Episode 2 - My beloved (peace be upon him) advised me

In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful. All praise is due to Allah, and peace and blessings be upon the Messenger of Allah, his family, his companions, and those who support him. May Allah greet you for the second episode of the podcast "How I Loved the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him," with the permanent guest of the program, Dr. Iyad Qunaybi. May Allah greet you, Doctor.

May Allah greet you and keep you well. Welcome. May Allah reward you. In the previous meeting, you took us on a good tour introducing the series: why this title? This timing? What is the idea? We went back 25 years, you told us good details. We started talking about the Prophet, peace be upon him, and we ended the talk with the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him, taking my hand. Perhaps the time was short at the end of the episode, I don't know if there is anything left with you regarding the hand of the Messenger of Allah or the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him, taking my hand?

Yes, in the name of Allah, all praise is due to Allah, and peace and blessings be upon the beloved of hearts, the Messenger of Allah, and his family, companions, and those who support him. And I also say to the dear brothers, peace be upon you, and the mercy of Allah and His blessings.

The Series of Taking the Hand

There remains a matter that the companions learned this characteristic from the noble Prophet, peace be upon him. For example, you see that Abu Rashid al-Habrani says: "Abu Amama al-Bahili took my hand and said: 'Abu Amama, indeed from the believers is one who softens my heart for him.'" So the companions would do as the Prophet, peace be upon him, did with them, holding the hand of the follower, for example, before speaking to him with the hadith. This is a series observed by taking the hand.

Beautiful, okay, for those who do not know what the idea of a series means, it is the idea that the narrator conveys the hadith to the one after him in a certain way, adopting a certain style, a certain methodology, or a certain movement that he does, and this movement remains repeated from narrator to narrator. This is called a series.

The second observation is that sometimes the important and great person may initiate some initiatives that show his humility and closeness to people, but people hesitate to approach him in the same way, to reciprocate him with the same behavior. No, the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him, due to his closeness to his companions, was also found that a man among them would approach the Prophet and hold his hand as friends do with affection and gentleness.

Therefore, in the authentic hadith, Anas bin Malik, may Allah be pleased with him, said: "And the prayer was established, and a man took the hand of the Prophet, peace be upon him." A man from the common people, meaning not known, not from the great companions. "So a man took the hand of the Prophet, peace be upon him, and he did not stop speaking to him until some of the people dozed off." It seems he had a need with the Prophet, peace be upon him, that he had to speak to him, so he did not stop speaking to him until some of the people dozed off. This is when a person initiates greetings, takes your hand, you feel how close you are and how beloved you are, and you feel comfortable with him. Nevertheless, the Prophet, peace be upon him, fulfills the need of this man until he finishes his need.

Yes, people are waiting for him, and yet the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him, fulfills the need of this man. Exactly, meaning these people are waiting, and someone might say: So what? Meaning many people are waiting for the Messenger to teach them patience, to teach them to fulfill the needs of people, to teach them not to rush if the person has a need. This contains a lesson for them. Even the Prophet, peace be upon him, would delay for them in the evening prayer until the women and children would rest from the long waiting, and the Prophet, peace be upon him, teaches them in this, a certain observation, a certain benefit that the Prophet, peace be upon him, wants to convey to his companions.

Beautiful, is there anything else like the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him, taking my hand?

No, but I would like to move to another axis related to his physical closeness, peace be upon him. There are hadiths with a feature: rubbing his knee against his knee.

Physical Proximity: Knees Touching Knees

This was the title I had in the book.

Just like the title in the book. Beautiful. Some brothers have been asking about the book in the comments. The book has not been able to come out yet. We ask Allah the Almighty, may we ask some brothers to gather materials from the episodes and look at them in a book, if Allah wills.

Knees touching knees, for example, take Wabisa bin Ma'bad, he is not one of the famous well-known companions, and yet he says: "I came to the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him, and I wanted to leave nothing of good deeds and sins except that I asked him about it." Meaning, I want to take my share from the Prophet, and if he had a group of people, he said: "So I went to pass by the people, and they said: To you, O Wabisa, from the Messenger of Allah. I said: I am Wabisa, let me get closer to him, for he is the dearest of people to me, let me get closer to him." See, this is the dearest of people to him.

"Come closer, O Wabisa, come closer, O Wabisa." Get closer.

