How to be with the Prophet in Jannah
By Omar Suleiman | 2026-01-06T21:12:21.780843+00:00 | Topic: Hereafter
How to be with the Prophet in Jannah
By Omar Suleiman
Introduction - A Different Approach
Dear brothers and sisters, you know, this topic that I have is one that's been addressed many times. In fact, if you search the internet and you search for the topic of how to love the Prophet (صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ - sallAllahu alayhi wa sallam), how to be with the Prophet (صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ - sallAllahu alayhi wa sallam) in Jannah, you'll come up with a lot of results.
And subhanAllah al-Azeem, the question that I always used to get every time I'd complete this subject in any conference, in any masjid is a person would take me to the side feeling extremely guilty. And you could see the sadness on their faces and they say, "Sheikh, but I don't love the Prophet (صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ - sallAllahu alayhi wa sallam). I mean, I know I'm supposed to. I know that, you know, I love his personality when I hear about him. But I don't feel a closeness and affinity to the Prophet (صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ - sallAllahu alayhi wa sallam). I certainly don't love him more than my mom, more than my wealth and so on so forth."
And subhanAllah, that made me arrange this topic completely differently. And I want to take a totally different approach to this topic.
The Hadith of Rabi'a ibn Ka'b al-Aslami
And subhanAllah, there's the one hadith that always strikes me. And that is the hadith of Rabi'a ibn Ka'b al-Aslami (رَضِيَ اللهُ تَعَالَى عَنْهُ - radiAllahu ta'ala anhu).
Who says, as is narrated in Sahih Muslim, that I used to spend my night in the company of the Messenger of Allah (صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ - sallAllahu alayhi wa sallam). I used to always be around him. And I used to always bring his water for his wudu.
So he enjoyed a close companionship with the Prophet (صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ - sallAllahu alayhi wa sallam). So he says, one time the Prophet (صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ - sallAllahu alayhi wa sallam) looked at me and he told me:
"Ask, ask me anything. What do you want, oh Rabi'a?"
And imagine if the Prophet (صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ - sallAllahu alayhi wa sallam) whose dua is mustajab, was to ask you, "ask me for anything. You've got it, I'll give it to you."
And Rabi'a without even any hesitation, he didn't think about it. He didn't say, "let me think about it and tell you tomorrow." Immediately he said to the Prophet (صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ - sallAllahu alayhi wa sallam):
"I ask for your companionship in Jannah, ya Rasulullah."
And Rasulullah (صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ - sallAllahu alayhi wa sallam) he looked at him, and that's not a normal human response. I mean he could have combined something with dunya and akhirah. You've got your wish, go ahead and ask.
So the Prophet (صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ - sallAllahu alayhi wa sallam) said to him:
"Is there anything else that you want to ask for?"
And he said, "that's it, ya Rasulullah."
And Rasulullah (صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ - sallAllahu alayhi wa sallam) answered him:
"So support me, support me. Meaning help yourself achieve that. Help me in your request, by increasing your prostrations, and increasing your sujood."
Why This Hadith is in the Chapter of Jihad al-Nafs
And subhanAllah, I asked my teacher a question. I asked my Shaykh, Shaykh Abul Abid Hafidhullah. I told him, "how come this hadith in Riyad al-Saliheen is not with the rest of the ahadith that talk about الصَّلَاة وَالسَّلَامُ عَلَى رَسُولِ اللَّهِ? There's an entire chapter in Riyad al-Saliheen that talks about the virtue of sending salawat and the virtue of loving the Prophet (صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ - sallAllahu alayhi wa sallam). How come an Imam al-Nawawi (رَحِمَهُ اللهُ - rahimahullah) didn't place it in that chapter?"
And he said, "which chapter did he place it in?"
And you know which chapter he placed it in مُجاهَدَةُ النَّفْسِ - Striving against the self.
And subhanAllah, there's a lot of wisdom into why an Imam al-Nawawi (رَحِمَهُ اللهُ - rahimahullah) placed the hadith there rather than with the rest of the ahadith.
The Quranic Challenge
Because Allah says in Surat at-Tawbah:
"Say, if your fathers and your sons and your brothers and your spouses and your families and business that you would be afraid of losing and your homes that you love. If all of that is more beloved to you than Allah and His Messenger (صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ - sallAllahu alayhi wa sallam) and struggling in His cause..."
