The Mercy of the Prophet ﷺ

https://www.khutbah.info/the-mercy-of-the-prophet/ Allah’s Mercy to His servants is great and His favor upon them is immense. And His Mercy is complete and does not have any deficiencies. And it is not driven by inability or weakness. It is the Mercy of the Most Merciful the Most Beneficent that encompasses everything with mercy and knowledge. And the greatest mercy on this Ummah (nation) from the Lord is that he designated for them the Prophet of mercy. Through His Mercy, He honored this final Ummah (nation) with the best of His creation and sent to them the seal of the Messengers. The Prophet ﷺ was the most merciful of the prophets to his ummah (nation). He ﷺ was the most compassionate, vigilant, pardoning and forgiving of the Prophets to his ummah (nation). 

إِنَّ الْحَمْدَ لِلَّهِ ,نَحْمَدُهُ  ,وَنَسْتَعِينُهُ  وَنَسْتَغْفِرُهُ ,  وَنَعُوذُ بِاللهِ مِنْ شُرُورِ أَنْفُسِنَا وَمِنْ سَيِّئَاتِ أَعْمَالِنَا  ,مَنْ يَهْدِهِ اللهُ  فَلَا مُضِلَّ لَهُ ,  وَمَنْ يُضْلِلْ فَلَا هَادِيَ لَهُ ,  وَأَشْهَدُ أَنْ لَا إِلَهَ إِلَّا اللهُ وَحْدَهُ لَا شَرِيكَ لَهُ   وَأَنَّ مُحَمَّدًا عَبْدُهُ وَرَسُولُهُ    

Verily, all praise is for Allah. We praise Him, we seek His assistance and we ask for His forgiveness. And we seek refuge in Him from the evils of our selves. Whoever Allah guides, none can misguide. Whoever He misguides, none can guide. And I bear witness that there is no deity other than Allah and I bear witness that Mohammad is His slave and messenger.

 يَا أَيُّهَا الّذِينَ آمَنُوا اتَّقُوا اللَّهَ حَقَّ تُقَاتِهِ وَلَا تَمُوتُنَّ إِلَّا وَأَنْتُمْ مُسْلِمُونَ – آل عمران:102 

Al Imran 102 : O you who believe! Fear Allah as He should be feared, and die not except in a state of Islam.

Oh people:

I advise you and myself to have taqwa (consciousness of Allah) of Allah for there is no salvation on the Day Resurrection except through it. 

وَيُنَجِّي اللَّهُ الَّذِينَ اتَّقَوْا بِمَفَازَتِهِمْ لا يَمَسُّهُمُ السُّوءُ وَلا هُمْ يَحْزَنُونَ     

Az-Zumar (39) 61: And Allah will deliver those who are conscious of Him to their places of success (Paradise). Evil shall touch them not, nor shall they grieve.

All praise is due to Allah. Allah is the Most Merciful:

كَتَبَ عَلَى نَفْسِهِ الرَّحْمَةَ لَيَجْمَعَنَّكُمْ إِلَى يَوْمِ الْقِيَامَةِ لا رَيْبَ فِيهِ

Al An’aam (6) 12: He has decreed upon Himself mercy. He will surely assemble you for the Day of Resurrection, about which there is no doubt.  

Allah’s Mercy to His servants is great and His favor upon them is immense. And His Mercy is complete and does not have any deficiencies. And it is not driven by inability or weakness. It is the Mercy of the Most Merciful the Most Beneficent that encompasses everything with mercy and knowledge. 

And the greatest mercy on this Ummah (nation) from the Lord is that he designated for them the Prophet of mercy. Through His Mercy, He honored this final Ummah (nation) with the best of His creation and sent to them the seal of the Messengers. The Prophet ﷺ was the most merciful of the prophets to his ummah (nation). He ﷺ was the most compassionate, vigilant, pardoning and forgiving of the Prophets to his ummah (nation). 

And through the Prophet ﷺ, Allah took people out of the darkness into the light. And He the Exalted sent down all kinds of mercies through him. Such that the people of the earth are compassionate through it until the Day of Resurrection. Allah said:

وَمَا أَرْسَلْنَاكَ إِلَّا رَحْمَةً لِلْعَالَمِينَ

Al-Anbiyaa (21) 107:  And We have not sent you, [O Muḥammad], except as a mercy to the worlds.

His ﷺ message revealed from His Lord the Exalted showered all kinds of mercies upon the creation. The people and the jinn.  The believer and the disbeliever. The righteous and the wicked. The young and the old. The strong and the weak. The near and the far. Men and women. The birds and animals. Animals and inanimate objects. 