So he said: "O Wabisa, about good deeds and sins." I said: "O Messenger of Allah, inform me." He said: "You came to ask me about good deeds and sins." I said: "Yes." He joined his three fingers and began to tap them on my chest, meaning in this way as if he were conveying a message in more than one way, auditorily and sensually. He said: "O Wabisa, consult your heart, good deeds are what the heart is content with and the soul is content with, and sins are what stir in the chest and hesitate in the chest, what stirs in the heart and hesitates in the chest, even if people give you fatwas and give you fatwas."

Of course, this hadith, by the way, some people say to you: consult your heart, meaning this is not absolute. And if people give you fatwas, it is possible that people tell you this thing is permissible, you do not have to fear, you know certain circumstances if they come to light, perhaps they would say otherwise, or you yourself are not content, not at ease, disturbed about this matter, so consider it forbidden, that there is sin in it, you hate for people to know about it, and therefore do not leave it behind. And this does not call us, of course, to waswas (whispering of the devil), a person becomes asking scholars and reliable callers, they say this speech is permissible, and yet he says no, I feel it is forbidden. No excess and no negligence. So he is the one who asks himself, who consults himself, the one with the sound heart, not a person whose heart is sick, full of desires, full of attachment to the forbidden, full of doing the forbidden, this one does not consult himself, of course. But the one with the sound heart, this is how the scholars see it.

Let's return to physical proximity. The Prophet, peace be upon him, gets close to the companion, there is no guard, no certain circle of a kind that one gets close to. They used to say: always make a safe distance between you and the other, do not get too close like this. This is the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him, getting close to this extreme closeness. This closeness is not only in this hadith, but also about Khubab, may Allah be pleased with him, that the Prophet, peace be upon him, called him and a group of poor companions one day. He said: "So we got close to him until we placed our knees on the knee of the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him." So it was not that Allah does not get close to the Messenger, leave a distance of two meters. No, no, this was not in him, peace be upon him. Glory be to Allah, glory be to Allah.

Meaning this great personality with this extreme closeness, not only to the elite of the companions but to the general companions. I imagine that the Prophet, peace be upon him, everyone wished to do this action with the Prophet, peace be upon him, to get this close, yet the Prophet, peace be upon him, does not get tired of the many who get close to him, peace be upon him.

This may lead me to another question: in the world of fame and expression, famous people are known for a lot, they are watched a lot, if they make a mistake, their mistake is big, if they hit, everyone sees this matter, and perhaps the means of communication now and magazines and so on focus on the famous. On the other hand, the opposite, the famous personality, we are now talking about the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him, did the Prophet, peace be upon him, check on his companions as the companions checked on the Prophet, peace be upon him, as the companions followed the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him, in his movements and stillness?

The Prophet's, peace be upon him, Checking on His Companions

This topic in particular needs a long discussion because it is one of the dearest places to me: how the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him, knew his companions by name and some by their faces, checked on them, asked about them, if they were sick, he visited them, if they died, he attended their funerals, sometimes he knew that so-and-so's wife had died and therefore go and marry so-and-so, so-and-so is a young woman who has not married yet, go, O so-and-so, say the Messenger of Allah sent me to you to ask for this girl, marry the youth to the girls. The Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him, knew his companions individually, young and old, male and female. This is a fact with many proofs.

The Companions of the Prophet (peace be upon him) - Men

For example, not only his close companions, but also those whose hearts were inclined towards him. Glory be to God, imagine an ordinary person who had fought against the Prophet (peace be upon him) during some battles, then became a Muslim after the conquest of Mecca, or perhaps God had entered Islam into his heart later. So, many people entered Islam after the conquest of Mecca, and they were called "Muslims of the conquest." They were not among those who had come to the Prophet (peace be upon him) individually and embraced Islam under certain circumstances, but they embraced Islam with many others. Even these people, the Prophet (peace be upon him) would remember them and preserve their status.

