Prophet Muhammad, sallalahu allayhe wa salam, deserves special rights, which are due only to the final Prophet and Messenger. These rights have been enjoined upon us by Allah and are part of safeguarding the perfect religion of Islam. Unfortunately many Muslims today have become confused with regard to these rights and have innovated practices that have no basis in Islam. The Prophet himself knew that such practices would happen and warned against them, "Beware of newly invented matters [in religion, that is] for every invented matter [in religion] in a cursed innovation which leads astray." (Tirmidhi and Abu Dawood) So as Muslims we must stick to giving our Prophet, sallalahu allayhe wa salam, his rights as commanded by Allah and stay away from the innovations that either ignore these rights or take them to extremes.

Allah sent Muhammad, sallalahu allayhe wa salam, to all of mankind, with the divine message of la ilaha illa Allah (there is no deity worthy of worship except Allah). He brought glad tidings of Paradise to the believers and warning of the punishment of the Hellfire to the disbelievers. He called to tawheed, the belief that Allah is the sole Creator and Lord of the universe, and therefore He alone should be worshipped. Believing in Allah is also believing in His Messenger.

1. TO BELIEVE IN HIM
There is no doubt that the first of our Prophet's rights, sallalahu allayhe wa salam, is to believe in him and to believe in the message he was sent with. Allah says, "Believe in Allah and His Messenger and the light which He sent down."[64:8]
Qadhi Iyadh said in his famous and important book about the rights of the Prophet, Ash-Shifaa, that, "Belief in the Prophet Muhammad is therefore an obligation for every individual. Belief is not complete without it and Islam is only valid with it." Allah has linked belief in Him with belief in His Messenger. They are inseparable. This is what the shahadah, the declaration of faith, means. Even if a person follows other prophets like Musa and Eesa, alayhamas salam, he is not a believer until he completely follows the teachings of Muhammad, sallalahu allayhe wa salam. Abu Hurairah reported that the Messenger of Allah, sallalahu allayhe wa salam said, "I was commanded to fight people until they testify that there is no god but Allah and believe in me and what I have brought. When they do that, their blood and property are protected from me except for a right (they owe). Their reckoning is with Allah." (Bukhari and Muslim)
Believing in the Prophet, sallalahu allayhe wa salam, therefore, is about living according to his guidance. It is much more than just mere recognition of the fact that he is a prophet. Allah says, "When the hypocrites come to you, they say, 'We testify that you are the Messenger of Allah' and Allah knows that you are His Messenger and Allah testifies that the hypocrites are liars."
[63:1]
At the time of the Prophet Muhammad, sallalahu allayhe wa salam, the Jews who lived in Arabia had been waiting for the promised Prophet that they knew of from their scriptures. But when Prophet Muhammad, sallalahu allaye wa salam, came they rejected him out of arrogance because he was not a Jew. Many of the rabbis, however, recognized that he was a Prophet but did not accept him or believe in him. Allah says about them, "Those to whom We gave the scriptures recognize him as they recognize their sons. But verily, a party of them conceal the truth while they know it." [2:146]
Ibn Is'haq reports in his biography of the Prophet, sallalahu allayhe wa salam, that Safiyah bint Huyayy said, "I was the favourite child of my father and my uncle Abu Yasir. When I was present they took no notice of their other children. When the apostle was staying in Quba with the brother 'Amr ibn 'Auf, the two went to see him before daybreak and did not return until after nightfall, weary, worn out, drooping and feeble. I went up to them in childish pleasure as I always did and they were so sunk in gloom that they took no notice of me. I heard my uncle say to my father, 'Is he the one? Do you recognize him? Can you be sure?' 'Yes!' 'And what do you feel about him?' 'By God, I shall be his enemy as long as I live!'" Believing in something is more than just recognizing that it exists. Satan, as explained in the Qur'an, recognizes that Allah exists yet he is the worst of the disbelievers.

