Mustafa of the Eighteen Thousand Worlds

M. Yaşar Kandemir

O the Mustafa of the eighteen thousand worlds!

You are the most precious part of the universe, source of its pride, and the sultan of the Prophets… The one who appreciates your beauty most is the One who created you with peerless beauty… He is the One who loves you more than anyone else and who calls you “my beloved.”… He is the Lord of the world who, with the purpose of expressing the value He bestowed upon you, made an oath on your life, “By your life! [O Muhammad!]” (Hijr 15/72).

O the most beloved of the Souls and the Sultan of the Hearts!

You deserve the best love… Therefore, Allah the Most High commanded us to love you more than ourselves (Ahzab 33/6)… He made obeying you equal to obeying Himself when He said, “He who obeys the Messenger, obeys Allah” (Nisa 4/80)… O my Master! The greatest desire of your community is to obey you and love you more then their lives…

O the fountain of mercy!

The King of the universe told you “We sent thee not, but as a Mercy for all creatures” (Anbiya 21/107)… Yet the people whom you came to save insulted you… They hurt you, broke your tooth, broke your heart and they wanted to assassinate you many times… Despite all these, you prayed for their salvation… You prayed that a good generation would come from their progeny… You shed tears for them on their behalf… This way, you showed many times that you are the Prophet of Mercy…

O the beloved of Allah!

The Lord of the World demonstrated the great value he bestowed upon you; He never saddened you… Once you gave permission to those who wanted to avoid joining the campaign of Tabuk with you on false pretexts… When Allah reminded you that you should not have given them permission to stay behind, He began his words by stating first “Allah has already forgiven you” and then continued asking “why did you give them permission without first waiting to inquire who was sincere and who was lying” (Tawba 9/43).

O Sultan of the Prophets!

Although you are the last Prophet, Allah the Most High put your name first when he said: “And remember We took from the prophets their covenant: As (We did) from thee: from Noah, Abraham, Moses, and Jesus the son of Mary: We took from them a solemn covenant” (Ahzab 33/7)… Allah the Most High has thus reminded that you are more precious to him than everyone else…

O the one who enjoyed the matchless Ascension to the Heavens!

Allah the Most High put the wind at the service of Prophet Solomon … In this way, he was able to travel the distance of a month in the time from morning until noon and the same distance again in the afternoon (Sebe’ 34/12)… Yet the Lord of the World put Buraq at your service… You traveled the Seven Heavens by riding it through a small segment of the night… On that night you prayed together with your community in your Mosque… The Lord of the Worlds showed you worlds whose vastness and beauty are beyond our imagination… He took you to Paradise and to the Hellfire… He showed you some scenes that no eye has ever seen and no ear has ever heard…

O, Messenger of Allah, May Peace and Greetings be upon you!

When Moses (pbuh) prayed for water for his community, who were suffering from thirst under the burning heat in the desert, Allah the Most High commanded him, "Strike the rock with your staff." Then twelve springs gushed forth therefrom (Baqara 2/60)… When your companions suffered from thirst, Allah the Most High made water gush from your fingers… Hundreds of people drunk from that water, gave it to their animals and filled their containers with it… (Bukhari, Wudu’ 32:46; Manaqib 25)… No doubt, gushing water from the rocks or from fingers are both miracles… Yet the difference between the two is beyond measure… Surely, you are the greatest Prophet who enjoyed the special grace of Allah the Most High…

O my Master who is an ocean of mercy!

You are the embodiment of compassion and mercy… Noah called his people to God for many years, yet only a few heeded his call… In the end, the patience of that great Prophet reached its limit, causing him to curse his people, praying "O my Lord! Leave not of the Unbelievers a single one on Earth!” (Nuh 71/26)… Although your society wronged you beyond imagination, you prayed for them, “O my Lord! Forgive my society for they know not” (Bukhari, Anbiya 54; Muslim, Jihad 105)… If you, the Beloved of Allah, had also cursed us, we probably would not be alive today… O my beloved Master! You are comparable to no one else… Noah (pbuh) stayed within his society for 950 years (Ankebut 29/14) but only a few believed in him… Yet, in twenty-three years more than hundred thousand people believed in you… because you were the embodiment of the mercy of Allah the Most High…

O our master with an unparalleled humility!

If you had not wanted to sit together with people who were not equal to you, you would not sit together with anyone… If you had not wanted to marry with someone who was not equal to you, there would be no one for you to marry … Yet, you displayed matchless examples of humility… You were not interested in silk clothes, but wore woolen clothes … Although it was possible for you to ride the best Arabian horses, you did not refrain from riding donkeys and mules… Even though it was possible for you to have the best food on the best tables, you ate on the floor like the slaves… You gave to the needy all what you had, without worrying about being hungry…

O the light of my eyes!

Jesus (pbuh) gave life to dead people… Yet dead people spoke to you… A Jewish woman from Khaibar wanted to kill you, offering you poisoned sheep meat… As soon as you had the first bite, the sheep spoke out to warn you, “don’t eat me, I am poisonous” (Abu Dawud, Diyat 6; Darimi, Muqaddima 11)… Even the mountains and the stones recognized your status, loved and greeted you...

O our only savor!

I wish all of entire humanity had recognized your high status, attached their hearts to you, and followed your footsteps… Yet, the miserable ones could not realize what a great blessing your existence was for them… But, “the Day that their faces will be turned upside down in the Fire, they will say: "Woe to us! Would that we had obeyed Allah and obeyed the Messenger" (Ahzab 33/66)… They will be burned for not believing in you…They will have missed the golden opportunity that they once had…

O our master in whose path may our lives be sacrificed!

The date tree against which you leaned while giving your sermon understood your high status better than we … That wood that used to kiss your blessed body could not stand the separation… It moaned like an orphaned baby, like a living creature in great suffering… Its moaning stopped only after you came and hugged it… Yet we could not reach the level of that log… We failed to feel the pain of separation from you; we could not cry and moan…

O the bearer of the Standard of Praise (Liwā’ al-Hamd)!

One the Day of Judgment, you will carry the Standard of Praise… When people are scared to death, everyone will be gathered under your standard… On that day, you will be the first one who will be permitted to intercede on behalf of his community… Every one will witness once again that you are the beloved of Allah and the healer of hearts…

Our endless gratitude to Allah who blessed us with the joy of following your footsteps and endless greetings and regards to you, O my Master…

[1] Mustafa is another name of the Prophet Muhammad (s.a.v.) which means the chosen one.

ALTINOLUK ENGLISH Internet