Love in the truest sense
Devotion to Prophets is one of the basic creeds of Islamic faith. And an infinite and unconditional love for Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) is the pillar of one’s belief in his Risalat (prophethood). Significantly, just as Tawheed (oneness of God) is the basic tenet, Khatm-e-Nabuwwat (finality of prophethood) is the cornerstone of Islam. Therefore, Muslims of all denominations hold the last Prophet (pbuh) in the highest esteem. It can be deeply felt in an Urdu couplet of the poetphilosopher Allama Iqbal, who wrote in his celebrated “Jawab-e-Shikwa”:
“Ki Mohammed Se Wafa Tune, To Hum Tere Hain, Yeh Jahan Kya Cheez Hai Loh-O-Qalam Tere Hain.”
(We are yours only with your loyalty towards Prophet Muhammad. Let alone this universe, even the tablet and the pen are yours.)
In fact, showing veneration to the Prophet’s holiness is reckoned as the foundation of Islamic mysticism (tasawwuf). Jalaluddin Rumi, the Turkish whirling dervish, was so engrossed in an unconditional love for the Prophet that he saw him in a pious dream and said: “There has never been a beauty like that of Prophet Muhammad in this world or the next. May the glory of God help him!”
Rumi devoted the entire Masnavi, his masterpiece, popularly called “the Persian Qur’an” to the exaltation of the Prophet (pbuh). Another Persian Sufi poet and writer of sizeable mystical literature, Jaami, was so deeply in love with the Prophet that he would compose poems for his holiness to comfort his heartache. As a matter of fact, this degree of love for the Prophet, which is an integral part of the divine path, is enunciated in the Qur’an: “Say, (O Muhammad), if you should love Allah, then follow me, (so) Allah will love you and forgive you your sins. And Allah is forgiving and merciful.” (3:31)
Thus, the Qur’an categorically asked the Prophet himself to enjoin his companions in the maximum exaltation, love and respect for his holiness and be cautious in this, to the extent of not even lowering their voices, as mentioned in another verse.
Ghulam Rasool Dehlvi is a Delhi-based writer. He can be contacted at:
grdehlavi@gmail.com