah When he went back the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم) taught him for a number of days and sent him back to his people And said go back and teach your people what I've taught you He goes back stays for literally a couple of days and shows back up when the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم) sees him again He goes, what are you doing back here? I thought I sent you back to your people to go teach them He said Oh messenger of Allah.

I Went there. I gave them the message. They didn't accept or do Allah. May Allah destroys these people That's it game over In fact, you want to know something very interesting is very relevant to our times His exact complaint about his people was a little bit too. I like him with Zina will come up He said fornication and alcohol has taken over these people sound familiar Sound a lot like the society we live in today fornication alcohol So he's complaining about that and saying they're bad people. They're obsessed with fornication alcohol.

I told them the message They didn't accept it. Now make dua Allah destroys these people The Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم raised his hands to make dua the Sahaba who were sitting around They said when this when we saw the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم raises hands to make dua all we said, oh snap All right Me like that's it. These people are done finished poof They'll be wiped clean off the face of the earth And then when the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم opened his mouth, he said:

Arabic:

(Sahih Bukhari 4392)

Allah give guidance to the people of Daws but the story doesn't end there He then told Tufayl he goes now you go back to your people Now you go back to your people and you preach and teach the message to them and you behave yourself Said you learn from me what I do serve your people be good to your people be kind to your people be Understanding towards your people and then preach the message the Sahaba radiyallahu anhum say that we did not see Tufayl for another decade The next time we saw Tufayl was the battle of Khaybar right after the battle of Khaybar ended and we saw Tufayl.

Have you ever seen somebody after like 10 12 years? It's like seeing somebody from another lifetime. He said we taught Tufayl after a decade. We were like, man, where you been, bro? and They say that we saw that Tufayl was coming and he said I brought the entire tribe of Daws with me to accept Islam That was صلى الله عليه وسلم the messenger of Allah.

The Prophet's Gentleness and Communication

Can we be like the messenger of Allah صلى الله عليه وسلم? Absolutely the Prophet of Allah صلى الله عليه وسلم He was not in his nature Anas radiyallahu anhu says:

Arabic:

(Sahih Bukhari 2125)

To talk indecently to engage in the use of obscene language He didn't shout and yell at people when the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم spoke to people. He would turn towards them and speak to them Forget about speaking at them without looking at them. You wouldn't just turn his head He would completely turn to turn towards someone and he would speak to them That's who the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم was he would say salam to children in the streets Children little kids be running around you would stop and say salam to every single little child That's who the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم was.

The Prophet's Generosity

Can we be like the messenger of Allah? absolutely and The list literally goes on and on and on and I'll end with this right here The Prophet of Allah صلى الله عليه وسلم Jabir radiyallahu anhu says:

Arabic:

(Sahih Bukhari 2687)

That the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم never said no to the request of a person Never said no to the request of a person That's who the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم was. He cared for people. He loved people I mean, I know I'm short on time, but it's just it's a topic that just never ends.

A Final Story of the Prophet's Love

I'll tell you one last little story Amr bin al-Aas radiyallahu anhu says When the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم spoke to anyone he gave them so much attention and love and showered them with so much love and affection Even to the worst person that you could imagine that the person would basically feel that they were the most special person to the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم and So I felt like the Prophet صلی الله عليه وسلم doesn't like anybody as much as he likes me. I'm number one on his list BFF So he says I asked the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم. Hey, who do you like better me or Abu Bakr? Who do you like better? And the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم said sorry buddy Abu Bakr and He's like who me or Umar and he's like you asked him any tough questions Umar he's like me or Uthman.

He's like Uthman and Then he goes I actually felt bad about asking the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم these questions because I was putting him in a tough Spot cuz he wouldn't lie. He was human. He said yeah these these people I've been through the trenches with them They're my best friends.

I mean, I love you I have the utmost love and Affection for you, but that's how real the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم was. He was a human being That was the love of the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم . That was صلى الله عليه وسلم the kindness of the Prophet

Yusuf bin Abdullah bin Salam Says that the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم chose the name Yusuf for me And he when my father brought me to him and said here's my son. What should I name him? He chose the name Yusuf for me and he sat me in his lap and he rubbed my head like He rubbed my hair That was the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم. That's who he was.

Learning from the Companions

And The Sahaba radiyallahu anhum they internalized this they understood this and they understood Yes, most definitely we can be like the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم an African slave like Bilal can learn can can aspire to be like the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم a Woman like Hind who lived her entire life up to that point Opposing Islam and the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم could aspire to be like the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم a Child like like Anas could be like the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم They all understood that and that's why whenever the Sahaba went anywhere The theme of this conference Sharia whenever the Sahaba went anywhere their dawah their message was very simple They said three words:

Arabic:

Be like us That's all they had to say and people wanted to be like them so we most definitely can be like صلى الله عليه وسلم the Messenger

Practical Steps Forward

And What I'll leave you with What I'll leave you with that's practically what we can do with this to be more like the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم Part of the problem is we don't even know who the Prophet صلی الله عليه وسلم is that's part of the problem We need to start learning about who the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم was Ali ibn Hussain ibn Ali who is the great grandson of the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم He said that we used to teach the life the seerah of the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم To our children and to our communities like we would teach them surahs from the Quran Imam Bukhari Imam Bukhari says that my father That that that my my uncle's rather they would teach me the seerah of the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم Like they would teach us surahs from the Quran.

This is what we need to do we need to read we need to learn we need to understand who Muhammad صلى الله عليه وسلم was we need to learn about his life and Then make an effort to share that with the rest of humanity and go out there and try to live a life of the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم

So when you leave here today one very simple Sunnah of the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم is to give salams He emphasized saying salam to one another and The one who starts with the salam is the better :said صلى الله عليه وسلم one and the Prophet

Arabic:

(Abu Dawud 5212)

When you shake hands before your hands Depart before your hands separate All your minor sins have been forgiven the very first thing turn to the person next to you and say salam and Shake their hand no brother-sister action.

Okay Try to keep it a little legit a little kosher. Okay Halal. All right And when you leave here today show some courtesy Everyone when they try to leave there's gonna be a huge line at the elevator There's gonna be people pushing and shoving through doors show some courtesy Try to conduct yourself with the conduct of the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم and make it a goal make it an effort to learn About the life of the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم like Imam Suhaib was recommending Read and study the life of the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم in your homes with your family and with your children.

Closing

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Arabic:

May Allah give us all the ability to practice everything that was said and heard.

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Arabic: