Our Bringer of Glad Tidings, Savior and Master
Allah (subhanahu wa ta’ala) says in the infallible book, the Qur’an al-Karim: “There has certainly come to you a Messenger from among yourselves. Grievous to him is what you suffer; [he is] concerned over you [i.e., your guidance] and to the believers is kind and merciful.” (At-Tawbah, 128)
Allah (subhanahu wa ta’ala) stresses the love, compassion, and mercy Rasulullah (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam) has for his ummah and imparts the following lesson to us:
He, the prophet with exalted and distinguished eminence, would never consent to your being placed in dire straits. Even for you to merely fall on hard times or face predicaments weighs heavily on his heart, let alone seeing you endure punishment. He feels all your sorrows and troubles and deeply empathizes with your pain. He harbors a delicate compassion and vast mercy within him. Just as he wouldn’t have any harm touch you, he strives vigorously to ensure you reach the highest bliss, find peace and safety, and are admitted into Jannahand Ridwan. He doesn’t shrink from any hardship to save his ummah from the fiery fate of the afterlife. Not only is he a perfect person of flawless character and habits, but he is also the pinnacle of impeccable morals and endless compassion.
The compassion, love, and mercy Rasulullah (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam) has for us no doubt warrants specific duties to be duly performed on our part. The foremost of these are to strive to love him more than those closest to our hearts, even ourselves, and to befriend and seek the companionship of those who are his friends and companions. Furthermore, we should endeavor to send gifts in the form of dhikr from the gatherings that bear such gifts as their fruits. Finally, we should remember to serve his ummah.
One day, After reading the ayah, “If You punish them, they are Your slaves after all, but if You forgive them, You are the Mighty, the Wise” (Al-Maidah, 118), Rasulullah (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam) raised his opened hands, sobbing and praying, “O Allah, my ummah, my ummah!” he said, “have mercy on my ummah and forgive them,” he begged.
He didn’t pray only for the people alive in his lifetime but for every member of his ummah who would come to this world until the end of days. He grieved to the point of collapse (Ash-Shu’ara, 3) and implored his Rabb, opening up the anguish within him with his lamenting pleas. The course the disbelievers insisted on following distressed him deeply, but what agonized him most was how grave the suffering would be for those of his ummah that couldn’t be saved from the punishment of Jahannam.
Soon after, Jibril (alayhissalam) appeared before Rasulullah (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam) and asked why he sobbed. When the Prophet (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam) replied that he wept for his ummah, Jibril (alayhissalam) made his way back to report to Allah on this. In response, Allah (subhanahu wa ta’ala) said:
“O Jibril! Go to Muhammad and say: Verily We will please you with regard to your ummah and would not displease you” (Muslim, Iman 346). The Qur’an al-Karim expresses the following regarding this matter:
“And of course, your Lord will give you so much that you will be pleased.” (Ad-Duha, 5)
Every prophet has a prayer reserved for him that is absolutely accepted. Most of them have used theirs in this world. Only Rasulullah (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam) has saved his prayer for the akhirah because of compassionate fondness and painstaking consideration for his ummah (Muslim, Iman 341). On the day of resurrection and gathering, he will prostrate himself to protect his ummah from being thrown into the fires of Jahannam and beseech, “my ummah, my ummah,” using the dua he reserved for the most crucial moment. This will persist, and he will not lift his head from prostration until he hears the call, “Raise your head! Intercede, and your intercession will be accepted.” (Bukhari, Tawhid 36)
Suppose we try to envision the day of resurrection. Who, on that fierce day, can make their way past all its hurdles and hardships without Rasulullah’s (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam) shafaah? That is a time when no one person can aid another, the books of deeds get handed out, the deeds get weighed on the scale, cracked lips parched with thirst await desperately in front of the Hawd (the pond of abundance), and everyone tries to cross the Sirat bridge? He is the intercessor, the one who grants shafaah to all Muslims, including the greatest sinners among them. Even the greatest awliya can only reach their goal through his shafaah. Anyone who dies without committing shirk (ascribing partners to Allah or practicing polytheism), meaning anyone who leaves this world with iman, will benefit from his shafaah (Ibn Majah, 4307).
Rasulullah (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam) is like a father to every single member of the billions that make up his ummah. He cares for and is closer to believers than their own fathers (Bukhari, Tafsir, 33; Abdu Dawud, Taharah 4). He directs all his effort towards preventing his ummah from being cast into the punishment of fire and ensuring that they enter Jannah. He says in a hadith: “My and your example is that of a person who lit a fire and the moths and grasshoppers began to fall therein. He tried to push them away, but they overcame him and jumped into it. I am catching hold of your waists ties (to save you) from fire, but you slip away from my hands.” (Bukhari, Riqaq 26)
In this regard, one of the awliya gave the following statement in a sohbah:
“Just like a child being cast into the fire pains the father, having even one person from his ummah thrown into the fire pains Rasulullah more than it would that person’s father. He is deeply concerned for his ummah. All of the prophets will beg for their own salvation, whereas he will selflessly forgo his own salvation and try to save his ummah by saying, ‘my ummah, my ummah!’
Considering this, we should exert ourselves so that he doesn’t have to fare through feelings of distress. We should render our aid to the ummah of Muhammad to save them from the fire. Allah (subhanahu wa ta’ala) tasked us with this. Our only purpose is to serve the ummah of the Prophet (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam) and please him. For this purpose to become a reality, it is imperative we work day and night in this perilous age we live in. Set your niyyah so as to save the ummah of the Prophet (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam) from the fire and work diligently.”
Then, with a determined poise, he finished his statement by underlining certain issues:
“We are in the most violent, arduous, and perilous period of the final ages. The vehemence of kufr has climbed to such an intensity that, like a hurricane, it breaks all in its path. The entire world is like a Jahannamand a sea of kufr. The ummah of Muhammad is weltering in flames. What would you do if you saw a person burning in flames? Would you not help them out? Whose heart could withstand such a thing? We need to drag people out of the sea of kufr. Help them! The ummah of Muhammad is in flames!”
May Allah (subhanahu wa ta’ala), the Rabb of All the Worlds, grant us to be worthy believers for our beloved Prophet and live to serve his ummah until our last breaths.
With His tawfiq and inayah...
Sheikh Sayyid M. Mübarek Elhüseyni