2. TO OBEY HIM
The second right, which is due to our beloved Prophet, sallalahu allayhe wa salam, is that we obey him. Allah says,

"O you who believe, obey Allah and His Messenger..." [8:20]

Allah has mentioned obedience to the Messenger in connection with obedience to Him. You cannot have one without the other. Obeying the Messenger means, following his commands and staying away from what he has prohibited. Abu Hurairah narrated that the prophet, sallalahu allayhe wa salam, said: "All of my ummah will enter Paradise except for those who refuse to." They asked, "O Messenger of Allah, who will refuse?" He replied, "Whoever obeys me will enter the Paradise. Whoever disobeys me has refused." (Bukhari)

3. TO FOLLOW HIM
Allah says,

"You have a good model in the Messenger of Allah for one who hopes for Allah and the last day." [33:21]

Commenting on this verse, Imam at-Tirmidhii said, "To take the Messenger as a model means to emulate him, follow his Sunnah and avoid opposition to him in either word or action." We should strive to follow his mode of life, his sayings and doings, his conduct and manners.

We can see from the Prophet's companions, the way in which they emulated the Prophet, sallalahu allayhe wa salam, followed his examples, and modeled their behaviors upon his. This is what is means to follow the Prophet Muhammad. A man from Khalid ibn Asid's family asked Abdullah ibn Umar, "Abu Abdurrahman. We find the fear salah and the salah at home in the Qur'an, but we do not find the travelling salah." Ibn Umar said, "My nephew, Allah sent Muhammad, sallalahu allayhe wa salam, to us when we did not know anything. We do as we saw him doing." When Umar looked at the black stone and he said, "You are a stone and can neither help nor harm. If I had not seen the Messenger of Allah kiss you, I would not have kissed you." Then he kissed it. Umar ibn Abdul Aziz said, "The Messenger of Allah made a Sunnah and the people in command after him made sunnahs. To adopt them is to confirm the Book of Allah and to act on them is to obey Allah and strengthen the deen of Allah. It is not for anyone to change the Sunnah, or alter it, or to look into the opinion of those who oppose it. Whoever follows it, is guided. Whoever opposes it and follows other than the path of the believers, Allah will entrust im to what he turns to and will roast him in the hellfire, which is a bad ending."

4. TO LOVE HIM

A Muslim must love the Prophet, sallalahu allayhe wa salam, truthfully. Allah says,

"Say, if your fathers, your sons, your brothers, your wives, your tribe and the possessions you have earned, commerce you fear may slacken, dwellings you love - if these are dearer to you than Allah and His Messenger and to struggle in His way, then wait until Allah brings His command." [9:25]

The Prophet, sallalahu allayhe wa salam, said, "None of you will believe until I am more beloved to you than your children, your fathers, and all people." Umar ibnul Khattab said to the Prophet, "I love you more than anything except my soul, which is between my two sides." The Prophet replied, "None of you will believe until I am dearer to him than his own soul." Umar said, "By the One who sent down the Book to you, I love you more than my soul which is between my two sides." The Prophet, sallalahu allayhe wa salam, said, "Now, O Umar, now you have it."

Related to this love is nasiha. Nasiha is usually translated as good counsel and sincere conduct. It is "used to designate the desire for what is good for the one who is its object." Linguistically it means purity. The Messenger of Allah, sallalahu allayhe wa salam, said, "The deen is nasiha. The deen is nasiha. The deen is nasiha." They asked, "To whom, Messenger of Allah?" He said, "To Allah and His Book and His Messenger and the imams of the muslims and the common people." Nasiha to the Messenger of Allah is confirming his Prophethood, obeying him, supporting and protecting him, and following his Sunnah. Abu Bakr al-Ajurri said, "Nasiha for his sake includes two types of sincere conduct. One is nasiha during his lifetime and the other is nasiha after his death." During his lifetime it was helping, protecting and obeying him. After his death it is "By maintaining esteem, respect and great love for him. By persevering in learning his Sunnah and understanding his Shari'ah. It is to love for the people of his house and his companions, avoiding things disliked in his Sunnah and what deviates from it."

As loving the Prophet, sallalahu allayhe wa salam, is an obligation, it comes with an excellent reward. Anas said that a man came to the Prophet and asked, "When will the last Hour come, Messenger of Allah?" He said, "What have you prepared for it?" He said, "I have not prepared a lot of salah or fasting or charity for it, but I love Allah and His Messenger." The Prophet said, "You will be with the one you love." He also said, "Whoever loves me will be with me in the Garden."

Love for the Prophet Muhammad, sallalahu allayhe wa salam, manifests itself in many ways. One will prefer what the Prophet came with, over his own desires. His anger against people will be for the sake of Allah. He will mention the Prophet often. He will have a yearning to meet him. He will exalt and respect him and be humble when he hears his name mentioned. He will have love for the Qur'an, which the Prophet brought. He will have compassion for his community, striving for their best interests. And another sign for love of the Prophet, sallalahu allahe wa salam, is that he who aspires to it, does without in this world and prefers poverty. The Prophet said, "Poverty for those among you who love me comes quicker than a flood from the top of the mountain to the bottom."

