Khutbah 2Salaf-us-Salih HomepageFOLLOWING AND OBEYING THE PROPHET, SALLALLAAHU ALAYHI WASALLAMSh. Abdul Salaam - 2nd Rabi Al Aakhir 1416Dear Brothers and Sisters! The past couple of weeks the Sheikh talked about two aspects regarding the love we should have for the Prophet, and how we should obey him. Loving him does not mean that we should create some innovations such as  celebrating Maulid, beating the tambourine, singing songs and reciting poems which are filled with shirk. Instead we should concentrate on things considered by the Quran and Sunnah that are pleasing to Allah, and that will bring us closer to Allah. Our discussion for today is about the two rights the Prophet has upon us.Firstly - To believe in him and: Secondly - To follow him.Allah Taaala has commanded His slaves to believe in Prophet Muhammad Sallallaahu Alayhi Wasallam. In S. Al Hadeed Allah says: (57:28)O you who believe! Fear Allah, and believe in His Messenger Muhammad Sallallaahu Alayhi Wasallam. Allah will give you a double portion of His mercy, and He will give you a Light by which you shall walk straight, and He will forgive you. And Allah is Oft-Forgiving, Most Merciful.Believing in the Prophet Sallallaahu Alayhi Wasallam, is to certify truthfully in your heart about his Prophethood and the Message he brought to Mankind from Allah. Everything whether significant, whether small or on a larger scale is from Allah, and everything that the Prophet related to us about Allah is the truth. Whether you are aware of this or understand this or not, it is the truth and the reality. Be careful of disregarding things that were brought to us by the Prophet Sallallaahu Alayhi Wasallam, and do not be influenced by people. Especially the ones who meditate and pursue wisdom and knowledge of the ultimate reality. These people would ignore/disregard any Hadeeth just because they are not satisfied with it. For example: Allahs Messenger, Sallallaahu Alayhi Wasallam said: If a fly falls in any of your drinking vessels, then dip all of it into the vessel and then remove the fly and drink as per normal, for on one of the flys wings there is a disease and on the other there is the healing antidote - in other words, the treatment for that particular disease. Some influenced people disregard this Hadeeth because they say that Islam is a clean religion and it came as a cure to the world. Their belief is that this Hadeeth contradicts these two aspects. Now this is not true, because todays medical profession has discovered that there is truth in what the Prophet said fourteen hundred years ago.Brothers and Sisters! Belief does not materialise by only just saying words with the tongue, instead it is something that originates from the heart and your actions must reflect it. It is not enough to say that I believe in Allah and that I believe in the Prophet Sallallaahu Alayhi Wasallam, but it is also essential to believe in what the Prophet Sallallaahu Alayhi Wasallam brought from Allah is authentic and that we should act accordingly. In S. Al Munaafiqoon Allah say: (63:1)When the hypocrites come to you O Muhammad Sallallaahu Alayhi Wasallam, they say, We bear witness that you are indeed the Messenger of Allah. Allah knows that you are indeed His Messenger and He bears witness that the hypocrites are liars indeed.Because they pronounced belief only with their tongue and not with their heart, they were classed as hypocrites. But today we find many hypocrites in the Islamic Society. They declare that they are believers, that they read the Quran more than what the believers do and that they love and follow the Prophet Sallallaahu Alayhi Wasallam. Rasoolullah Sallallaahu Alayhi Wasallam made the statement that most of the hypocrites are readers of the Quran, and they do it just to seek the pleasure of people.                  The hypocrite never changes his way of life, or even his way of following the Prophet, in worshipping Allah. They will adhere to the ways of their scholars and fore-fathers, and this is a very dangerous error because the hypocrites believe that they must look after the customs and habits of their scholars and fore-fathers. Even though these customs contradicts the Quran and Sunnah. Allah Taala says in S. Luqmaan: (31:21)And when it is said to them, Follow that which Allah has sent down, they say: Nay, we shall follow that which we found our fore-fathers following. Would they do so, even if Satan invites them to the torment of the Fire. Also In S. Al Baqarah Allah also says: (2:170) When it is said to them, Follow what Allah