Now Allah makes a very serious threat to us. But I want you to look at all of the categories that Allah mentioned.
Fitri Love vs. Ikhtiyari Love
And think about this. Everything that Allah mentioned, your fathers, your sons, your brothers, your sisters, your parents, your money, your business, your sense of commerce, your homes. All of those things fall under the category of حُبُّ فِطْرِيٌّ - You love these things by nature.
As a human being we love all these people and we love these things. Every single person has this love inside of them. This is حُبُّ فِطْرِي
And loving Allah is also حُبُّ فِطْرِيٌّ It's a natural love. We all inclined towards Allah. Even an atheist who says he doesn't inclined towards Allah is a liar. It's inside of all of us. If a person doesn't love Allah, it's because of their own desires, it's because of their own ingratitude and things of that sort.
But we naturally inclined towards Allah. But you know what? The same is not true with the Prophet (صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ - sallAllahu alayhi wa sallam)
As Imam Ibn Al-Jawzi (رَحِمَهُ اللهُ - rahimahullah) said, the love of the Prophet (صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ - sallAllahu alayhi wa sallam) is not حُبُّ فِطْرِيٌّ it's حُب اختياري. You choose to love the Prophet (صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ - sallAllahu alayhi wa sallam). You learn about the Prophet (صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ - sallAllahu alayhi wa sallam). You fall in love with his attributes.
The Importance of Learning About the Prophet
And you know what? That's why if I ask each and every single one of you, you've been sitting in this conference all day listening to these amazing things about the Prophet (صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ - sallAllahu alayhi wa sallam). If I asked you now, "do you love the Prophet (صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ - sallAllahu alayhi wa sallam) now more than you did this morning?" Would anybody in the audience say no? We all do, right? It's only natural. Because it's jihad al-nafs. You struggle against yourself to love the Prophet (صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ - sallAllahu alayhi wa sallam). You learn about the Prophet (صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ - sallAllahu alayhi wa sallam). You listen to a seerah and you naturally fall in love with his character and his attributes.
You naturally want to draw closer to him (صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ - sallAllahu alayhi wa sallam), right? If you listen to a seerah or you listen to a lecture on الشمائل, on the characteristics of the Prophet (صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ - sallAllahu alayhi wa sallam) you naturally start to love him more.
And that's why the seerah occupied such a position in this deen. That Abdullah ibn Amir radiallahu anhu said, it was taught the way that the Quran was taught. Because the Quran brings us to Allah, and the seerah brings us to the Prophet (صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ - sallAllahu alayhi wa sallam).
And that's why I guarantee you that if you take the advice of Shaykh Yasir (حَفِظَهُ اللهُ - hafidahullah) when he spoke about studying the seerah, and spoke about taking those steps in your life, so that you can start to learn about the Prophet (صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ - sallAllahu alayhi wa sallam), the more you listen to the life, about the life of the Prophet (صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ - sallAllahu alayhi wa sallam), the more you will love him (صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ - sallAllahu alayhi wa sallam), the more you will want to be like him (صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ - sallAllahu alayhi wa sallam).
So it starts off with that, with that understanding that this is a struggle. And don't feel bad that it's a struggle. And as long as we first start off with that understanding, because if you don't love Allah, that means that there is an obstacle. If you don't love the Prophet (صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ - sallAllahu alayhi wa sallam), it could mean that you just haven't learned enough about him, that you're just not applying enough of his sunnah in your life.
The Story of the Salt and Water
And I want to share with you a story that Shaykh Muhammad Hassan shared once, and I'm sure some of you may have seen it. Said that a young man once went to his teacher, and he said, "how do I dream of the Prophet (صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ - sallAllahu alayhi wa sallam)? I really want to see the Prophet (صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ - sallAllahu alayhi wa sallam) in a dream."
You know, how sweet is it when you close your eyes at night, and you are looking at the Prophet (صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ - sallAllahu alayhi wa sallam). There is no feeling in the world that could parallel that feeling, right? How jealous should we be of Anas radiallahu anhu, who used to see the Prophet (صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ - sallAllahu alayhi wa sallam) every single night. Wow! How lucky and blessed is Anas radiallahu anhu.