5. TO RESPECT HIM
Allah says,

"O Prophet, We have sent you as a witness and a bringer of good news and a warner,so believe in Allah and His Messenger and help him and respect him." [48:7-8]

Respect for the Prophet, sallalahu allayhe wa salam, includes honoring him, exalting him, calling him with the noblest title such as the Messenger of Allah or Prophet of Allah. It includes putting his opinion over our own and defending him if he is verbally abused.

Malik said that when he was asked about Ayyub as-Sakhtiyani he said, "I have not reported from anyone without Ayyub being better than him." He went on, "I went on hajj twice and watched him. Whenever the Messenger of Allah, sallalahu allayhe wa salam, was mentioned, he wept until his eyes were red. When I saw him do that and the respect he had for the Prophet, I wrote down things from him."

Respect for the Prophet, sallalahu allayhe wa salam, also includes respecting his family. The Prophet, sallalahu allayhe wa salam, said, "Recognition of the family of Muhammad is freedom from the fire. Love for the family of Muhammad is crossing over sirat. Friendship for the family of Muhammad is safety from the fire." He also said about al-Hasan and al-Husayn, his grandsons, "Whoever loves these two and their father and mother will be with me on the day of rising." Abu Bakr said, "Respect Muhammad by respecting the people of his house."

It also includes respecting his companions. Allah says about those who pledged allegiance to the Prophet at al-hudaybiyah,

"Allah was pleased with the believers when they gave allegiance to you under the tree." [48:18]

The Prophet said, "Do not curse my companions. If any of you were to spend the weight of Uhud in gold, it still would not reach the measure of one of them or even one-half of it."

Likewise it is forbidden to curse the Prophet Muhammad. Allah said,

"Those who abuse Allah and His Messenger, Allah has cursed them in this world and the next world. He has prepared a humiliating punishment for them." [33:57]

The Prophet, sallalahu allayhe wa salam, said, "Whoever curses a prophet, kill him. Whoever curses my companions, beat him."

It is also not allowed to even joke about the Prophet or the religion of Islam. Allah said,

"If you ask them, they declare, 'We were only talking idly and joking.' Say, 'Was it Allah and His ayah and His Messenger that you were mocking?" [9:65]

It is reported that in the course of the campaign of Tabuk, a man came up one day and declared, "We have seen no people with greater appetite, more lying, or more cowardly in battle than the Prophet of Allah and his reciting companions." Awf ibn Malik rose and said, "It is rather you that are a liar. You are a hypocrite, pretending to be a Muslim. I shall tell the Prophet of Allah about you." Awf then went to the Prophet to inform him but found that revelation had already preceded him. (When the news reached) the man, he mounted on his camel, sought the Prophet of Allah and said, "But we were only joking, trying to pass time while travelling." Ibn Umar said, "He was clinging to the saddle belt of the Prophet's camel as it ran, his feet and legs being battered by the rough ground and repeating, "But we were only joking." And the Prophet insisting without turning his face to him, "Joking? Joking with Allah, with His revelation? With His Prophet?"

6. TO JUDGE ACCORDING TO HIS SHARIAH

The sixth right of the Prophet Muhammad, sallalahu allayhe wa salam, is to judge by him and be pleased with his judgment. Allah said,

"If you quarrel over anything, then refer it back to Allah and the Messenger." [4:58]

Therefore, it is incumbent upon us to look in the Qur'an and the hadeeth of the Messenger of Allah when we have a question about something. We must follow the laws that the Prophet Muhammad, sallalahu allayhe wa salam, brought and judge by them, and rule according to them.

At the time of the Prophet, sallalahu allayhe wa salam, when he was once reciting,

"They took their rabbis and their monks to be their lords besides Allah, and the Messiah, son of Maryam, while they were commanded to worship none but One deity, none has the right to be worshiped but He. Praise and glory be to Him, far above is He from having the partners they associate" [9:31]

A former Christian, Adi ibn Hatim, said, "O Allah's Messenger. They do not worship them." Allah's Messenger said, "They certainly do. They (i.e. rabbis and monks) made lawful things as unlawful and unlawful things as lawful, and they (i.e. Jews and Christians) followed them, and by doing so, they really worshiped them."

