A Man of Character

Commanded to Love: Part I | Part II | Part III | Part IV | Part V | Part VI | Part VII | Part VIII | Part IX | Part X | Part XI | Part XII | Part XIII | Part XIV

Now that we know we must love the Prophet ﷺ, what true love is, and what the signs of love are, we must begin to actually build this love. As was mentioned in Part II, the longest lasting love is a love of someone’s “perfection in noble inner qualities.” So we will now begin to go through snapshots of the life of our Beloved, Mohammed ﷺ.

For forty years prior to the revelation, the Prophet ﷺ was indisputably known to be of sound morals. Amongst his tribe he was known as “As-Sadeeq Al-Ameen,” meaning “the honest and trustworthy one.” The fact that he was given this name can mean one of two things:

1. Either his honesty and trustworthy nature surpassed all others, or
2. At the time, it was rare to find someone who was honest and trustworthy; therefore his nature was unique and treasured as such.

There are many instances in the seerah (Prophetic biography) that illustrate the moral soundness of the Prophet ﷺ. One of these stories exemplifies the strength of the trust people had in him. It happened near the beginning of his prophethood. He summoned the people of Quraysh to the foot of a mountain and called out to them, saying: “Would you believe me if I told you an enemy host was waiting behind this hill to attack you?” Everyone, including those who would soon become his enemies, agreed that they would believe him. Although we may have heard this story many times, it may be difficult to grasp the true significance of that moment; an entire tribe agreed that they would prepare for a battle with an enemy they had not seen, using their precious time, and risking their resources – based on the words of one man. Allahu Akbar! (God is great).

It is said that the people had so much faith in him that they would advise one another to seek his services when needed. They would say, “If you have to travel and need someone to look after your wife, entrust her to Muhammad without hesitation, for he will not even glance at her face. If you want to entrust your wealth for safeguarding, entrust it to this trustworthy, honest man, for he will never touch it. If you look for someone who never tells a lie and never breaks his word, go directly to Muhammad, because whatever he says is true.”

The best way to feel this point is to take a moment and imagine someone who you trust one hundred percent, someone you know would never hurt you, someone who would never betray your trust. When they speak, you know that their words contained no lies; you find comfort in their presence. Most likely, this imagining will cause you to yearn for someone of this nature. Now take a moment and change that yearning for a nameless individual, to yearning for the Prophet ,ﷺ because this description is exactly what he was like.

May Allah (swt) cause us to be of those who yearn to be in the presence of the Beloved, Mohammed ﷺ and truly make him beloved to our hearts.