has sent down. They say, Nay! We shall follow what our fathers following. Would they do that! Even though their fathers did not understand anything nor were they guided.Allah Taaala mentioned that this is a false argument and that it would not prevent them from Allahs punishment.Brothers and Sisters! This is the situation of many Muslims today. You would say to them, Brother, the Sunnah is to pray the way the Prophet taught us or it is Sunnah to believe in such and such a way. He would answer you, None of the scholars knew this Sunnah, except you. He would also say that, Since I started to pray, I did it like this, and I saw my Sheikh or my father praying like this. So I will not change my way. In the following Verse from S. An Noor Allah Ta’aala says: (24:63) And let those who oppose the Messenger's commandment - his Sunnah i.e. his legal ways, his orders , his acts of worship, his statements etc., among the sects beware, lest some Fitnah and a painful torment be inflicted on them.So Brothers and Sisters, following the Prophet Sallallaahu Alayhi Wasallam is very important to any Muslim's life. Our actions should be accordingly, and we should not oppose anything by replacing it with something else. Here are just a few examples:A group of three men came to the houses of the wives of the Prophet Sallallaahu Alayhi Wasallam, asking how he worshipped Allah, and when they were informed about it, they considered their worship insufficient, and said, Where are we from the Prophet Sallallaahu Alayhi Wasallam, as his past and future sins have been forgiven. Then one of them said, I will offer the prayer throughout the night forever. The other said, I will fast throughout the year and will not break my fast. The third said, I will keep away from the women and will not marry forever.The Prophet came to them and said, Are you the same people who said so and so? By Allah I am more submissive and more afraid of Allah than you; yet I fast and break my fast, I do sleep and I also marry women. So he who does not follow my tradition in religion, is not from me.Some of the ways in you may follow the Prophet Sallallaahu Alayhi Wasallam are:Firstly - do not commit innovation, in other words bidah, and do not follow the bidah of others.Secondly - to refuse any saying not according to the Prophet Sallallaahu Alayhi Wasallam, and to leave any commandments not ordained by Allah.If we look at the Muslim situation of today, in the sense of belief or sayings and actions, we will see that their practising, is different from what the Prophet Sallallaahu Alayhi Wasallam has brought us. A good example is the way they perform their prayers. People should make it their business to find out how he performed his prayer, because he said, Pray as you have seen me praying. For example - Many Muslims put their hands while praying on or under the belly buttons, even though The Prophet Sallallaahu Alayhi Wasallam used to pray with his hands on his chest. In Saheeh Tirmidhee it states that he used to recite Al Faatiha with a pause after each aayah and not continuously in one breath like some Muslims do. When the Prophet Sallallaahu Alayhi Wasallam started praying he raised his hands to shoulder level and said Allahu Akbar, and when he made rukoo - the bowing position, he did the same. When he said Sami Alaa Liman Hamida, he would raise his hands and also when he came up after the second rackaat. Today some Muslims tend to do the exact opposite. This is only to mention but a few.Brothers and Sister! Allah has condemned the person who copies their scholars and fore-fathers blindly, and we should check our sayings, actions and deeds and display whatever agrees with the truth and reject whatever opposes it, no matter who says it. In S. An Nisaai it states: (4:115) And whoever contradicts and opposes the Messenger of Allah Sallallaahu Alayhi Wasallam, after the right path has been shown clearly to him, and follows other than the believers way. We shall keep him in the path he has chosen, and burn him in Hell - what an evil destination.So we  beg Allah Almighty to give us the ability to learn and understand His True Religion, to apply it practically on ourselves, and then preach it to others. We also beg Allah Almighty to forgive us our sins and anything we may have done that transgressed our duty, make our hearts firm on His Religion and make our lives end with the True faith. May Allah send His Salaat and Salaams upon our Prophet Muhammad, Sallallaahu Alaihi Wasallam, and upon his family totally, and also upon his noble Companions.