We cannot put our own desires above the laws of Allah and that which the Messenger, sallalahu allayhe wa salam, brought. To do so essentially, is to believe that we know better than Allah. Allah is our Creator and He know us
better than we know our ownselves.

"Verily, He is the All-Knower of what is in the chests." [67:13]

He knows what is best for us and He has perfect wisdom and He is Just in all that He decrees. Ruling by other than what Allah revealed is therefore tantamount to disbelief.

7. TO SEND PRAYERS AND SALAAM UPON HIM
The seventh right that is due to the Prophet Muhammad, sallalahu allayhe wa salam, is saying the salah and salaam upon him. Allah says,

"Allah sends His salah [blessings, mercy] on the Prophet and His angels too [ask Allah to bless and forgive him]. O you who believe, send your salah on him and [you should] greet him with the Islamic way of greeting [i.e. as-salamu alaikum]." [33:56]

Prophet Muhammad, sallalahu allayhe wa salam, said, "Whoever blesses me once, Allah blesses him with ten salahs and ten wrong actions fall away from him and he is raised by ten degrees." And he said, "The nearest people to me on the Day of Rising will be those who have said the most salahs on me."

The Prophet, sallalahu allayhe wa salam, taught one way in which to say the salah on him. Abu Humayd as-Saidi said that they said, "Messenger of Allah, how should we pray on you?" He replied, "Say, O Allah, bless Muhammad and his wives and his descendants as You blessed the family of Ibrahim and grant blessing to Muhammad and his wives and his descendants as You granted blessing to the family of Ibrahim. You are the Praiseworthy, Glorious." This is the tashahud, which is said in the sitting of the salah. Another way is to say, 'sallalahu allayhe wa salam' (peace and blessings be upon him) when the Prophet, sallalahu allayhe wa salam is mentioned.

The meaning of sending salaam upon the Prophet is asking Allah to preserve him from any harm coming to him and it is also a greeting to the Prophet, sallalahu allayhe wa salam. Abu Hurairah said that the Messenger of Allah said, "When anyone greets me with peace, Allah will return my soul to me so that I can return the greeting." The Prophet, sallalahu allayhe wa salam, also said, "I will hear whoever blesses me at my grave. If someone is far away and blesses me, that is also conveyed to me."

Since Allah has commanded that we send salah and salaams upon the Prophet Muhammad, sallalahu allayhe wa salam, then it is a general obligation and not restricted to a specific time. The obligation is that we must do it as least once. However, saying it more than once is highly recommended and is the Sunnah.

Other times include when one is supplicating to Allah for something. Ibn Mas'ud said, "When one of you wants to ask Allah for something, he should begin by praising and extolling Him as He deserves, and then by blessing the Prophet. Then his supplication is more likely to be accepted." Likewise, during the Athan, on Friday, when entering the masjid and when leaving the masjid, at the funeral salah, and when writing letters, are other highly recommended times. The Prophet, sallalahu allayhe wa salam, said, "Whoever blesses me in a book or a letter, the angels continue to ask forgiveness for him as long as my name is on it."

8. STICKING TO HIS SUNNAH AND AVOIDING INNOVATIONS
While the Prophet Muhammad, sallalahu allayhe wa salam, deserves and is due the aformentioned rights, it is also important that we don't go to extremes regarding his rights. Many Muslims today have innovated practices into the religion concerning his rights. It is indeed correct that the Prophet Muhammad, sallalahu allayhe wa salam, deserves certain rights, but to innovate practices that go against his very teachings under the guises of loving and respecting him is bid'ah and will only lead to the fire. The Prophet, sallalahu alayhe wa salah, said, "Beware of newly invented matters [in religion] for every invented matter [in religion] is a cursed innovation which leads astray."

