﷽

إِنَّ ٱللَّهَ وَمَلَـٰٓئِكَتَهُۥ يُصَلُّونَ عَلَى ٱلنَّبِيِّۚ يَـٰٓأَيُّهَا ٱلَّذِينَ ءَامَنُواْ صَلُّواْ عَلَيۡهِ وَسَلِّمُواْ تَسۡلِيمًا

“Indeed, Allah showers His blessings upon the Prophet, and His angels pray for him. O believers! Invoke Allah’s blessings upon him, and salute him with worthy greetings of peace.”

Do we have a true understanding of the profound character of Muhammad Ibn Abdullah (ﷺ)?

Why is it that he is beloved and admired by many?

These are questions that should be asked at least once in our lifetime. The question of whether we truly have a deep, intimate knowledge or understanding of Prophet Muhammad (ﷺ) is a significant one.

To know someone in the true sense goes beyond knowing their actions, words, or recorded events of their life; it means connecting with the essence of their being, understanding their heart, and internalizing their purpose and message. For Prophet Muhammad (ﷺ), it means truly comprehending his unique connection with Allah, his boundless compassion, his enduring patience, and his profound wisdom in all aspects of life.

Its crucial to understand that Prophet Muhammad (ﷺ) is a beacon of light for all of humanity & the ultimate guide for the lost souls of this world.

Hence the famous words of Shahid al-Sayyid Muhammad Baqir al Sadir:

“He who does not know the Sīrah (prophetic biography) of Muhammed has not understood Islam”

Because the life of our Master Muhammad (ﷺ) itself is a living example for us.

We must strive to embody his character, virtues, mercy and humility. It means understanding the sacrifices he made, the love he had for the Ummah, and the deep empathy he held for all creation. It’s the kind of knowledge that can only be pursued with a heart full of devotion, and it unfolds gradually, as one’s love and respect for him deepens.

Asking ourselves this question awakens the heart and calls us to live in his example, to love him, and to grow closer to him and, through him, to the Creator. In this quest, we may never fully know, but we find ourselves illuminated by what we can comprehend of his immense light.

Allah (swt) says in the Quran:

قُلْ إِن كُنتُمْ تُحِبُّونَ اللَّهَ فَاتَّبِعُونِي يُحْبِبْكُمُ اللَّهُ وَيَغْفِرْ لَكُمْ ذُنُوبَكُمْ ۗ وَاللَّهُ غَفُورٌ رَّحِيمٌ

Say (O Muhammad ﷺ to mankind): “If you (truly) love Allah then follow me, Allah will love you and forgive you of your sins. And Allah is Oft-Forgiving, Most Merciful.” (1)

The love of Muhammed (ﷺ) is intertwined with the love & obedience of Allah (swt). Through the Messenger who opens the doors of the Almighty to people, a bridge to God via the Shariah.

Ayatollah Sayyid Muhammad Hussein Fadlullah (ra) Says:

The purpose of the message that the Messenger brought so that God could bring people out of darkness into the light, and it is in it that His pleasure and love are embodied, with which He exchanges love for love with His servants. It is natural that God’s love for us is not emotion and passion, but rather mercy, pleasure, and forgiveness. Likewise, people’s love for God, in what the verse wants to arouse, must be faith, action, and harmony with the line of the message and the Messenger. If this is achieved by them, by following the Prophet who embodies all of that, then God will grant them His love and pleasure, and He is Compassionate and Merciful to His servants I represent the Messenger whom God sent to you to bring you out of darkness into the light, guide you to the straight path, open the gates of Paradise for you by calling you to obey Him, and close the gates of Hell for you by calling you to stay away from disobeying Him (….) This is because the Messenger – in his Prophethood – does not represent himself, but rather represents the owner of the message, which is God. So if you follow me in all of the teachings that I teach you, then you will thereby confirm your following of Him. What love is greater than melting in obedience to the one you love? What sincerity is greater than bowing before His will? If God sees this real love from you, represented by the missionary work that is submissive to God and His messages, “God will love you” ; because He loves the truthful, pious, good-doers, and humble; because their truthfulness, piety, goodness, and humbleness to Him are clear evidence of their love for Him, and thus He will purify them with love for love.If the servant’s love for God is obedience to Him, then God’s love for the servant is forgiveness and pleasure for him.

Let us begin by examining the personality of the Holy Prophet Muhammed (ﷺ) according to the Quran;

وَإِنَّكَ لَعَلَىٰ خُلُقٍ عَظِيمٖ

“And indeed, you (Muhammed) are of a great moral character.” (2)

Ayatollah Sayyid Muhammed Hussein Fadlullah says regarding this verse:

{And indeed, you are of a great moral character}, in the spaciousness of your chest, the compassion of your heart, the mercy of your feelings, the softness of your speech, the tenderness of your feelings, your concern for those around you, your sadness over all the pains they are exposed to, and your openness to all people, friends and enemies, with the best word, the best style, the most correct advice, the sweetest smile, the most precious gift, the purest soul, the purest heart, strength without harshness, gentleness without weakness, patience without fear, humility without humiliation, and dignity without arrogance.And thus was the Messenger whose morals move in the depth of his message, and whose humanity is launched in the arena of his responsibility, and whose personality meets all the broad horizons in the dimensions of his movement. And thus was the living embodiment of all the morals of the message, until he was transformed into a Qur’an moving among the people, to present the idea with the word, and to deepen the word with the example, so his words were a message, and his actions were a law, and his silence about what he saw and heard and his confirmation of it were a religion by which he was judged, and his greatness in his character open to the people was the same as his greatness in himself and in his spiritual missionary character, in his reverence for his Lord in every beat of his heart, and every whisper of his soul, and every tear of his eyes, and every supplication in the rosaries of prayer and supplication from the supplications of his conscience.

