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Friday Sermon] This Is How To Love The Prophet Muhammad (Peace Be Upon Him)!

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4 years ago

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Imam Murtadha Gusau

By Imam Murtadha Gusau

In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful

All praise is due to Allah, the Lord of all creation. May the salutations of Allah, His peace and blessings be upon our beloved Prophet, his family, his companions and his true and sincere followers until the Last Day – then to proceed:

Dear brothers and sisters! As Muslims, we are commanded to love the Messenger of Allah (Peace be upon him) and to follow in his path without religious deviations or innovations, in order to worship Allah Almighty in the way that He commanded. Sometimes, unfortunately, our claims of love fall short, and thus there are signs that we can reflect on in order to analyse how much love we truly have for the greatest human being to walk this earth, Peace and blessings be upon him.

Respected servants of Allah! The strength of love for the Messenger of Allah (Peace be upon him) is connected to the Muslim’s faith. When his faith increases, his love for the Prophet (Peace be upon him) increases. Loving the Prophet (Peace be upon him) is an act of obedience to Allah and a means of drawing closer to Him. Loving the Prophet (Peace be upon him) is one of the obligatory duties in Islam.

It was narrated that Anas (RA) said: The Prophet (Peace be upon him) said:

“None of you truly believes until I am more beloved to him than his father, his child and all the people.” [Bukhari and Muslim]

You can increase your love of the Messenger of Allah (Peace be upon him) by realising the following:

1. He was sent by his Lord who chose him above all of creation to convey the religion of Allah to mankind. Allah chose him because He loved him and was pleased with him. If Allah were not pleased with him, He would not have chosen him. So we must love the one whom Allah loves and be pleased with the one with whom Allah is pleased. We must realise that he is the close friend of Allah (Khalil) and that close friendship is a higher status and it is the highest degree of love. Jundub (RA) is said to have narrated that:

“I heard the Prophet (Peace be upon him) say: ‘I declare before Allah that I have no close friend from among you. Allah has taken me as a close friend as he took Ibrahim as a close friend. If I were to have taken a close friend from among my Ummah, I would have taken Abu Bakr as a close friend.” [Muslim]

2. We should realise the high status to which Allah has raised him, for he (Peace be upon him) is the best of mankind. It was narrated that Abu Hurairah (RA) said:

“The Messenger of Allah (Peace be upon him) said: “I will be the leader of mankind on the Day of Resurrection, the first whose grave will be opened, the first to intercede and the first to be asked to intercede.” [Muslim]

3. We should realise that he suffered trials and difficulties in order to bring Islam to us. We should remember that the Messenger of Allah (Peace be upon him) was persecuted, hit, slandered and insulted; the closest people to him disowned him and accused him of being a madman, a liar and a sorcerer. He fought the people in order to protect the religion so that it could reach us; they fought him, expelled him from his people and homeland, and gathered armies against him.

4. We should follow the example of his companions who loved him deeply and sincerely. They loved him more than wealth and sons, and more than their own selves. There follow some examples of that:

“It was narrated that Anas (RA) said: I saw the Messenger of Allah (Peace be upon him) when the barber was cutting his hair and his companions were going around him wanting to ensure that his hair would fall only into someone’s hand.” [Muslim]

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It was narrated that Anas (may Allah be pleased with him) said:

“On the Day of Uhud some of the people fled and left the Prophet (Peace be upon him), but Abu Talhah stood before him covering him with a shield. Abu Talhah was a powerful archer who broke two or three bows that day. When a man passed by carrying a quiver containing arrows, he would say: Give them to Abu Talhah. Whenever the Prophet (Peace be upon him) raised his head to look at the people, Abu Talhah would say: “O Prophet of Allah, may my father and my mother be sacrificed for you, do not raise your head lest you be struck by an arrow shot by the enemy. My neck is before your neck.” [Bukhari and Muslim]

5. You should follow his Sunnah in word and deed, so that his Sunnah is the path you follow in your whole life, and you put his words before any other words and put his command before everything else; and you should follow the Aqidah (belief) of his noble Companions, and the Aqidah of the Tabi’in who followed them, and the Aqidah of those who followed their path until the present day, namely Ahlus-Sunnah wal-Jama’ah, and avoid bid’ah (innovation).