Common ways in which we defy the Prophet (S.A.W)

One such innovation to avoid is deifying Muhammad, sallalahu alayhe wa salam. This is how the Christians went astray with their belief in Jesus. After his death they began to worship him as their deity and left the tawheed that he brought them. Allah says about them,

"Surely in disbelief are they who say that Allah is the Messiah, son of Maryam. Say, 'Who then has the least power against Allah if He were to destroy the Messiah, son of Maryam, his mother, and all those who are on the earth together?' " [5:17]

Likewise, deifying Prophet Muhammad, sallalahu allayhe wa salam, would throw a person into disbelief. Muhammad wa a servant and a worshipper of Allah. He was a Prophet and a Messenger. Allah says,

"Muhammad is no more than a Messenger." [3:144]

The Prophet Muhammad said, "Do not exaggerate in praising me as the Christians exaggerated in their praise the son of Maryam. For indeed I am a slave, so say, 'The slave of Allah and His Messenger.' "

We cannot claim that Muhammad, sallalahu allayhe wa salam, knew the unseen or brought harm or benefit or even guided anyone. These are things that only Allah knows and has the power to do. Muhammad only knew what knowledge Allah revealed to him and he does not have the ability to decree anything. Allah says,

"Say (O Muhammad), 'I know not whether [the punishment] is near Or whether my Lord will appoint for it a distant term. (He alone is) the All-Knower of the unseen, and He reveals to none His unseen." [72:25-6]

In keeping away from deifying the Prophet, sallalahu allayhe wa salam, we must also accept his death. He was human and all humans must die, for Allah says,

"Verily, you (O Muhammad) will die and verily they will die." [39:30]

1. Through Istigatha

Related to this in innovation is istigatha to the Prophet, sallalahu allayhe wa salam. Istigatha means to call for help, or to appeal for aid. Some Muslims have gone astray, to the point of calling upon the Prophet, sallalahu allayhe wa salam, for help, instead of Allah. This is tantamount to shirk, which Allah does not forgive. Allah says,

"Do not call onto any beings other than Allah. These are capable of neither benefit nor harm. To do so is therefore to become guilty of wrongdoing. When Allah invests you with an affliction, none can remove it except Him." [10:106-7]

2. Through Tawassul

Another innovation that has become popular is making tawassul by the right of the Prophet, sallalahu allayhe wa salam. The meaning of tawassul is to draw near to what one seeks after, and to approach that which one desires. Allah says in the Qur'an,

"O you who believe! Do your duty to Allah and fear Him. Seek the means of approach [al-wasilah] to Him, and strive hard in His cause as much as you can. So that you may be successful." [5:35]

Ibn Kathir said that the meaning of wasilah is to draw closer.

There are three types of tawassul that are allowable in Islam. The first is by Allah's names and attributes. The proof for this is the verse,

"And the most beautiful names belong to Allah, so call on Him by them." [7:180]

Shaikh Al-Albaanee said that the meaning of this verse is, "Call upon Allah, the Most High, by means of [performing tawassul with] His perfect Names, and there is no doubt that His exalted Attributes fit into this since His Names are Attributes of His." Also the Prophet used to seek Allah's refuge with the words, "O Allah, I seek refuge in Your Might, none has the right to be worshiped but You."

The second type is by means of a righteous deed, which one has done. Allah says,

"Those who say, 'Our Lord. We have indeed believed, so forgive us our sins and save us from the punishment of the fire." [3:16]

So it is allowed to use a righteous action that one has performed in one's supplication as a means of tawassul so that his supplication is more likely to be responded to. An example of this is the hadeeth reported by Abdullah Ibn Umar who said that the Prophet said, "Three men amongst those who came before you set out until night came and they reached a cave, so they entered it. But a boulder rolled down from the mountain and blocked the entrance of the cave. So they said: Nothing can rescue you from this rock except that you supplicated to Allah by mentioning righteous deeds you have done. So one of them said, 'O Allah I had two elderly parents and I had not used to give precedence over them to my family and slaves in giving them milk to drink. But one day I was delayed in seeking after something and I did not return with the flock until they had slept. So I milked the animals for them but found that they were both asleep. However I hated to give milk to my family and slaves before them, so I waited with the bowl in my hand for them to awake. Then with the break of dawn they awoke and drank their milk. O Allah if I did that seeking Your Face, then relieve us from this situation caused by the rock.' So it moved slightly, but they were unable to escape. The Prophet, sallalahu allayhe wa salam, said, 'The next said, 'O Allah my uncle had a daughter and she was the most beloved of the people to me and I tried to persuade her to have sexual relations with me, but she refused until she suffered from a year of famine. Then she came to me and I gave her a hundred and twenty dinars on the condition that she would comply with me desire for her, so she agreed. But when I was about to fulfill my desire she said "It is unlawful for you to break the seal except by lawful means." So I felt ashamed to commit the crime against her so I left her alone, and she was the dearest of all the people to me, and I left the gold which I had given her. O Allah if I did that seeking Your Face then release us from the situation we are in.' So the rock opened further, but they were still unable to escape." The Prophet, sallalahu allayhe wa salam said, 'And the third said, 'O Allah I employed some laborers and paid them their wages except a single man who did not take his wages and went away. I invested his wages and it grew into a great deal of property. Then after some time he came to me and said, 'O servant of Allah, give me my wages.' So I said to him, 'All the camels, cows, sheep and slaves that you see are your wages.' So he said, 'O servant of Allah, do not mock me.' So I said, 'I am not mocking you.' So he took all of that and led them away and did not leave any of it. O all if I did that seeking Your Face, then release us from our situation.' So the rock moved and they walked out of the cave."