We all want that blessing to see the Prophet (صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ - sallAllahu alayhi wa sallam), because the Prophet (صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ - sallAllahu alayhi wa sallam) said, it also has implications:
Hadith Reference: "Whoever sees me in his sleep has indeed seen me."
This is a good sign, this is a great bushra. And this young man comes to his Shaykh, and he says, "I want to see the Prophet (صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ - sallAllahu alayhi wa sallam)." He said, "okay, well, let's eat dinner." And he served him a dinner that was full of salt, just threw salt all over the food.
And the young man is eating this food, and he thought, "this must be some kind of weird approach to it, you know. This is how you see the Prophet (صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ - sallAllahu alayhi wa sallam), eat salty food, really salty food." And the Shaykh didn't give him any water to drink.
And then he went to sleep that night. And he woke up in the morning, and the Shaykh asked him, "what did you see last night?" He said, "I saw waterfalls, and oceans, and seas, and rivers. I just saw bodies of water everywhere."
And the Shaykh said, "there's your answer. If you desire the Prophet (صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ - sallAllahu alayhi wa sallam), if you love the Prophet (صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ - sallAllahu alayhi wa sallam), if he's occupying your thoughts, he's occupying your heart, you will see the Prophet (صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ - sallAllahu alayhi wa sallam)."
See what that means, subhanAllah. So it starts off with that understanding that this is about jihad al-nafs.
The Simple Way: Sending Salawat
Do not underestimate the importance of learning about him (صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ - sallAllahu alayhi wa sallam). And keep that effort going. Don't wait for the next conference on seerah. Make it a habit to study the seerah.
Even if you've read Ruhiq al-Makhtoom, read it again. Read it over and over again. Listen to lectures about the Prophet (صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ - sallAllahu alayhi wa sallam). And live the life of the Prophet (صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ - sallAllahu alayhi wa sallam).
And obviously it starts off when we talk about how do we be with, how can we be with the Prophet (صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ - sallAllahu alayhi wa sallam) in al-jannah. Obviously the most simple way, and I noticed that not everyone is doing this. The most simple way is what was narrated by Ibn Mas'ud radiallahu ta'ala anhu, where the Prophet (صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ - sallAllahu alayhi wa sallam) said:
Hadith Reference - Sahih: "The closest to me, the nearest to me on the day of judgment is the one who most frequently sends salawat upon me."
Every time you hear his name say (صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ - sallAllahu alayhi wa sallam), even if it gets tiring, keep on saying (صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ - sallAllahu alayhi wa sallam) because it will benefit you. And you will not regret a single moment in which you sent salawat upon the Prophet (صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ - sallAllahu alayhi wa sallam).
But let's move on to another part of that, another portion of that.
The Neighbors of the Prophet in Jannah
How do we build upon that? And you know I studied this topic, and subhanAllah, I'm telling you, this is the first time I'm approaching this topic differently. Because every time you talk about this, I'm telling you, people pull me to the side, and ask all the other mashayekh, and say, "I don't feel that love towards the Prophet (صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ - sallAllahu alayhi wa sallam). I'm afraid."
You know when I hear the hadith of Umar radiallahu ta'ala anhu, where the Prophet (صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ - sallAllahu alayhi wa sallam) said:
Hadith Reference: "Your iman is not complete until I am more beloved to you, than your wealth, than your family, than everything."
And you hear that, and that shakes you, because this becomes an issue of iman. But I wanted to study something, and I want you to think about this. I'm gonna ask this question.
I can't really see you guys, because I just see a bunch of bright lights. I don't know if it's nur from your faces, or it's the convention center. But I'm sure it's a combination of both.
Who are the neighbors of the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم) in Jannah? Who are they? I wanna hear some answers. I can't see you, so you gotta talk loud. Who are the neighbors of the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم) in Jannah?
Rasulullah (صلى الله عليه وسلم) specified two companions, and I'll give you a hint, they're not Abu Bakr and Umar radiallahu anhu. They have their own virtues. But Rasulullah (صلى الله عليه وسلم) specified his two neighbors in Jannah. Talha and Zubair radiallahu anhu.