A great hadith narrated by Bukhari from Al-Musawwir bin Makhrama, or he is one of the companions, that his father Makhrama said to him: "O my son, I have heard that the Prophet (peace be upon him) has received some robes." Meaning a type of clothing, he is distributing them, he is distributing them. "So go with me to him." So we went and found the Prophet in his house. He said to me: "O my son, invite the Prophet (peace be upon him) for me." Meaning his father is telling him, come. "So I considered that greatly." Meaning he felt that it was not acceptable, what? So he said: "Should I invite the Messenger of Allah for you? Do you want me to go and tell the Prophet to come and see my father waiting for him outside?" The companion says: "The Prophet (peace be upon him) come to my father." Yes yes. "Should I invite the Messenger of Allah for you? Is it possible that I go and tell him, O Messenger of Allah, come out, my father is waiting for you outside?" Look at the response of Makhrama, who was among those who embraced Islam late. He said: "O my son, he is not a tyrant." You do not understand, you do not understand Muhammad (peace be upon him). He is not of that kind, "he is not a tyrant." Meaning he is not of the kind who is too proud to go out to the people. "He is not a tyrant." "So I invited him, and he came out wearing a robe." The Prophet (peace be upon him) came out wearing a piece of these pieces that he had received. "Wearing a robe of brocade embroidered with gold. He said: O Makhrama, this is what we have kept for you." Look, the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) remembered that there was a man named Makhrama who had embraced Islam late, and the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) had kept this robe for him. He said: "O Makhrama, this is what we have kept for you." So he gave it to him. Makhrama looked and said: "Makhrama is pleased." I am happy for you. Even this man is one of the many evidences.

Also, Bukhari narrated from Anas bin Malik (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Prophet (peace be upon him) missed Thabit bin Qais. Thabit bin Qais was one of the pure, righteous, and virtuous companions, but he had a loud voice, a booming voice like that, it was his nature. So, of course, this is in Bukhari, in a narration of Muslim, he added, he said: "So the Prophet (peace be upon him) asked Sa'd bin Ma'adh and said: O Abu Amr, what is the matter with Thabit? Has he complained of this illness?" Sa'd said: "He is my neighbor, and I have not known him to complain." He is inquiring because he is not present, where is Thabit, people? Where is Thabit? He said: "And I have not known him to complain." Meaning, to my knowledge, O Messenger of Allah, he has not fallen ill. Returning to the narration of Bukhari. A man said: "O Messenger of Allah, I know his condition, I will bring you news about him." So he went to him and found him sitting in his house with his head down. He said: "You are sad, very sad." He said: "What is the matter with you?" Thabit said: "Trouble, trouble." Meaning I am in trouble. He used to raise his voice above his voice. Okay, the companions used this word and the narrator of the hadith raised it, it was not something that you would dislike to say about yourself. So even in the narration, he did not speak in the first person, it was two verbs. What did Thabit say? He said: "I used to raise, I used to raise my voice above the voice of the Prophet, so my deeds are nullified and I am of the people of Hell." Surah Al-Hujurat, yes: {O you who have believed, do not raise your voices above the voice of the Prophet, and do not speak loudly to him as you speak loudly to one another lest your deeds be rendered vain while you perceive not.} So Thabit, poor man, his voice was loud by nature, so he felt that this verse was revealed about him. He said: "So my deeds are nullified and I am of the people of Hell." So the man came to the Prophet (peace be upon him) and informed him that Thabit, O Messenger of Allah, is saying such and such. He said: "Go to him and tell him that you are not of the people of Hell, but you are of the people of Paradise, but you are of the people of Paradise." Imagine Thabit, after being told this great news that he is now a man of Paradise walking on earth, after great sorrow that had befallen him, this sorrow turned into joy and happiness.

Yes, and where is the evidence? Where is Thabit, people? And this doctor needs a stop. The number of companions who were around the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him), we are not talking about ten or twenty, we are talking about hundreds, perhaps in certain periods they were in the thousands around the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) in Medina. Despite this, the Prophet (peace be upon him) inquires about one among thousands, Thabit bin Qais is inquired about by the Prophet (peace be upon him). This is a note from this first. Secondly, a stop with Thabit, Thabit with this did not object to the command of Allah, nor did he object to the verse, nor did he say, "I am finished, my deeds are nullified, I do not do evil, I do not commit sins."

