The Connection between Love and Obedience

The Connection between Love and Obedience

Speaker: Mufti Menk

The Greatest Favor - The Messenger

My beloved brothers and sisters, one of the greatest favors of Allah سُبْحَانَهُ وَتَعَالَى upon us is the fact that he sent to us the chosen messenger صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ

Indeed Allah has favored the believers when he sent to them from amongst them the messenger Muhammad صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ reciting the verses purifying, cleansing, teaching them, guiding them etc etc every goodness that we have Allah chose to give it to us through the blessed messenger who came with the message of Allah سُبْحَانَهُ وَتَعَالَى don't we owe Allah, don't we owe Allah the gratitude and in order to show that gratitude to Allah he wants us to constantly recognize the status and the value of the messenger whom he sent صلّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ

So much so that if the name of that messenger is said and we intentionally do not say may peace be upon him or صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ we are at fault in fact we would be earning and invoking upon ourselves the wrath of Allah may Allah protect us don't ever be ashamed of saying صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ or may peace be upon him the moment you hear the name Muhammad صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ because by recognizing the favor of Allah upon the messenger of Allah you are actually doing a favor to yourself.

Who is the Bestower of Favor?

Who is the bestower of favor is it you and I or is it Allah it is Allah some have more wealth some have greater health some have good looks some have authority some have a condition that is very very good where did it come from when we acknowledge that the giver is Allah it actually removes from our hearts jealousy and envy because we know it is Allah who gave I don't need to be jealous of someone whom Allah has given more than me in knowledge, in authority, in wealth, in looks, in anything else the reason is it was Allah who chose by being jealous of someone you are actually defying Allah who is the giver so the greatest of gifts was given to Muhammad صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ

And we were favored by the greatest blessing upon us whether we understand it or not is actually the fact that we are مُؤْمِنُون I'm sure the believers understand that we believe in Allah we believe in the messenger Islam came with beautiful teachings to worship Allah alone to worship Allah alone without associating partners with your maker and with great discipline this is why when people look at Islam they see it to be a very disciplined religion tell me who would be behaving in a better way those who are disciplined or those who are not those who have high morals and values or those who don't may Allah help us to protect our values and our morals and may Allah سُبْحَانَهُ وَتَعَالَى keep us steadfast on the straight and narrow ameen.

True Love Requires Following

My beloved brothers and sisters if I were to ask you who do you love the most the true answer would be from amongst us as mankind Muhammad صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ

(Sahih al-Bukhari Hadith 15)

None of you are considered true believers until you love the messenger Muhammad صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ and he was speaking so he said until you love me more than you love not only your fathers and your children and all the people but even yourself.

Whatever the messenger has instructed you obey it whatever he has prohibited stay away from it and be conscious of Allah ما شاء الله

It is not for a true believing male or female that when Allah and his messenger صلّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ have declared something that they think they have a choice in that regard true believers know I don't have a choice I follow and I will follow Allah and his messenger صلّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ blindly for as long as I know the messenger said this it is for me for as long as I know Allah said this it is for me may Allah سُبْحَانَة وَتَعَالَى grant us a deeper understanding.

Love and Obedience in Relationships

My beloved brothers and sisters as I told you to be a true believer you have to love Muhammad صلى الله عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ more than anything and anyone else however my brothers and sisters let me take you into your own lives and my life when we love our spouse our parents our children our siblings and others what happens we try to make them happy they say if you want to get a big man to do something talk to the wife لا إله إلا الله if he loves his wife she can make him do what you could not make him do in one year in one minute لا إله إلا الله I think here in Nigeria we know exactly what I am referring to yes we love our spouses our family members if they are asking us to do something what would we do we would do it it's ok for as long as it is not in the disobedience of Allah.

Man is so weak that sometimes to prove his love to another person or a spouse or someone whom they are not even supposed to be having a relationship with at times they might end up doing something haram to please a human in the displeasure of Allah so Muhammad صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ says to us:

(Jami at-Tirmidhi Hadith 2414)

لا إله إلا الله whoever pleases mankind through the displeasure of Allah they will earn the displeasure of Allah and those people who you were trying to please will also be displeased those whom you were trying to please will also be displeased and whosoever pleases Allah while the people have become displeased due to that Allah is pleased with that person and sooner or later the people will also be happy and pleased even though they may have been displeased at some point may Allah protect us.