The third allowable type of tawassul is through the supplication made by a righteous man. This means going to a man whom one deems to be righteous and asking him to supplicated for him. There are a number of examples of this in the Sunnah of the Prophet, sallalahu allayhe wa salam. A man once came to the prophet, sallalahu allayhe wa salam, and asked him to pray for rain because they were having a drought. The Prophet, sallalahu allayhe wa salam, did so and it rained heavily for a week. Then a man came back and asked the Prophet to supplicated for the rain to stop and so the Prophet asked for the rain to be around them and not on them and the clouds made a circle around Madinah.

After the Prophet's death, sallalahu allayhe wa salam, Umar used to ask the Prophet's uncle Al-Abbas to supplicated for rain for them. None of the companions, however, supplicated to Allah for anything by the right or the status of the Prophet, sallalahu allayhe wa salam, after his death. Ibn Taymiyah said, "So a created being can only benefit another by means of his supplication or means of help while alive. So Allah, the Most High, loves that we seek nearness to Him by means of eman, righteous actions, by sending prayers and salaam upon His Prophet, sallalahu allayhe wa salam, by our loving him, obeying him and allying ourselves with him. These are the things which Allah loves to see us seek nearness to Him by means of." Related to tawassul, some Muslims are now asking the Prophet for intercession. Shafa'ah, intercession, literally means to make something odd, even. In the
dictionary, Lisanul-Arab, shafa'ah is defined as, "The intercessor's speaking to a king about a need which he is requesting for someone else, through whom he intercedes to attain what is desired." So people ask the Prophet to ask Allah to forgive them or to respond to their need. As mentioned, this was done during the Prophet's lifetime, but after his death his companions stopped doing this, and instead, they went to his uncle.

Prophets are alive in their graves, and therefore can respond to calls for intercession. About this Ibn Taymiyah said, "Neither the Prophet, nor any of the prophets before him prescribed that the people should supplicated to the angels, the prophets, or the pious, not that they should ask them to intercede for them, neither after their death, nor when they were absent."

3. Through Celebrations

Other innovations, which have crept into the ummah, are the celebration of his birthday, the israa and miraj, and the hijarh. Celebrating these events has no place in the Sunnah of the Prophet of in the religion of Islam. The Prophet, sallalahu allayhe wa salam, or his companions did not do this. Ibn Taymiyah said about celebrating the Prophet's birthday, "Also, what many people do is due to imitating the Christians in their celebrating Jesus' birthday or a claimed love for the Prophet. These are the reasons behind it. To celebrate the Prophet's birthday, even when many scholars dispute the date, is an innovated act the salaf did not do. If this were a good act, then the salaf would have done it before us."

Two celebrations have been prescribed for the Muslim ummah, the Eidul Fitr and the Eidu Adh-ha. Anas said, "The Prophet, sallalahu allayhe wa salam, came to Madinah and the people of Madinah had, before Islam, two days for play and amusement. So the Prophet, sallalahu allayhe wa salam, said, "I came to you and you had in jahileeyah two days for play and amusement. Indeed Allah has replaced them for you by that which is better than them. The day of Nahr (slaughtering) and the day of Fitr (breaking fast)." Any celebrations, other than these are innovations and have no part in this religion.

These innovations have no part in the religion but are a result of going to extremes with regard to the rights of the Prophet, sallalahu allayhe wa salam. Certainly, the Prophet has a high position of honor among us. But to deviate further into matters that go against his very teachings is by no means an expression of love and respect but rather an expression of disobedience and a straying from the true rights of the Prophet Muhammad, sallalahu allayhe wa salam.

 © 2007 Jamia Masjid Nairobi