And he ﷺ came with a shariah (legislation) all of which is good and mercy for the people. And there is no one on earth from the time that he ﷺ was sent to our present day until the Day of Resurrection except that will be touched by this mercy that Allah the Most High made reach all the worlds. Therefore, it was narrated in an authentic Hadith that the Prophet said:

يا أيها الناس إنما أنا رحمة مهداة 

Oh people, indeed I am a gifted mercy. [Silsila al- Hadith al-Sahiha (al-Albani), 490]

And those with preference and the greatest share of this mercy are those who believe in him ﷺ ,  honor him, support him, and follow the light (the Quran) which has been sent down with him. It is they who will be successful. Their success will be in this world and the next. And just as it is indicated in the Quran that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ is a mercy to the worlds it is also mentioned in the Quran that he ﷺ is a mercy to the believers in verse 61 of surah At-Tawbah:

  يُؤْمِنُ بِاللَّهِ وَيُؤْمِنُ لِلْمُؤْمِنِينَ وَرَحْمَةٌ لِلَّذِينَ آمَنُوا مِنْكُمْ   

At-Tawbah (9) 61: (He ) believes in Allah and believes the believers and [is] a mercy to those who believe among you.

And from his ﷺ mercy for those who believe in him and embraced his ﷺreligion is that he ﷺ supplicated for them much. Especially if one considers the state of other prophets with their ummahs (nation). His mercy for his ﷺ ummah (nation) overtook him and he supplicated for them. As related by AbdAllah bin Amr bin ‘Aas (may Allah be pleased with them):

أن النبي -صلى الله عليه وسلم- تلا قول الله عز وجل في إبراهيم (رَبِّ إِنَّهُنَّ أَضْلَلْنَ كَثِيراً مِنَ النَّاسِ فَمَنْ تَبِعَنِي فَإِنَّهُ مِنِّي) [إبراهيم:36]. وقال عيسى عليه السلام (إِنْ تُعَذِّبْهُمْ فَإِنَّهُمْ عِبَادُكَ وَإِنْ تَغْفِرْ لَهُمْ فَإِنَّكَ أَنْتَ الْعَزِيزُ الْحَكِيمُ) [المائدة:118]. فرفع -عليه الصلاة والسلام- يديه وقال:اللهم أمتي أمتي, وبكى, فقال الله عز وجل: يا جبريل, اذهب إلى محمد -وربك أعلم- فسله: ما يبكيك, فأتاه جبريل عليه السلام فسأله, فأخبره رسول الله -صلى الله عليه وسلم- بما قال -وهو أعلم- فقال الله تعالى: يا جبريل, اذهب إلى محمد فقل:إنا سنرضيك في أمتك ولا نسوءك” مسلم 202

The Prophet  ﷺ  recited the Words of Allah, the Exalted, and the Glorious, about Ibrahim  ﷺ  who said: “O my Rubb! They have led astray many among mankind. But whosoever follows me, he verily, is of me”. (14:36) and those of ‘Isa (Jesus)  ﷺ  who said: “If You punish them, indeed they are Your servants, and if You forgive them, verily, You, only You, are the All-Mighty, the All-Wise”. (5:118). Then he  ﷺ  raised up his hands and said, “O Allah! My Ummah (nation), my Ummah (nation),” and wept; Allah, the Exalted, said: “O Jibril (Gabriel)! Go to Muhammad  ﷺ  – and your Lord is most knowledgeable- and ask him: ‘What makes you weep?” So Jibril came to him and asked him (the reason of his weeping) and the Messenger of Allah informed him what he had said (though Allah is most knowledgeable). Upon this Allah said: “Jibril, go to Muhammad  ﷺ  and say: ‘Verily, We will please you with regards to your Ummah (nation) and will never displease you”. [Muslim 202]

The mercy of the Prophet for his ummah (nation) was to an extent that he preferred them over himself in the answered supplication that Allah gave him as He the Exalted gave other prophets before him. He did not limit this supplication to himself and he included his ummah (nation).  As Anas (may Allah be pleased with him) related that the Prophet ﷺ said:

  لكل نبي دعوة قد دعا بها فاستجيب فجعلت دعوتي شفاعة لأمتي يوم القيامة   

Every prophet had a supplication that was granted by Allah. I dedicated my granted supplication to having intercession for my ummah (nation) on the Day of resurrection. [Bukhari 6304 and Muslim 198 ( quoted)]

Abu Hurairah (may Allah be pleased with him) reported that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said: 

لكل نبي دعوة مستجابة فتعجل كل نبي دعوته وإني اختبأت دعوتي شفاعة لأمتي يوم القيامة فهي نائلة إن شاء الله من مات من أمتي لا يشرك بالله شيئا

Every Prophet had a supplication that was granted,  and every Prophet advanced their supplication (in this world). But I reserved my supplication as intercession for my ummah (nation) on the Day of Resurrection, and it will reach, if Allah wills, those of them who die, not associating anything with Allah. [Muslim 199]

May the peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, and how great his mercy was for us and how cautious he was over us. Can the believers in him ﷺ be blamed for loving, honoring and supporting him when he ﷺpreferred them over himself and designated them for his supplication in a situation of all situations !? By Allah, no one can blame them for that aside for a disbeliever or  a hypocrite who is hiding his disbelief or an ignorant person that does not know the virtue of the Messenger ﷺ.