A hadith about Qarra bin Iyas Al-Mazini (may Allah be pleased with him) said: "When the Prophet (peace be upon him) would sit, a group of companions would sit with him, and among them was a man who had a small son." We do not imagine, brothers, how beautiful the scene is. "He had a small son who would come to him from behind and sit between his legs." Imagine, for example, the child would hug his father from behind, he would rock him as children do, so the father would hold the child and sit him in his lap, sit him between his legs, play with his son in front of the Prophet (peace be upon him). He said to him: "Do you love him?" What? Look at the man's answer. He said: "O Messenger of Allah, may Allah love you as I love him." Meaning this is the highest degree of love, I wish for you that Allah loves you as I love this son of mine. "May Allah love you as I love him." The narrator said: "He died." We use the word "halaqa" usually to express the disbeliever or the wicked person, they did not use it for themselves ordinarily, even if they used it, you would say that Allah will not send after him a messenger. So the man refrained from attending the gathering because of mentioning his son, meaning his son who had died. And in this small child, his father would associate sitting in the gatherings of the Prophet (peace be upon him) with the memories of his son, so he did not want to attend the gatherings because of that, because this council reminds him of beautiful memories but he would now be sad about them. So he felt sorry for him. "So the Prophet (peace be upon him) missed him and said: Why do I not see so-and-so? Why do I not see so-and-so?" They said: "O Messenger of Allah, his son whom you saw has died." The Prophet (peace be upon him) met him and asked him about his son, and he informed him that he had died. So he consoled him. He said to them: "May Allah increase your reward and bless your consolation." Then he said to him: "O so-and-so, would you prefer to enjoy your life with him or not come tomorrow to any of the gates of Paradise except that you find him who has preceded you to open it for you?" Meaning do you prefer that he lives thirty, forty, fifty years until you die before he does, or do you prefer that he is now waiting for you in Paradise? Now you have relatives in Paradise waiting for you to open the gates of Paradise for you? Of course, the man was happy. He said: "O Prophet of Allah, may he precede me to Paradise and open it for me, that is more beloved to me." He (peace be upon him) said: "Then that is for you." The man from the Ansar said: "O Messenger of Allah, may Allah ransom me for you, is this for me specifically or for all of us?" He said: "But for all of you." Where is the evidence? Where is so-and-so?

Another evidence. Of course, Doctor, we have come to know the names of many companions in the past episodes and in this episode, and glory be to God, this always needs a look at how many companions of the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) we know. Meaning glory be to God, we get to know new names.

Visiting the Female Companions

Yes, not just the men, but also the female companions, he would visit them as well. Yes, therefore, in the authentic or good hadith from Buraidah bin Al-Husayb Al-Aslami: "The Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him, would take care of the Ansar and visit them." Meaning, he would visit them if they were ill and inquire about them. "It reached him about a woman from the Ansar whose son had died and she had no one else." Of course, a tragedy. "And she was deeply grieved over him." She was struck by intense pain, sorrow, and grief. "So the Prophet, peace be upon him, came to her with his companions." He explained her condition and took the grief, and indeed, a group of companions took the grief. "When they reached the woman's door, it was said to the woman that the Prophet of Allah wants to enter to console her. So the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him, entered and said: 'Verily, it has reached me that you are grieved over your son, so he commanded her with the fear of Allah and patience, so he commanded her with the fear of Allah and patience.'"

Now, the next hadith, brothers, this one needs a pause and reflection, and I will mention a great text in the context of the story after I mention the hadith. It is a beautiful piece of advice, and indeed, it requires a long pause for reflection after the episode so as not to prolong it for our brothers. From Abu Huraira, the hadith is well-known, and it was narrated by Bukhari and Muslim. Again, people, we do not need weak or fabricated hadiths that have no basis. We have in Bukhari and Muslim great and beautiful hadiths, but we stop at them, treasures. This was narrated by Bukhari and Muslim from Abu Huraira, may Allah be pleased with him: "There was a black woman who would clean the mosque." An unknown black woman, meaning she was not from the nobles of Quraysh nor from the nobles of the Ansar, we do not even know who she was. "She would clean the mosque." Meaning, she would clean the mosque, she would go and sweep it out to keep the House of Allah clean. "So the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him, missed her, and they said to him: She has died. He said: 'Why did you not inform me?' Did you not have to tell me, people, that she had died?" "He said: 'It was as if they considered her matter trivial.' Meaning, they said, 'Is it reasonable that we call you, O Messenger of Allah, for a woman who is unknown, simple, who cleans the mosque?' He said: 'It was as if they considered her matter trivial.' By the way, in the narration of women outside of Bukhari and Muslim, they said: 'We hated to wake you at night.' When they buried her at night and the Prophet, peace be upon him, was asleep, they did not want to wake him. 'He said: Show me her grave.' So they showed him, and he prayed over her, and he prayed over her."

