[safah]

Due to their strengthened love and genuine closeness, those who have faith love all of Allah’s creations and see the manifestation of His attributes in every creation. As the Qur’an declares: "Your friend is only Allah, His messenger, and those who believe: those who perform prayer, give alms, and bow [in prayer]" (Surat al-Ma’ida, 55). Therefore, those who have faith harbor a deep respectful love toward sincere believers as well as His prophets, all of whom He sent to guide humanity to the true path. Prophets are role models of the Qur’an’s morality, and serve as examples of superior faith and superior morals. Allah says: “You have an excellent model in the messenger of Allah, for all who put their hope in Allah and the Last Day and remember Allah much” (Surat al-Ahzab, 21). Our Prophet’s (saas) life and morals contain many beautiful examples and wisdom for the believers, such as his deep loyalty to Allah, piety, patience, tenderness, compassion, intelligence, bravery, cleanliness, mercy and fidelity to Allah.

Prophet Muhammad (saas) has reminded us of the importance of loving Allah and His messengers, as follows:

None of you believes until I [the Messenger of Allah] am dearer to him than his father, his child, and all of humanity. (Sahih Bukhari and Sahih Muslim)

Anas (ra) narrates that: “Allah’s Messenger (saas) said: ‘Whoever has the following three qualities will have the sweetness of faith: The one who loves Allah and His Messenger (saas) more than anything else; the one who loves a person purely and solely for Allah’s sake; and the one who hates to return to unbelief after Allah has saved him, as he would hate to be thrown into the Fire.”(Sahih Bukhari and Sahih Muslim)


Allah showed great kindness to the believers when He sent a messenger to them from among themselves. (Surah Al ‘Imran, 164)

All of Allah’s prophets and messengers, who were selected by Allah, have earned our Lord’s good pleasure and have superior morals. In the Qur’an, Allah gives examples of their beautiful morals and mentions them with praise. Our Prophet (saas), Prophet Musa (as), Prophet ‘Isa (as), Prophet Ibrahim (as), Prophet Harun (as), Prophet Yahya (as), Prophet Yusuf (as), Prophet Yunus (as), Prophet Ya‘qub (as), Prophet Isma‘il (as), Prophet Sulayman (as), Prophet Dawud (as), and all other prophets and messengers have all been fine role models of sincere faith in Allah, respectful fear, piety, and beautiful morals. Through these exalted people, who used the Qur’an as a guide, believers learned of their splendid characteristics and have sought to reach the same level of morality so that they also may earn His good pleasure and join them in Paradise. Therefore, they strive to excel in adhering to the limits that He has set for humanity and to fulfill their obligation to Him. The believers’ profound love for the prophets shows their understanding of love. Their love for other people stems from their faith, good morals, and piety. To know a person’s such characteristics, even if you never meet that person, serves as a means for that person to be profoundly and enthusiastically loved.

Even if those who possess faith never see, meet, or come into contact, they will feel an internal love, respect, and a binding closeness to Allah’s messengers. Allah sent all of the prophets as a mercy, and the fact that He mentions with love and praise in many verses heightens the believers’ love for them. Those believers always mention Allah’s prophets and messengers with respect, love, and praise, and always keep them in front of and above themselves. At every opportunity, they tell people of these great people’s submission to Allah, their closeness, love, and good morals, and call others to emulate the path of the prophets.



We made them leaders, guiding by Our command; revealed to them how to do good actions, perform prayer,
give alms; and they worshipped Us. (Surat al-Anbiya’, 73)

Allah reveals the believers’ love for the prophets and informs us that they always put the prophets ahead of themselves:

The Prophet has a greater claim on the believers than they have on themselves; his wives are [as] their mothers; and blood relations have the better claim in respect of one to the other, according to the Book of Allah, than other believers and the emigrants, except that you should act in a proper manner toward your close associates. That is inscribed in the Book. (Surat al-Ahzab, 6)


Allah is pleased with them, and they are pleased with Him. (Surat al-Mujadala, 22)

Many verses relate the prophets’ good morals and superior characteristics. Some of these are given below:

And left the later people saying of him: “Peace be upon Ibrahim.” That is how We recompense good-doers. He truly was one of Our believing servants. We gave him the good news of Ishaq, a prophet, one of the believers. We showered blessings upon him and Ishaq. Among their descendants are good-doers and also people who clearly wrong themselves. (Surat as-Saffat, 108-13)

And left the later people saying of them: “Peace be upon Musa and Harun.” That is how We recompense good-doers. They truly were among Our servants who believe. (Surat as-Saffat, 119-22)

We left the later people saying of him: “Peace be upon the family of Ilyas.” That is how We recompense good-doers. He truly was one of Our servants who believe. (Surat as-Saffat, 129-32)

We gave him Ishaq and Ya‘qub, each of whom We guided. And before him We had guided Nuh. And among his descendants were Dawud and Sulayman, Ayyub and Yusuf, Musa and Harun. That is how We recompense the good-doers. And Zakariyya and Yahya, ‘Isa and Ilyas. All of them were among the believers. And Isma‘il and al-Yasa’, Yunus and Lut. All of them We favored over all beings. And some of their forebears, descendants, and brothers; We chose them and guided them to a straight path. (Surat al-An‘am, 84-87)

In the Qur’an, Allah sends His salutations to the messengers:

And peace be upon the messengers. And praise be to Allah, the Lord of all the worlds. (Surat as-Saffat, 181-82)

Prophets are Allah’s most loved people, His closest friends, and the most pious believers. As a result, they are also the believers’ most dearly loved ones. They manifest this love, in turn, by sending salutations to them (as in the verses given above), following their path, and adopting their morals.



THOSE WHO LOVE ALLAH ALSO LOVE THE BELIEVERS

Those who are loved by Allah are also loved by believers; those who befriend Allah also befriend the believers; those who earn His good pleasure also earn that of the believers; and whoever loves Allah should also love His servants. Those pious believers who follow His path are among those people most loved by Allah. For this reason, believers love one another and are very concerned about each other. Many verses relate the believers’ love for one another, their closeness to each other, their mercy to each other and their attachment to each other. Some of these verses are as follows:

Restrain yourself patiently with those who call on their Lord morning and evening, desiring His face. Do not turn your eyes from them, desiring the attractions of this world. And do not obey someone whose heart We have made neglectful of Our remembrance, who follows his own whims and desires, and whose life has transgressed all bounds. (Surat al-Kahf, 28)

Allah loves those who fight in His way in ranks like well-built walls. (Surat as-Saff, 4)

Hold fast to the rope of Allah all together, and do not separate. Remember Allah’s blessing to you when you were enemies and He joined your hearts together so that you became brothers by His blessing. You were on the very brink of a pit of the Fire, and He rescued you from it. In this way Allah makes His signs clear to you, so that, hopefully, you will be guided. (Surah Al ‘Imran, 103)

Believing men and women are friends of one another. They command what is right and forbid what is wrong, perform prayer and give alms, and obey Allah and His messenger. (Surat at-Tawba, 71)

Those who believe and have emigrated and striven with their wealth and themselves in the way of Allah, and those who have given refuge and help, they are the friends and protectors of one another. (Surat al-Anfal, 72)