Rasulullah (صلى الله عليه وسلم) said in an authentic hadith:
"Talha and Zubair are my neighbors in Jannah. They are my neighbors in paradise. Those are my two neighbors."
If you wanna go to the neighborhood of the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم) in Jannah, when we go to visit the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم), bi-idhnillahi ta'ala, we'll pass by the houses of Talha and Zubair.
And I thought to myself, why Talha and Zubair? I never asked myself this question. I've taught about Ashram, Mubasherin, and Jannah many times, never asked myself that question.
The Story of Zubair - The First Sword
And subhanAllah, there is something very unique about both Talha and Zubair. As Zubair radiallahu ta'ala anhu is the first sword that was raised in the cause of the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم)
When as Zubair radiallahu anhu was a young man in Makkah, and he heard that the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم) had been attacked, he ran to the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم) with his sword to defend the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم). And the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم) sees as Zubair running towards him with his sword drawn, panting, ready to fight somebody. And Rasulullah (صلى الله عليه وسلم) says "what are you doing?" He says:
'I heard that somebody hurt you."
And Rasulullah (صلى الله عليه وسلم) said, "and what were you going to do if that was the case?" And Zubair radiallahu anhu said, "I was gonna strike him with this sword. I was ready to fight in your cause."
And that's why as Zubair radiallahu anhu is the first sword that was drawn in the cause of the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم)
The Story of Talha - The Day of Uhud
What about Talha radiallahu ta'ala anhu? What is the day of Talha as Abu Bakr radiallahu anhu used to call it? The day of Uhud. Abu Bakr radiallahu anhu used to look back and he used to say:
"That was the day of Talha radiallahu ta'ala anhu."
Was the day of Uhud. Why? Because Talha radiallahu ta'ala anhu suffered over 70 wounds in the cause of Allah and His Messenger (صلى الله عليه وسلم) that day. Talha radiallahu ta'ala anhu extended his hand when an arrow was shot towards the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم). And his hand was paralyzed.
He didn't think to himself, "if I catch an arrow that's not gonna be pretty." He didn't think twice. He saw that the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم) was being harmed and he put his hand out there.
And he went and he guarded the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم) when the people fled. And the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم) saw Talha radiallahu ta'ala anhu beat up, unconscious, wounded all over the place. Just protecting him and defending him when others fled.
And Rasulullah (صلى الله عليه وسلم) looked at him in awe. SubhanAllah. Look at the quality of his companions. He looked at him. And even in those moments where the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم) himself had to be carried. Rasulullah (صلى الله عليه وسلم)he says to the sahaba:
Hadith Reference: "Whoever wants to see a shaheed, a martyr that is still walking on the face of the earth, look at Talha ibn Ubaidillah. He's a living martyr."
SubhanAllah. Because of the effort that he put forth for the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم) that day.
True Love Requires Sacrifice
So when you hear (طَلْحَةُ وَالزَّبَيْرُ جَارَايَ فِي الْجَنَّةِ) - That they are my neighbors in jannah. There's a reason why they occupy that.
Because those two men can say that they love the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم). And if you want proof, here, look at all the wounds. They could say without a doubt that they sacrificed their families, that they (صلى الله عليه وسلم) sacrificed themselves for the sake of the Prophet
And we have to ask ourselves that question. That if we were there in the time of the seerah, if we were there when the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم) was alive, would we have been on the side of the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم)? Would we have been willing to make those same sacrifices that the companions of the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم) made
Abu Jahl was not an idiot. His name was Abu al-Hakam, the father of wisdom. Abu Lahab was not an ignorant man. Abu Lahab was corporate Quraysh. He was a wealthy man, businessman. When you think of Abu Lahab, don't think of a guy that's, you know, that's got like a one badge on his eye, and you know,
looking like Captain Hook, and has a big fat belly, and walking around in raggedy clothes, and calling out to the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم). No! That was corporate Quraysh. That was Wall Street back then.
That's why he was mad at the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم). What happened? Their love for the other things were too much. They loved the dunya too much, and that's why they couldn't love the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم). It was impossible, because their love, even their fitri love, the natural love that a person has for those other things, went out of control. And they couldn't love the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم)because he called them against that, and they weren't willing to make the sacrifices.
