Visiting the Messenger of Allah (2)

Medina is a Sanctuary

Upon reaching the Lightened City, we also find that the Masjid of the Messenger of Allah (may Allah bless him and grant him peace), or the Sanctuary of Medina, has its restrictions same as the Meccan Sanctuary. In the Sanctuary of Medina no contraventions are committed, no hunting of birds, or driving games out of the boundaries of Medina to hunt them. It is also prohibited to cut trees, even if thorny. The Messenger of Allah (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) said, “Verily, Ibrahim (Abraham, peace be upon him) made Mecca a sanctuary, and I made Medina a sanctuary.”

The Messenger of Allah (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) does not speak of his own desire. He alone among all the Prophets was sanctioned to legislate for people. Allah, The Most Exalted, says (what means):

“And whatsoever the Messenger (Muhammad) gives you, take it, and whatsoever he forbids you, abstain (from it).” (Surah Al-Hashr, 59, 7)

Allah, all praise and glory be to Him, has entrusted His Messenger (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) with the duty of legislating for people.

The Sanctuary in Medina lies between two of its dark stony grounds (i.e., two mountains) that serve to define its boundaries. One of the two is located near the Miqat [The place where pilgrims declare their intentions to perform Hajj or ‘Umrah and assume the state of Ihram] at Abar ‘Ali, and the next at the other side. Whoever is present between these two signs, is inside the Sanctuary of Medina, and must guard the same discipline observed in the Meccan Sanctuary.

The greeting you give when you enter the Sacred Masjid in Mecca is to perform Tawaf around the Ka’bah. In the Masjid of the Prophet (may Allah bless him and grant him peace), the greeting is expressed in offering the two-rak’ah prayer of saluting a Masjid [A two-rak’ah prayer offered as a salutation upon entering a Masjid. A rak‘ah is a set of actions that begins with recitation and ends with prostration. It consists of one Bowing and two prostrations with a Sitting in between]. After the salutation one begins his visit to the Messenger (may Allah bless him and grant him peace); a visit full of respect and reverence, where you recall the greatness of the Messenger of Allah (may Allah bless him and grant him peace), and his highly esteemed place to his Lord. Then, you head towards the compartment, which is the place where the Messenger of Allah (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) is buried. There you stand and salute him saying, ‘Peace be upon you, O Messenger of Allah,’ then you salute his two Companions Abu Bakr and ‘Umar (may Allah be pleased with them), who are buried beside the Messenger of Allah (may Allah bless him and grant him peace).

We are commanded to salute all who died. On passing by the cemetery we should say, ‘Peace be upon you abodes of believing people. You preceded and we surely by the Will of Allah shall follow you.’

If the salutation that the dead receive does not excite an emotional reaction, it would be vain. If this were the case with normal human beings, then how would it be with the Messenger of Allah (may Allah bless him and grant him peace)?

The Messenger of Allah (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) called upon those killed from amongst the disbelievers in the first battle of faith fought in Badr. He stood, peace be upon him, calling on the disbelievers by their names, asking whether they found true what Allah has promised them. Upon which the Companions asked, ‘O Messenger of Allah! Do you talk to them when they have rotted?’ He answered, ‘By Allah you are not better hearers (of the words I say) than them, but they do not speak.’

Some people think that hearing is only with ears, and seeing is only with eyes, which is true in case of the living. But as for the dead it is a different case; for every phase of life has its laws. The worldly life has its own laws, and the Barzakh [The grave as the barrier or the intermediate realm that separates between this world and the other world from the time of death till the time of Resurrection] life has its own laws too. Also the afterlife has its laws. Man lives by the two laws: that of wakefulness and sleeping. But the law of the sleeping is more transparent than that of wakefulness.

During sleep one can see the dead and talk to them, and see things strange to the world we are living in. How did you see while your eyes are closed? There must be other faculties that can see other than the eyes.

If this happens in the law of sleep, then the law governing death is more transparent than the law of sleep, and Resurrection is the most transparent of all laws.

One should understand that the Messenger of Allah (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) is never pleased when you raise him to a status higher than his. So never exaggerate as the Christians did with the Prophet ‘Iesa (Jesus, peace be upon him), son of Maryam (Mary, may Allah be pleased with her) [when they deified him]. Just say, ‘Peace, mercy and blessings be upon you, O Messenger of Allah. O seal (the last) of all Messengers and the Mercy of Allah to the world. We testify that you have delivered the Message, conveyed the Trust, and advised the nation.’ All this should be said in a low voice with no agitation or raising the tone. Allah, all praise and glory be to Him, says (what means):

“O you who believe! Raise not your voices above the voice of the Prophet (sallAllahu 'alaihi wa sallam), nor speak aloud to him in talk as you speak aloud to one another, lest your deeds may be rendered fruitless while you perceive not.” (Surah Al-Hujurat, 49:2)

In this place it is demanded that the voice be low, submissive, and mannerly, and there should be no crowding, pushing, fighting, or jostling. You have to recall that you are in the presence of the Messenger of Allah (may Allah bless him and grant him peace), the noblest among all the Creation of Allah, and the closest to Him. Greeting him is a great honor to you, and by testifying to him, you thus earn his intercession on the Day of Judgment, which is a testimony of truth that he has delivered the Message, conveyed the trust, and advised the nation.

