Food for thought: How much do WE yearn to be with the Prophet ﷺ? How much do we miss him?
I am reminded of this very touching hadith about the Crying Tree that yearned for the presence of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ. Jabir bin Abdillah narrated: The Prophet (ﷺ) used to lean by a date-palm tree on Fridays (while delivering his khutbah / Friday sermon). One day, an Ansari woman or man offered, "O Allah's Messenger (ﷺ)! Shall we make a pulpit (mimbar) for you?"
He replied, "If you wish."
So they made a pulpit for him and when it was Friday, he therefore proceeded towards the pulpit (for delivering the sermon).
The date palm cried like a child – (to the extent that everyone in the masjid could hear the tree crying – ibn Majah)
The Prophet (ﷺ) descended (the pulpit) and embraced it while it continued weeping like a child being comforted until it is quiet.
قَالَ " كَانَتْ تَبْكِي عَلَى مَا كَانَتْ تَسْمَعُ مِنَ الذِّكْرِ عِنْدَهَا "
The Prophet (ﷺ) said, "It was crying for (missing) what it used to listen to the dzikr (Remembrance of Allah, which I delivered) near to it."
(Narrated by Al-Bukhari)
فَقَالَ " لَوْ لَمْ أَحْتَضِنْهُ لَحَنَّ إِلَى يَوْمِ الْقِيَامَةِ " .
The Prophet said, “If I had not embraced it, it would have continued to grieve until the Day of Resurrection.” (Ibn Majah)
Can we just take a moment to gush over the Prophet’s ﷺ Emotional Intelligence, so much so that he had deep empathy for the feelings of a tree: an inanimate object?
How much MORE empathy and compassion would he have had for his nation, his followers, his companions, his own family members? Especially when one considers the hadith, that “the best of you is best towards his family, and I am the best towards MY family”!
But here is the more important lesson for us: A tree crying because it "missed" the presence of Rasulullah ﷺ pronouncing the Dzikr of Allah. And it cried so loudly like a child (and in other authentic narrations, cried like a pregnant camel), a feeling of loss that was so great that the Prophet ﷺ had to COMFORT the tree, or else it would continue to grieve until the end of time! That tree would have still be crying today, 1400 years later, had it not been for the Prophet ﷺ.
How many of us miss – and yearn to be with – the Prophet ﷺ like this tree?
Or are our hearts so dead that even an inanimate object has more "life" than our souls?
Well, I got news for you: if you believe in him and his message, HE ﷺ certainly would love to meet you.
He once said, “I wish I could meet my brothers.”
The Prophet’s companions said, “Are we not your brothers?”
The Prophet said, “You are my companions, but my brothers are those who have faith in me although they never saw me.” (Ahmad)
How much love did he have for YOU that he considers YOU as his brother – or sister – and that he would love to meet you.
Here’s the great news: From the Mercy of Allah, Allah has taught us, through his noble Messenger ﷺ some specific acts and ways in which we can earn his companionship in paradise and on the Day of Judgment.
Just like we would go to great lengths to the people we love, likewise, we love him we should do acts which increases our chances to be with him.
Here are seven Acts that Allah has opened the path to companionship with the Prophet ﷺ:
1. Obeying Him
2. Nurturing true love for him
3. Taking care of orphans
4. Increasing our Nawafil (sunnah) prayers
5. Sending more Salawat Upon him
6. Inculcating good akhlaq (character and manners)
7. Making Du’aa for his companionship
It is worth highlighting as well, that to yearn to be with the Prophet ﷺ is much greater than yearning to be in his physical presence. As we all know, the Prophet ﷺ will be in Jannatul Firdaus: the highest level of Paradise.
In practice, with respect to our belief as Muslims, to be together with him ﷺ means we yearn to be at the highest level of Paradise – Jannatul Firdaus – the greatest level that any human being can ever achieve, and therefore immediately implies that we are setting our highest aspirations to get the best rewards from Allah. And this is something which the Prophet ﷺ wanted all of us to instil in us. He ﷺ said:
"Paradise has one-hundred grades which Allah has reserved for the Mujahidin who fight in His Cause, and the distance between each of two grades is like the distance between the Heaven and the Earth. So, when you ask Allah (for something), ask for Al-firdaus which is the best and highest part of Paradise."
The sub-narrator added, "I think the Prophet also said, 'Above it (i.e. Al-Firdaus) is the Throne of Beneficent (i.e. Allah), and from it originate the rivers of Paradise." (Al-Bukhari)
And here is great news for all of us: He left us with some specific instructions on HOW we can earn his companionship!
A major important point to note here is to read the following hadith with a renewed intention and optimistic hopes in our hearts: Every time we perform these deeds – or at least, strive our level best to perform them – we are consciously putting the effort, that “with this, I hope I can be united with the one I Love ﷺ”
And every time you yearn to be with him, perform one of the following deeds, or find a means to establish them as a routine habit in your daily life.
1. Obeying Him.
One of the companions confessed his deep concerns to the Prophet ﷺ:
“O Messenger of Allah! Verily, you are more beloved to me than myself, and I love you more than my own family, and I love you more than my own children!