How to Show True Love

So when we love that love is closely depicted by how we follow and how we listen to the loved and the beloved لا إلهَ إِلَّا الله Muhammad صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ what is our duty towards him if we were in love with Allah and in love with the messenger how should we show that love it is a question because today when people want to show their love and joy and happiness what do they do those who do not believe they might party all night in order to say I am happy today I love my spouse it is our 10th anniversary 20th anniversary 50th anniversary there is alcohol there is haram there is so much disobedience of Allah there is immorality in dress in everything else whatever it may be and people don't even care for them we are rejoicing is that celebration in the displeasure of Allah you know that it is not I know that it is not it is actually insulting Allah insulting the messenger insulting what Allah has blessed you with.

People say I have turned 50 years old my brother you are now one year closer to your grave لا إله إلا الله if you are to thank Allah for it الْحَمْدُ لِلَّهِ if you are to make dua to Allah for it الْحَمْدُ لِلَّهِ if you are to become more conscious on that day الْحَمْدُ لِلَّهِ if you are to reflect on that day to say I am becoming older ما شاء الله or I thank Allah for what he has bestowed upon me and I do not want to lose focus from that which is to come then الْحَمْدُ لِلَّهِ but if you are to rejoice in the displeasure of Allah then لَا حَوْلَ وَلَا قُوَّةَ إِلَّا بِاللهِ

The Best Days of Rejoicing

This is man when we want to show joy and love and we want to show happiness and gratitude sometimes we forget Allah Allah has given us the best days of rejoicing in the year do you know which days they are? there are two days they are known as Eid ul Fitr and Eid ul Adha every time Allah gives us a day or an occasion of happiness and rejoicing وَاللهِ he asks us to engage in an extra act of worship Eid ul Adha we have an extra salah known as Salat ul Eid we have a khutbah known as the reminder of the day of Eid right? when it comes to the day of marriage it's a very happy day we should be coming to the masjid and at least listen to a khutbah of that nikah right? at least listen to a few good words it is an act سُبْحَانَ الله of worship

When we have other good days, happy days Allah سُبْحَانَهُ وَتَعَالَى tells us to do something for him look at a Friday it is the Eid ul Usbu' it is the happy day of the week what do we have? we have a little lecture ما شاء الله it's something extra we listen to a few good words for a few minutes we are reminded we feel motivated we reflect we change ourselves for the better we make good resolutions and we leave that is what Jumu'ah is all about.

The Verse of Love and Following

We find out about our fellow brothers and sisters do you know that that is one of the duties upon us Al- Jumu'ah wal Jama'ah you know your gathering on a Friday and the gathering of the people is very important if I see you once a week at least and I'm supposed to be seeing you more than a few times a day but if it is once a week for some reason that we have maybe a bigger masjid that we attend when I don't see you one of the weeks and I know that you are here all the time I ask about you I haven't seen

you are you ok? I will call is this man ok? is this sister fine? is this person ok? is there something I can do? that is a true believer that is true love and concern for one and other.

Another point of true love and concern in Islam تُسَلِّمْ عَلَى كُلِّ مَنْ عَرَفْتَ وَمَنْ لَمْ تَعْرِفْ you need to greet but the greeting Allah is watching do you only greet those you know or do you also greet the others whom you don't know لا إله إلا الله I may not know you personally when I come in do I greet you? do I talk to you? do I acknowledge you? لا إلهَ إِلَّا الله

Say, if you love Allah, follow me, Allah will love you and forgive you your sins and Allah is Forgiving and Merciful Allah is instructing his messenger to tell us if you love Allah what should you be doing I want to know I love Allah Allah gave me the life I have everything I have the faculties I have the eyes, the ears, the nose, the fingers the tongue, the legs to start with within myself every single organ if one organ goes wrong it is a small Qiyamah for us one organ goes wrong it is a huge problem for us.

