What is the high status of Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him)?

What
is the high status of Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him)?

I would like to know about the status of
Prophet Muhammad (p.b.u.h.) .

 

Praise be to Allaah.

It is prescribed for everyone who hears the adhaan and
call to prayer to repeat after the muezzin, and when he has finished repeating the entire
adhaan, he should send prayers and blessings on the Prophet Muhammad
(peace and blessings
of Allaah be upon him), then recite the words narrated in the saheeh hadeeth from Jaabir
ibn ‘Abd-Allaah, who reported that the Messenger of Allaah
(peace and blessings of
Allaah be upon him) said: “Whoever says when he hears the call to prayer, ‘Allaahummah
Rabba haadhihi’l-da’wat il-taammah wa’l-salaat il-qaa’imah, aati
Muhammadan al-waseelata wa’l-fadeelah, wab’athhu maqaaman mahmoodan alladhi
wa’adtahu (O Allaah, Lord of this perfect Call and the Prayer to be offered,
grant Muhammad the privilege and also the eminence, and resurrect him to the praised
position that You have promised), will be granted my intercession on the Day of
Resurrection.” (Reported by al-Bukhaari, 579). There is no
phrase in this du’aa’ like “al-darajah al-‘aaliyah al-rafee’ah
(the high and elevated status),” so this should not be said. The conjunction “wa”
in the phrase “al-waseelata wa’l-fadeelah (the privilege and also the
eminence) is by way of explanation; waseelah is the status higher than the rest of
creation. The Prophet
(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) explained it in the
hadeeth narrated by ‘Abd-Allaah ibn ‘Amr ibn al-‘Aas, who said that he
heard the Prophet
(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) say: “When you hear
the muezzin and say something like he says, then send blessings on me, whoever sends
blessings on me, Allaah will send blessings tenfold on him. Then ask Allaah to grant me al-waseelah,
for it is a status in Paradise that only one of the slaves of Allaah will reach, and I
hope that I will be the one. Whoever asks for al-waseelah for me will be granted
intercession.” (Reported by Muslim, 577).

The “praised position”(maqaam mahmood)
is intercession before Allaah so that He will start to judge between His slaves, and no
one will be granted this except Muhammad
(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him).
This is mentioned in the words of Allaah addressed to the Prophet
(peace and blessings of
Allaah be upon him) (interpretation of the meaning):

“Perform al-salaah from mid-day till the darkness of the night
(i.e., the Zuhr, ‘Asr, Maghrib and ‘Isha’ prayers), and recite the
Qur’aan in the early dawn (i.e., the morning prayer). Verily, the recitation of the
Qur’aan in the early dawn is ever witnessed (aatended by the angels in charge of
mankind of the day and the night).

And in some parts of the night (also) offer the salaah (prayer) with it
(i.e., recite the Qur’aan in the prayer), as an additional prayer (tahajjud –
optional prayer) for you (O Muhammad). It may be that your Lord will raise you to maqaaman
mahmoodah (a station of praise and glory, i.e., the highest degree in Paradise).”
[al-Isra’ 17:78-79]

It is called al-maqaam al-mahmood because all of creation
will praise Muhammad
(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) for that status, because
his intercession will ease their distress on that terrible day by setting the process of
judgement in motion. And Allaah knows best.

 

Islam Q&A
Sheikh Muhammed Salih Al-Munajjid