And verily, when I return to my home, I remember you, and I cannot wait to come back and see you again. But when I think about my death, and your death, I know for sure that when you enter paradise, you will be raised amongst the company of the Prophets – and I fear that, if I enter Paradise, I will not see you (or be with you)!”
He remained silent.
Until the angel Jibril revealed the verse in surah An-Nisa, 69:
﴿وَمَن يُطِعِ اللَّهَ وَالرَّسُولَ فَأُوْلَـئِكَ مَعَ الَّذِينَ أَنْعَمَ اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِم مِّنَ النَّبِيِّينَ وَالصِّدِّيقِينَ وَالشُّهَدَآءِ وَالصَّـلِحِينَ وَحَسُنَ أُولَـئِكَ رَفِيقاً ﴾
“And whoever obeys Allah and the Messenger, then they will be in the company of those on whom Allah has bestowed His grace, of the Prophets, the true believers, the martyrs, and the righteous. And how excellent these companions are!” (Narrated by Ahmad Shakir, graded Sahih lighayrihi)
Here Allah is reassuring us, that if you obey Allah and the Messenger – regardless of the time period you live in – you will be with the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ, and in fact amongst the company of the other Prophets too!
2. Nurturing True Love for Him.
Abu Dzar said, “O Messenger of Allah! A man loves another people; however he is not able to perform deeds just like those people do”.
The Prophet ﷺ said, “O Abu Dzar, you will be with those whom you Love”
Abu Dzar said, “Well then if that is the case, verily, I love Allah and His Messenger”
The Prophet ﷺ said, “Well then if that is the case, you will be with those whom you Love”
Abu Dzar then repeated what he said, and Messenger of Allah also repeated what he said ﷺ” (Abu Daud)
“You will be with those you love?”
SubhanAllah – does that apply for ME, too?!
In another hadith, Anas bin Malik narrated: A man asked the Prophet (ﷺ) about the Hour (i.e. Day of Judgment) saying, "When will the Hour be?" The Prophet (ﷺ) said, "What have you prepared for it?" The man said, "Nothing, except that I love Allah and His Apostle."
The Prophet (ﷺ) said, "You will be with those whom you love."
But Here’s the best part – after hearing this hadith, Anas bin Malik said:
We had never been so glad as we were on hearing that saying of the Prophet (i.e., "You will be with those whom you love.").
Therefore, I love the Prophet, Abu Bakr and `Umar, and I hope that I will be with them because of my love for them though my deeds are not similar to them. (Al-Bukhari, Muslim)
3. Taking Care of Orphans.
The Prophet ﷺ said, “"I and the one who looks after an orphan will be like this in Paradise," showing his middle and index fingers and separating them. (Al-Bukhari, Muslim)
4. Increasing our Nawafil (Sunnah) prayers.
Rabi'a b. Ka'b said: I was with Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) one night. and I brought him water and what he required. He said to me: Ask (anything you like). I said: I ask your company in Paradise.
He ﷺ said: Anything Else?
I said: That is all (what I require).
He said: “Then help me to achieve this for you by increasing in your prostrations (sujod)”. (Muslim)
5. Sending More Salawat Upon Him
He ﷺ said, “ “The person closest to me on the Day of Judgement is the one who sent the most Salat upon me” (At-Tirmidzi, hasan)
6. Having Good Akhlaq
He ﷺ said, “Indeed the most beloved among you to me, and the nearest to sit with me on the Day of Judgment is the best of you in character.” (At-Tirmidzi)
7. Making Du’aa for His Companionship.
One of the best ways to obtain companionship with Rasulullah ﷺ is to simply ASK Allah in du’aa (supplication) to be united with him
Although there aren’t necessarily any specific du’aa that are recommended, perhaps one du’aa that we can recite was that made by Abdullah ibn Mas’ud
One day in the Masjid of the Prophet ﷺ ibn Mas’ood (radi Allahu anhu) was praying while the Prophet ﷺ was sitting with Abu Bakr and Umar.
He said referring to ibn Mas’ood, “Ask, and you will be given!”
The next day, Abu Bakr met ibn Mas’ood to give him the glad tidings of what the Prophet ﷺ said of him. They asked him what du’aa he made and he replied:
اللَّهُمَّ إنِّي أسأَلُكَ إيمانًا لا يرتَدُّ، ونَعيمًا لا ينفَدُ، ومُرافقةَ النَّبيِّ صلَّى اللهُ عليه وسلَّمَ، في أَعلى غُرَفِ الجنَّةِ، جنَّةِ الخُلدِ
"O Allah, I ask you for firm faith that does not revert, and bliss that never ends, and then companionship of Muhammad at the highest (level) of eternal Paradise."
(Ahmad)
Generally speaking, we can also make du’aa for Allah to grant us Jannatul Firdaus – as this will automatically imply we obtain companionship with the Prophet ﷺ there.
May Allah grant us steadfastness to perform these acts, and may He unite us and our family members in the company of our beloved Prophet Muhammad ﷺ in the highest levels of Paradise 🤲🏽
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