We ask Allah to help us to love His Messenger (Peace be upon him) and to make him dearer to us than our children, parents, families and our own selves.

Dear and respected servants of Allah! Also, following are some signs that you love Prophet Muhammad (Peace be upon him) sincerely:

1. You follow the message that he conveyed (the Qur’an): This entails reciting, studying, and implementing the rulings of the Creator that were revealed through His Messenger. Belief in the divine scripture is just one part of faith; implementing its rulings in your life is another. Study the Qur’an on a daily basis. Recite, understand, implement, and memorise what you can.

2. You love to follow the Sunnah: Every individual will vary in their love of the Sunnah and thus their love of the Messenger (Peace be upon him). The more you love the Sunnah, the more you’ll try to implement it in your life. You’ll never hear the words “It’s just a Sunnah” coming out of your mouth, primarily because you’ll do anything to follow his path. Instead, every time you learn about a Sunnah, you’ll be eager to implement it in your life. When you learn that something contradicts the Sunnah, you tend to stay away from it lest you fall into religious innovation (Bid’ah). You also ensure that what you’re doing on a daily basis is legitimate and has some basis in the Qur’an or his Sunnah (Peace be upon him). Study the Sunnah from an authentic source and implement it into your life.

3. You study his Sirah and encourage others to do so: Every Muslim should study the biography of the Prophet (Peace be upon him); his compassion, his love, his dedication, his sincerity, his beauty, his exalted character, his concern for his Ummah, and what he went through to convey this message to the rest of the world. The companions used to teach their children the Sirah from a young age. This is one of the greatest signs you love the Messenger of Allah (Peace be upon him) because you want to know more about him and his life, and oftentimes you’ll see those who love him study the sirah multiple times. Study the Sirah from a reputable, authentic source. You have so many resources in this day and age that there’s no excuse for not reading a summarised version of the Sirah or listening to a video series. Furthermore, encourage your family and friends to also study the sirah and share gems from your studies in order to encourage others.

Studying the Prophet’s Sirah is a sign for our love for the Prophet (Peace be upon him); one cannot truly love someone except that they must know about them. This love for the Prophet (Peace be upon him) should supersede our love for our fathers, mothers, relatives, children and even ourselves.

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By studying the Sirah we learn about the sacrifices and struggles made by the Prophet (Peace be upon him) in his life to spread Islam. This love must be sincere love for him and it must be translated into obeying him in what he commanded and following his example as a way of life. Imam Shafi‘i would say:

“لَوْ كانَ حُبُّكَ صَادِقاً لأَطَعْتَهُ, إنَّ الْمُحِبَّ لِمَنْ يُحِبُّ مُطِيعُ”

“If your love is sincere, you would have obeyed Him. For verily the lover for the one he loves, obeys him.”

We must understand, to love the Prophet (Peace be upon him) is an obligation for every Muslim.

Shaykhul-Islam Ibn Taimiyyah (may Allah have mercy on him) said:

“The reason why it is obligatory to love the Prophet (Peace be upon him) and venerate him more than any other person is that we cannot attain the greatest good in this world or in the Hereafter except at the hands of the Prophet (Peace be upon him), by believing in him and following him. That is because no one can be saved from the punishment of Allah, and the mercy of Allah cannot reach him except by means of the Prophet (Peace be upon him), by believing in him, loving him, being loyal to him and following him. This is the means by which Allah will save him from punishment in this world and in the Hereafter. This is the means by which he will attain what is good in this world and in the Hereafter.” [See Majmu‘ al-Fatawa, volume 27, page 246]

Let us spend time every day to study the life of our beloved Prophet so we can increase in love for him. How is it we spend so much time knowing friends, spouses, people we admire, but we do not spend time learning about the best of mankind.

Read even a minimum of 15 mins a day on the Sirah of the Prophet (Peace be upon him). Start with the book ‘The Sealed Nectar’ by Shaykh Safiyur-Rahman Al-Mubarakpuri, then move to more advanced books.