But Talha and Zubair were. So the first question that you got to ask yourself, if I was in that position, would I have stood in front of the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم) and let the arrow strike me? Would I have made those same sacrifices that Talha and Zubair radiallahu ta'ala made? That's true love. Talha and Zubair.
Being Most Like the Prophet
And then we look at the life of the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم). And in essence, the people that will be with the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم) are the ones that are most like him.
As we know Rasulullah (صلى الله عليه وسلم) said in the authentic hadith of Sahir radiallahu ta'ala anhu, that whoever sponsors an orphan in the cause of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala, whether he's a relative or a stranger:
Anas ibn Malik radiallahu ta'ala anhu, he pointed, he showed what the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم) did, that he will be with me in paradise the way that the middle finger is with the index finger. He will be with me in jannah like this.
You want to be with the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم)you take up the cause of the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم). That's what the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم) did.
And Rasulullah (صلى الله عليه وسلم) also said. This is in Sahih Muslim:
"Whoever raises two orphan girls, you know in our cultures unfortunately many times, the birth of a daughter is a loss. Wallahi, it's more beloved to Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala."
"Whoever raises two daughters and perfects their tarbiyah, does good with raising them,"
Rasulullah (صلى الله عليه وسلم) said, he will be with me on the Day of Judgment like these two fingers. Allahu Akbar.
Because that's the character of the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم).
The Best Character
And if you want something even more direct than that, then look at what the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم) said in the Hasan Hadith in Targheeb. Rasulullah (صلى الله عليه وسلم) said:
"The most beloved of you to me and the ones that are closest to me on the Day of Judgment are the ones who have the best character. The people of khuluq, the people of character."
At the end of the day, what are we talking about here when we're talking about being with the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم)? That everything that we hear, there are two responses that we should have to the (صلى الله عليه وسلم) seerah of the Prophets
Number one, that the seerah should resonate with me. It should be reflected inside of me. I should develop a love of the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم), so it should be reflected inside of me.
And number two, it should be reflected to the people around me. It should show to the people around me also through character, not just through wearing a thawb, not just through doing something that's external. No, through having the character of the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم).
Character Over External Appearance
How many times do we see people that adopt the surah of the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم) on the outside, but have the most rotten characters. Come on, let's call it how it is. I was there, a lot of people were there. You know, a person dresses in a certain way, adopt certain practices that are debatable whether or not they even fall into the sunnah that are supposed to be applied, that are necessary to be applied or rewardable.
But they treat their parents like garbage. They look down upon other Muslims. They have kibir.
That's not what's gonna get you close to the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم). I don't care how short your thawb is when you come on Yawm al-Qiyamah. There is no thawb on Yawm al-Qiyamah. You're naked on Yawm al-Qiyamah.
You better have some character to show for yourself. The other stuff is secondary. Because the people that Rasulullah (صلى الله عليه وسلم) loves most are the ones that are like him most, that have the inner qualities of the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم)that are forbearing, that treat the people well, that treat the orphans well, that treat their families well, that give a good impression of the deen.
The Hypocrisy in Demonstrations
You're talking about loving the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم)and we saw what happened around the world, where you had some protests. Because by the way, the media likes to overblow things. We know that, there's no doubt about that.
There was 196 demonstrations in Pakistan. Three of them were violent. The media made it seem as if every protest in Pakistan was violence. Yeah, they like to portray that.
But let's face it, some of the people that are sitting there demonstrating, subhanAllah, I'll never forget. The very first demonstration that I saw on TV, in the cause of the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم) guy is holding up a sign, and he's holding a cigarette in his other hand.
MashaAllah. Talk about supporting the cause of the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم). It's like puff puff (صلی الله عليه وسلم) right? That's not doing you any good on the day of judgment. What are you talking about? What are you talking about? You're offended.
There's a hypocrisy there. When you say that you're offended because you're hurt because the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم) was hurt. How many of us, Muslims, watch Family Guy? Let's face it.
Watch them portray Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala, God, with a gray beard, committing zina and drinking alcohol. You didn't get offended by that, now you decided to get hurt? That's a joke. You love the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم)you be like him.
Living the Character of the Prophet
And you know what? If 10 million people in this country were acting like the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم) not a single person would dare to insult the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم) that way. If we lived what the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم) taught us, if we had that khuluq that the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم) taught us, no one would dare to do those types of things. Because they would know who the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم) is through us.
