Driver's dream

“There was once a driver who always complained that he should have been born in the time of Prophet Muhammad (PBUH). He was deeply disconcerted by the society around him and wished that he wasn’t born in these troubled times but when Islam was at its zenith and faith was pure and men were honest. He always shared this view with men wherever he went.
One night he dreamt that he was driving a car and Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) was sitting on the passenger seat and in the back seat sat a group of his companions. When the car started going downhill the brakes failed and he panicked that what should he do, he feared for the life of Muhammad (PBUH) so he jumped out of the car and started looking for a rock to block the front tires. A long time elapsed in his finding this rock and when he returned with it he found that one the companions had stopped the car by blocking the tire with his head.
He woke up startled and related this remarkable dream to the masjid’s imam. The imam told him that you desire day and night that you were born in the time of the Prophet (PBUH) yet when confronted with this accident you started looking for a rock while the companion presented his head to save the Prophet (PBUH). In this dream lies not only your answer but an answer for every muslim today, that we did not deserve to be born in his time. The companions were group of people who sacrificed their lives for Prophet (PBUH) without skipping a heartbeat.

Similarly, we hear of this incident that once when the Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) was preparing to go for Jihad a woman came and presented her infant for Jihad. Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) asked what use will the infant be on the battlefield. The woman insisted that the Prophet (PBUH) take her infant justifying that if your shield is lost he will be your shield and his body will take all the arrows and the blows of swords….” Subhan-Allah!

This sermon illustrates that our love for the Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) is confined to words alone. We narrate beautiful poems for him, toil to visit his city but in our daily lives, we ignore his teachings. Some of us are ashamed to wear the sharia'h beard; others cringe at keeping their trousers above ankles lest people laugh. We are keen to forward sms messages that narrate hadith’s yet on that very cell phone we have a ring tone that peals profane songs. Urgency is required in examining our relationship with our Prophet (PBUH).
It is our very duty that we study the life of the Prophet (PBUH) thoroughly because in his life lie answers to many of our newfangled problems. More so, we must study the lives of the Companions (RA) because they were the very people whom the Prophet (PBUH) trained into great men who would later lead the world. As an Urdu poet says so well:
Jo khud na thay rah par aurain kay hadi ban gaiy
Kayah nazar thi jo mordoah ko masiha kar gia
(pardon the poor roman urdu typing!)

Former sermon by Maulana Ibad-ur-Rehman on Friday Safar 10, 1430.

Suggested reading :
The Life of Prophet Muhammad - Highlights and Lessons Author: Dr. Mustafa as-Sibaa’ie