Rights of Rasulullah (Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam)

In the Name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful.

As-salāmu ‘alaykum wa-rahmatullāhi wa-barakātuh.

Rasulullah (Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam) is the best of all creation. He is the Habeeb (Beloved) of Allah. Allah chose him to be the final messenger to the world. It is through him that Allah Ta’ala sealed the line of prophethood. Allah Ta’ala sent him as a mercy to the world. Each and every prophet had concern for their ummah, but the worry and concern Rasulullah (Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam) had for the wellbeing of his Ummah is unparalleled. This same worry for our salvation would keep him awake night after night. It is this same concern that would make him cry unto his lord, in the darkness of the night, calling out يا رب امتي امتي (O my Lord, My Ummah, my Ummah). 

Once Rasulullah (Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam) made Dua for Aisha (Radiyallahu Anha) with the following words, 

اللَّهُمَّ اغْفِرْ لِعَائِشَةَ مَا تَقَدَّمَ مِنْ ذَنَبِهَا وَمَا تَأَخَّرَ مَا أَسَرَّتْ وَمَا أَعْلَنَتْ

Thereafter, Aisha (Radiyallahu Anha) became so happy that she laughed and laid her head in his blessed lap. Rasulullah (Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam) then asked her, does my Dua please you? She replied, how can it not. It is your Dua after all. He then replied, this is the same Dua I make for my ummah after every Salah. 

This is the great personality we are proud to call our Prophet. Given all he underwent on our behalf, in order to ensure this Deen reached us as it did today, he deserves our utmost respect and honor. There is nothing we can do to even begin to repay the sacrifices he made for us. 

Therefore, it is only logical to say that he holds some rights over each and every one of us. 

To believe and accept Rasulullah (Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam) as the last and final messenger is a right that he has over mankind. Allah Ta’ala mentions Rasulullah (Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam) in many verses of the Quran wherein He commands mankind to obey and believe in the Messenger to be successful and attain salvation. 

قُلۡ اِنۡ كُنۡتُمۡ تُحِبُّوۡنَ اللّٰهَ فَاتَّبِعُوۡنِىۡ يُحۡبِبۡكُمُ اللّٰهُ وَيَغۡفِرۡ لَـكُمۡ ذُنُوۡبَكُمۡؕ وَاللّٰهُ غَفُوۡرٌ رَّحِيۡمٌ‏

 (O Messenger!) Tell people: 'If you indeed love Allah, follow me (Sunnah of Rasulullah Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam), and Allah will love you and will forgive you your sins. Allah is All-Forgiving, All-Compassionate. (Al Imran-31)

وَمَنْ يُطِعِ اللَّهَ وَالرَّسُولَ فَأُولَئِكَ مَعَ الَّذِينَ أَنْعَمَ اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِمْ مِنَ النَّبِيِّينَ وَالصِّدِّيقِينَ وَالشُّهَدَاءِ وَالصَّالِحِينَ وَحَسُنَ أُولَئِكَ رَفِيقًا 

And whoever obeys Allah and the Messenger, these are with those upon whom Allah has bestowed favors from among the prophets and the truthful and the martyrs and the good, and a goodly company are they! (Al Nisa - 69) 

وَمَنْ يُطِعِ اللَّهَ وَرَسُولَهُ فَقَدْ فَازَ فَوْزًا عَظِيمًا

Whoever obeys Allah has succeeded tremendously. (Al Ahzab –71)

وَمَنْ يُطِعِ اللَّهَ وَرَسُولَهُ يُدْخِلْهُ جَنَّاتٍ تَجْرِي مِنْ تَحْتِهَا الْأَنْهَارُ وَمَنْ يَتَوَلَّ يُعَذِّبْهُ عَذَابًا أَلِيمًا

Allah will enter those who obey him and his Messenger in Jannah beneath which rivers flow. As for those who turn away, he will inflict them with a painful punishment. (Al Fath – 17)

As mentioned previously, the concern and love Rasulullah (Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam) had for the Ummah was unparalleled. Such love and concern are understood from the following Hadith: 

عَنْ أَبِي هُرَيْرَةَ أَنَّ رَسُولَ اللهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ قَالَ: لِكُلِّ نَبِيٍّ دَعْوَةٌ مُسْتَجَابَةٌ يَدْعُو بِهَا، وَأُرِيدُ أَنْ أَخْتَبِئَ دَعْوَتِي , شَفَاعَةً لأُمَّتِي فِي الآخِرَةِ (صحيح البخارى-6304)

Abu Huraira (Radiyallahu) said: The Messenger of Allah (Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam) said: There is for every prophet a prayer which is granted, but every prophet showed haste in his prayer. I have reserved my prayer for the intercession of my Ummah on the Day of Resurrection, and it would be granted, if Allah so willed, in case of everyone amongst my Ummah provided he dies without associating anything with Allah.

Not only did Rasulullah (Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam) make an abundance of Dua for us, but he also reserved His special Dua in order to intercede for us in the Hereafter.

We must inculcate the love of Rasulullah (Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam) in our hearts as well as reciprocate the love and concern by adopting His Sunnah into our lives.

لَّقَدۡ كَانَ لَكُمۡ فِي رَسُولِ ٱللَّهِ أُسۡوَةٌ حَسَنَة

There is certainly an excellent Model for you in the Messenger of Allah (Al-Ahzab-21)

Once the love of Rasulullah (Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam) has been ignited in our hearts, we will gradually begin to realize the rights he has over us. 

To learn more about the blessed Sunnah of Rasulullah (Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam), you may access the following books:

• The Sublime Conduct of Rasulullah (Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam), compiled by Mufti Muhammad Irshad Ahmad Qasimi (Rahimahullah). It highlights the actions and sayings of our beloved Messenger (Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam) in detail. It is available in urdu and English.
• Seeratul Mustafa by Ml Idris Khandelvi (Rahimahullah). Available in urdu and English. 

You may obtain a copy of Qaseedah Burdah by my honourable teacher, Mufti Ebrahim Desai Saheb (Maddadhilluhu), to intensify the love of Rasulullah (Sallalahu Alaihi Wasallam). You may access it via the following link: https://daruliftaa.net/qaseeda-burdah/

And Allah Ta’āla Knows Best,

Hasan Ahmed Razzak

Student – Darul Iftaa

Paterson, New Jersey, USA

Checked and Approved by,

Mufti Ebrahim Desai.

(2020-12-18)