Bismillahir-Rahmanir-Rahim. Dear respected elders, fellow students, and honoured guests. Assalamualaykum wa rahmatullahi wa barakatuh.

Alhamdulillah, I would like to start off our presentation, with a Salawaat by the Arif billah: al-Habib Ahmad Mashhur bin Taha al Haddad (naanAllahu bih). Bismillahir-Rahmanir-Rahim Allahumma salli wa sallim ala Sayyidina Muhammad Habibir-Rahmaan Wa durratil akwaan Al haadiri maa man sallaa alayhi fee kulli zamaanin wa makaan Wa ala Aalihi wa Sahbihi wa Tabieehim bi ihsaan.

The English translation of this beautiful salawaat is as follows: O Allah! Bestow blessings and peace on Sayyiduna Muhammad, The beloved of the Beneficent, And the most precious in all creation, Who is present with whoever sends blessings on him - in every age and place, And on his family and companions and good followers. Amin

This salawaat is usually seen with six other salawaat that were composed by al-Habib. Shaykh Muhammad Saadiq has mentioned that these salawat were inspired to al-Habib from Allah subhana huwa taala Himself.

Opening Remarks Alhamdulillah, by Allahs grace, we are here today representing Madrasa Riyada. Wed like to thank the administration at Masjid Noorul Haram, the organisers, and all of you for allowing us to be here today, and for making todays program very special. We pray that Allah rewards you and your families with the best of rewards. Amin.

Introduction to Topic Today wed like to talk about Respect for Rasulullah (sallAllahu alayhi wa sallam). Allah (subhana huwa taala) says in the Majestic Quran, Very, We have sent you (O Muhammad) as a witness, as a bearer of glad tidings, and as a warner. In order that you (O mankind) may believe in Allah and His Messenger and that you assist and honour him, and that you glorify (Allahs) praises morning and afternoon. (48:89) Allah (subhana huwa taala) also says in the Majestic Quran, O you who believe, do not advance before Allah and His Messenger. And fear Allah. Very Allah is All-Hearing, All-Knowing. O you who believe! Raise not your voices above the voice of the Prophet, nor speak aloud to him in talk as you speak aloud to one another, lest your deeds should be rendered fruitless while you perceive not. (49:1-2) Allah (subhana huwa taala) also says in Majestic Quran, Make not the calling of the Messenger among you as your calling one another... (24:63)

So its very clear, that Allah (subhana huwa taala) has made it obligatory on all of the Muslims, to show respect to Rasulullah (sallAllahu alayhi wa sallam). The Sahabas (radiyAllahu anhum), loved him more than they loved anyone else. They were in such awe of him that some of them wouldnt even raise their eyes to stare at him

It has been stated that those sitting around the Prophet (sallAllahu alayhi wa sallam) bowed their heads as if there were birds on top of them. When he performed wudu, they ran to get his left over wudu water They ran to collect his hair when it was being shaved They lowered their voices in his presence They composed verses of poetry in his honour They prayed for him abundantly Allahumma salli wa sallim wa baarik alayh.

Once, the Prophet (sallAllahu alayhi wa sallam) sent Hazrat Uthman (radiyAllahu anhu) as an envoy to the Quraysh, and they gave him permission to do tawaf around the Kaba, but he refused and said, I will not do it until the Messenger of Allah does (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam). Some of the Sahabas (radiyAllahu anhum) would knock on his door with their fingernails Al-Bara ibn Azib said, I wanted to ask the Messenger of Allah about something but waited for years out of awe of him.

All of these things and more the Sahabas did out of love and respect for Rasulullah (sallAllahu alayhi wa sallam). May Allah be pleased with all of them. But showing respect to the Prophet (sallAllahu alayhi wa sallam) does not just pertain to the time before he passed away. It also means showing respect to him even after he passed away.

We must show respect whenever the Prophet, his hadith, his sunna or his family are mentioned and we should pray for him sallAllahu alayhi wa sallim We should sit still and silent when the Prophets hadiths are being mentioned The Salaf would weep when they heard him mentioned And they would not relate one of his hadith while reclining, in fact many of them would only relate hadiths or write down the hadiths while in a state of Tahaara or Ritual Purity.

Abdullah ibn al-Mubarak said, I was with (Imam) Malik when he was te aching us hadith. A scorpion stung him sixteen times. He changed colour and grew quite pale, but did not interrupt the hadiths of the Messenger of Allah. When he finished and the people had departed, I said to him, Abu Abdullah! I saw you do something extraordinary today! He said, Yes, I endured it out of respect for the Messenger of Allah. SallAllahu alayhi wa sallam.