Now, this situation, people, requires a long pause, a long pause. I came across some words while I was bringing out these hadiths related to the Prophet's visits, and I found a beautiful article and tried to find out who its author was, may Allah reward him well, I did not know, I asked my brothers to help me, I think two of the brothers searched but did not find out who this author is. So, the important thing is, may Allah reward him well. Now, the author of this article expresses this scene that we are talking about as an ordinary hadith, so the Prophet asked about her and prayed over her, peace be upon him, the next hadith. We will pause for a while. Pause. What does he say? He said: "The scholar among the people is known by everyone, they follow his news, memorize his words, and refer to his positions, whereas the famous one is only known by a few who surround him and deal with him directly. So how is it if it concerns the greatest of men and the noblest of people, the leader of the state, and the messenger of the two weights with all that these descriptions carry of responsibilities, consequences, costs, and hardships, and he is the one who follows the affair of the lowest of people in status and the least fortunate, and asks about him and notices his absence and blames his companions for it?" Was it not necessary for you to wake me up, people? Was it not necessary for you to call me? "Does this not increase his honor, elevation, greatness, and splendor?" He means the throne of perfection that no one has reached. "Yes, that is the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him, the teacher of humanity and its role model, setting for us the living example through his positions, actions, words, and deeds of how mercy is given to the worlds. Let us look at him in Medina, managing the people, leading the armies, raising individuals, holding councils, meeting delegations, and inviting tribes, then he notices during that a woman from the common people who picks up the trash from the Prophet's mosque and throws it outside and takes care of the place and removes the filth so that the House of Allah remains clean, then the woman disappears from the sight of the Prophet, peace be upon him, for a short period of time, so he misses her and asks those around him in case they know any news." To the end of what he said.

Indeed, it requires a pause. A city of wonder, life, people coming and going, armies, delegations, hypocrites, disbelievers, conspiracies, and the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him, sees this woman among this scene and misses her. One might say, "This is extraordinary, the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him, remembers people individually and misses them. This is not the heart of an ordinary human, nor is it the memory of an ordinary person." Part of this may be something that the Prophet, peace be upon him, was given, but another part is acquired. If we deal with people with care and look at them with care and respect, then we will inquire about their conditions.

Doctor, this sometimes happens with people in their natural lives. If you work in an institution, a company, anywhere, you might miss a doorman one day, you might miss the caller to prayer, you might miss an employee who comes once a week. This inquiry has a very great effect on their souls. Glory be to Allah, not only do we live our lives normally and feel the absence of someone. Of course, you do not pay attention, you do not expect him to come, you do not expect to see him, but when the routine is daily and this routine does not happen, the soul stops and asks, "What happened? What is new?" Glory be to Allah.

And a comment on the words you mentioned, and may Allah reward the brother well. The Prophet, peace be upon him, is the leader of the state with all these tasks and all these consequences, and he asks about an individual from the common people. This leads us to an important observation: It is not always the care for big things that makes his life balanced between the spirit and the body. We need to ask about this individual, for the Prophet, peace be upon him, was looking at the ultimate goals, the goals of the Muslim society, the Muslim individual. This is the thinking of a Prophet, not the thinking of an ordinary leader, because as you mentioned, leaders may care for the elite of the people, the nobles of the people, this rich person, how can he benefit me in my state, even if he is a person who does not want to benefit me in my state, how can he benefit with the rich, the eloquent, the heads of the tribes as you mentioned. The Prophet, peace be upon him, treats everyone as a Muslim who deserves respect and dignity.

From the evidence of Abu Amama bin Sahl bin Haneef about the Prophet's visits, he said: "A woman fell ill." Again, a woman, a woman from the people of Al-Awali, an unknown woman. "And the Prophet was the best at visiting the sick." He said: "If she dies, inform me." It is clear that her illness was severe. "So she died at night, and they buried her without informing the Prophet, peace be upon him. When he woke up, he asked about her, and they said: 'We hated to wake you, O Messenger of Allah.' So he went to her grave and prayed over her and said Takbir four times." Of course, also in a narration about the same incident: "The Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him, would visit the poor." He would visit the poor, people for the poor, and visit them if they were ill.

