A Pact of Love Have you ever fallen in love? Have you ever become infatuated by someone?

Have you ever been eager to see someone more than anything else? Sure you have; and this person might be your wife, father, mother, children, or an intimate friend. But, have you ever thought that this person might be Prophet Muhammad, peace and blessings be upon him. ne may say, !why should we love him, peace and blessings be upon him, that much. "t suffices that we #$ust love him#!. Here " have to recall the Prophet#s, peace and blessings be upon him, saying, !None of you will have faith till he loves me more than his father, his children and all mankind.! %Sahih &l'Bu(hari) " dare say that whatever my or your love to anyone or anything, it is not in any way comparable to that showed by the *ompanions of the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, to his honorable self. +o you really thin( you (now how much was the love of the *ompanions to the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him? "n fact, they claimed to love him and the issue did not stop there. &ctually, they proved their !claim of love! by sacrificing their own property, family and selves. "n other words, we may say that they signed their pact of love to him with their blood. ,hat " am saying here is not a fairy tale or an imaginary narration from the past old times. -et#s ta(e as an e.ample, /hubaib "bn 0&diy, the companion who was captivated by the infidels. ,hen they too( him out of the Sanctuary of Ma((ah to (ill him. He said, !&llow me to offer a two'ra(0ah prayer.! 1hen he went to them and said, !Had " not been afraid that you would thin( " was afraid of death, " would have prayed for a longer time.! He then said, ! &llah2 *ount them and (ill them one by one, and do not leave anyone of them,! and added, &s " am martyred as a Muslim, " do not care in what way " receive my death for &llah#s Sa(e, 3or this is for the *ause of &llah, "f He wishes, He will bless the cut limbs of my body.

Before his e.ecution, one of the 4uraish leaders approached him saying, !,ould you li(e Muhammad to be in your place and you be healthy and secure among your (in?! nly then did /hubaib burst li(e a thunderstorm, shouting to his (illers, !By &llah, " would not li(e to be among my relatives and sons en$oying all the world#s health and well' being while even a tiny thorn hurts the Prophet.! 1hen he was (illed. So it was /hubaib who first set the tradition for any Muslim sentenced to death in captivity, to offer a two'ra(0ah prayer before being e.ecuted. 1hus, he proved his love to the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, in a practical way by sacrificing his own life as he emulated the 5nglish proverb that appeared in later times reading, !&ctions spea( louder than words.! &nother shining lesson can be learned from the dialogue between the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, and 6abi0a ibn /a0b who said, !I was with Allah's essenger, peace and blessings be upon him, one night. And I brought him water and what he re!uired". #e said to me, "Ask $anything you like%". I said, "I ask your company in Paradise." #e $the Prophet% said, "&r anything else besides it". I said, "'hat is all $what I re!uire%". #e said, "'hen help me to achieve this for you by devoting yourself often to prostration.! %Sahih Muslim) &s the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, wanted to teach him %and us to follow) that mere and abstract words weigh nothing in the scale of good deeds unless this is proven by concrete and tangible practices. 1hus, he, peace and blessings be upon him, as(ed the man to be fre7uent and regular in observing his prayers. & third e.ample from history states that a man went to his teacher complaining that he loves Prophet Muhammad, peace and blessings be upon him, but he cannot see him in his dreams. 1he teacher told him, !your love of the Prophet is not sincere, that#s why you cannot see him in your dreams2! 1he man argued that he loves the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, more than anything else and he was firm about that. 8pon his insistence, the teacher invited him to have dinner and stay the night at his home. 1he man accepted the invitation. 1he teacher intentionally ordered that a great amount of salt and pepper should be added to the food which was served with no water to be given to the guest. 1he man was too shy to as( for water after he had that salty and

spicy food. Both the teacher and the man went to bed. &t +awn time, the teacher wa(ed the man up to pray and as(ed him, !1ell me about what you have seen in your dreams tonight?! 1he man said, !" saw flowing rivers of sweet fresh water and heavy rains.! 1he teacher commented saying, !9our thirsty was real and thus you saw water in your dreams. "f your love for the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, was real, you would have seen him as well2! ,hy there are so many Muslims who cannot see the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, in their dreams though they repeatedly claim that they do earnestly love him. 3or sure, the problem is in them and us all and not in the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, himself. 1his is because he was reported to have said, !(hoever sees me in a dream then surely he has seen me for )atan cannot impersonate me.! %&l' Bu(hari). 1hus, were it impossible for us to see him, he would have said it and let us (now about it. But, what can be understood from his saying is that seeing him in one#s dreams is possible and applicable only if one#s heart is really and truly eager to have a glimpse of him. How do or should we prove our love to him? By $ust saying that we love him2 1his is very easy and it costs nothing at all2 9ou can say whatever you want, but, you should not demand that people start believe in what you say unless you bring them a decisive evidence that proves your saying. 1he only way available to us to prove our love for the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, is that we start follow his model e.ample. 3ollowing his e.ample is not meant to be merely imitating his outer appearance as regard with what we wear and what we eat. 6ather, it is for us to abide by his orders; to do what is declared lawful and avoid what is declared unlawful by him. 1his is the true meaning of loving him and following his own model e.ample as he says in a Hadith that is reported by &bu Hurairah, may &llah be pleased with him, who said, 'he essenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, passed by a grave site and said, "Peace be upon you, & home of believing people. Allah willing, we shall meet you soon, although I wish I could see my brothers." 'hey asked, "Are we not your brothers, & essenger of Allah*" #e said, "+ou are my companions. y brothers are the ones who will come after $us%." 'hey said, "#ow will you know the people of our nation

who will come after you, & essenger of Allah*" #e said, "If a man has a group of horses with white forelocks amidst a group of horses with black forelocks, will he recogni,e his horses*" 'hey said, "-ertainly, & essenger of Allah." #e said, "'hey $my brothers% will come with white streaks from their ablutions, and I will receive them at my cistern. .ut there will be some who will be driven away from my cistern as a stray camel is driven away. I will call them to come. It will be said, ''hey changed matters after you,' then I will say, '.e off, be off."' %6elated by Muslim.) May &llah the &lmighty preserve us from changing anything after His honorable Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, and may He ma(e it feasible to us to meet with him at his cistern, &men.