Imam Ahmad Raza Khan رَحْمَةُ الـلّٰـهِ عَلَيْه also sheds light on this beautiful topic. The great imam says, “The Messenger of Allah صَلَّى اللهُ تَعَالٰى عَلَيْهِ وَاٰلِهٖ وَسَلَّم has two personal names. His name is Ahmad in previous divine books, and Muhammad in the Quran. In terms of his names which correlate to his qualities and attributes, these are countless.”^[1]

صَلُّوۡا عَلَى الۡحَبِيۡب                 صَلَّى اللّٰهُ عَلٰى مُحَمَّد

Dear Islamic brothers, اِنْ شَــآءَالـلّٰـه today, we will have the privilege of discussing events in which individuals showed untold respect, manners, love and reverence for the Prophet  صَلَّى الـلّٰـهُ عَلَيْهِ وَاٰلِهٖ وَسَلَّم . We will also learn what the Quran and Hadith order us to do in regard to respecting him.

Unmatched love and exemplary respect

In the month of Zu al-Qa’dah, in the sixth year after hijrah, the Messenger of Allah صَلَّى الـلّٰـهُ عَلَيْهِ وَاٰلِهٖ وَسَلَّم entered the state of ihram, intending to perform umrah. He then departed towards Makkah with 1400 Companions  رَضِىَ اللّٰهُ عَـنْهُم .

The final Prophet صَلَّى الـلّٰـهُ عَلَيْهِ وَاٰلِهٖ وَسَلَّم suspected that the disbelievers of Makkah would try to prevent Muslims from performing umrah. For this reason, he first sent a person from the tribe of Khuzā’ah to Makkah to find out what the disbelievers were going to do.

When the Prophet صَلَّى الـلّٰـهُ عَلَيْهِ وَاٰلِهٖ وَسَلَّم and his Companions reached a place known as ‘Usfān’, the person sent by the Prophet صَلَّى الـلّٰـهُ عَلَيْهِ وَاٰلِهٖ وَسَلَّم returned and explained how all the Arab tribes had gathered together and decided not to allow Muslims to enter Makkah at any cost. The Messenger of Allah صَلَّى الـلّٰـهُ عَلَيْهِ وَاٰلِهٖ وَسَلَّم then led the Companions down a different path, away from the main path and camped at Hudaybiyah.