All perfect praise be to Allah the Lord of the Worlds. May His peace and blessings be upon Prophet Mohammad and upon all his family and companions.
Anyone who contemplates the verses of the Noble Quran, the hadiths of the pure and trustworthy Prophet, and the biography of the righteous predecessors will undoubtedly notice the numerous clear and eloquent verses, explicit prophetic statements, and shining examples of the predecessors that exalt the status of our Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him.
Indeed, the jurist Qadi Iyad, may Allah have mercy upon him, spoke the truth when he said: "It is not hidden from anyone who has engaged in any form of knowledge or has been granted even the slightest glimpse of understanding that Allah the Almighty has exalted the status of our Prophet, peace be upon him, and has bestowed upon him unique virtues, attributes, and qualities that cannot be fully enumerated. Allah has elevated him to a lofty station that surpasses the capabilities of tongues and pens to describe." (Al-Shifa Bi Ta'rif Huquq al-Mustafa, by Qadi Iyad, pp. 11)
Moreover, what greater exaltation is there than Allah's statement to His Prophet, peace be upon him (What means): "And We have exalted your mention." [Ash-Sharh/4]. Qatadah commented: "Allah has exalted his mention in this world and the Hereafter. There is no preacher, person uttering the Shahadah (Testimony of faith), or person leading a prayer who does not proclaim, 'I bear witness that there is no god worthy of worship except Allah and that Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah.'" (Tafsir Al-Tabari, Vol. 24/P. 494).
Thus, Allah has linked the mention of His Messenger, peace be upon him, with His own mention in the testimony of faith, the call to prayer, the Iqamah of prayer, the Tashahud during prayer, the Friday sermon, upon entering and leaving the mosque, and in many other places in the Quran. Indeed, Hassan ibn Thabit, may Allah be pleased with him, spoke the truth when he said:
"And Allah joined the name of the Prophet to His own name when the muezzin says in the five prayers, 'I bear witness' and He separated a part of His name to honor him for the Possessor of the Throne is the Praised One, and this is Muhammad."
Among the ways in which Allah has exalted His Prophet, peace be upon him, in the Quran is by linking obedience to Him with obedience to His Prophet and mentioning His name alongside His own name. Allah Says (What means): "Say, 'Obey Allah and the Messenger.' But if they turn away - indeed, Allah does not like the disbelievers." [Al-Imran/32].
In addition, Allah Says (What means): "Obey Allah and the Messenger that you may receive mercy." [Al-Imran/132].
Moreover, Allah Says (What means): "O you who have believed, obey Allah and His Messenger and do not turn away from Him while you hear." [Al-Anfal/20].
Furthermore, Allah Says (What means): "And obey Allah and His Messenger, and do not dispute, lest you weaken and your power depart. And be patient, indeed, Allah is with the patient." [Al-Anfal/46].
Among the ways in which Allah has exalted His Prophet, peace be upon him, in the Quran is that He addressed all the prophets by their names, saying: "O Adam," "O Noah," "O Abraham," "O Moses," "O David," "O Jesus," "O Zechariah," "O John." However, He addressed His Prophet, peace be upon him, only by saying: "O Messenger," "O Prophet," "O you who are wrapped in a garment," "O you who are wrapped in a blanket." [Al-Shifa, by Qadi Iyad, pp. 23].
As for the exaltation of the Prophet, peace be upon him, by the Companions, may Allah be pleased with them and this is a vast topic, as it shows the great status of the Messenger and indicates that true knowledge of Allah that can only be attained through the guidance of His Prophet, peace be upon him.
To illustrate this, I will mention a portion of the lengthy hadith about the Treaty of Hudaybiyyah, which is narrated by Imam Bukhari in his Sahih. When Othman Ibn Affan was sent to negotiate with the Quraysh, he observed the Companions of the Prophet, peace be upon him, and said: "By Allah, the Prophet (peace be upon him) did not spit except that it fell into the hands of one of them, and he would rub it over his face and skin. If he ordered them, they would rush to fulfill his command. When he performed ablution, they would nearly fight over the water of his ablution. When he spoke, they lowered their voices in his presence, and they would not look him directly in the eye out of reverence for him."
Upon returning to his people, 'Urwah reported: "O my people! By Allah, I have been to the courts of kings, to Caesar, Khosrau, and the Negus, but by Allah, I have never seen a king whose companions honor him as the companions of Muhammad (peace be upon him) honor him."
This shows the great respect that the Companions had for the Prophet, peace be upon him, and their deep understanding of his noble status and lofty position.
As for the love and respect that the Tabi'un (the generation after the Companions) had for the Prophet, peace be upon him, I will suffice with what Qadi Iyad narrated from Mus'ab Ibn 'Abdullah: "Whenever Malik ibn Anas mentioned the Prophet, peace be upon him, his color would change and he would bow down so much that those sitting with him would find it difficult. When he was asked about this one day, he said: 'If you had seen what I saw, you would not have questioned me about what you see. I used to see Muhammad Ibn Al-Munkidir, who was the leader of the readers, and whenever someone would ask him a hadith, he would weep until we felt sorry for him. I used to see Ja'far Ibn Muhammad Al-Sadiq, who was known for his humor and smiling, but whenever the Prophet, peace be upon him, was mentioned, his face would turn pale, and I never saw him narrate a hadith about the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him, except in a state of purity. I used to visit him for a long time, and I never saw him except in three states: either praying, or silent, or reciting the Quran, and he would not speak about anything irrelevant. He was one of the scholars and worshippers who feared Allah The Almighty. 'Abd Al-Rahman Ibn Al-Qasim would mention the Prophet, peace be upon him, and his color would change as if blood had been drawn from him. His tongue would dry up in his mouth out of respect for the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him. I used to visit 'Amr Ibn 'Abd Allah Ibn Al-Zubair, and whenever the Prophet, peace be upon him, was mentioned, he would weep until there were no tears left in his eyes. I used to see Al-Zuhri, who was one of the most cheerful and approachable people, but whenever the Prophet, peace be upon him, was mentioned, it was as if he did not know you or you did not know him. I used to visit Safwan Ibn Sulaym, who was one of the devout and diligent worshippers, and whenever the Prophet, peace be upon him, was mentioned, he would weep until people would leave him.' [Al-Shifa, by Qadi Iyad, pp. 265-266].
These are vivid examples from the lives of the Salaf (Early generations of Muslims) that show us the perfect manners they had towards our Prophet, peace be upon him. This isn`t strange, for they knew him, loved him, and therefore exalted him. The words written in this article are but a drop in the ocean compared to the vastness of the Prophet's status, which cannot be fully comprehended by human minds. How can a weak creature fully comprehend the one whom Allah, The Exalted described as having (What means): "an excellent character"? [Al-Qalam/4].
May Allah have mercy on whoever said:
"If you wish to know the status of Muhammad, Then refer to what Allah has said about him. Creation is unable to fully appreciate his worth And to utter words that do him justice. For Allah has honored him and raised his status There is nothing above the status of Muhammad except Allah."
It is incumbent upon us to love the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him, and our love for him should be expressed in our manners towards him in his biography, when mentioning him, when reading his Sunnah, and when visiting his noble shrine, peace be upon him. We should teach our children and call upon people to love and respect him as the Salaf did.
All praise is due to Allah, and peace and blessings be upon our Prophet Muhammad, his family, and companions.