Allah said:

لَقَدْ جَاءَكُمْ رَسُولٌ مِنْ أَنْفُسِكُمْ عَزِيزٌ عَلَيْهِ مَا عَنِتُّمْ حَرِيصٌ عَلَيْكُمْ بِالْمُؤْمِنِينَ رَؤُوفٌ رَحِيمٌ 

At-Tawbah (9) 128: There has certainly come to you a Messenger from among yourselves. Grievous to him is what you suffer; [he is] concerned over you [i.e., your guidance] and to the believers is kind and merciful.  

أَقُولُ مَا تَسْمَعُونَ وَأَسْتَغْفِرُ اللهَ  لِي وَلَكُمْ مِنْ كُلِّ ذَنْبٍ فَاسْتَغْفِرُوهُ  إِنَّهُ هُوَ الغَفُورُ الرَّحِيمُ

I say what you have heard and I seek forgiveness from Allah for me and you from every sin. So seek forgives from Him, Verily He is Oft-Forgiving, the Most Merciful.

Second Khutbah

الحَمْدُ لِلَّهِ,  وَالصَّلَاةُ وَالسَّلَامُ عَلَى رَسُولِ اللهِ  , وَ أَشْهَدُ أَنْ لَاْ إِلَهَ إِلَّاْ اَللهُ وَحْدَهُ لَاْشَرِيْكَ لَهُ وَأَشْهَدُ أَنَّ مُحَمَّدَاً عَبْدُهُ وَرَسُوْلُهُ

All praise is to Allah, and peace and blessings upon the Messenger of Allah, and I bear witness that there is no deity other than Allah and I bear witness that Mohammad is His slave and messenger.

Oh Muslims:

From the mercy of the Prophet ﷺ to his ummah is that he selected for them a complete and easy to follow shariah (legislation). And the most precise and attainable decrees. And Aishah (may Allah be pleased with her) described him and she is the closest of people to him: 

ما خُيِّرَ رسول اللَّهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم بين أَمْرَيْنِ إلا أَخَذَ أَيْسَرَهُمَا ما لم يَكُنْ إِثْمًا فَإِنْ كان إِثْمًا كان أَبْعَدَ الناس منه

The Messenger of Allah ﷺ was never given a choice between two matters but that he chose the easier of the two as long as it did not involve sin. If it was sinful, he was the furthest person from it.  [Bukhari 6126 and Muslim 2327]

He ﷺ used to leave a deed that he wanted to do and was able to handle as a mercy for his ummah (nation) fearing that it would be obligated and the majority of them would not be able to handle it. And whoever views his sunnah can see that. And how many times did he ﷺ say: If it was not a hardship for my ummah (nation) I would have commanded them with such and such or if it were not a hardship for the people I would have commanded them with this.  

Aisha (may Allah be pleased with her) said:

إن كان رسول اللَّهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم لَيَدَعُ الْعَمَلَ وهو يُحِبُّ أَنْ يَعْمَلَ بِهِ خَشْيَةَ أَنْ يَعْمَلَ بِهِ الناس فَيُفْرَضَ عليهم

The Messenger of Allah  ﷺ would give up a deed that he liked to perform, fearing that the people would follow suit and it would be obligated upon them. [Bukhari 1128 and Muslim 718]

May Allah the Exalted reward him ﷺ  for his ummah (nation) with the best reward that a Prophet was given for his ummah (nation). And we ask Allah the Exalted to grant him ﷺ the intercession and favor, and the high eminent level, and raise him to the honored station that Allah  promised him. May Allah make us among those who love and support him ﷺ. And we ask Allah to resurrect us in his ﷺ group and that we enter paradise with him ﷺ . Indeed Allah is the All Hearing, Answering.