In the Battle of Tabuk, how many Muslims went out for the Battle of Tabuk, Doctor Engineer?

As far as I know, ten thousand, thirty thousand as far as I know, and the knowledge is with Allah.

Tabuk was the largest gathering, a gathering of believers. Imagine the Prophet, peace be upon him, going out with these crowds, thousands of people, and he misses a companion and says: "What happened to Ka'b bin Malik?" Where is Ka'b bin Malik? This hadith was also narrated by Bukhari.

The Messenger, peace be upon him, in his care for people, would give each companion their due so that the companion would feel that the Messenger clearly loves me more than anyone else. He would greet them, befriend them, speak to them, making them feel they had a high status in the heart of the Prophet, peace be upon him.

The following story illustrates the Prophet's forbearance, forgiveness, and wisdom. We will relate it to the issue of giving each companion their due. The hadith was narrated by Muslim from Amr bin Al-'Aas, may Allah be pleased with him, who said: "When Allah placed Islam in my heart." Of course, Amr bin Al-'Aas was a fierce enemy of the Prophet, peace be upon him, and was one of those whom Quraysh sent to Ethiopia to incite against the companions who had taken refuge there from the harm of Quraysh. Yet, Allah placed Islam in his heart. He guides whom He wills, exalted be He. He said: "When Allah placed Islam in my heart, I went to the Prophet, peace be upon him, and said: 'Stretch out your hand so that I may pledge allegiance to you. Stretch out your hand so that I may pledge allegiance to you.'" Meaning, 'Extend your hand, O Messenger of Allah, so that I may pledge allegiance to you on Islam. The pledge of allegiance was with peace, with peace.' 'So he stretched out his hand.' Imagine the scene with me. 'So he stretched out his hand.' 'I said to him, 'What is the matter with you, O Amr?' What did the Prophet say? He said, 'What is the matter with you, O Amr?' He said, 'I want to stipulate a condition.' Stipulate a condition? Imagine this. Stipulate a condition with the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him. He was now alone among the companions of the Prophet, peace be upon him, and the Prophet could have harmed him. Yet, he said, 'I want to stipulate a condition.' The Prophet, peace be upon him, said, 'What do you want to stipulate?' He said, 'That he forgives me.' I want to enter Islam and have my sins wiped away. I want a clean slate. Glory be to Allah. The Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him, said to him, 'Do you not know, O Amr, that Islam wipes out what came before it, and that migration wipes out what came before it, and that Hajj wipes out what came before it?' Meaning, rejoice. Your Islam will erase all your past. So, of course, he extended his hand, and the Prophet, peace be upon him, shook it and accepted his pledge of allegiance on Islam.

Let us note what effect this treatment had on the heart of Amr bin Al-'Aas, may Allah be pleased with him. The hadith was narrated by Muslim. He said after he had told this story: "And it was not that..." What is the connection of this story to what preceded? Except that we have mentioned the Prophet, peace be upon him, and Ka'b bin Malik. We have mentioned Ka'b bin Malik, but why was the story of Amr bin Al-'Aas, may Allah be pleased with him, mentioned? We have brought it up with the introduction that the Prophet, peace be upon him, would give each companion their due so that the companion would feel that I am certainly favored and have a high status with the Prophet, peace be upon him. Amr bin Al-'Aas was one of them. So he came to the Prophet, peace be upon him, thinking that he was the most beloved of people. In the hadith, he said: "The Messenger of Allah would smile at my face and speech, even to the worst of people, to win them over, to soften their hearts, to bring them to life." He said, "He would smile at my face and speech to me until I thought that I was the best of people, until I thought that I was the best of people." I said, 'The Messenger clearly respects me, I am the best of those sitting.' So I said, 'O Messenger of Allah, am I better than Abu Bakr?' What is the expected answer? He is probably me. So he said, 'Abu Bakr.' The Prophet, peace be upon him, is merciful and kind, but he did not lie, he was truthful, peace be upon him, completely truthful. So I said, 'O Messenger of Allah, am I better than Umar?' He said, 'Umar.' I said, 'O Messenger of Allah, am I better than Uthman?' He said, 'Uthman.' He said, 'When I asked the Messenger, he told me the truth, and I wished I had not asked.' I wish I had not asked. But the point is that this treatment made Amr, a new Muslim, feel that he had the first rank and high status with the Prophet, peace be upon him. The Messenger's treatment in this way reaches every person, male and female, young and old, that you are important, you have a status, you are favored, you are loved by the Messenger, peace be upon him. This is a lesson entitled "You Are Important" that I have given in universities or at some conferences. I think it is an important lesson, "You Are Important," and God willing, we will publish it soon. This is a very important message that reaches the individual Muslim so that he feels his value with Allah, the Exalted, and this helps him to comply with His command, exalted be He.