4. You ask Allah to send prayers upon him often: Saying “Allahummah salli ala Muhammad” in any of its appropriate variations is asking Allah to send peace and blessings and mercy upon the beloved Messenger, and every time you do it, Allah Almighty will send upon you 10 times the blessings and mercy in your life. Furthermore, every time you send salutations upon him, an angel appointed next to the Messenger (Peace be upon him) to conveys your prayers to him. Finally, the more you send prayers upon him, the closer you’ll be to him on the Day of Resurrection and the more of his intercession you’ll have on that severe day.

Try to at least begin the basic habit of sending 10 prayers upon him in the morning and 10 in the evening and work your way up from there throughout the day and night, especially every time you remember him or when his name is mentioned (Peace be upon him).

5. You love the things he loved and the people he loved: This includes acts of worship (fasting Mondays and Thursdays or praying at night) and countless Sunnan (such as using the siwak) as well as the people he loved and those who loved him, such as Abu Bakr, Umar, Uthman, Ali, his entire family, and the companions in general. This is a litmus test for many who claim to love the Messenger but believe in fabrications against his noble companions.

6. You frequently remember his life and wish to be with him: When you love someone, you find yourself thinking

The more you love the Messenger of Allah (Peace be upon him), the more you’ll refer back to his life and the more you’ll pray that Allah grants you reunion with him in the Hereafter, in the highest levels of Paradise.

Dear brothers and sisters! I have no doubt, no any Muslim worth the name will be happy or will support, agree or accept an insult on the personality of our beloved Prophet Muhammad (Peace be upon him), and at the same time we are telling the whole world with a strong voice that wallahi, you cannot also love the Prophet Muhammad (Peace be upon him) by going against his Shari’ah or his laws!

Prophet (Peace be upon him)’s Shari’ah prohibited you to take the law into your own hands, you are doing it or inciting people to do so all in the name of showing your love to him, which is a great lie!

His Shari’ah prohibited you to punish anybody through burning with fire, and you are doing it all in the name of loving him (Peace be upon him)!!

Imam Abu Dawud (may Allah have Mercy on him) collected three Hadiths in a chapter of his Sunan called:

“The Detestable Nature of Burning the Opposing Forces (in Military Confrontation) With Fire.”

The first two Hadiths narrated by Abu Hamzah al-Aslami and Abu Hurairah – may Allah be pleased with them – include the following clear prohibition:

“No one may punish using fire other than the Lord of the Fire (Allah).”

The third Hadith narrated by Abdullah Ibn Mas’ud – may Allah be pleased with him – includes the wording:

“It is not befitting for anyone to punish using fire, other than the Lord of the Fire (Allah).”

All the three Hadiths were classified as “Sahih” (authentic) by Shaykh Al-Albani (may Allah have Mercy on him) in his checking of the Sunan. In Silsilatul-Ahadith as-Sahihah, he adds a discussion of the authentic narration of when Ali, the fourth Caliph of the Muslims, ordered some people to face the death penalty by fire. When news of this reached Ibn Abbas, he disapproved of the decision and relayed a Hadith of the Prophet (Peace be upon him) with a similar wording:

“Do not punish with the punishment of Allah!” [Bukhari]

Imam at-Tirmizi also collected it in his Jami’, adding that when this comment got back to Ali, he said, “Ibn Abbas has spoken correctly.”

So the narrations clearly prove the impermissibility of harming or killing people with fire, in both wars and punishments for crimes, as understood and narrated by at least four of the Companions.

Allah is the only One who has the right to punish anyone with fire.

Our beloved Prophet Muhammad (Peace be upon him) commanded us to listen to and obey our leaders, but we said No, and still claiming that we love him (Peace be upon him)!!!

“So let those who oppose the Prophet’s command beware, lest fitnah strike them or a painful punishment.” [Qur’an, 24:63]

And lastly, my message to all of you is the saying of Allah Almighty:

“Say: “Our Lord will assemble us all together (on the Day of Resurrection), then He will judge between us with truth. And He is the (Most Trustworthy) All­Knowing Judge.” [Qur’an, 34:26]

O Allah, grant us true and complete love for your Messenger and his Sunnah and allow us to be upon his path in this life and to rejoice with him in the next life.

