Sayyidi Habib Umar bin Hafiz (may Allah protect him and benefit us by him) looks at the attributes of those who succeed.
Look at how Allah describes those who succeed and their relationship with His Messenger ﷺ:
Those that believe in him, venerate him, support him and follow the light that was sent down with him – they are those who succeed (7:157)
O Allah, You have blessed our hearts with belief in him, so make this belief firm and increase it.
When Allah loves one of His slaves, He places in His heart veneration for Him and the people and things which are worthy of veneration. He saves him from venerating anything which is worthless and unworthy of veneration. The Messenger of Allah ﷺ is, amongst all people, the most worthy of veneration. This veneration will be the most precious currency you possess on the Day of Judgement and it will be a cause of salvation on that day.
Once someone believes and venerates him, they will naturally support him. This is why the Companions said to the Prophet ﷺ: “Take what you wish from our wealth and leave what you wish, and that which you take is more beloved to us than that which you leave. Make peace with whoever you wish and wage war with whoever you wish. We will follow your command whatever it may be.” May Allah be pleased with them all. Due to their love and veneration, Allah loved them and honoured them. This is why the Prophet said ﷺ : “The sign of a believer is his love for the Ansar and the sign of a hypocrite is his hatred of the Ansar,” and “Ali, only a believer will love you and only a hypocrite will hate you.”
The light that was sent down with him – some scholars say this refers to the Qur’an, some say it refers to the Sunnah and others say different things. None of the commentators are able to comprehend even a small portion of this light – only his Creator can do this. If you believe in him, venerate him and support him then you will receive this light.
O Allah, increase our belief in him, our veneration for him, our support for him and our following of the light that was sent down with him in every day and every night until we meet You in the best of states.
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Extracts from a talk by in the weekly mawlid in Dar al-Mustafa, Tarim, 22nd Safar 1437 / 3rd December 2015.