The Beloved

We start our journey of love and yearning by shedding some light on God’s love of His servant Muhammad, peace be upon him.  Al-Hakim narrated in al-Mustadrak, al-Baihaqi in Dala’il al-Nubuwwah, al-Tabarani in al-Kabeer, Abu Nu’aym in his Hilya and ibn ‘Asakir in Tarikh Dimashq, that Sayyiduna ‘Umar ibn al-Khattab, may God be pleased with him, reported that: The Prophet of God, peace be upon him, said, “When Adam committed his mistake, he asked, ‘O Lord! I ask you for the sake of Muhammad to forgive me.’  God said, ‘O Adam! How do you recognize Muhammad when I have not yet created him?’  Adam said, ‘O Lord! When you created me and blew the spirit into me, I lifted my head and saw written on the ‘Arsh (Throne) ‘La ilaaha illallah Muhammadur rasulullah’ (There is No god but God, and Muhammad is the Messenger of God), so I knew that You would only join Your Name with him who is most beloved to you.’  The Lord said, ‘O Adam! You have spoken the truth. Indeed Muhammad is more beloved to me than anything and when you asked me for his sake, I pardoned you.  If Muhammad was not in existence, I would not have created you’” (Also from Imam Subki in Shifa as-Siqam and Shihab in Naseem).
 
 
The Companions’ Love of the Prophet
  How strong were the feelings of the men and women who were blessed to live around the best of all Creation!  They shared tremendous love for him, far more than their own selves.  Al-Tabarani, al-Wahidi and ibn Mardawayh related on the authority of ‘Aisha, may God be pleased with her, that a man came to the Prophet peace be upon him and said, “O Messenger of God, you are dearer to me than my own self!  You are dearer to me than my family!  You are dearer to me than my children!  And many times I am at home and I remember you, and I cannot bear waiting until I come and see you.  And when I remember my death and your death, I know that when you enter Paradise you will be elevated with the Prophets, and when I enter Paradise, I fear that I won’t see you!”  The Prophet, peace be upon him, did not answer.  The poor lover was there, with his heart broken from the fear of an eternal farewell.  The relief for this man came from God the Almighty, saying: “All who obey God and the Messenger are in the Company of those on whom is the Grace of God – of the Prophets, the sincere (lovers of Truth), the martyrs, and the righteous. Ah! What a beautiful fellowship!” (4:69).  The whole city was overjoyed by this beautiful glad tiding!
  
This is a drop from the ocean of emotions that filled the hearts and souls of the blessed companions.  Will I ever feel that love and be freed from my harshness and greed? 
 
The Followers’ Love of the Prophet
 Qadi ‘Iyad mentioned in al-Shifa (The Cure) many heart-inspiring stories about the strength of the love of the pious followers (al-tabi’in) for the jewel of creation, the light of lights, the Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him.  He relates that Imam Malik, when asked about Ayyub al-Sakhtiyani, replied, “Ayyub is better than all the men that I mentioned to you before.  He made pilgrimage twice.  I used to watch him, and I did not hear anything from him except that whenever he mentioned the Prophet, peace be upon him, he would cry until I felt mercy for him.”  Qadi ‘Iyad also mentioned that Mus’ab Ibn Abdillah said, “Whenever God’s Messenger is mentioned to Imam Malik, his color changes and he bows until his companions feel mercy for him.  One day his pupils asked him about that.  He said, ‘If you had seen what I have seen you would not be surprised about what I did.  I used to see Muhammad ibn al-Munkadir – he was the master of scholars – whenever we asked him about a hadith he cried until we felt mercy on him.  And I used to see Ja’far ibn Muhammad (Ja’far al-Sadiq, a grandson of the Prophet, peace be upon him), and he used to like to joke and smile, until God’s messenger was mentioned to him, then his color would turn pale. And I never saw him talking about the Prophet, peace be upon him, except that he was in a state of purity.’”
 

Imam Malik proceeded to say, “And Abdur-Rahman Ibn Al-Qasim used to mention the Prophet peace be upon him, and we used to see his color as if his blood left him and his tongue would dry out because of his veneration of the Prophet, peace be upon him.  Also, I used to come to ‘Amir ibn ‘Abdillah ibn Zubayr, and whenever the beloved Prophet was mentioned to him, he cried until there were no tears left in his eyes.”
 

What a love! What a yearning! What emotions! When would I drink from that potion?
 
Creation’s Love of the Prophet
 That breeze of love blows far beyond the human heart – it reaches the entire creation. Stones and trees, animals and plants – all of creation sings the song of divine devotion.
 

Let us join the trunk of a palm tree, crying, shaking and yearning for her Beloved, God’s Messenger, peace be upon him.  Bukhari, Muslim, and others reported that the Prophet used to deliver his sermons while standing beside the trunk of a date palm.  When he had the pulpit made, he stood on it instead.  The trunk started crying and shaking strongly until it cracked.  The poor trunk could not stand the fact that it was no longer going to be near her Beloved.  The companions were moved by the trunk’s sadness and started weeping.  The Prophet, peace be upon him, came down from the pulpit and went to the trunk to caress it and hug it.  God’s Messenger gave the trunk a choice between remaining as a fruitful tree in this life and becoming a tree in Paradise.  The trunk chose to become a tree in Paradise.  The Light of Mercy replied, “Will do, God willing!” and the trunk calmed down.
 
Sayyiduna ‘Ali, may God be pleased with him, said, “We were with the Prophet, peace be upon him, in Mecca, walking in some of its places, and we passed through mountains and trees. We never passed by a tree or a mountain except that it would say, ‘Peace be upon you, O Messenger of God!’”
 

Safina, the servant of God’s Messenger, said, “I was in a ship and it broke.  Then I fell down into a room that had a lion in it.  The lion came to me trying to kill me.  I said, ‘O lion, I am the servant of God’s Messenger!’  Then the lion bowed down and came to me.  He started pushing me with his head until he helped me come out from that place.  He started sighing, so it seemed to me that he was greeting me, and that was the last time I ever saw him” (narrated by Al-Hakim, who declared it to be authentic according to the conditions of Muslim).
 

We may have to stop here, but let the journey never stop.  Let me and you be there with the Beloved.  Let us join the caravan of lovers, stretching across 1400 years, for they are the people who have perfected their faith.  Let us be freed from the chains of our list of exceptions, for that is what will let us roam free in the sky of devotion and enjoy the company of the Beloved in the Eternal Home. Ameen.