Thread by @SalafisUnveiled

NO SUCH THING AS TOO MUCH RESPECT AND LOVE FOR THE PROPHET ﷺ

Short story of Abu Ayyub Al-Ansari and his wife, Umm Ayyub, may Allah be pleased with them.

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When the Prophet ﷺ emigrated to Madinah, he was without a home. Joyous crowds of elders and children gathered for his arrival, each anticipating to receive him; how wonderful to be the Prophet's ﷺ host/neighbour. Even the trees of the city would become lovingly attached to him.

It was never the etiquette of the Prophet ﷺ to make anyone feel left out. So in choosing the location of his future abode, he allowed his camel, Qaswa, to roam the city - guided by God - and where the camel would decide to sit, would be where he ﷺ would build his home & mosque.

The crowds followed Qaswa with great anticipation and excitement. Eventually, the blessed camel sat down near the house of great companion, Abu Ayyub al-Ansari رضي الله عنه. Abu Ayyub was overjoyed and offered to host the Prophet until his own house was finally built.

Abu Ayyub رضي الله عنه was fortunate to live in a 2-story house with only his wife, Umm Ayyub رضي الله عنها. This allowed them to live on one floor, and offer the other floor to the Prophet ﷺ. The question was, who would take which floor?

The Prophet ﷺ suggested that he stay on the bottom floor so that people can easily come in and out to see him and he could attend to their needs without disturbing his hosts. Abu Ayyub initially accepted this, but soon, he and his wife began to regret this arrangement.

Abu Ayyub realised that he was technically treading above the head of the Messenger of God ﷺ. So he and his wife moved their beds against the walls, and tried to walk only on the edges of the room so that their feet would never be above the Prophet’s body ﷺ.

One night, Abu Ayyub spilt a jug of water on the floor, and so he and his wife hurried anxiously to dry out the spillage before a drop of water could fall through to the floor below and cause the Prophet ﷺ any disturbance.

The blessed couple, Abu Ayyub and his wife used their own single blanket to absorb as much water as possible, which rendered it unusable as a means of warmth. Thereafter, they spent the night cold and worried in the corner of their room for the sake of the Messenger ﷺ.

After realising how difficult living on the above floor was, Abu Ayyub soon pleaded with the Prophet ﷺ to change floors with him as he feared this disrespect. The Prophet was reluctant but Abu Ayyub insisted.

Now if this was over-the-top respect the Prophet ﷺ would have declined this, but the Prophet granted his request & moved upstairs while Abu Ayyub and his wife moved to the ground floor. They remained like this for the remainder of his stay, which was around 6/7 cherished months.

This form of respect for the Prophet ﷺ was technically a bida’. That is, there was no evidence/statement that you cannot walk a floor above the Prophet, but this goes to show that personal actions of love and respect not strictly prescribed, are still accepted by the Prophet ﷺ.

Like all the companions, Abu Ayyub was deeply moved my the Prophet’s passing from this world ﷺ. During a later rule, a governor found a man resting his head on the Prophet’s ﷺ grave, remembering the Messenger. The governor asked the man, “do you know what you are doing?”

As the governor approached, he realised it was Abu Ayyub, who replied saying “Yes, I came to the Messenger of Allah ﷺ, not to a stone….” He then recalled some words from the Prophet regarding what would make a believer cry: having misguided rulers/authorities [Ahmad, al-Hakim].

Look at the love, respect and attachment that Abu Ayyub had for the Prophet ﷺ. It is said that nothing delighted him and his wife more than being able to eat after the exact place where the Messenger ate, whenever they fed him. May Allah reunite them, and include us with them 🤲🏽

Abu Ayyub Al-Ansari رضي الله عنه travelled far with the Muslim expansion. He made it to Constantinople, where he died an elderly man. He is now buried in current Istanbul and has a mosque dedicated to him (Eyüp Sultan Mosque). It is a beautiful & blessed place.

[End].

"Loving the Messenger of Allah ﷺ knows no limits."

~ Sheikh Muhammad al-Yaqoubi ♥️