We ask Allah to help us to love His Messenger (Peace be upon him) and to make him dearer to us than our children, parents, families and our own selves.

All praises and thanks are due to Allah alone, Lord of the worlds. May the peace, blessings and salutations of Allah be upon our noble Messenger, Muhammad, and upon his family, his Companions and his true and sincere followers.

Murtadha Muhammad Gusau is the Chief Imam of Nagazi-Uvete Jumu’ah and the late Alhaji Abdur-Rahman Okene’s Mosques, Okene, Kogi State, Nigeria. He can be reached via: gusauimam@gmail.com or +2348038289761.

This Jumu’ah Khutbah (Friday sermon) was prepared for delivery today, Friday, Shawwal 19, 1443 AH (May 20, 2022).

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Rivers APC Chapter Rejects Moves to Impeach Fubara

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4 hours ago

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January 8, 2026

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By Yusuf Danjuma Yunusa

 

The Rivers State chapter of the All Progressives Congress (APC) has formally rejected ongoing moves to impeach Governor Siminalayi Fubara and his deputy, warning that such action would destabilise the state and damage the party’s image.

Nigerian Tracker News earlier reported that the political crisis rocking Rivers State deepened on Thursday as members of the Rivers State House of Assembly commenced impeachment proceedings against Governor Siminalayi Fubara and his deputy, Ngozi Oduh.

The move followed a plenary session presided over by the Speaker of the House, Martins Amaewhule, during which the Majority Leader, Major Jack, read a notice of allegations and claims of gross misconduct levelled against the governor.

No fewer than 26 lawmakers were said to have signed the notice, which the legislators alleged was in line with the provisions of the Nigerian Constitution.

Amaewhule announced that the notice would be served on Governor Fubara within the next seven days, in accordance with legislative procedure.

Similarly, the Deputy Majority Leader of the House, Linda Stewart, read out a separate notice of allegations and gross misconduct against Deputy Governor Ngozi Oduh.

In a press statement issued on Thursday and signed by the Rivers APC spokesperson, Darlington Nwauju, the party said its leadership had taken note of the “unfortunate developments” emanating from the Rivers State House of Assembly.

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While acknowledging the constitutional independence of the legislature and its role in checks and balances, the APC said it could not support an impeachment process against a governor elected on its platform.

“Our position as of today on this matter is that we solemnly reject the resort to an impeachment process against our Governor and his deputy,” the statement read.

The party warned against allowing internal disputes associated with the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to spill into the APC, describing such a development as unacceptable.

Addressing claims that the impeachment threat is linked to budgetary issues, the APC recalled that during the period of emergency rule, a budget of ₦1.485 trillion was transmitted to the National Assembly by the President in May 2025 and subsequently approved by the Senate on June 25, 2025, and the House of Representatives on July 22, 2025.

According to the statement, the budget was designed to run for one year until August 2026, noting that the governor is not constitutionally compelled to present a supplementary budget if he is satisfied with the existing appropriation.

The party also cited constitutional provisions allowing a governor to spend for up to six months into a new fiscal year.

The APC leadership therefore urged members of the Rivers State House of Assembly, particularly its lawmakers, to resist what it described as “pressures from outside the Assembly chambers” aimed at destabilising the government.

“We will do everything possible to ensure that the Government of Rivers State, which is an APC government, is not destabilised through fratricidal disagreements,” the statement added.

The party called on the lawmakers to immediately discontinue the impeachment process, warning that proceeding with it could tarnish the APC’s image and undermine governance and development in the state.

“Let our state remain a democracy and not a politicocracy,” the statement noted.

The latest development comes amid the lingering political rift between Governor Fubara and his predecessor and political benefactor, Nyesom Wike, which has continued to polarise the state’s political structure.

The All Progressives Congress (APC) had stated that Wike would “certainly be under” his successor, Fubara, should he decide to join the party, underscoring that leadership positions are tied to current office.

The APC Director of Information, Bala Ibrahim, made the comments during an interview on Trust TV.

