REPUBLIKA.CO.ID, JAKARTA — Loving the Prophet Muhammad is part of the faith of a Muslim, because the Prophet is the messenger of Allah. Therefore, a Muslim should not love another by exceeding his love for the Messenger of Allah.
The leader of the Messenger of Allah, Habib Nabiel Al-Musawa, explained that loving the Messenger of Allah is proof of a Muslim's faith in Allah. This is due to the fact that the Prophet Muhammad was the most successful messenger in spreading the teachings of Islam.
“For this reason, we must love the Messenger of Allah. What's the way like? We follow the Sunnah, we practice prayer, we follow the example of the Prophet,” Habib Nabiel said in a recent live-streamed study.
The glory and particularity of the Prophet is enshrined in the Quran Surah Ali Imran verse 144, Allah believes:
وَمَا مُحَمَّدٌ إِلَّا رَسُولٌ قَدْ خَلَتْ مِن قَبْلِهِ ٱلرُّسُلُ ۚ أَفَإِي۟ن مَّاتَ أَوْ قُتِلَ ٱنقَلَبْتُمْ عَلَىٰٓ أَعْقَٰبِكُمْ ۚ وَمَن يَنقَلِبْ عَلَىٰ عَقِبَيْهِ فَلَن يَضُرَّ ٱللَّهَ شَيْـًٔا ۗ وَسَيَجْزِى ٱللَّهُ ٱلشَّٰكِرِينَ
Wa maa Muhammadun illa Rasulun qad khalat min qablihi ar-rusulu, afa in aw qutila-nqalabtum ala a'qaabikum wa man yanqalib ala aqibihi falan yadhurrullaha shai-an wa sayajzilam wa man yanqalib ala aqibihi falan yadhurrullaha shai-an wa sayajzilah lahu as-syaakirina.
Which means: “Muhammad was nothing but an Apostle; indeed, some Apostles have passed before. If he dies or is killed, do you turn back (apostasy)? Whoever turns back will not be able to bring peace to Allah in the slightest. And Allah will reward those who are grateful.”
The Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) corrected Umar's Sayyidina. The Prophet's correction against him was to declare that Sayyidina Umar's faith was true when his love for the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) was even greater than himself.
“For when we defend the Prophet, it includes giving thanks for the mercy of Allah. Because loving the Prophet is part of our faith, it is not even perfect our faith if we love others more than our love for the Prophet,” said Habib Nabiel.