, that the Prophet 
,
said: "None of you truly believes until I am more beloved to him than
his father, his child and all of mankind."
And in the same sources we find that
`Umar ibn al Khattab , said
to Allaah's Messenger ,
"O Rasoolullah, you are more beloved to me than anything except my own
self." Allaah's Messenger ,
then told him, "No, by the One in Whose Hand is my soul, not until I
am more beloved to you than your own soul." `Umar
then told him, "By Allaah, now you are more beloved to me than my own
soul." Allaah's Messenger,
then told him that now he had the complete and correct faith.
It is upon us to carefully verify how
much we love the Prophet ,
and whether we have any related shortcomings in our faith. What follows
is Ibn Rajab's description of what it means to love the Prophet ,
and his words can be of use in judging our own love of the Prophet .
The excerpt is from the book "The Delight
of Faith" By Abdullaah bin Jarullah al-Jarullah, publish by Dar as-Salam.
Love for the
Messenger is at two levels.
The first level is obligatory. This is
the love that requires one to accept whatever the Messenger
brought from Allaah and to receive it with love, pleasure, esteem and submission,
without seeking guidance from any other source whatsoever. This is then
followed by excellent following of him
in whatever he conveyed from his
Lord and to affirm whatever he
has reported of obligations, to remain away from anything he
has prohibited of forbidden acts, to give support for his
religion and to strive against those who oppose him
according to one's ability. All of this are necessary components that one
must possess and a person's Faith is not complete without them.
The second level is superior [and not
an absolutely necessary component of Faith]. This type of love requires
following his example in an
excellent way and fulfilling the following of his
Sunnah with respect to his
behavior, manners, voluntary deeds, supererogatory actions, eating, drinking,
dressing, excellent behavior with his
wives and other aspects of his
perfect manners and pure behavior. It also includes learning about his
life and days. It also includes the heart trembling when mentioning him ,
saying prayers and blessings upon him
often out of what resides in the heart of love for him ,
esteem for him and respect
for him . It also includes
loving to listen to his words
and preferring them over the words of others of the creation. And one of
the greatest aspects of this love is to follow him
in his abstinence of this
world, his being suffices
with a little and his turning
to and desiring of the everlasting Hereafter.
