4-The sincere love of the companions for Muhammad (peace be upon him)
First sermon
All thanks is to Allah, whom we seek His help and forgiveness. We seek refuge with Allah from whatever evil our hearts conceal and from the consequences of our evil deeds. Whoever Allah grants guidance will never be led astray.

Whoever He leads astray will never find guidance. I attest that none is worthy of worship except Allah, who has no partners, and that Muhammad (peace be upon him) is His servant and Messenger.

Allah, the most Exalted says, the meaning of which:
“O you who have believed, fear Allah as He should be feared and do not die except as Muslims [in submission to Him].” (Al Imaran: 102).

“O mankind, fear your Lord, who created you from one soul and created from it its mate and dispersed from both of them many men and women. And fear Allah, through whom you ask one another, and the wombs. Indeed Allah is ever, over you, an Observer.” (Annisaa: 1).

“O you who have believed, fear Allah and speak words of appropriate justice. He will [then] amend for you your deeds and forgive you your sins. And whoever obeys Allah and His Messenger has certainly attained a great attainment.” (Al Ahzab: 70-71).

O Believers,
Allah, the Almighty, has linked the love for Him with the love for His Messenger Muhammad (peace be upon him) when He, the Most Exalted, says, meaning, “Say, [O Muhammad], ‘if you should love Allah, then follow me, [so] Allah will love you and forgive you your sins. And Allah is Forgiving and Merciful’.” (Al Imaran: 31).

Our Master Muhammad (peace be upon him) pointed to the same by saying, “None of you will have faith till he loves me more than his father, his children and all mankind.” By saying this, he stressed that the believers’ admiration for him is in itself an evidence for their sincere faith in Allah, may Glory be to Him.

A further insight into loving Allah’s Apostle is to be found in the following Hadith: Umar Ibn Al Khattab said to Muhammad (peace be upon him) , "O Allah's Apostle, You are dearer to me than everything except my own self."

 The Prophet said, "no, by Him in Whose Hand my soul is, (you will not have complete faith) till I am dearer to you than your own self." Then Umar said to him, "However, now, by Allah, you are dearer to me than my own self." The Prophet said, "Now, O Umar, (now you are a believer).”

Dear Muslims,
Such a sense of love and respect for the Prophet (peace be upon him) had been deeply seated in his companions’ hearts and clearly reflected in their attitudes towards him. Thus by being honest in their feelings and always holding him in high esteem, they set the best example of how the love for the Prophet should be.

It was narrated that a man came to the Prophet and said to him, “O Messenger of Allah, you are more beloved to me than myself, my family and children. Sometimes, when I am at home, I remember you, and I cannot wait until I come and look at you. When I contemplate about my death and your death, I know that you will be with the Prophets when you enter Paradise. I fear that I might not see you when I enter Paradise.”

The Prophet did not answer him until the verse, meaning, “And whoever obeys Allah and the Messenger - those will be with the ones upon whom Allah has bestowed favour of the prophets, the steadfast affirmers of truth, the martyrs and the righteous. And excellent are those as companions,” (Annisaa”69) was revealed to him.

Ali Ibn Abu Talib was asked about his love for the Prophet (peace be upon him) and he said, “by Allah he was dearest to me than my money, my children, my parents and cold water for a thirsty soul.”

Another story is that of Zaid Ibn Al Dathina, may Allah be pleased with him. It was reported that when he was detained by Quraish, Abu Sufyan said to him, “by Allah, Don’t you wish you were now with your folk so we have Muhammad here to cut off his head? He said, “No, by Allah I cannot even stand to see him be stung by a thorn while I am sitting with my family. Abu Sufyan said, “by Allah I have never seen before such a people who are most sincere in their love than the companions of Muhammad.”

O Servants of Allah,
When the time for Hijra (migration) came and Allah ordered the Prophet (peace be upon him) to set off for Medina, Muhammad (peace be upon him) informed Abu Bakr, may Allah be pleased with him. On this matter Sayda Aisha, may Allah be pleased with her, said, “that one day while we were sitting in our house at midday, someone said to Abu Bakr, "Here is Allah's Apostle, coming with his head and a part of his face covered with a cloth-covering at an hour he never used to come to us.