Respecting the Prophet (sallAllahu alayhi wa sallam) goes beyond the respect we owe to him directly. Part of respecting him, means respecting his Family, Descendents and Wives. May Allah be pleased with them. Allah says in the Majestic Quran, ... Allah wants to remove impurity from you, people of the House, and to purify you with a thorough purification. (33:33) And Allah also says in the Majestic Quran: The Prophet is closer to the believers than their own selves, and shs wives are their mothers... (33:6) The Prophet sallAllahu alayhi wa sallam said, I am leaving you something, taking hold of which will prevent from going astray: The Book of Allah and my family, the People of my House. So take care how you follow me regarding them. Alhamdulillah. We should love them, and pray for them. And we should recognise their relation to the Prophet (sallAllahu alayhi wa sallam) and give them their due rights and respect. Hazrat Abu Bakr (radiyAllahu anhu) said, Respect Muhammad, by respecting the People of his House. The Sahabas used to show great honour and respect for the Household of the Prophet during his lifetime and after his death they loved the Family of the Prophet more than they loved their own families

Hazrat Abu Bakr (radiyAllahu anhu said, By the One who has my soul in His hand, the near kin of the Messenger of Allah are dearer to me than my own kinsfolk.

The righteous people have shown great respect to the descendants of the Prophet

It is related that Abdullah ibn Hasan ibn Husayn said, I came to Umar ibn Abdul Aziz when I was in need of something and he said, If you have a need, then send for me or write to me. I am ashamed before Allah to see you at my door.

Part of respecting the Prophet (sallAllahu alayhi wa sallam) means respecting his Sahabas radiyAllahu anhum ajmaeen. Allah subhana huwa taala says in the Majestic Quran, Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah, and those who are with him are hard against the unbelievers, merciful among themselves (48:29) The Prophet (sallAllahu alayhi wa sallam) said: My Companions are like stars. Whichever of them you follow, you will be guided. So we must respect his Sahabas radiyAllahu anhum. We should follow them, praise them, and pray for them (radiyAllahu anhum ajmaeen) We should mention their good deeds, their virtues, and their praiseworthy lives and be silent about anything else

We should recognise some of the great ranks that the Sahabas hold such as: o o o o o o The Four Rightly Guided Khalifas The Ahlul Bayt The 10 Sahabas who were promised Jannah Those who fought in the battles of Badr and Uhud The Ansar and the Muhajireen And so on

Part of our respect for the Messenger of Allah (sallAllahu alayhi wa sallam) is respecting the things and places connected with him.

We should honour places such as Makka and Madina or anywhere that the Prophet touched or that are known through him We should respect these places, where the ayahs of the Majestic Quran were revealed, studied, and acted upon. The masaajid in which the prayer was done, the places that witnessed virtues and good deeds, the different stations of the Hajj, and the stopping places of the Master of the Messengers: Prophet Muhammad (sallAllahu alayhi wa sallam)

These are the places that his blessed feet and blessed hands touched We should honour places that the Prophet prayed for We should show respect to his blessed hair, his sword, his bow, his minbar, his grave, and so on

The Sahabas and the Salaf showed great respect for things connected with the Prophet (sallAllahu alayhi wa sallam). Imam Malik did not ride an animal in Madina. He used to say, I am too shy before Allah to trample with an animals hoof on the earth where the Messenger of Allah (sallAllahu alayhi wa sallam) is buried. Ahmad ibn Fadluwayh, the ascetic and mighty archer, said, I only touch a bow with my hand when I am in a state of purity since I heard that the Prophet took a bow in his hand. (sallAllahu alayhi wa sallam)

One of the greatest blessings of Islam, is that we are connected to the Prophet Muhammad sallAllahu alayhi wa sallam. And that we can give our thanks to Allah for connecting us with His greatest creation His Beloved Rasulullah (sallAllahu alayhi wa sallam). We can never give Rasulullah the respect he deserves, but it is an honour for us to be able to show him even the slightest respect. Allahumma salli wa sallim alayh. Respecting him means respecting him both before and after his passing away Respecting his Family, Wives, and Descendents Respecting his Companions And respecting the places and things connected to him

Wed like to thank you for listening to our presentation. We pray that Allah subhana huwa taala accepts this wonderful Majlis today and that He accepts everyones efforts. And wed like to conclude with Nasheed one that honours the Ahlul Bat the Family of Rasulullah (sallAllahu alayhi wa sallam). And we encourage all of you to join in on the response which goes like this: