Life of Prophet Muhammad PBUH

The outstanding qualities of Prophet Muhammad, (pbuh), have been enunciated in the Qur’an from different perspectives. At one place it is stated:

{هُوَ الَّذِي بَعَثَ فِي الْأُمِّيِّينَ رَسُولًا مِنْهُمْ يَتْلُو عَلَيْهِمْ آيَاتِهِ وَيُزَكِّيهِمْ وَيُعَلِّمُهُمُ الْكِتَابَ وَالْحِكْمَةَ وَإِنْ كَانُوا مِنْ قَبْلُ لَفِي ضَلَالٍ مُبِينٍ} [الجمعة: 2]

“He it is Who sent among the unlettered ones a Messenger (Muhammad, PBUH) from among themselves, reciting to them His Verses, purifying them (from the filth of disbelief & polytheism), & teaching them the Book (this Qur’an, Islamic laws & Islamic jurisprudence) & Al-Hikmah (As-Sunnah, legal ways, acts of worship of Prophet Muhammad, PBUH). & verily they had been before in manifest error” [Al-Jumu’a: 2].

And yet at another place it is urged:

{لَقَدْ كَانَ لَكُمْ فِي رَسُولِ اللَّهِ أُسْوَةٌ حَسَنَةٌ لِمَنْ كَانَ يَرْجُو اللَّهَ وَالْيَوْمَ الْآخِرَ وَذَكَرَ اللَّهَ كَثِيرًا} [الأحزاب: 21]

“Indeed in the Messenger of Allah (Muhammad, PBUH) you have a good example to follow for him who hopes for (the Meeting with) Allah & the Last Day, & remembers Allah much” [Al-Ahzaab: 21].

All such statements clearly emphasize that Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) is the source of light from whom the Muslims should take guidance. They should emulate his exemplary character & take his moral life as ideal. This is the way that ensures success to Muslims in both worlds & this is the way the rightly guided Muslims adopt. Whenever a Muslim deviates from it, he surely forsakes the straight path.

If a Muslim wishes to bring his life close to the Prophet’s model, he must have two qualities in him. First, he should have a deep attachment with the Prophet (PBUH) which would enable him to hold the Prophet (PBUH) dearer to heart than all else in the world. He should have sincere love for the Prophet (PBUH) - the kind of love that the Companions possessed. They gladly sacrificed their lives for the love of the Prophet (PBUH). When a Companion was asked if he liked to see that he was spared from the death penalty & his Prophet (PBUH) was hanged in his place, he replied that he would not even consider an option that he was saved &, instead, his Prophet’s foot was pricked with a thorn. Hassaan bin Thabit Ansari, a Companion, wrote in one of his couplets:

لِعِرْضِ مُحَمَّدٍ مِنْكُمْ وِقَاءُ فَإِنَّ أَبِي وَوَالِدَهُ وَعِرْضِي

“The honor of my father, my gr&father, & mine is all here to protect the honor of the Prophet (PBUH).”

Second, one should try to emulate the Prophet’s model as best as possible. He should try to learn about the Prophet’s moral excellence - his sympathy with human beings, his honesty in dealings, his desire to do good to those who hurt him, his concern to seek Allah’s pleasure, his being mindful of the hereafter, his desire to help everybody as much as possible in all matters relating to this life as well as the life hereafter - so that he could take guidance from it in all walks of life. He should eagerly try to gain knowledge about how the Prophet (PBUH) treated human beings with love, his relatives with kindness, & all others with sympathy. He should also investigate how the Prophet (PBUH) made efforts to encourage people for moral upliftment & for attaining Allah’s pleasure & persuaded them to stay away from deeds displeasing to Him.

These two conditions - true love for the Prophet (PBUH) & a sincere effort to learn about his way of life in order to emulate his model - are required in order for a believer to strengthen his faith & embellish his life. Without fulfilling these conditions he may never attain his objective. If one learns about the life of the Prophet (PBUH) but does not emulate his lifestyle, his claim of love for the Prophet (PBUH) does not hold. Sometimes a Muslim claims that he truly loves the Prophet (PBUH), but he never tries to learn about the Prophet’s life & does not make any effort to emulate him. How can his claim of love be considered as true?