Abu Bakr said, "Let my father and mother be sacrificed for you, (O Prophet), an urgent matter must have brought you here at this hour.” The Prophet came and asked the permission to enter, and he was allowed. The Prophet entered and said to Abu Bakr, "let those who are with you, go out."Abu Bakr replied, "(there is no stranger); they are your family. Let my father be sacrificed for you, O Allah's Apostle,” The Prophet said, “I have been allowed to leave (Mecca)."Abu Bakr said, "I shall accompany you, O Allah's Apostle,let my father be sacrificed for you."

Sayda Aisha recalled that Abu Bakr was so happy, he wept of joy. She said also that she had never thought someone would cry out of happiness until she saw Abu Bakr did.

O Believers,
The love for Allah is the provision with which to attain the Paradise and win the privilege to be with the Prophet (peace be upon him) and his companions. Anas Ibn Malik reported that a person came to Allah's Messenger (peace be upon him) and said, “when would be the Last Hour?” Thereupon he (the Holy Prophet) said, “what preparation have you made for the Last Hour?” He said, “the love of Allah and of His Messenger (is my only preparation).”

Thereupon he (the Holy Prophet) said, “you would be along with one whom you love. Anas said, “nothing pleased us more after accepting Islam than the words of Allah's Apostle: you would be along with one whom you love. And Anas said, “I love Allah and His Messenger and Abu Bakr and Umar, and I hope that I would be along with them although I have not acted like them.”

As a token of love for him, some of the Prophet’s companions said: “the day the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) came to Medina, everything around it became illuminated. The day when he passed away, everything of Medina became dark. No sooner had we dusted off the dust from our hands after the burial of him, than we began to feel the change in our hearts." [Narrated by Anas Ibn Malik].

Invoking our Prophet’s tributes, let us supplicate to Allah to bless us with the love for His Messenger and help us obey Him and those He has ordained upon us to obey pursuant to His injunctions: "O ye who believe! Obey Allah, and obey the Messenger, and those charged with authority among you." (Annisaa:59).

May Allah bless you and me with the ability to implement the Holy Quran and the Sunna of His Messenger Muhammad (peace be upon him). I say this and pray to Allah, the Almighty, to grant us forgiveness. Pray to Allah for forgiveness for He is the Most Forgiving and the Most Merciful.

Second sermon
Praise be to Allah. I bear witness that there is no deity but Allah, having no associates. I also bear witness that our Master Muhammad is His servant and messenger, who was true to his promise. May the peace and the blessings of Allah be upon our Prophet Muhammad, his family, his companions and all those who will follow them in righteousness till the Day of Judgment.

As to what follows, please obey Allah and act as per the Sunna of His Messenger (peace be upon him) as well as adhere to his morals and teachings.

O Believers,
Please send blessings on the Prophet, raise your children in the love of him, praise his virtues and hold on to his traditions. This is indeed the path of success in this life and the next for Allah, may Glory be to Him, says, the meaning of which, “So they who have believed in him, honoured him, supported him and followed the light which was sent down with him - it is those who will be the successful.” (Al Aaraf:157).

Dear Muslims,
Allah has commanded you an order to which He and His angels are both committed, when He says, the meaning of which is, "Allah and His angels send blessings on the Prophet: O ye that believe! Send ye blessings on him, and salute him with all respect." (Al Ahzab:56).

The Prophet (peace be upon him) said, "for everyone who invokes a blessing on me will receive ten blessings from Allah." May the peace and the blessings of Allah be upon our Master Muhammad (peace be upon him) , his family and all his companions.

May Allah be pleased with the Rightly Guided Caliphs and all those who will follow them in righteousness till the Day of Judgment.

O Allah, we seek Your favour to let our hearts be full of Your gratitude and keep our tongue moist with Your remembrance. May Allah bless us with good provision, accepted work, well-being in mind and body and blessed living life and progeny. O Allah guide us to know what is good, make us benefit from what we have learnt, and increase our knowledge.

O Allah, Give us piety and purify our souls. You are Master and the Lord of souls. O Sustainer, amend our intentions, grant that our spouses and our offspring be a joy to our eyes and make success be an ally to us. O Allah, give us rain and do not make us among the despondent. O Allah, relieve us, O Allah, relieve us, O Allah, relieve us.

O Allah, we implore You at this instant not to let a sin unforgiven, a distress unrelieved, an illness unhealed or a handicapped without relief, a dead without mercy or a debt unsettled. Our Lord, give us in this world that which is good and in the Hereafter that which is good, and save us from the torment of the Fire.