هَذَا وَصَلُّوا وَسَلِّمُوا عَلَى نَبِيِّكُم كَمَا أَمَرَكُمْ بِذلِكَ رَبُّكُمْ , فَقَالَ

I conclude with this and send prayers of blessings and peace upon your Prophet as your Lord commanded:

إِنَّ اللَّهَ وَمَلَائِكَتَهُ يُصَلُّونَ عَلَى النَّبِيِّ ۚ يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا صَلُّوا عَلَيْهِ وَسَلِّمُوا تَسْلِيمًا

Al Ahzaab (33) 56: Indeed, Allah confers blessing upon the Prophet, and His angels [ask Him to do so]. O you who have believed, ask [ Allah to confer] blessing upon him and ask [ Allah to grant him] peace.

اللَّهُمَّ اهْدِنا فِيمَنْ هَدَيْتَ وَعَافِنا فِيمَنْ عَافَيْتَ وَتَوَلَّنا فِيمَنْ تَوَلَّيْتَ وَبَارِكْ لنا فِيمَا أَعْطَيْتَ وَقِنا شَرَّ مَا قَضَيْتَ إِنَّكَ تَقْضِي وَلاَ يُقْضَى عَلَيْكَ وَإِنَّهُ لاَ يَذِلُّ مَنْ وَالَيْتَ تَبَارَكْتَ رَبَّنَا وَتَعَالَيْتَ

O Allah, guide us with those whom You have guided, grant us well-being among those You have granted well-being, be an ally to us along with those whom You are an ally to, and bless what You have bestowed upon us, and save us from the evil of what You have decreed.  For verily You decree and none can decree over You. He whom You support can never be humiliated. Glory is to You, our Lord, You are Blessed and Exalted.

اللَّهُمَّ إِنَّا نَسْأَلُكَ مِنَ الْخَيْرِ كُلِّهِ عَاجِلِهِ وَآجِلِهِ مَا عَلِمْنا مِنْهُ وَمَا لَمْ نَعْلَمْ وَنَعُوذُ بِكَ مِنَ الشَّرِّ كُلِّهِ عَاجِلِهِ وَآجِلِهِ مَا عَلِمْنا مِنْهُ وَمَا لَمْ نَعْلَمْ اللَّهُمَّ إِنَّا نَسْأَلُكَ مِنْ خَيْرِ مَا سَأَلَكَ عَبْدُكَ وَنَبِيُّكَ وَنَعُوذُ بِكَ مِنْ شَرِّ مَا عَاذَ بِهِ عَبْدُكَ وَنَبِيُّكَ اللَّهُمَّ إِنَّا نَسْأَلُكَ الْجَنَّةَ وَمَا قَرَّبَ إِلَيْهَا مِنْ قَوْلٍ أَوْ عَمَلٍ وَنَعُوذُ بِكَ مِنَ النَّارِ وَمَا قَرَّبَ إِلَيْهَا مِنْ قَوْلٍ أَوْ عَمَلٍ وَنَسْأَلُكَ أَنْ تَجْعَلَ كُلَّ قَضَاءٍ قَضَيْتَهُ لَنا خَيْرًا

O Allah, We ask You for all that is good, in this world and in the Hereafter, what we know and what we do not know. O Allah, we seek refuge with You from all evil, in this world and in the Hereafter, what we know and what we do not know. O Allah, we ask You for the good that Your servant and Prophet has asked You for, and we seek refuge with You from the evil from which Your servant and Prophet sought refuge. O Allah, we ask You for Paradise and for that which brings one closer to it, in word and deed, and we seek refuge in You from Hell and from that which brings one closer to it, in word and deed. And we ask You to make every decree that You decree concerning us good

 عِبَادَ اللّهِ  إِنَّ اللَّهَ يَأْمُرُ بِالْعَدْلِ وَالْإِحْسَانِ وَإِيتَاءِ ذِي الْقُرْبَىٰ وَيَنْهَىٰ عَنِ الْفَحْشَاءِ وَالْمُنكَرِ وَالْبَغْيِ  يَعِظُكُمْ لَعَلَّكُمْ تَذَكَّرُونَ

Servants of Allah. Indeed, Allah orders justice and good conduct and giving to relatives and forbids immorality and bad conduct and oppression. He admonishes you that perhaps you will be reminded. 

اُذْكُرُوا اللَّهَ الْعَظِيمَ يَذْكُرْكُمْ واشْكُرُوهُ يَزِدْكُمْ واسْتَغْفِرُوهُ يَغْفِرْ لكُمْ واتّقُوهُ يَجْعَلْ لَكُمْ مِنْ أَمْرِكُمْ مَخْرَجًا   وَأَقِمِ الصّلَاة

Remember Allah, the Great – He will remember you. Thank Him for His favors – He will increase you therein.  And seek forgiveness from Him – He will forgive you. And be conscious of Him – He will provide you a way out of difficult matters. And, establish the prayer.