They Sin, but... They Love the Prophet

Dear brothers, we often hear the phrase: "What good is loving the Prophet if you are not one of those who obey his commands and leave what he has forbidden?" I say: It does help, and it helps a great deal. The mentioned phrase is not correct, but we do not stop at it when it is said to a Muslim so that he may increase in obedience to Allah the Most High and His Messenger, peace be upon him.

The Current Battle: On Islam Itself

The battle now is a battle for Islam itself: "Be a Muslim or do not be." My speech is not about boycotting, for boycotting is a means of supporting the Prophet, peace be upon him, and some Muslims may fall short in it, although we emphasize it, urge it, practice it, and call for it.

But the enemies of Allah and His Messenger want you to belittle the Prophet, accept mockery of him, and side with them in considering that personal freedom. And whoever does that has removed the collar of Islam from his neck.

The First Priority: The Minimum of Faith

Now, dear ones, we call upon everyone who claims to be Muslim: the first priority is to achieve the minimum of faith that will save you from eternal fire. That is, by glorifying Allah and His Messenger, loving Allah and His Messenger, disassociating from the enemies of Allah and His Messenger, distinguishing yourself from them, not siding with them, and not supporting them.

Even if you are a sinner, even if you are a drinker of alcohol, even if you are a consumer of riba, even if you are a woman who adorns herself, even if you are disobedient to your parents, any of these sins, do not say: "What good is it for me that I am a sinner?" Rather, it benefits you by placing you in the company of those who have faith in their hearts, saves you from disbelief, and enters you into His saying, the Most High: {And He will forgive what is below that for whom He wills}.

The Story of An-Nu'aymān, May Allah Be Pleased with Him

Al-Bukhari narrated that a man from the companions of the Prophet, peace be upon him, named An-Nu'aymān was being lashed for drinking alcohol. So he was brought once to be lashed. The man was afflicted with alcohol; he would drink once and be lashed, then drink and be lashed, then drink and be lashed. A man from the Muslims said: "How often he is brought!" meaning to be lashed for alcohol. The Prophet, peace be upon him, said: "Do not curse him, for he loves Allah and His Messenger."

The Story of the Poet Akhtar Al-Shirwani

Sheikh Abu Al-Hasan was Indian, and the poet Akhtar Al-Shirwani was Indian. This Akhtar, people, was an alcoholic, sitting with bad companions, among whom were Arab communist youths who apparently learned the language of their Indian companions. And Akhtar, while drinking alcohol and being drunk, his companions would say to him: "Akhtar, what do you say about such and such minister?" He would say obscene and vulgar poetry, and everyone would laugh. "What do you say about such and such businessman?" Akhtar would become angry and say things that should not be said. "What do you say about such and such famous person?" And Akhtar would compose lewd poetry.

Once, one of his communist companions dared to say to Akhtar: "What do you say about Muhammad?" Akhtar was drunk, "floating" in the local expression. This name Muhammad resonated in the depths of Akhtar, resonated in his depths, a name that has a status even if he was drunk, but in glorification of the Messenger, peace be upon him. He took the cup of alcohol and threw it in the face of this Arab communist and said something to him.

Sheikh Abu Al-Hasan narrated what Akhtar said when he threw the cup of alcohol in the face of the communist: "O you with little manners, you direct this indecent question to a sinful man who admits his misery! What do you want to hear from a corrupt person?" His body was trembling, and he burst into tears, crying and approaching this insolent youth, saying in anger and fury: "How did you dare, O wicked one, to mention this pure, sacred name? How did you dare to do that, O you with little manners, O you with little shame? You had a wide field for your speech; we were talking about ministers, princes, poets, and merchants. Why did you come to Muhammad? How will you answer the biography of Muhammad, peace be upon him?"

As Abu Al-Hasan says: "And he spent the whole night crying, saying: These atheist youth have reached this level of insolence and audacity; they want to take away from us the last thing we are proud of and live on, which is love, loyalty, sincerity, and faithfulness. I am a sinful man, no doubt about that, I admit my sin, but they are trying to remove the collar of Islam from our necks and hearts and take us out of the fold of faith. No, by Allah, we will not accept that, no, by Allah, we will not accept that."

Look, dear ones, this man had a sincere love for the Prophet, peace be upon him, in his heart. I do not know if Akhtar repented afterward or not; Allah knows best. He continued to drink what he drank; Allah knows best. But by Allah, this stance is hoped for good for him with the Lord of the Worlds, the Most High.

The Second Priority: Turning Love into Obedience

So this is the first priority. The second step, dear ones: turn this love into a motive for you to obey your Lord whom you love and glorify, and obey your Messenger whom you love and glorify, and rid yourself of your sins with the help of Allah the Most High, after you have built on the first step and strengthened your view of yourself.

Brothers in Egypt, and by Allah, I say this sincerely from my heart, the righteous among them, of course, meaning those who have goodness, those who have faith, even if they have sins, from what makes me love them the most is this fervent emotion towards Allah and His Messenger.

The Story of the "Tawba Melody" Website

I remember from my years one of the times when mockers exceeded the limits regarding the Prophet, peace be upon him, that I was attending a sermon and my eyes fell upon the news of the repentance of "Tawba Melody," a global website for singing, dancing, and obscene speech clips. I obtained the number of one of the young founders of the site and contacted him and verified the story. They had placed an X on the logo of the previous site and emptied the site of all its previous content and wrote the following message instead, which I will read to you briefly.

They said: "The light of guidance." That is, of course, someone might say: "O Sheikh, did people change on singing sites?" I say to you: the site was emptied of its content. And praise be to Allah, recently, in light of what was directed at the insult of the Messenger of the Ummah, the administration of the site decided to close it permanently due to the prohibition of listening to songs.

"What are we waiting for? Our Messenger is the symbol of the Islamic nation and has been wronged." Of course, they said a second word, but I will not say it. And here, far be it from him, peace be upon him, to be humiliated; only the barking dogs try to exceed the limits with the dust of his foot, peace be upon him. "Our Messenger, the symbol of the Islamic nation, has been wronged, and we are listening to songs and watching video clips! It is time to listen to our hearts and look at ourselves: what are we doing to defend Islam and the Messenger of the nation, peace be upon him?"

Why was the site closed while it was at its strongest? That is, the global ranking was 5075, the number of members was 180,000, and the monthly income of the site was 700 dollars. That is, I did not close the site because the site was failing by people's standards; no, the site was at its peak. And we know that we need this success to prove ourselves, but no matter how great the results and statistics of success are, they do not equal a point in the sea of Allah's pleasure, the Most High, and the justice of His Messenger, peace be upon him. And we are in that: "O my beloved, O Messenger of Allah."

May Allah honor them and reward them with good for this zeal and this love for Allah and His Messenger, peace be upon him.

Conclusion

Therefore, remember, brother and sister: loving the Messenger of Allah benefits you even if you are a sinner. Muhammad, peace be upon him, is not only for the pious, not only for the obedient; he is our Prophet, our Imam, and our beloved, peace be upon him and his family and companions.

And I ask Allah, the Great Lord of the Great Throne, to gather me and all of you together with Him on the Day of Judgment under His banner, in His Paradise, and in His abode of honor. Peace be upon you and the mercy of Allah. Thank you.