Our Beloved Prophet Muhammed – the best example.

The greatest man ever to walk on the face of the earth, who gave respect and rights to all. A beautiful personality, who raised high the status and rights of women, children and even animals.

A man who showed mercy to all, such mercy which knew no bounds. A most humble man who forgave those who wronged him, who taught others how to live a life of simplicity and love. A man who Allah SWT called a ‘mercy upon creation’.

He took people out of ignorance and showed them the beauty of the light He bought with him. Gentle in composure, merciful in character, beautiful in manners, elegant in speech, and most compassionate and forgiving.

He was affectionate towards children and the weak, tolerant to those who oppressed him, generous to the poor and needy.

Dear brothers, this is the introduction to our Beloved Prophet Muhammed SAWS. Allah SWT mentions him in the Glorious Quran and in this khutba, reference is made to Sura An-Najm:

Your companion has not strayed nor has he erred.

Nor does he speak from his own inclination.

It is not but a revelation revealed.

Dear brothers, if we ponder over the translation of these ayats, we can see that the Prophet SAWS was sent by Allah SWT for us all. And knowing this, if we then study the life of the best of creation, we can see what a mercy he was for us all.

And to put this in perspective, we can think of it in such a way:

Around 1400 years ago he loved us. We weren’t even born yet but still he cried for us, asking Allah SWT for our forgiveness. He wanted nothing less than Jannah for each and every one of us. Despite having never met us. He had wives, children, friends and family who adored him, but it was his repetition of ‘Ya ummati, ya ummati’ in his duas that is the definition of true love. This was his dua to Allah SWT. This was the love he had for us all.

Dear brothers, we are living in a life where role models are being made of the worst of people. Pop singers, atheletes and film stars have followers in the millions. But as muslims, we don’t need to look to these people.

As Muslims, our role model is Muhammed SAWS and we need to strive to discover what that means.

Yes, it is true that the effort required in knowing him, his life and his ways is not as easy as watching the current-day role models on TV or on the internet.

However, this is where our test lies in the current age. We need to make that effort to find out who he was and why he commands our love with the manners, words and actions he displayed in his life.

In the current age, where the image of Islam is one of intolerance, we need to educate ourselves and others around us that the message of Islam and the one portrayed by our Prophet SAWS is one of tolerance and forgiveness.

This is mentioned in Sura Al-Imran and is befitting this topic. It is translated as:

So by mercy of Allah, O Muhammed you we lenient with them. And if you had been rude in speech and harsh in heart, they would have disbanded from about you.

So pardon them and ask for forgiveness for them and consult them in the matter. And when you have decided, then reply upon Allah. Indeed, Allah loves those who rely upon Him.

Dear brothers, this ayat is one of many that demonstrates how we need to behave in the society that we now find ourselves in. Allah SWT illustrates the compassion and the mercy of our role model SAWS in the ayat. The following Bukhari hadith also illustrates his love and compassion. He said:

When I enter the prayer I intend to prolong it. Then I hear the crying of a child, so I shorten it knowing the difficulty his mother will have with him crying.

Dear brothers, we are obliged to invite others to the correct path. So in today’s day and age, how does one achieve this? The answer to this is simple but the effort is life-long. It is simply to follow in the path of our beloved Prophet SAWS. To emulate his behaviour, his manners and his way of dealing with worldly matters is the best Dawah that we can do in this day and age.

And by following his path, we can become a beacon to the truth for those who are lost around us. We can perform Dawah without ever having to stand up and do a speech on our faith. And alongside that achievement, we will have achieved the best we can In this life and that is to emulate our beloved Prophet Muhammed SAWS.

May Allah SWT give us the will to study the life of our beloved Prophet SAWS. May Allah SWT enable us to follow in the path of our beloved Prophet SAWS. And may Allah SWT reward us for our efforts to emulate the Prophet SAWS.

Ameen wal hamdullilahi rabilalameen.