Caring for Children

Imagine not just with males and females, but also with children. With children. And this is a hadith narrated by Bukhari, a very great and impactful hadith. Yes, narrated by Bukhari from a woman named Umm, Umm Khalid bin Khalid bin Al-As, the daughter of one of the companions. She said: "I came to the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him, with clothes that had a black khamees (a type of garment). He said: 'Who do you see covering this khamees? Who do you see covering the khamees?' Meaning, people, this khamees is suitable for whom? This is for whom? 'So the people fell silent.' They did not know how to respond to him, peace be upon him. He said: 'Bring me Umm Khalid, bring me Umm Khalid.' She was a small girl, a small girl was carried, she was nicknamed. Yes. 'So I was brought to the Prophet, and he dressed me with his own hands.' Imagine the Prophet, peace be upon him, brought her, dressed her in the sleeve, buttoned her buttons, and dressed her with his own hands, peace be upon him. And he said: 'Be blessed and well-mannered, be blessed and well-mannered.' Meaning this is a supplication, may Allah make you blessed and well-mannered, may you be blessed and well-mannered, meaning he supplicated for her with blessings in life, may you be blessed with well-being, may you be blessed and well-mannered, may you live long. He said: 'He kept looking at the pattern of the khamees.' Meaning at the colors and designs in the khamees. 'And he pointed with his hand towards me and said: O Umm Khalid, this is Sunnah, O Umm Khalid, this is Sunnah.' Sunnah in the language of the Abyssinians. Umm Khalid, where did she grow up? In Abyssinia, her father had emigrated with her to Abyssinia, so she grew up in Abyssinia and learned the language of the people. So Sunnah in the language of the Abyssinians is beautiful. Just as we tell our children, look how beautiful it is. So the Messenger of Allah dressed her with his own hands and said: 'O Umm Khalid, this is Sunnah.' He played with her, he showed affection to her. So Umm Khalid said: 'Isaq told me that a woman from my family saw him dressing Umm Khalid with the khamees, dressing her repeatedly until an advanced age because of the blessing of that moment with the Prophet, peace be upon him.' Imagine that it is not just the adult males and females, but even the children are remembered, they are nicknamed, they are called, they are dressed, and they are supplicated for. He said: 'O Abu Umayr, what has happened to the little bird?' He inquired about the child's bird. Glory be to Allah.

And this, as you mentioned at the beginning, Dr. Muhannad, is unlike what most celebrities do. People follow their news, their lives, and their situations, yet they hardly know except for a few followers or the close circle. Of course, here some might say to themselves: Oh, Dr. Iyad, what have you done in your work? We sent you a message a month ago and you sent a comment on WhatsApp, why don't you reply? See, brothers, I swear by Allah, glory be to Him, it is not arrogance, God willing. The most important thing for any caller or leader who is followed by many people is not to be arrogant. However, at the same time, any caller must balance. You might find some callers who pay attention to a message that came from there and a complaint that came from another party and a third party who wants to contact him and neglect what? He neglects his home. So the person tries to balance, and Allah is the one who helps. The pressures are many, but may my brothers know that I swear by Allah, I believe that there are those who are better than me with Allah, glory be to Him, and closer to Allah, glory be to Him, than me. It is not a matter of raising oneself above others, but it is an attempt to manage so that Allah is pleased. Meaning, one has many preoccupations and many pressures on the person.

Brothers, also, may Allah will, consider that sometimes your preoccupation with not replying to messages, especially long messages that require a lot of talk. Yes, yes. Glory be to Allah, this means the Prophet, peace be upon him, took care of his companions greatly, men, women, and children, peace be upon him. And yet, he managed the whole matter with all its details. Glory be to Allah.

