Behaviour of our beloved Prophet (peace be upon him)

Dear brothers, in our current climate, we are faced with the constant barrage of negative news relating to Islam.

In fact, as muslims living in this time and place, we are obliged to keep on our toes with current affairs and educate those who approach us with the misconceptions they see in the media.

As a muslim, in this day and age, how does one reply to a non-muslim asking about the behaviour of muslims that are portrayed by the media? Whether it is in our workplace, our local community or our place of education, we need to be prepared for this question.

Dear brothers, the answer lies in the best of creation. SAWS. When asked about the news on the television, as muslims, we simply respond with the following:

If you want to know about how a muslim should be then study the life of our Prophet Muhammed, peace be upon him.

So, who is our beloved Prophet SAWS?

In answer to the question that will be asked of us. He was born in the year 570. Since his father died before his birth and his mother died shortly thereafter, he was raised by his grandfather and uncle.

As he grew up, he became known to be truthful, honest, trustworthy, generous and sincere. In fact he was so trustworthy that he was referred to as the Trustworthy. SAWS.

Our beloved prophet SAWS was very religious from an early age detested the decadence and idolatry of his society.

After the Quran began to be revealed to the Prophet SAWS, the following ayat from Sura Ibrahim and the ayat from Sura Al Maida are ones that the hadith of the Prophet SAWS is reported to have said frequently:

My Lord, indeed they have led astray many among the people. So whoever follows me – then he is of me; and whoever disobeys me – indeed You are Forgiving and Merciful.

If you should punish them – indeed they are your servants; but if you forgive them –– indeed it is You who is the Exalted in might, The Wise.

Dear brothers, the Prophet Muhammed SAWS is our role model, our teacher, our guide and a mercy upon us all.

So what does it mean to emulate in the footsteps of the greatest of all creation? We all know that to follow in his footsteps is to be in accordance with the Sunnah.

However, with so many examples offered, is there a definitive list of behavioural traits that we can all try to adhere to?

Allah SWT has already blessed us with some of these traits and reference to this is given in Sura Al-Tharyiat:

And on the Earth are signs for the certain in faith, and in yourselves. Then will you not see?

Dear brothers, our aim in life is to emulate the Prophet SAWS in every way possible for our own sakes and for the sakes of those around us. This is because by adopting the habits of our beloved Prophet SAWS, we can become the true signs for those around us that are being bombarded with an misconception of Islam and Muslims.

This khutba concludes then with a list of character traits of the Prophet SAWS which we should all try to emulate. It is titled the Prophet’s lifestyle for those wishing to reference it online at a point in the future. It is to:

Talk softly. To Walk Humbly. To eat sensibly. To breathe deeply. To sleep sufficiently. To dress properly. To interact politely. To act fearlessly. To work patiently. To think truthfully. To behave decently. To believe correctly. To learn practically. To plan orderly. To earn honestly. To spend intelligently. To sacrifice regularly. To serve parents happily. To respect neighbours appropriately. To never hate one another. To never be jealous of one another. To never think ill of one another. To always remain brothers unto each other. And To worship dedicatedly.

Dear brothers, we will be asked how we propagated Islam on the Day of Judgement. Let our behaviour and habits answer that for us. This can only be the case when our habits and our behaviour emulates the Prophet’s SAWS behaviour.

May Allah SWT enable us to understand the importance of good behaviour. May Allah SWT enable us to emulate the behaviour of the Prophet SAWS. And may Allah SWT reward us for emulating the behaviour of the Prophet SAWS.

Ameen wal hamdullilahi rabilalameen.