Getting to Know the Prophet - Formatted Khutba

Getting to Know the Prophet

by Abdul Nasir Jangda

Opening

Introduction: The Two Sources of Our Deen

Alhamdulillah, one thing that we're all familiar with, something that we all understand and we know intimately is that our deen, our religion, Islam is based upon two sacred sources. The first is the Book of Allah, Kitab Allah, the Quran, the Word of Allah Himself. And second is the personality, the illuminated character, the lifestyle and the experiences of Muhammad Rasulullah (صلى الله عليه وسلم). And the combination of these two beautiful, amazing, profound sources is what constructs our deen and what our deen is built of and made of.

I addressed the brothers maybe about a week or so ago and I talked about the importance of Quran and reconnecting and reevaluating our relationship with the Quran and how this month was the most opportune moment, it's the best opportunity to do so. And especially the current events that are going on right now make it even more necessary for us to reconnect and reestablish a very proper, profound connection with the Quran.

I wanted to take a few minutes of your time today to talk about the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم) and reevaluating our understanding, our knowledge and our relationship with the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم)with his life, his teachings, his experiences and how Ramadan is the best time to do that.

And the current events once again, they make it of the utmost importance. They are highlighting to us the importance of Muslims to reconnect with the life of the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم)properly understand his life, inculcate his teachings and then go out there and spread this to the rest of humanity.

The Prophet as the Perfect Example

First and foremost Allah جل جلاله in the Quran itself He tells us:

That most definitely there's no doubt about the fact that exclusively in the messenger of Allah, you or mankind or humanity, specifically the believers, there is the most excellent example.

أُسْوَةٌ literally means an example that is meant to be followed, what we would call a role model. The Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم) was the most excellent role model. And this is a reflection, the more a

person sees the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم) as a role model, the more he lives his life based on the life of the messenger (صلى الله عليه وسلم). This is a reflection of that person's own iman.

Measuring Our Faith Through Our Relationship with the Prophet

So if I find myself gravitating towards the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم)if I find myself fascinated by the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم)just completely in love with the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم)then that's a reflection of my own iman. But if I find myself disconnected, disinterested, slightly apathetic, okay that's nice, that's interesting, then that's also a reflection of my own iman. It's how I can gauge my faith is what (صلى الله عليه وسلم) is my relationship with Muhammad

And one thing that in regards to the month of Ramadan that I wanted to address is, Ramadan is an amazing time to highlight the seerah and the life of the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم) and the power of the life and the teachings of the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم)his methodology, the way he lived his life.

Major Events During Ramadan

There are two amazing incidents from the seerah, from the life of the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم) that occurred during the month of Ramadan according to the majority of historians, the scholars of seerah. The first is the battle of Badr, and second is Fath Makkah, the conquest of Makkah. Both of these great, amazing incidents occurred during the month of Ramadan.

And you know what's interesting about these two events? These are two of the most major turning points, not just in the life of the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم),not just in the history of the Ummah, but in the history of mankind. In human history, two of the greatest incidents that have ever occurred is the battle of Badr and Fath, the conquest of Makkah.

The Battle of Badr: Truth Established

The battle of Badr was the day that the truth was established, that it was, it sent the message to the forces of evil, truth is here, it's not going anywhere. You can do what you need to do, keep doing what you need to do, but the truth is here to stay. And that was the message sent in the battle of Badr. And we all know how amazing it was.

Fath Makkah: Truth Dominant

And then Fath Makkah was the dominance of the truth. It's the realization of the ayah of the Quran in which Allah says:

Allah says guidance, hidayah, divine revelation, is like water, rain falling down from the sky. It's the essence of life, right? Water is the essence of life. But similarly, guidance, hidayah, divine revelation, is the essence of spiritual life. So Allah says, rain falls down from the sky. Valleys fill up all the way to the top with this rain water that falls down.

Then what ends up happening, that water that has filled up in the valley, it has some foam built up on top of it. Some of the debris, the loose rocks, the sticks, the dust, the foam builds up on top. And when you look down at the water, do you see the water or the foam on top? You see the foam.

Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala says, but that should not deceive a person. Because there's this much foam, and there's 10-20 feet of water underneath it. But all you see right now is the foam, it's dominating, it's covering the water.

But Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala says, what's going to happen? That foam is going to dry up. It will subside, it will dry up, and the debris will settle down to the bottom. But as for that which benefits the people, it will stay within there.

So that foam will settle, it will subside, it will evaporate, it will go away. But what's left? That 20 feet deep water, miles of a stretch of water, that is a benefit to all the creation of Allah. Not just to human beings, but to the plant life, to the animals, it just benefits all of Allah's creation.

Allah says, this is how Allah gives the example of truth and falsehood, evil. So, Fath Makkah was a realization where the foam subsided and the truth came right out into the open. It dominated.

Ramadan: A Time for Change

So what we understand is that Ramadan is a time for major turning points, for societies, for civilizations, for nations, for mankind. And we can bring about that change, that potential can be realized by implementing the life of the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم). So this is an amazing chance, an amazing opportunity for us to focus on the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم) and his life. And the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم)'s character was highlighted in Ramadan.

Like the hadith of Bukhari says:

(Bukhari hadith 6)

The Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم) was the most generous of people. But he was the most generous during the month of Ramadan. Even somebody as amazing as the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم)you can't imagine him getting any more amazing. But he would become more amazing, he'd get even more amazing, even better during the month of Ramadan.

The Problem: Disconnect from the Prophet

And one issue that I highlight, I often tell people, that it's a problem within the ummah today. It's a growing epidemic within the ummah. And that is, there is a disconnect from the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم). We know very little of the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم) but we have yet to fall in love with the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم). There's a lot of misinformation. And because of that today, there is more mainstream confusion. There's more confusion in mainstream Muslims about the personality of the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم)his status, his authority, what he means to us as Muslims, than there's ever been in the past.

And this stems from a lack of intimate knowledge of him. We just don't know him. We know very little about him, the type of person he was, how amazing he was.

The Solution: Getting to Know Him

If we get to know him, we get to realize him, it will change our own perspective, and it will give us the ability to change others' perspectives. When Muslims are confused about Muhammad (صلى الله عليه وسلم)what do we expect non-Muslims to know about him? It's no wonder that they speak about him the way they do, because we know so little about him. What have we shared, what have we taught them, what have we shown them? We're supposed to be walking, talking, just, you know, we're supposed to be representative of him.

We're supposed to represent him. But are we doing that today or not? And to just share with you a little brief example of how amazing the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم) was, and how if we knew just a little bit about him, we were able to live up to his example, just even a little bit, a percent of what he was. We could change the hearts and the minds of people like he did.

The Prophet's Amazing Character: Examples from Fath Makkah

The Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم) was the most generous, compassionate human being that ever lived. These same incidents I'm talking about, Fath Makkah. Fath Makkah highlights one of the greatest talents, one of the greatest aspects of the personality of the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم). He had the ability to turn his greatest enemies, fiercest enemies, into his most loyal supporters and followers, his best friend.

Like the ayah of the Quran says:

If you respond to people's bad with excellence, then the one that between you and him there is enmity, it's all of a sudden that guy will become your most loyal, passionate friend, your best supporter. The Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم) did that. Fath Makkah, there's so many stories.

The Story of Hind

Hind, the wife of Abu Sufyan. Her father was killed in Badr. She hired Wahshi, promised him his freedom and money to assassinate the uncle of the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم)Hamza (رضي الله عنه) during the battle of Uhud.

And not only that, but after Hamza (رضي الله عنه) was assassinated, this is a woman by the way, she comes into the battlefield, mutilates the body, cuts off the nose and the ears, rips his body open, pulls out the internal organs and chews on him. A woman. Think about how much she must have hated the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم)

When Abu Sufyan went outside of Mecca before Fath Makkah and brokered some type of peace with the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم) and came back into Mecca, she was infuriated. He's been talking to the enemy? She told the people of her home, just kill him, he's a coward. Her husband, just kill him, he's a coward. He goes and grovels before Muhammad (صلى الله عليه وسلم). That's how much she hated him.

