While a huge part of faith requires us to follow and love Rasulullah ﷺ, it also places a huge emphasis on the things that are connected to him ﷺ. Ultimately, his acknowledgement and/or love for certain things such as his possession, places such as the places he visited, stayed in or even stepped on and people from his family members to his Companions are signposts that these things, places and people are special and we should place significant respect or even reverence for them. When the lover’s eyes meet a thing that once belonged to their Beloved, their hearts overflow with longing for the Beloved. 

Sayyidina Khalid ibn al-Walid, the Companion who has earned the title of “Saifullah” (the sword of Allah) was a well known commander who  led the  Muslims into success in various battles.  success of various battles in Islam. However, despite his great feat and service to Islam, there was one thing he truly cherished and treasured; his helmet. Once, he lost it during the battle of Yarmuk. Upon losing it, he was adamant in finding it and was persistent in ensuring that he reunites with his helmet, to the point he exhausted himself and others who went in search of it.  When criticized for his action, he proclaimed “I keep it for luck, for it has some hairs of the Prophetﷺ It makes me feel confident of victory”.  Sayyidina Khalid kept some of the hairs of the Prophet ﷺ under his helmet for its blessings and he attributed his victories in battle to it - the Prophet's hair!

The great Imam Malik r.a. - the man behind the Maliki madhab - who was a man of great spiritual status and has contributed tremendously to the Islamic Jurisprudence of Islam never lacked in his veneration and respect towards Rasulullahﷺ. He lived up to 90 years yet never once did he step out of Medina except to perform the rite of Hajj and Umrah.  This is because Imam Malik wanted to ensure that when his days are over, his body would be laid to rest near his Beloved. Imam Malik never rode an animal in Medina. When asked for the reason for such action he said,  “I am too shy to trample with an animal’s hoof on the earth where the Messenger of Allah ﷺ is buried”. 

Across time, relics of the Prophet ﷺ have become essential tools in Islamic Tradition. They are tools that propel our hearts to remember and long for the Beloved ﷺ. These tools make us imagine how our Beloved ﷺ would have looked like using them, ensuring that each generation is given the chance to remember him ﷺ, for the sole purpose of reminding, rekindling and invoking love for Rasulullah ﷺ through the things that were connected to him ﷺ.

Since it is understood that images of Rasulullah ﷺ are not allowed in Islam, various efforts and avenues have been given to us so that we may not lose out in remembering him ﷺ These have been carefully preserved in the Islamic tradition so that generations to come may get a glimpse of a man of incomparable stature. Here are three: 

•  1) The relics of Rasulullah ﷺ

  • Some are distributed by him ﷺ himself while others are inherited by some of the Companions after Rasulullah ﷺ passed away. Some of these  relics include: 

    1. The battle standard of Rasulullah ﷺ 

    2. His ﷺHoly Mantle (Cloak), 

    3. His ﷺ Hair, 

    4. His ﷺ Sandals, 

    5. His ﷺ Footprint. 

• 2) The moral, physical and spiritual descriptions of Rasulullah ﷺ

  • These descriptions were carefully compiled and authenticated by qualified scholars through the works of hadith (Prophetic Sayings). One example is an example of which is the famous work Al-Shama’il Al-Muhammadiyya by the esteemed al-Imam al-Tirmidhi. Another example would be a chapter on the description of Prophet ﷺ from the Ihya Ulum al-Din of al-Imam al-Ghazali. Other great works include Ash-Shifa of Qadi ‘Iyad.

• 3) The Hilya of Rasulullah ﷺ

  • The Hilya consists of short descriptions of Rasulullah’s ﷺ external and internal qualities. Rasulullah ﷺ himself promised “ For him who sees my Hilya after my death it is as if he had seen me myself, and he who sees it, longing for me, for him Allah will make Hellfire prohibited, and he will not be resurrected naked on Doomsday”.