My beloved brothers and sisters we love Allah we thank Allah we are pleased with what Allah سُبْحَانَة وَتَعَالَى has given us when we want to prove that love for Allah do you know what the Prophet Muhammad صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ has told us he says if you were to follow me you would earn the love of Allah and Allah tells this to us in the Quran as well سُبْحَانَ اللهِ Allah tells it to us in the Quran as well that if you are claiming to love Allah so follow the messenger peace be upon him and in return Allah will love you and he will forgive your shortcomings for indeed he is most forgiving most merciful لا إله إلا الله

Proving Love Through Actions

I want you to take this verse back home to prove your love for Allah or his messenger صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ you need to prove that you are following what was sent by Allah through the messenger صلى الله عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ what is the point of saying I love the messenger but you are drinking alcohol what is the point of saying I love the messenger but you are gambling what is the point of saying I love the messenger but you are engaged in adultery that you just not quitting, what is the point of saying I love the messenger but you cannot quit the pornography, what is the point of saying I love the messenger but your dress code is not modest, what is the point of saying I love the messenger but your mouth is filthy with bad, abusive, hurtful, dirty, false, deceptive words لا إله إلا الله

What is the point of saying I love the messenger when we don't follow what the messenger said as he has said:

(Jami at-Tirmidhi Hadith 3895)

The best from amongst you is those or the one who is best to his spouse and we are the worst to our spouses but we just say I love the messenger, لا إله إلا الله

My brothers and sisters let's be careful regarding paying lip service to some statements when in reality we are far away and we are not even trying to come near, may Allah forgive us.

The Month of Rabi al-Awwal

We have just crossed the month of Rabi al-awwal, a very very important month of the Islamic calendar, we are so honored that Allah blessed us with Muhammad صلَّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ he was born in that month, he passed away in that month, it is an absolutely amazing month, every Muslim feels the joy in his heart that Muhammad صلّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ was sent to us, I have just recited the verse right at the beginning I spoke about that but my brothers and sisters remember it is not all about jumping and paying lip service when our lives are far away from the path of the same messenger.

It is one of the traps of shaitan to make you pay lip service on one day yet you cannot quit smoking a cigarette let alone anything else, may Allah strengthen those who are smoking cigarettes to cut that habit for the sake of Allah and even for their own health's sake, ameen.

True Reflection of Love

So my beloved brothers, my sisters, remember one thing, if you want to know whether you really love the messenger صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ you only need to look at your lifestyle, that's it, look at what you do, look at your ibadah, do you get up for salah, that is fajr salah, let alone the tahajjud, if you get up for tahajjud, إن شاء الله it is better and that salah that you get up for should reflect on your tongue, a mu'min has a clean polite beautiful respectful tongue at all times.

My beloved youth who are listening to me today, clean your tongue, clean your tongue, say respectful words, be polite, be honorable, command the respect by respecting yourself to begin with, automatically people will know you are respectful, dress in a way that if the messenger were to glance towards you, he would be proud of the way you are dressing and speaking and what you are doing مَا شَاءَ اللهُ تَبَارَكَ الله may Allah strengthen us, that is true love, don't you agree, that is true love, we love the messenger.

Following the Sunnah

The Prophet صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ used to fast on a Monday, when he was asked about that fasting on the Monday, he said, that was the day I was born, so I would like to fast on that day سُبْحَانَ اللهِ رَبِّ الْعَالَمِیْنَ do we fast on a Monday and a Thursday, that is the love of the messenger, peace be upon him, do we fast three days in the month, that is the love of the messenger, peace be upon him, do we start every day with the recitation of the Quran early in the morning before we leave the house, that is the love of the Prophet صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ

Do we treat our family members with good words and respect, do we fulfill our duties, do we spend time with our family members, that is the love of the Prophet صلَّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَhe being the best of creation, the most noble of all prophets of Allah, he used to help at home, he used to help the women folk at home with some of the chores of the house, unfortunately the men of today who claim to be the lovers of the same Prophet Muhammad صلّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ sometimes they arrogantly would tell you what did you just tell us to do, you mean I must go into the kitchen, لا إله إلا الله, I am not saying you should dwell there but help, lend a good hand, may Allah سُبْحَانَهُ وَتَعَالَى grant us ease.

Conclusion

I have spoken about the true love of the messenger صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ starting with how, by saying his name we should immediately utter صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ if we were to say that Allah will send blessings upon us tenfold and this is why every time we hear the verses and we shall hear them and we continue hearing them, where Allah سُبْحَانَهُ وَتَعَالَى instructs us to send blessings and salutations upon Muhammad صلَّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ may Allah bless every one of us, may Allah grant us goodness, may Allah سُبْحَانَة وَتَعَالَى open our doors I say this and I ask Allah to forgive me and you and all Muslims of every sin, so forgive him, he is the Most Forgiving, the Most Merciful.