By Sheikh Saleh al-Talib – 17 Muharram 1437

His Eminence Sheikh Saleh al-Talib –May Allah protect him– delivered this Friday Khutbah titled “Faithfulness: One of the noble characters of the Prophet (May Allah’s Salat and Peace be upon him)”in which he talked about the Prophet’s ‒May Allah’s Salat and Peace be upon him– nobility of character, with special reference to faithfulness. On the basis of the Prophet’s biography, the Sheikh cited examples of his faithfulness ‒May Allah’s Salat and Peace be upon him– vis-à-vis his wives, daughters, Companions, Al-Ansar, and even the polytheists and the prisoners of war. He also exhorted Muslims to uphold this noble character and warned against treachery and perfidy, which are among the characteristics of the hypocrites.

Praise be to Allah Almighty! We praise Him, ask Him for help and seek His forgiveness. We seek refuge in Allah from the evils of ourselves and from our sinful deeds. He whom Allah guides, no one can lead astray, and Hewhom He misguides, no one else can guide him. I bear witness that there is no deity except Allah alone with no associate, and I bear witness that Muhammad is His Servant and Messenger. May Allah send His Salat, (Graces, Honours, Mercy) Peace and Blessing upon him, his kind and virtuous family, his righteous and pious Companions and the Tabi’in (the contemporaries of his Companions after his death) and all those who follow in their footsteps until Judgement Day!

Now then,

The best discourse is the Book of Allah, and the best guidance is Muhammad’s ‒May Allah’s Salat and Peace be upon him. The worst of all things are innovations (in religion); every innovation is a Bid’ah (heresy) and every bid’ah is misguidance.

Adhere to Taqwa (fear of disobeying Allah), submit to Almighty Allah and never disobey Him.

“O You who Believe! Fear Allâh (by doing all that He has ordered and by abstaining from all that He has forbidden) as He should be feared. [Obey Him, be thankful to Him, and remember Him always], and die not except in a state of Islâm (as Muslims) with complete submission to Allâh.” [Al Imran: 102]

O Allah! Please make our slips very few, forgive our sins, and with your Clemency pardon the ignorance of he who asks none but You! You are All-Forgiving. A sinner has no escape from his sin except to You.

O Servants of Allah!

The Messenger of Allah, Muhammad ‒May Allah’s Salat and Peace be upon him‒ is the only person to be really great. Every great figure has a skeleton in the closet –a secret that he does his utmost to keep under wraps. This is not so with Prophet Muhammad ‒May Allah’s Salat and Peace be upon him! He made his whole life an open book for all to read; there is not a single page closed, not a single line blotted out. It is open to the public to read from it whatever they want to.He alone permitted his Companions to disseminate and relay all they knew about him, so they narrated everything they witnessed about him.

O Servants of Allah!

Among his great moral qualities conveyed by his Companions is faithfulness which, in its broad sense, means fulfilling one’s duties, rewarding good deeds, maintaining love and honouring pledges. The Prophet ‒May Allah’s Salat and Peace be upon him‒ excelled in this respect and has neither competitor nor peer.

His noble character‒May Allah’s Salat and Peace be upon him‒ is faithfulness. He is faithful to his Lord. Unrivalled in worshiping Allah, the Messenger of Allah‒May Allah’s Salat and Peace be upon him‒ fulfilled all his worshiping duties vis-à-vis Allah as did Ibrahim –Peace be upon him‒ whom the Qur’an described thus:

“And of Ibrâhim (Abraham) who fulfilled (or conveyed) all that (what Allâh ordered him to do or convey),”[Al-Najm: 37]

He‒May Allah’s Salat and Peace be upon him‒ used to say: “I swear to Allah that I am the most pious and the most fearful vis-à-vis Allah.” When he stood for prayer, the Messenger of Allah‒May Allah’s Salat and Peace be upon him‒ used to lengthen it till his feet swelled and cracked(with fatigue). “O Messenger of Allah!” ‘Aisha would tell him, “Why are you doing this to yourself? Has not Allah forgiven you all your past and future sins?” “O ‘Aisha!” he would answer, “Shouldn’t I be a thankful servant?” [Narrated by Imam Muslim; it is also mentioned in the two Sahihs(books) quoting al-Mughirah ‒May Allah be pleased with him. He‒May Allah’s Salat and Peace be upon him‒ used to ask Allah for forgiveness and to repent to Him a hundred times a day.

Fulfilling one’s duties towards one’s parents and being good and dutiful to them as they raised him and took good care of him during infancy are epitomes of faithfulness par excellence and this becomes all the more pronounced when the parents are aged and feeble.

After their death, being faithful to them continues through praying Allah for them and giving alms on their behalf.