But if the people, all they know about the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم) is that he was a jerk who owned a grocery store in my neighborhood, who sold me haram. He was a rude taxi driver. I was a rude patron at a restaurant.
Those are the Muslims, reinforcing stereotypes. What do you expect them to think of the Prophet (صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ - sallAllahu alayhi wa sallam)? You're not supporting the cause of the Prophet (صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ - sallAllahu alayhi wa sallam), you're hurting him. You live that khuluq of the Prophet (صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ - sallAllahu alayhi wa sallam), that's what love of him means today.
That's what being with him means on the day of judgment.
The Story of the Crying Young Man
And then we see that loving him in truth, subhanAllah, is our only hope at the end of the day. Truly loving the Prophet (صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ - sallAllahu alayhi wa sallam), there's no way around it. There's no way around it. (مُجَاهَدَةُ النَّفْسِ - mujahadatu-n-nafs) - You gotta fight yourself. It is struggle.
It is striving to really develop that affection towards the Prophet (صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ - sallAllahu alayhi wa sallam) and to live the life of the Prophet (صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ - sallAllahu alayhi wa sallam).
At-Tabarani, rahimahullah, he narrates an authentic hadith that a young man came to the... that Rasulullah (صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ - sallAllahu alayhi wa sallam) saw a young man and that young man was in grief. And Rasulullah (صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ - sallAllahu alayhi wa sallam) asked him:
"Why are you crying?"
"Why are you crying, oh young man?"
Rasulullah (صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ - sallAllahu alayhi wa sallam) cared about him. And he said:
"O Messenger of Allah (صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ - sallAllahu alayhi wa sallam) you are more beloved to me than myself, more beloved to me than my children, more beloved to me than my parents. When I'm at home, I think of you. And when I think of you, I can't wait to see you. And when I can't wait to see you,"
"I just come to the masjid and see you. I don't have to sit there and wonder when am I gonna get the chance to see you. I just go and I see you in the masjid."
And he says, "then I remembered my death and your death." And he mentioned his death first although he was much younger than the Prophet (صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ - sallAllahu alayhi wa sallam). And he said, "I remembered that when you enter Jannah, when you enter Paradise, you're going to be in the companionship of the Prophets. And I fear that even if I enter Paradise, SubhanAllah, look at the himmah of this young man, look at his ambition."
"Even if I get to Jannah, even if I make it to Paradise, I'm not gonna be able to be on your level, I'm not gonna be able to see you. I'm gonna be down there with the masakeen of Al-Jannah."
Now, if you ask anyone of us being masakeen of Al-Jannah, we'll be fine with that, right? As long as we don't go to hell. Look at the way these people thought. He said, "I know I'm not gonna get a chance to be with you."
And At-Tabarani in his narration which is a more extensive narration of this incident, this hadith that is Hasan. He says that Rasulullah (صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ - sallAllahu alayhi wa sallam) comforted him, but Rasulullah (صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ - sallAllahu alayhi wa sallam) didn't answer him until Jibreel (عَلَيْهِ السَّلَامُ - alayhis-salam) came to the Prophet (صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ - sallAllahu alayhi wa sallam) with the ayah in Surah An-Nisa:
"And whoever follows, obeys Allah and the Messenger (صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ - sallAllahu alayhi wa sallam), then they will be with those upon whom Allah (جَلَّ جَلَالُهُ - jalla jalaluhu) has bestowed His favor, from the Prophets, from the truthful ones, from the martyrs, from the righteous. And what a beautiful companionship it will be. What a great gathering to be in."
The Story of Musa and His Rafiq
And that's what it means to be with the Prophets. And it's not just Rasulullah (صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ - sallAllahu alayhi wa sallam). You wanna be like Talhah and Zubayr and be with the Prophet (صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ - sallAllahu alayhi wa sallam)? You wanna be the rafiq of the Prophet (صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ - sallAllahu alayhi wa sallam)? You wanna be close to him?
I wanna share with you a narration. It's not about Rasulullah (صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ - sallAllahu alayhi wa sallam), but it's about Musa (عَلَيْهِ السَّلَامُ - alayhis-salam).
