we continue with the mentioning of the rights of the prophet pbuh upon his followers:

5.      spreading his message

loyalty to the messenger of allah pbuh includes spreading his invitation to islam throughout every part of the earth, because he pbuh said,

"convey from me, even if only one verse." pbuhal-bukhari) 

he  also said,

 "that should allah guide through you a single man is better for you than possessing red camels.[1]”  (al-bukhari and muslim) 

and he pbuh stated,

 "through you [muslims] i will have more numerous followers than [other] nations on the day of resurrection." (ahmad) 

among the ways his nation will increase is through da`wah, or invitation to allah, which brings people into islam. allah the almighty stated that invitation to him has always been the occupation of the prophets and their followers. he ordered:

say, "this is my way; i invite to allah with insight, i and those who follow me." (12:108)

the muslim ummah must fulfill the duty for which allah the almighty raised it, which is da`wah and delivery of the message, enjoining right and forbidding wrong. as almighty allah has said:

“you are the best nation produced [as an example] for mankind. you enjoin what is right and forbid what is wrong and believe in allah.” (3:110)

6.      revering him in life and death

this is among the rights which many people have neglected. in the qur'an, allah said:

“indeed, we have sent you as a witness and a bringer of good tidings and a warner, that you [people] may believe in allah and his messenger and honour him and respect him [i.e., the prophet] and exalt him [i.e., allah] morning and afternoon.” (48:8-9)

ibn sa`di explained: "to honour and respect the messenger r means to revere him, hold him in esteem and fulfill his rights because of the great debt of gratitude you owe him."

the prophet's companions used to honour him, respect him and hold him in great esteem, so much that when he r spoke they would listen to him attentively, as if birds were perched on their heads. after allah had revealed:

“o you who have believed, do not raise your voices above the voice of the prophet or be loud to him in speech like the loudness of some of you to others, lest your deeds become worthless while you perceive not “ (49:2),

abu bakr –may allah be pleased with him- said, "by allah, i will not speak to you after this except [softly] with facial expression."

as for respecting him after his death, it is by following his sunnah, by deference to his order, by acceptance of his rulings, by courtesy toward his sayings and by not preferring any opinion or school of thought over his teachings. imam ash-shafi`i said, "all muslim scholars agree that whoever has understood the sunnah of allah's messenger pbuh is not permitted to abandon it for the opinion of another."

7.      invoking allah's blessings upon him[2] whenever he is mentioned

allah the almighty has ordered believers to invoke blessings on him, saying:

“indeed, allah confers blessing upon the prophet, and his angels [ask him to do so]. o you who have believed, ask [allah to confer] blessing upon him and ask [allah to grant him] peace.” (33:56)

and the prophet pbuh said,

"may the nose be rubbed in dirt of a man who, when i am mentioned before him, does not invoke blessings upon me."  (muslim)

and he pbuh said,

"the closest of people to me on the day of resurrection will be the ones who invoked blessings on me the most." (at-tirmidhi – graded as hasan by al-albani) 

and, "the stingy one is he before whom i am mentioned and does not invoke blessings on me." (ahmad and at-tirmithi – graded as saheeh by al-albani)

it is indeed discourtesy for a muslim to hear the mention of allah's messenger pbuh and then be too miserly to invoke blessings on him. imam ibn al-qayyim mentioned many of the benefits of invoking blessings on the prophet in his book entitled “jalaa' al-afhaam fis-salaati was-salaami `ala khayr il-anaam”.

8.      alliance with his allies and hatred of his enemies

allah the almighty has said:

you will not find a people who believe in allah and the last day having affection for those who oppose allah and his messenger, even if they were their fathers or their sons or their brothers or their kindred.” (58:22)

alliance to him also means alliance to his companions and love for them, devotion to them, acknowledgement of their rights, praising them, following their example, asking forgiveness for them, refraining from discussion of their disagreements and animosity toward their enemies and those who insult or defame them. and it means alliance to the members of his household, support and defense of them, but at the same time, avoiding excessive praise and exaggeration of their attributes.

and alliance to him includes love for the scholars of ahl as-sunnah, support of them and avoidance of disdaining or dishonoring them. and it includes animosity towards their enemies among the disbelievers, the hypocrites and those who advocate innovation and error.

a man from among the latter group once said to ayyub as-sakhtiyani, "may i ask you about a word?" he turned away from him with a sign of his finger meaning, "not even half a word," out of reverence for the prophet's sunnah and enmity toward its enemies.