Faithfulness is one of the moral qualities of the Prophet ‒May Allah’s Salat and Peace be upon him. Quoting Abu Hurairah ‒May Allah be pleased with him‒Imam Muslim narrated that the Prophet ‒May Allah’s Salat and Peace be upon him‒ visited his mother’s grave; he cried and made everyone else around him cry. He said: “I asked Allah for permission to supplicate Him to grant her forgiveness, but my supplication was declined. I supplicated Him to permit me to visit her grave, and permission was granted. Go and visit the graves; they do remind you of death.”

Faithfulness is one of his moral qualities‒May Allah’s Salat and Peace be upon him. It is mentioned in the two Sahihs that Al-Abbas Ibn Abdul Muttalib–May Allah be pleased with him– said, “O Messenger of Allah! Have you done Abu Talib any good turn? He used to protect you and support you?” “He is in a shallow area of the hellfire,” he answered. “Had it not been for me, he would have been in the deepest deck of the hellfire,” he concluded.

Faithfulness to his wives is one of the moralqualities of the Prophet ‒May Allah’s Salat and Peace be upon him. The most benevolent among you is the most benevolent to his family. “I have never felt jealous of any of the Prophet’s wives,” said Aisha‒May Allah be pleased with her‒ “as I did of Khadija, though I never saw her. The Prophet ‒May Allah’s Salat and Peace be upon him‒used to mention her very often that he would slaughter a sheep, chopit into pieces and then give it in charity for her.” “It was as if Khadija were the only woman in the world,” I would say to him. “She was so and so; and she gave me children,” he would answer. “I was given her love,” he would continue.

Aisha ‒May Allah be pleased with her‒ is quoted in the two Sahihs as saying: “Halah bint Khuwailid –Khadija’s sister– requested an audience with the Prophet ‒May Allah’s Salat and Peace be upon him‒ and he recognized Khadija’s request, which gave him comfort (another version says, ‘which alarmed him’) and he said, ‘O Allah! It is Halah!”

On the Day of Badr, al-‘As ibn al-Rabi’ was taken prisoner, and Makkans sent ransom to set their prisoners free. To pay for her husband’s freedom, Zainab, the Prophet’s daughter, sent money and a necklace which was Khadijah’s wedding gift to her. Looking at the necklace, the Prophet was deeply touched and he remembered his early days (with Khadijah). His yearnings welled in his heart and said, “If you would like to free her prisoner and return to her what is rightfully hers, then do.” “Yes, Messenger of Allah!” they answered.

Faithfulness to his in-laws and blood relatives is one of hismoralqualities‒May Allah’s Salat and Peace be upon him. He exhorted his Companions to treat Egyptians well. Abu Dhar was quoted in Sahih Muslim as saying that the Prophet ‒May Allah’s Salat and Peace be upon him‒ said, “You are going to conquer Egypt. When you do, be good to its people; they are under your protection and they are your blood relatives (or he said ‘in laws’).”

Faithfulness is one of his moral qualities‒May Allah’s Salat and Peace be upon him. After fighting Hawazin (an Arab tribe), many women were taken prisoners. The wet nurses of the Messenger of Allah‒May Allah’s Salat and Peace be upon him‒ belonged to Hawazin, so when a delegation of the vanquished tribe pleaded with the Messenger of Allah that among the prisoners were his foster mothers and aunts and begged him to set them free, the Prophet ‒May Allah’s Salat and Peace be upon him‒ freed six thousand boys and women. When his foster sister –Shayma’– came to see him, he spread his cloak for her, invited her to sit down with him and gave her presents.

Faithfulness to his Companions is yet another of his moral qualities‒May Allah’s Salat and Peace be upon him. He always acknowledged their efforts, prohibited calling them names, and elevated their status especially that of Abu Bakr Al-Siddiq who was with him in the cave.

Abu Al-Darda’ –May Allah be pleased with him‒ narrated, “I was sitting with the Prophet ‒May Allah’s Salat and Peace be upon him‒when Abu Bakr came holding the edge of his Thaub which left his knee uncovered. The Prophet ‒May Allah’s Salat and Peace be upon him‒said, ‘Your friend has got involved in a dispute.’ Abu Bakr greeted us and said, “There was a problem between Omar and me and I seem to have offended him. I regretted what I did and went to apologize to him, but he turned me down, so I came to you.’ The Prophet said, ‘May Allah forgive you, AbuBakr; ‘May Allah forgive you, Abu Bakr; ‘May Allah forgive you, AbuBakr (three times).”