You know Musa (عَلَيْهِ السَّلَامُ - alayhis-salam) when he was struggling with his ummah, and his ummah really gave him a very hard time. And that's why Rasulullah (صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ - sallAllahu alayhi wa sallam) even felt sorry for him. And he said, "Musa (عَلَيْهِ السَّلَامُ - alayhis-salam) had to put up with a lot more than I have to put up with."
When Musa (عَلَيْهِ السَّلَامُ - alayhis-salam) chooses the best 70 people, after that embarrassment of building a cow to worship, after Allah (جَلَّ جَلَالُهُ - jalla jalaluhu) delivered them. And then those 70 say:
"Show us Allah (جَلَّ جَلَالُهُ - jalla jalaluhu). We won't believe in you until we see Allah (جَلَّ جَلَالُهُ - jalla jalaluhu)."
And Allah (جَلَّ جَلَالُهُ - jalla jalaluhu) had to test them. And Allah ordered Bani Israel to kill those who were the perpetrators of shirk amongst themselves. And Musa (عَلَيْهِ السَّلَامُ - alayhis-salam) is sitting in this desert for 40 years, prevented from
entering Al-Quds because of the nation that he has around them, because of who the people are that he's been surrounded by.
And Musa (عَلَيْهِ السَّلَامُ - alayhis-salam) asks Allah (جَلَّ جَلَالُهُ - jalla jalaluhu):
"I want to know who my rafiq is in Jannah. You know, I want to know who my companion is going to be in Jannah. I'm looking at this ummah of mine, and I'm not seeing any eligible candidates here."
And Allah (جَلَّ جَلَالُهُ - jalla jalaluhu) informed Musa (عَلَيْهِ السَّلَامُ - alayhis-salam) that the person that walks in next is your rafiq in Al-Jannah. And the person that walked in was not a abid, he wasn't a worshipper, he wasn't someone that was known amongst Bani Israel. He was a young man.
And Musa (عَلَيْهِ السَّلَامُ - alayhis-salam) didn't know who he was. And so Musa (عَلَيْهِ السَّلَامُ - alayhis-salam) was like, "okay, either this means I'm very low in Jannah, or this," and we know that that's not the case because Rasulullah (صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ - sallAllahu alayhi wa sallam) saw him in As-Sa'ul Mi'raj, he was only under Ibrahim (عَلَيْهِ السَّلَامُ - alayhis-salam). "Or there's something special about this young man."
So Musa (عَلَيْهِ السَّلَامُ - alayhis-salam) asked this young man, he said, "what's your story?" He asked him about himself.
And the young man, all he had to say was:
"I serve my mother."
And he said, "in every time, in every service,"
"I serve her. Every time I serve her."
"This is the rafiq of Musa (عَلَيْهِ السَّلَامُ - alayhis-salam) in the Jannah."
Conclusion - Character and Application
It's being like these people, it's doing the things that they taught us. Having the khuluq of the Prophet (صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ - sallAllahu alayhi wa sallam), the internal qualities of the Prophet (صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ - sallAllahu alayhi wa sallam) that allow us to attain that level.
And we have to seriously ask ourselves, if we're not willing to spare the time to study the life of the Prophet (صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ - sallAllahu alayhi wa sallam) and study the characteristics and the shamaal of the Prophet (صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ - sallAllahu alayhi wa sallam), how are we supposed to develop this love which is (حُبُّ اخْتِيَارِيٌّ - hubb ikhtiyariyy)? Which is a love that is based on choice, not on fitrah.
So I challenge you all first and foremost to do that. And to see how you can apply the life of the Prophet (صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ - sallAllahu alayhi wa sallam) in your life. And to continue listening to his life over and over and over again.
A Vision of Jannah with the Prophet
And I want to end with one thing, and as a disclaimer from the very start, I'm not Bono Muhammad, and I'm not Ammar. I don't write poetry anymore. I used to write poetry. Every once in a while I'll write poetry. But I wouldn't do it as good as he would do it anyway. Alright.
And I admit that. And subhanAllah, as I was on the plane from Baltimore today, I wanted to just write something. It's not a poem. So don't expect it to rhyme. It's not a spoken word. But a reflection.
What would it be like to be with Rasulullah (صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ - sallAllahu alayhi wa sallam) in Jannah? So I want you all to put your cellphones down and imagine for a moment, don't talk to each other, just imagine for a moment. And the scene is that you're in Jannah.