It was mentioned in the hadith attributed to him, may God bless him and his family and grant them peace: “I was sent to perfect good morals”He said : “My Lord disciplined me and disciplined me well” He said: “The believer attains, through his good morals, the status of one who stands in prayer at night and fasts during the day” (3)

In the words of the Commander of the Faithful, Imam Ali Ibn Abi Talib (a):

قَالَ أَمِيرُ الْمُؤْمِنِينَ مَا بَرَأَ الله نَسَمَةً خَيْراً مِنْ مُحَمَّدٍ

“Allah has not created any soul better than Muhammad”(4)

Imam Ali Ibn Abi Talib (a) in another place continues to describe the Holy Prophet (ﷺ):

“He was the most generous of people [in hand, and the most big-hearted of them] in breast. He was the most truthful of people in speech, the softest of them in nature, and the most noble of them in his relations. Whoever saw him for the first time would fear him, and whoever got to know him, loved him. The one who tried to describe him would have to say: ‘I have not seen before him or after him anyone who resembles him” (5)

“His place of stay is the best of all places and noblest of all origins in the mines of honour and the cradles of safety. Hearts of virtuous persons have been inclined towards him and the reins of eyes have been turned towards him. Through him Allah buried mutual rancour and put off the flames of revolt. Through him He gave them affection like brothers and separated those who were together (through unbelief). Through him He gave honour to the low and degraded honour (of unbelief). His speaking is clear and his silence is (indicative) like tongue.” (6)

“In this way ages passed by and times rolled on, fathers passed away while sons took their places till Allah deputised Muhammad (ﷺ) as His Prophet, in fulfilment of His promise and in completion of His Prophethood. His pledge had been taken from the Prophets, his traits of character were well reputed and his birth was honourable. The people of the earth at this time were divided in different parties, their aims were separate and ways were diverse. They either likened Allah with His creation or twisted His Names or turned to else than Him. Through Muhammad (ﷺ) Allah guided them out of wrong and with his efforts took them out of ignorance.Then Allah chose for Muhammad ﷺ, to meet Him, selected him for His own nearness, regarded him too dignified to remain in this world and decided to remove him from this place of trial. So He drew him towards Himself with honour. Allah may shower His blessing on him, and his progeny.” (7)

“My Allah, the Spreader of the surfaces (of earth) and Keeper of all skies, Creator of hearts on good and evil nature, send Your choicest blessings and growing favours on Muhammad Your servant and Your Prophet who is the last of those who preceded (him) and an opener for what is closed, proclaimer of truth with truth, repulser of the forces of wrong and crusher of the onslaughts of misguidance. As he was burdened (with responsibility of prophethood) so he bore it standing by Your commands, advancing towards Your will, without shrinking of steps of weakness of determination, listening to Your revelation, preserving Your testament, proceeding forward in the spreading of Your commands till he lit fire for its seeker and lighted the path for the groper in the dark. Hearts achieved guidance through him after being ridden with troubles. He introduced clearly guiding signs and shining injunctions. He is Your trusted trustee, the treasurer of Your treasured knowledge, Your witness on the Day of Judgement, Your envoy of truth and Your Messenger towards the people. My Allah, prepare a large place for him under Your shade and award him multiplying good by Your bounty.

My Allah, give height to his construction above all other constructions, heighten his position with You, grant perfection to his effulgence and perfect for him his light. In reward for his discharging Your prophetship, grant him that his testimony be admitted and his speech be liked for his speech is just, and his judgements are clear-cut. My Allah, put us and him together in the pleasures of life, continuance of bounty, satisfaction of desires, enjoyment of pleasures, ease of living, peace of mind and gifts of honour.” (8)

“He treated this world disdainfully and regarded it low. He held it contemptible and hated it. He realised that Allah kept it away from him with intention and spread it out for others by way of contempt. Therefore, he remained away from it by his heart, banished its recollection from his mind and wished that its attraction should remain hidden from his eye so that he should not acquire any clothing from it, or hope for staying in it. He conveyed from Allah the pleas (against committing sins), counselled his people as a warner (against Divine chastisement) and called (people) towards Paradise as a conveyor of good tidings.

We are the tree of prophethood, staying place of (Divine) Message, descending place of angels, mines of knowledge and the sources of wisdom. Our supporter and lover awaits mercy while our enemy and he who hates us awaits wrath.” (9)

Praise be to Allah (swt) who has made us from among the Ummah of Muhammad (ﷺ).

• References:
• 1 – Surah Al-Imran Ayat 312
• 2 – Surah Al-Qalam 68:43
• 3 – Min waḥy al-Qur’ān (من وحي القرآن)
• 4 – Al-Kāfi – Vol 1 Ch #111 Hadith #2
• 5 – Jami` at-Tirmidhi 36386 –
• 6 – Nahj al-Balāgha Sermon 967 –
• 7 – Nahj al-Balāgha Sermon 18 –
• 8 – Nahj al-Balāgha Sermon 709 –
• 9 – Nahj al-Balāgha Sermon 107