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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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Court Adjourns Nafiu Gombe’s Suit Challenging Mark’s Leadership of ADC

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12 hours ago

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June 3, 2026

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By Yusuf Danjuma Yunusa

The Federal High Court in Abuja on Wednesday adjourned a suit filed by Nafiu-Bala Gombe against Sen. David Mark-led leadership of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), until June 8 for hearing.

Justice Peter Lifu adjourned the case after Gombe’s lawyer, Robert Emukpoeruo, SAN, applied for an adjournment following the absence of counsel to parties seeking to join the suit in court.

When the case was called, only the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, and parties seeking joinder were not represented in court.

Although it was confirmed from the court record that INEC was duly served with hearing notice, parties seeking to join were not served.

Counsel to ADC, Shaibu Aruwa, SAN, called the attention of the court to the history of the suit in relation to parties applying for joinder.

He said the former trial judge, Justice Emeka Nwite, had taken judicial notice of them in the previous proceedings.

Aruwa, therefore, urged the court to accord the parties seeking joinder the same respect to come and say why they needed to be joined in the interest of fair hearing.

Besides, he said issues had already been joined with the parties seeking to join the case, and that the plaintiff was in the know.

Responding, Emukpoeruo gave a titbit about the Supreme Court judgement which ordered for an accelerated hearing of the case, in line with the earlier Appeal Court judgement.

The lawyer, who applied that all pending processes be filed and served, sought an adjournment to give the parties seeking to join the leverage for fair hearing.

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ADC’s counsel, Aruwa; Suleiman Usman, SAN, who appeared for Sen. David Mark; Realwan Okpanachi, who represented Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola and P. I. Oyewole, lawyer to Chief Ralp Nwosu, did not oppose the application for adjournment.

The defence counsel however informed the court that the attitude of the plaintiff, in applying for the reassignment of the case when the matter was before Justice Nwite, had allegedly frustrated the order of accelerated hearing of the apex court.

But Justice Lifu, who said that nobody has the right to choose which court his case should be determined, said based on the directive of the chief judge who assigned the case to him and the Supreme Court decision for accelerated hearing, he was bound to do justice to the matter.

The judge said the court would take the full responsibility for inability to effect service of the hearing notices on the parties seeking to join the suit.

He subsequently adjourned the matter until June 8 for hearing.

Justice Lifu, who ordered accelerated hearing of the case, directed the bailiff of the court to serve all the parties seeking to be joined in the suit within 24 hours of the order.

“In the circumstances of this case and overall interest of justice and order of the Supreme Court and the Appeal Court, this case is hereby given accelerated hearing,” he said.

He ordered all the parties to file and serve all their processes before the next adjourned date.

The aggrieved former National Deputy Chairman of ADC, Nafiu Bala, had filed the suit marked: FHC/ABJ/CS/1819/2025.

The plaintiff, in the suit, is seeking an order restraining Mark, the embattled National Chairman of ADC; Aregbesola, the National Secretary, and members of their interim National Working Committee (NWC) from parading themselves as the party’s leaders.

He had argued that the emergence of Mark, Aregbesola and other NWC members as party’s leaders breached the provisions of the party’s constitution and the Electoral Act.

Gombe had sued ADC, Mark, Aregbesola, Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) and Ralph Nwosu as 1st to 5th defendants respectively in the suit.

Nwosu was the former ADC National Chairman who stepped down for David Mark leadership of the party.

The former Vice President Atiku Abubakar emerged as ADC presidential candidate on May 27 after defeating two other aspirants, including Rotimi Amaechi, former Minister of Transportation, at the party’s national convention.

Also, Dumebi Kachikwu, in a national convention conducted by another faction of ADC, emerged the presidential candidate of the party for the 2027 general election.

The 2023 presidential candidate of the party was adopted by factional members of the party as sole presidential candidate on May 24.

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Court Sentences Four to Death over Owo Church Massacre

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12 hours ago

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June 3, 2026

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By Yusuf Danjuma Yunusa

The Abuja Federal High Court on Wednesday sentenced four members of the Al-Shabaab terrorist group to death by hanging for their involvement in the June 5, 2022, attack on St. Francis Catholic Church, Owo, Ondo State, which left more than 40 worshippers dead and over 100 others injured.

The trial judge, Justice Emeka Nwite, made the declaration after convicting Idris Abdulmalik Omeiza, 25; Al Qasim Idris, 20; Jamiu Abdulmalik, 26; and Abdulhaleem Idris, 25, on a nine-count terrorism charge filed by the Department of State Services on behalf of the Federal Government.

The court, however, discharged and acquitted the fifth defendant, Momoh Otuho Abubakar, 47, after finding insufficient evidence linking him to the terrorist attack.

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In the judgment, Justice Nwite held that the prosecution successfully established the guilt of the four convicts beyond reasonable doubt, noting that the evidence before the court clearly showed that they were members of, and active participants in, the activities of the terrorist group responsible for the deadly church attack.

The court found that the convicts were principal members of an Al-Shabaab terrorist cell operating in Kogi State and that they took part in the assault on the church during a Pentecost service.

According to the prosecution, the attackers stormed the church, held worshippers hostage, and unleashed violence that resulted in massive casualties and destruction.

They were said to have used improvised explosive devices and AK-47 rifles in attacking furtherance of their extremist religious ideology.

To establish its case, the prosecution called 11 witnesses and tendered 23 exhibits, including confessional statements and a digital forensic examination report.

Among the exhibits admitted by the court was a technophone device alleged to contain communications exchanged by the defendants before and after the attack.

One of the prosecution witnesses, a Catholic priest who survived the incident, gave a chilling account of how the assailants detonated at least three explosive devices inside the church, triggering panic and bloodshed among worshippers.

Justice Nwite held that the totality of the evidence presented by the prosecution firmly linked the four convicts to the attack and justified their conviction on the terrorism charges.

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Insecurity:Sack Service Chiefs, Pastor Adeboye Urges FG

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1 day ago

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June 2, 2026

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By Yusuf Danjuma Yunusa

The General Overseer of the Redeemed Christian Church of God, Pastor Enoch Adeboye, has urged the federal government to give Nigeria’s security chiefs a 90-day deadline to eliminate terrorists across the country or resign from office.

Adeboye made the call in a video shared on X on Tuesday in which he expressed concern over the country’s security situation and urged authorities to act swiftly against those responsible for the violence.

Addressing the government, the cleric said security chiefs should be held accountable for delivering results in the fight against terrorism.

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“If I were asked to make suggestions, I would say quietly to our government, ‘Move fast and tell our security chiefs, get rid of these terrorists within 90 days or resign,” he said.

The cleric also called on the government to go beyond targeting terrorists and focus on those financing and supporting their activities.

“When giving orders to the service chiefs this time around, we should make it clear to them that they are not only to eliminate the terrorists; they should eliminate their sponsors, no matter how influential they may be,” he added.

Adeboye recalled advising a former Nigerian president to issue a similar ultimatum to security chiefs in the past, noting that although the directive was given, it was not fully enforced when the deadline elapsed.

According to him, the experience underscored the need for stronger political will and strict enforcement of directives aimed at ending insecurity.

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