Imagine sitting with your spouse in your palace in Jannah. And then deciding on what the plans would be for that day. Should we go outside, sit on our thrones with the waterfalls of milk and honey flowing beneath us, and enjoy a cup of Jannah wine while smelling the sweet scent of Jannah musk? Should we go to the souk, to the marketplace, and meet all of our old friends that we used to kick it with in the dunya and talk about what dunya was like, and how we all made it here, and how Allah (جَلَّ جَلَالُهُ - jalla jalaluhu) bestowed His favor upon us?
And then your spouse says, "you know what? How about we go visit the Prophet (صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ - sallAllahu alayhi wa sallam) today?"
And so you and your spouse go hand in hand, walking towards the home of the Prophet (صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ - sallAllahu alayhi wa sallam). You pass by the homes of Talha and al-Zubair (رَضِيَ اللهُ عَنْهُمَا - radiAllahu anhuma) and you say salam to them. And then you go and you knock on the door of the Prophet (صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ - sallAllahu alayhi wa sallam) in Jannah.
And lo and behold, Rasulullah (صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ - sallAllahu alayhi wa sallam) opens with a big smile on his face and says:
"Welcome,"
and embraces you, and invites you to sit inside his home, in his noble living room, and sits right across from you, and asks you, "would you like a cup of Jannah tea? Not Jannah tea, Jannah tea. It's not desi
chai, all right? Closer to Somali tea, because that stuff is awesome. Would you like a cup of tea?"
And you sit in the home of the Prophet (صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ - sallAllahu alayhi wa sallam) and Rasulullah (صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ - sallAllahu alayhi wa sallam) gives you a cup of tea. And he sits in front of you and he gives you his undivided attention.
Imagine what that discussion would be like. What would you tell him? What would you ask him? Would you tell him about your favorite moment in the seerah? Or how Shaykh Yasir Birjas taught you about his smile? Or would you ask him what Ta'if was really like? And how he still managed to remember us as the blood spilled from his noble face?
But in Jannah, there are no more tears and no more fears. Just the sweetness of success and sacrifice.
Imagine him (صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ - sallAllahu alayhi wa sallam) telling you an inside joke between him and Aisha. Or the time he caught Anas playing with the kids instead of running his errands.
What if he told you (صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ - sallAllahu alayhi wa sallam) how he remembered you? Or how he knew your name and longed for the moment when he would meet you? What if he told you (صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ - sallAllahu alayhi wa sallam) that "I remember when your salah and your salam reached me and I answered to you wa'alayka salam, oh so and so."
What if at the end of that conversation the Prophet (صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ - sallAllahu alayhi wa sallam) extended his hand and offered you a sip of water after which you would never again feel thirst, not physically nor spiritually for the only sight more noble and beautiful than the face of Muhammad (صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ - sallAllahu alayhi wa sallam) is the face of the Lord of Muhammad (صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ - sallAllahu alayhi wa sallam) and the Lord of you. And for that all you have to do is look up and you see Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala.
Don't worry about time. Don't worry about the Prophet (صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ - sallAllahu alayhi wa sallam) getting annoyed or getting tired of you or having to entertain other guests. Because in al-Firdaus you'll never have to be left to imagine again.
Closing Du'a
We ask Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala to grant us the companionship of the Prophet (صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ - sallAllahu alayhi wa sallam) and his companions and his family and the Siddiqoon and the shuhada in the highest level of Jannat al-Firdaus.
We ask Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala that just as we sit here and we remember him (صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ - sallAllahu alayhi wa sallam) that Allah (عَزَّ وَجَلَّ - azza wa jall) does not disappoint us by not allowing us to actually see him while he's pleased with us.
We ask Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala to make us amongst those who follow his sunnah and who will be embraced by him on the day of judgment and not turned away.
We ask Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala to make him more beloved to us than our families and our wealth and everything in this dunya.
We ask Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala to forgive us for our shortcomings. We ask Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala to grant us the pleasure of staring at his noble face.
"I say this statement of mine, and I ask Allah for forgiveness for you. May Allah reward you with goodness, and peace, mercy, and blessings of Allah be upon you."
"O Allah, Ameen."