But at the same time, the generosity, the kindness, the forgiving nature of the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم). She says, she mentions her own story. She expected to walk out into the streets of Mecca and just see blood everywhere and women and children screaming and crying and just this horrific scene. And she comes out and she sees peace.

Everyone's safe. Streets are quiet. And she says she covered her face up. She knows who she is. She said, the Muslims know it's me. They'll just kill me outside. There's probably an order out, some type of a prize on my head. And she wanders along the streets and there's nothing. Everything's okay.

What's going on? She makes her way to the haram, to the ka'bah, and she sees the sahaba and the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم) all praying, doing tawaf, making sujood, making du'a, just completely absorbed in worshipping Allah, humbling themselves before Allah. She says, what amazing people. This is unlike anything I've ever seen.

She goes to the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم)presents herself, removes, opens her face and says, I'm Hind, the wife of Abu Sufyan. Daughter of Utbah. It's me. Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم) says, what can I do for you? She says that, I don't understand this. This is unlike anything I've ever seen. And then she tells him, I'm here to accept Islam.

And she tells the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم) this is key for us to remember, how much they hate Muhammad (صلى الله عليه وسلم)how they talk about the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم) today. Listen to what she says. She says, yesterday there was nobody on this earth that I hated more than you. But today, there's nobody that I love more than I love you. That is the power of the life of the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم). His character, his conduct, his methodology, the way he conducted himself, the way he carried himself, changed her.

The Story of Ikramah

Not only that, right then and there in that gathering, another situation occurs. The wife of Ikramah, the son of Abu Jahl. She comes to the Prophet صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ and she says, O Messenger of Allah, I've also accepted Islam. I'm Muslim. I'm the wife of Ikramah, the son of Abu Jahl. He's ran. He left Mecca.

Because he was afraid that you were going to kill him, you were going to come after him. Ikramah had fought actively against the Muslims and the Prophet صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ. She says, can you grant him safety, security, safe passage into Mecca. Grant him your word that he'll be safe. The Prophet صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ said yes, OK. He'll be safe. Nobody will harm Ikramah.

So she goes and she convinces her husband to come back. He's about to board a ship and leave. She convinces him to come back. Muhammad صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ is guaranteeing your safety. When he gets back, the word gets to the Prophet صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ Ikramah is coming back. He's coming into Mecca. He's coming to meet you. The Prophet صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ turns to his companions. Says, the son of Abu Jahl, Ikramah is coming to meet us.

And he says that, I know Abu Jahl was what he was. But he's still this man's father. Don't speak ill of him. Don't talk bad about Abu Jahl in the presence of Ikramah. It could hurt his heart. SubhanAllah.

The greatest enemy of the Prophet صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ. Such an arrogant, disgusting human being. Killed Muslims with his bare hands in broad daylight. Women. Sumayyah was killed brutally by the hands of Abu Jahl in broad daylight. But the Prophet صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ says, don't speak ill of him. It could hurt Ikramah's feelings.

Look at the character. Look at the compassion. Look at just one concern, one desire, one motive, one agenda. Benefit humanity. How they can realize their purpose in life. How they can find their way.

And what happens? Ikramah comes, accepts Islam, becomes a Muslim. رَضِيَ اللهُ عَنْهُ. Not only that, but the books of Seerah, the books of history mention. You know where Ikramah ended up eventually dying? In the battlefield, fighting on behalf of Islam. As a shaheed. The son of Abu Jahl is a shaheed.

The Prophet صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ,this was his character. He cared about people. He was concerned for humanity's well-being.

The Prophet's Concern for All Humanity

The Story of Tufayl and the Tribe of Daws

In the early days of Makkah and Dawah, a man named Tufayl came from the tribe of Daws. He has an amazing story of how he became Muslim. Tufayl al-Dawsi. But I'll skip to the part that I want to mention. After accepting Islam, the Prophet صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ told him, go back to your tribe and tell them about Islam. He goes, he comes back after a little bit of time.

