Question #2431: How can we increase the love of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) in our hearts?

Question #2431: How can we increase the love of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) in our hearts?

Question :

How can one develop in their heart love of Prophet Muhammad more than anything else in the world?.


Answer :

Praise be to Allaah.

The strength of love for the Messenger (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) is connected to the Muslim’s faith. When his faith increases, his love for the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) increases. Loving the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) is an act of obedience to Allaah and a means of drawing closer to Him. Loving the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) is one of the obligatory duties in Islam.

It was narrated that Anas said: The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “None of you truly believes until I am more beloved to him that his father, his child and all the people.” (Narrated by al-Bukhaari, 15; Muslim, 44)

You can increase your love of the Messenger (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) by realizing the following:

Firstly: he was sent by his Lord who chose him above all of creation to convey the religion of Allaah to mankind. Allaah chose him because He loved him and was pleased with him. If Allaah were not pleased with him, He would not have chosen him. So we must love the one whom Allaah loves and be pleased with the one with whom Allaah is pleased. We must realize that he is the close friend (khaleel) of Allaah and that close friendship is a higher status and it is the highest degree of love.

It was narrated that Jundub said: I heard the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) say: “I declare before Allaah that I have no close friend (khaleel) from among you. Allaah has taken me as a close friend as he took Ibraaheem as a close friend. If I were to have taken a close friend from among my ummah, I would have taken Abu Bakr as a close friend.”

(Narrated by Muslim, 532).

Secondly:

We should realize the high status to which Allaah has raised him, for he (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) is the best of mankind.

It was narrated that Abu Hurayrah said: The Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “I will be the leader of mankind of the Day of Resurrection, the first whose grave will be opened, the first to intercede and the first to be asked to intercede.”

(Narrated by Muslim, 2278)

Thirdly:

We should realize that he suffered trials and difficulties in order to bring Islam to us. We should remember that the Messenger (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) was persecuted, hit, slandered and insulted; the closest people to him disowned him and accused him of being a madman, a liar and a sorcerer. He fought the people in order to protect the religion so that it could reach us; they fought him, expelled him from his people and homeland, and gathered armies against him.

Fourthly:

We should follow the example of his companions who loved him deeply. They loved him more than wealth and sons, and more than their own selves. There follow some examples of that:

It was narrated that Anas said: I saw the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) when the barber was cutting his hair and his companions were going around him wanting to ensure that his hair would fall only into someone’s hand.

Narrated by Muslim, 2325

It was narrated that Anas (may Allaah be pleased with him) said: “On the Day of Uhud some of the people fled and left the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him), but Abu Talhah stood before him covering him with a shield. Abu Talhah was a powerful archer who broke two or three bows that day. When a man passed by carrying a quiver containing arrows, he would say: Give them to Abu Talhah. Whenever the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) raised his head to look at the people, Abu Talhah would say: O Prophet of Allaah, may my father and my mother be sacrificed for you, do not raise your head lest you be struck by an arrow shot by the enemy. My neck is before your neck.”

(Narrated by al-Bukhaari, 3600; Muslim, 1811)

Fifthly:

You should follow his Sunnah in word and deed, so that his Sunnah is the path you follow in your whole life, and you put his words before any other words and put his command before everything else; and you should follow the ‘aqeedah (belief) of his noble Companions, and the ‘aqeedah of the Taabi’een who followed them, and the ‘aqeedah of those who followed their path until the present day, namely Ahl al-Sunnah wa’l-Jamaa’ah, and avoid bid’ah (innovation), especially the Raafidis (Shi’ah), for their hearts are hardened against the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) and they give their imams precedence over him and love them more than they love him.

We ask Allaah to help us to love His Messenger (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) and to make him dearer to us than our children, parents, families and our own selves.

And Allaah knows best.


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Question #82740: She used to do the “secret habit” when fasting, out of ignorance

Question #82740: She used to do the “secret habit” when fasting, out of ignorance


Question :

I am sending you this letter on behalf of my friend who needs someone to advise her. When she was a small child she was abused by one of her father’s friends who used to come and wait for him, and he forced her to be intimate with him when she was five years old, and she thought that this was something new, but he must have been a pervert. This led to her doing that all her life, without realizing what it is. Is that what is called the “secret habit”? This need would come to her when she was fasting and she would do it. When she does it she feels compelled to do it, because that is what she had been accustomed to all her life. Are the fasts of those days not valid? Is the expiation only to fast, since she did not know anything that was called the secret habit?
Please pray for healing for her.
My question is:
1 – How can she expiate for committing this sin whilst fasting?
2 – How can she be healed of this thing?
3 – She recites Qur’aan before she sleeps but feels that she needs to do that.
She is 34 years old and is not married.


Answer :

Praise be to Allaah.

Firstly:

We ask Allaah to forgive and pardon your friend, and to heal her from this disease, and to bless her with a righteous husband and righteous offspring, for He is Able to do that, may He be exalted.

Secondly:

What her father’s friend did is a serious offence and a major crime against this child. He is an evil pervert who has wronged both father and daughter. We ask Allaah to keep us safe and sound. There is no sin on her for what happened to her, because she was not accountable at that time.

Wise people learn a lesson from such calamities. A man should be careful about the friends to whom he entrusts his secrets and his household. Some of them may appear to be sincere friends, but in fact they are among the devils of mankind. The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) advised us of that when he said: “Do not keep company with anyone but a believer and do not let anyone but a pious person eat your food.” Narrated by al-Tirmidhi (2395), classed as hasan by al-Albaani in Saheeh al-Tirmidhi.

Thirdly:

What is meant by the “secret habit” or masturbation is playing with the private parts and provoking desire to the point of climax, whether that is using the hand or some other means. This is an evil habit and a haraam action. The evidence for its being haraam is explained in the answer to question no. 329, which also includes suggestions for treating this disease.

Fourthly:

If a person does the “secret habit” whilst fasting, and semen is emitted, then his fast is invalidated according to the majority of scholars, but if he was unaware that that invalidates the fast, is his fast invalidated and does he have to make it up?

There is a difference of opinion among the fuqaha’ on this point. A group of scholars, including Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyah (may Allaah have mercy on him) are of the view that it does not invalidate his fast. This view was also favoured by Shaykh Ibn ‘Uthaymeen (may Allaah have mercy on him). You will find this explained in more detail in the answer to question no. 50017.

This sister should pray a great deal for forgiveness and do a lot of acts of worship, and she should avoid haraam things and adhere to righteousness, so that Allaah may forgive her, as Allaah has promised (interpretation of the meaning):

“And verily, I am indeed forgiving to him who repents, believes (in My Oneness, and associates none in worship with Me) and does righteous good deeds, and then remains constant in doing them (till his death)”

[Ta-Ha 20:82]

Fifthly:

Marriage – as is the case with all of a person’s affairs – is subject to the decree of Allaah, and it is not known what is better, delaying it or hastening it. A person has to accept Allaah’s decree and submit to it, and follow the means that lead to provision and relief from distress, which include making du’aa’ and praying and obeying Allaah. See also question no. 21234.

May Allaah help us all to do that which He loves and which pleases Him.

And Allaah knows best.


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