BENEFIT 284: The Sweetness Of Following The Sunnah

Sheikh ’Uthaymeen raḥimahullāh says: "We often repeat the saying of some of the Salaf: «لو يعلم الملوك وأبناء الملوك ما نحن فيه لجالدونا عليه بالسيوف» “If kings and the sons of kings knew what we experience, they would fight us for it with swords.” Allāh is great! If you were to ask the people of this world, "Who experiences the greatest joy?" They would say, "The kings and the sons of kings." This is true, but the people who engage in worship experience an even greater joy, deeper peace of mind, broader hearts, and calmer souls, for they are connected to Allāh Almighty in their standing, sitting, sleeping, and waking; they are always with Allāh, and Allāh is with them. Thus, they are the most joyous of people in both this world and the hereafter. This is why it was said: “If kings and the sons of kings knew what we experience, they would fight us for it with swords.” Yet, if the kings were to adopt what these people adopted (in worshipping Allāh), they would experience an even greater joy than them. This is why the Prophet ﷺ said: “Seven will be shaded by Allāh under His shade on the Day when there is no shade but His: a just leader, and a young person who grew up in obedience to Allāh...” The Prophet ﷺ began by mentioning the just leader, who is fair in his dealings with Allāh and in his dealings with Allāh’s servants. In essence, we say that following the example of the Messenger of Allāh ﷺ carries all goodness. Strive to follow him outwardly and inwardly—in belief, in words, in deeds, in actions, and in abstentions. Yes, but what he did as an act of worship, you should do as worship and as a means of drawing nearer to Allāh Almighty. As for what he did not intend as an act of worship, there are those who may do it out of love for the Prophet ﷺ, not necessarily to draw closer to Allāh by it. They do it not as worship but simply because the Prophet did it, and they love what the Prophet did. This is similar to when a person loves someone and imitates them, even if they do not believe that it is worship or a means of drawing closer to Allāh. As such, Ibn ’Umar, may Allāh be pleased with him, would follow in the footsteps of the Prophet ﷺ even in matters not related to worship, to the extent that he would seek out the place on the path where the Prophet stopped to relieve himself and would do so in the same spot. But as for this principle, Sheikhul Islam (Ibn Taymiyyah) mentioned that most of the Companions, may Allāh be pleased with them, differed from Ibn ’Umar in this regard.