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How Fubara engaged social media influencers to tarnish image of FCT Minister, Wike -Group reveals

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7 hours ago

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January 8, 2026

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Concerned Rivers People, CRP has revealed how Rivers Governor Siminalayi Fubara engaged social media influencers to tarnish image of the Federal Capital Territory FCT Minister Nyesom Wike.

This was contained in a statement issued and signed by the CRP’s Director of Communication, Robinson Uke where he stated that:

“Bloggers engaged by public officials to influence politics in Nigeria has become the norm as we are aware of deliberate moves by Fubara to denigrate the hardworking FCT minister before Mr President.

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“This obviously will not fly as we are also aware that some bloggers equally turned down mouth watering offers declaring that the minister has not in any way attacked the Rivers Governor either directly or indirectly.

Uke explained that: “All the FCT minister has said is that an agreement is an agreement, Fubara should swallow his pride and respect the agreement.

“This he has not done yet he is lavishing hard earned tax payers money of the state on social media influencers across the country without an Appropriation Act to back his spending.

“This development raises ethical concerns, as it undermines transparency and accountability in governance.

” The Nigerian government has responded by demanding approval for sponsored posts, citing concerns over misinformation and manipulation.

“We want to specially thank those bloggers who are standing by the truth and refused to be used by the drowning Fubara who has betrayal flowing in his DNA.

“To Fubara we wish him the best of luck in his political sojourn as an African proverb says a child who refuses to allow his mother to sleep, the child too will not sleep.

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JUST-IN: Rivers Assembly Initiates Impeachment Proceedings Against Fubara

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7 hours ago

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January 8, 2026

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By Yusuf Danjuma Yunusa

The Rivers State House of Assembly has begun impeachment proceedings against Governor Siminalayi Fubara and his deputy, Ngozi Oduh.

During plenary presided over by the Speaker of the state House of Assembly, Martins Amaewhule, according to a live broadcast on Channels Television on Thursday, the Majority Leader, Major Jack, read out the notice of allegations and gross misconduct against Fubara.

“The governor does not even want to present any budget, because if he wanted to, he would have brought it all this while. Siminalayi Fubara is a mistake. Rivers state has never had it this bad,” the Speaker said.

Twenty-six members of the Rivers State House of Assembly signed the notice, which they alleged was against the Nigerian Constitution.

Amaewhule said the notice will be served to Fubara in the next seven days.

The Deputy Majority Leader of the House, Linda Stewart, also read out the notice of allegations and gross misconduct against Oduh.

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Relying on Section 188 of the Nigerian Constitution, Jack reeled out seven points of alleged gross misconduct against Fubara.

Some of the accusations include the demolition of the Assembly Complex, extra budgetary spending, withholding funds meant for the Assembly Service Commission, and refusal to obey the Supreme Court on the financial autonomy of the house.

After Jack laid his notice before the Speaker, who said the notice would be served to the governor in seven days, the deputy leader, Linda Stewart, also brought forward a notice of gross misconduct against Odu.

According to the report, some of the allegations against Odu included reckless and unconstitutional spending of public funds, obstruction of the House of Assembly from performing its constitutional duties as outlined by the 1999 Constitution, conniving to allow unauthorised persons to occupy offices without proper screening by the legitimate House of Assembly.

“Siminalayi Fubara and Ngozi Odu are nothing but a threat to our nascent democracy. If they are allowed to remain in office, I do not know what will become of our democracy. They are moving about from place to place, spending taxpayers’ money without approval,” the Speaker added.

Other allegations were that she approached another group of people for budgetary approval instead of the legitimate Rivers State House of Assembly, seizure of salaries and allowances accruing to the RSHA and the Rivers State Assembly Service Commission.

The move is the second attempt by the lawmakers to impeach Fubara and his deputy, following a similar one in March 2025.

In the notice signed by 26 members of the Rivers Assembly at that time, the lawmakers accused Fubara and Odu of gross misconduct after the governor fell out with the immediate governor of the state, Nyesom Wike.

Following escalating tensions in the oil-rich state, President Bola Tinubu intervened and declared a state of emergency.

The president suspended Fubara, his deputy and the Rivers Assembly and said the development is “required by section 305(5) of the 1999 Constitution as amended.

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