Later Omar also was sorry and came to see AbuBakr at his home. “Is Abu Bakr home?” Omar asked. “No,” his family said. So Omar came to the Prophet ‒May Allah’s Salat and Peace be upon him‒and greeted him. The face of the Prophet ‒May Allah’s Salat and Peace be upon him‒defined anger. Apprehensive as he was, Abu Bakr fell on his knees and said, ‘I swear by Allah that my fault outweighs his; I swear by Allah that my fault outweighs his (twice). The Prophet ‒May Allah’s Salat and Peace be upon him‒said, “Allah sent me to you, but you called me a liar;however, Abu Bakr said ‘He was telling the truth.’ He gave me support and solace with money and with himself. Won’t you leave my friend alone? Won’t you leave my friend alone (twice)?’ Abu Al-Darda’ said, ‘Abu Bakr was never harassed after that’.”

During his last illness which soon after resulted in his death, the Prophet ‒May Allah’s Salat and Peace be upon him‒ sat on the mimbar with a piece of cloth tied around his head.

He praised and thanked Allah and said: “Nobody has been more generous to me, both by himself and his money, than Abu Bakr Ibn Abi Quhafah. If I were to choose a close friend, I would choose Abu Bakr. But the friendship of Islam is better. Lock every Khawkhah (small door) to this mosque except that of Abu Bakr.”Scholars said:“That was a hint to the caliphate of Abu Bakr after the Prophet’s demise. He gave him access to the mosque because he would be the Caliph and Imam.”

On the Day of Hunain, the Prophet ‒May Allah’s Salat and Peace be upon him‒ distributed the spoils and gave al-Ansar nothing, which displeased them. The Prophet ‒May Allah’s Salat and Peace be upon him‒ said, “O you Ansar! Are you disappointed because I gave trifling worldly objects (from the spoils)to those people in the hope that they may convert to Islam knowing that I have full confidence in your Islam? Aren’t you happy to see people leave with sheep and camels while you return with the Messenger of Allah? I swear by Allah that had it not been for al-hijra (the migration), I would have been one of al-Ansar: if all people chose to follow one route and al-Ansar chose to follow another, I would choose to follow al-Ansar’s. O Allah! Have mercy on al-Ansar, their children and grandchildren!” People cried then until their tears wet their beards, and said: “We accept the Messenger of Allah as our share and luck.” [Narrated by Imam Ahmad, but it is originally in the two Sahihs (books).

Faithfulness is one of his moral qualities ‒May Allah’s Salat and Peace be upon him. He was loyal to his Ummah, for he conveyed to them the revelation of the Qur’an, and left them in hold of a crystal clear way:

“Verily, there has come unto you a Messenger (Muhammad Sallallahu Alayhi Wa Sallam) from amongst yourselves (i.e. whom you know well). It grieves him that you should receive any injury or difficulty. He (Muhammad Sallallahu Alayhi Wa Sallam) is anxious over you (to be rightly guided, to repent to Allâh, and beg Him to pardon and forgive your sins, in order that you may enter Paradise and be saved from the punishment of the Hell-fire), for the believers (he Sallallahu Alayhi Wa Sallam is) full of pity, kind, and merciful.[Al- Tawbah: 128]

He would leave many observances for fear of being too hard for his Ummah: “Were it not for fear that it would be hard for my Ummah, I would have ordered them to do so and so…”

It was narrated by Muslim from Abdullah Ibn Amruibn Al-‘As ‒May Allah be pleased with him‒ that the Prophet ‒May Allah’s Salat and Peace be upon him‒ recited what Allah ‒to Whom belong Might and Majesty‒ said about Ibrahim (Abraham):

“O My Lord! They have indeed led astray many among mankind. But whoso follows me, he verily is of me.”[Ibrahim: 36]

‘Isa (Jesus) ‒Peace be upon him‒ said: “If You punish them, they are Your slaves, and if You forgive them, verily You, only You are the AllMighty, the AllWise.”[Al-Ma’idah: 118]

The Prophet‒May Allah’s Salat and Peace be upon him‒ raised his hands in supplication and said: “O Allah! My Ummah, my Ummah”, and he cried. Allah ‒May He be exalted‒ said: “O Gibreel (Gabriel)! Go to Muhammad and say: ‘We will satisfy you in Our dealing with your Ummah and We will not displease you.”May Allah send His Salat and Peace upon His noble Messenger!

“Verily, there has come unto you a Messenger (Muhammad Sallallahu Alayhi Wa Sallam) from amongst yourselves (i.e. whom you know well). It grieves him that you should receive any injury or difficulty. He (Muhammad Sallallahu Alayhi Wa Sallam) is anxious over you (to be rightly guided, to repent to Allâh, and beg Him to pardon and forgive your sins, in order that you may enter Paradise and be saved from the punishment of the Hell-fire), for the believers (he Sallallahu Alayhi Wa Sallam is) full of pity, kind, and merciful.[Al- Tawbah: 128]

May Allah bless me and you with the Holy Qur’an and the Sunnah, and may He grant us benefit from the verses and wisdom they contain. I say what I have just said and ask Allah the Almighty to forgive you and me.