Okay, was the management of the Prophet, peace be upon him, only general management, or did he also work with them? Did he mix with them in work? Or was it just talk, meeting, lesson, and advice?

He mixed with them in their work. Therefore, one of the evidence is when they built the Prophet's Mosque. Of course, there is a narration that is not authentic because we sat and the Prophet worked for that from the misguided work, and this is when it is proven, but it is confirmed that he, peace be upon him, passed by them while they were working on building the mosque. They said: "We are those who pledged allegiance to Muhammad for jihad, we will never stop." So he, peace be upon him, said: "O Allah, there is no life except the life of the Hereafter, so forgive the Ansar and the Muhajireen." Is this a poetic verse or not? Is this a poetic verse or not? Some said this is not a poetic verse, even the Prophet, peace be upon him, does not say poetry at all. Yes, meaning glory be to Allah, the Prophet, peace be upon him, did not try to say poetry, and Allah said about him: {And We have not taught him poetry, nor is it befitting for him. It is only a reminder and a clear Quran.} So he did not need poetry if he was speaking revelation, whether the revelation of the Quran or what he taught us from his Sunnah. He responded to them: "O Allah, there is no life except the life of the Hereafter, so forgive the Ansar and the Muhajireen."

Also, he, peace be upon him, passed by Ammar bin Yasir. The people were carrying brick by brick, brick by brick, they were building the Prophet's Mosque. Ammar was carrying two bricks at a time. So the Prophet passed by him and wiped the dust off his head. Look, even mixing, helping, and wiping the dust off his head, peace be upon him. Of course, we also know that when they dug the trench, they sought his help, peace be upon him: "O Messenger of Allah, there is a rock, we cannot, it has overwhelmed us." So he descended and struck it with his hand, peace be upon him. So the mixing was present. He ate with them, peace be upon him. And so yes, he was present with them in their work, present with them in their daily lives.

Okay, a somewhat random question with your knowledge, Dr. Iyad, of these texts, yes, and I think you are keen on applying part of it in your life, for example, you as an academic teacher at a university, have you felt the effect of this on the students when you deal with a student with this kind of dealing, when you take the hand of a student who comes to you and asks a question, you give him attention, what is the effect of this on the student himself?

You reminded me of an incident from one of the years. I, as an academic, believe that I exert a great deal of effort and strive to benefit my students. Sometimes, I experience what I call an emotional ulcer after correcting the first exams. My exams are known to be difficult, I believe, on the level of the entire region. I mean, do they take it seriously or not? Do they benefit from it? May Allah help them to benefit, if Allah wills. So, I sometimes express my frustration and say, "You all, the effort we exert with you is in vain."

In one of the years, I did not express this emotional ulcer but rather told them the story of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, which I had mentioned in one of my articles. I said to them, "Is it reasonable that these people who do not believe in Allah, the Almighty, nor in the Prophet, peace be upon him, rise up for their country, and you, who have heard and have been told, 'Do good, and Allah will see your deeds, and so will His Messenger and the believers'? You listen, strive for what benefits you. You fail, and this failure is yours." I felt that my words had a real impact on them.

Then, I brought those who had failed with me in the previous semester. Praise be to Allah, they will transfer with you in the next semester. Yes, there are some who are persistent. So, I made a public announcement and told them, "Those who failed with me in the previous semester in this subject, I will correct their exam directly after they finish it. If they get a passing grade, I will give them a gift." I went to the Prekan Bakery in Bayader Wadi Seer and brought simple Bitfour boxes, each containing one piece, and took them with me to the final exam. By Allah, I felt the impact, and indeed, I had prepared them from the beginning, saying, "Direct your efforts, if Allah wills, you will not fail," and so on. Some of them, who had previously failed, performed better. I remember one of them, when I told him he had passed, he said, "Doctor, may I ask you a favor?" I said, "Go ahead." He said, "I want to kiss your hand." Come on, sir. The feeling of being cared for, that someone is interested in you, makes you succeed, makes you excel, makes you overcome your sadness, this undoubtedly has a great impact on the soul.

Once, I recall, you and I prayed in a mosque. After the prayer, we did not...