The Prophet صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ says, what are you doing back here? He said, I went to them, I talked to them, I gave the message to them, they don't want to believe. They're not interested in believing. So he tells the Prophet صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ look, ya Rasulallah, they're not believing, they're not understanding. ادْعُ اللهَ عَلَيْهِمْ Make du'a, Allah destroys these people. Make du'a against them.

Finish, khalas. The Prophet صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ raised his hands. The Sahaba say, when he raised his hands, they were like, that's it. The tribe of Daws is done. And then when the Prophet صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ opened his mouth, we heard him say the words:

(Bukhari hadith 2937)

O Allah give guidance to the people of Daws. And then he told Tufayl, he goes, now you go back and you work properly. It's not an information dump. You just don't go and say, alright, let's go, come on, take it or leave it. No, no, no. You work on them. You work on them.

So the Sahaba say, almost 20 years later, almost 20 years later, in the year of the delegations عَامُ الْفُودِ almost 20 years later, we saw Tufayl. Imagine seeing somebody after 20 years. And he was entering into Medina and behind him was his entire tribe. They had all come to accept Islam and become Muslims.

During Battle: Mercy Even in Conflict

Even during battle, even during times of war and conflict, who was the Prophet صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ? What was he like? We need to know so that we can tell others. During the battle of Hunayn, Hawazin and Thaqif, the tribes that the Prophet صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ and the Muslims were fighting against, they were expert archers and they had positioned themselves very strategically and they were just launching wave after wave of arrows and the Muslims couldn't get closer. So they came to the Prophet صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ and they said:

They said, the arrows of the people of Thaqif are burning holes in us. They're killing us. We can't deal with this. The Prophet صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ raised his hands and said what?

(Tirmidhi hadith 3942)

O Allah, guide Thaqif and bring them to us. To help people. He cried for people. He bled for people. To the point where Allah Himself in the Quran is telling him:

You're going to kill and destroy yourself out of concern that why these people don't believe.

Call to Action: Reconnect with the Prophet

So this is the month of Ramadan. While we re-establish and reconnect ourselves with the Quran and improve inshaAllah our relationship with the Book of Allah, we should also re-evaluate our relationship with the life of the Prophet صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ. Pick up a book of seerah today. Start reading the life of the Prophet صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ today.

The level of knowledge that the common Muslim has of the life of the Prophet صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ is truly a tragic thing. If I wasn't in the same boat, I would venture to say it's embarrassing. It's pathetic. It's pitiful. But we shouldn't get down on ourselves inshaAllah. We should take this as a moment to inshaAllah improve.

The Last Ten Nights Opportunity

We're approaching the last 10 nights of Ramadan. We can change our whole lives in these last 10 nights inshaAllah. So let's make a commitment to read the Book of Allah. Read about not just the Book of Allah, the Quran, but also the life of the Messenger صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ. Read it with your family. I'm telling you right now from personal experience. Our youth and our children know little to nothing about who Muhammad صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ is.

They don't even know why they believe in him, what they believe about him. They don't know him. Read about the life of the Messenger صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ. Read it with your family, with your wives, with your children, with your youth.

Talk to them about it. And then start to live the life of the Prophet صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ. Live up to his standards and his morals, his ethics and his character. Display it to humanity.

And then share the beautiful life of the Prophet صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ with humanity. And this could be the turning point of the entire world.

Closing

May Allah جَلَّ جَلَالُهُ give us all the ability to get to know the Messenger of Allah صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ. And may Allah جَلَّ جَلَالُهُ give us the ability to learn about him and to live his life and share it with the rest of humanity.

جَزَاكُمُ اللهُ خَيْرًا . وَصَلَّى اللهُ عَلَى نَبِيِّنَا مُحَمَّدٍ وَعَلَى آلِهِ وَصَحْبِهِ وَسَلَّمَ