Afterwards, you step towards our master Abu Bakr (may Allah be pleased with him), the first Caliph (successor) of the Messenger of Allah (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) and greet him.

Then, you step towards our master ‘Umar (may Allah be pleased with him), the second Caliph, and greet him. After that you can pray Allah while standing near the Messenger of Allah (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) as you wish, or as Allah blesses you to say. If someone entrusted you to send his greeting to the Messenger of Allah (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) you must fulfill it by saying, ‘Peace be upon you, O my master, O Messenger of Allah sent on my behalf and on behalf of (and you name the person),’ and then you can pray for whatever you wish.

When standing before the Messenger of Allah (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) and greeting him, you should not arrange what you should say, or deliver a speech as the preachers do. For this situation renders the most eloquent speechless, finding nothing to say, but why is that? Because in such a standing you feel that your word power is poorly limited, and you find yourself unable to express the amount of love you bear towards the Messenger of Allah (may Allah bless him and grant him peace). Whatever you say, it still will not be enough to pay him due obeisance. Just say, ‘Peace be upon you, O Messenger of Allah, upon your family and your companions, and upon the Prophets of Allah and His Messengers.’

You have crossed thousands miles to stand before the Messenger of Allah (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) and greet him, so let the greeting you give be full of longing and rich with deep love. Always remember the Qur’anic verse in which Allah, praise and gory be to Him, says (what means):

“If they had only, when they had been unjust to themselves, come to you (Muhammad) and begged Allah's Forgiveness, and the Messenger had begged forgiveness for them: indeed, they would have found Allah All-Forgiving (One Who accepts repentance), Most Merciful.” (Surah An-Nisa’, 4: 64)

When standing before the Messenger of Allah (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) you should ask him to beg Allah’s forgiveness for you, for this is a gate of forgiveness, and ask him that Allah pardons you, for this is a gate of penitence. If you have wronged yourself, you are now standing before the shrine of the Messenger of Allah (may Allah bless him and grant him peace).

In such imposing and awe-inspiring situations one does not help but feel submissive, and turn to Allah heart and soul begging Him to put on his tongue what pleases Him and His Messenger (may Allah bless him and grant him peace), and draws him closer to Them. He begs Allah to grant him continuous success by the grace of continuing to perform Hajj and ‘Umrah, and to teach him the display of good manners in the presence of the Messenger of Allah (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) and in his entire blessed City.

The following is the supplication of a worshipper, who said it before the Messenger of Allah (may Allah bless him and grant him peace), which is considered an ideal example to the way supplication should be:

 “My Lord, in the name of Muhammad’s honorable place and rank to You, Your Love to him, his love to You and the secret between You and him I beg that you bestow your Blessings and Peace upon Your Messenger and his family. O Allah! Make us love him the more, inform us of his right, guide us to follow him, adopt his manners and Sunnah and grant us the joy of enjoying his presence and the delight of talking to him. Remove all the barriers, mediators, and veils. Please our ears with hearing his pleasant kind words. Make us deserving to receive from him and follow him. Make our prayers for the bestowal of peace upon him a streaming light that blows out all darkness and injustice, all doubts and atheism, all falsehood and negligence. Make it the means to rise to the highest ranks of monotheism, leaving no trace within us of worshipping a god but You, for us to deserve standing in Your Presence and Your special Favor, while holding fast to the Prophet’s model behavior, blessings and peace be upon him, and to the strong Robe (of Allah, i.e. the Noble Qur’an). And to obtain from You, O Lord, and from your Patronage the success in worldly and religious affairs.”

In Medina you must care to stay as much as you can in the Masjid of the Messenger (may Allah bless him and grant him peace), and to occupy yourself only with worshipping. When you finish praying, start glorifying Allah (by saying Subhan Allah i.e., glorified be Allah), then you can start supplicating blessings on the Messenger of Allah, then pray for yourself and whomever you like.

Beware not to occupy yourself with anything other than worship, and devote all your thoughts to Allah and His Messenger (may Allah bless him and grant him peace), and never enter into any worldly discussions, or else you would commit a grave sin.

Those who discuss worldly matters inside the Masjid of the Messenger of Allah (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) are to be afflicted with painful torment, and will lose their whole world. If you are bound for the Masjid of the Prophet (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) it should be for offering prayers.

After ending your prayers start reciting the Noble Qur’an, recite as much as you can, for reciting the Noble Qur’an in the presence of the one to whom it was revealed inspires feelings of submission, reverence, and awe only experienced by those who sit reciting the Noble Qur’an in the Masjid of the Messenger of Allah (may Allah bless him and grant him peace).

(Continued)