The early scholars wrote many books about the specialties and unique characteristics of the Prophet (ﷺ) - Al-khasaa-is-un-Nabi and Shamail-an-Nabi. Some scholars in our times have listed up to 50 specific and unique specialties and blessings that only he (ﷺ) was given. Here we list 12 of them.
Only one Prophet can be last, and Allah chose him (ﷺ) to be the final Prophet. Qur'an explicitly mentions this.
مَّا كَانَ مُحَمَّدٌ أَبَآ أَحَدٍ مِّن رِّجَالِكُمْ وَلَـٰكِن رَّسُولَ ٱللَّهِ وَخَاتَمَ ٱلنَّبِيِّـۧنَ ۗ وَكَانَ ٱللَّهُ بِكُلِّ شَىْءٍ عَلِيمًا
"Muḥammad is not the father of [any] one of your men, but [he is] the Messenger of Allah and seal [i.e., last] of the prophets. And ever is Allah, of all things, Knowing."
(Chapter 33, Verse 40)
Allah (SWT) had decreed the prophethood of our Muhammad (ﷺ) even before the soul (ruh) was blown into Adam (AS).
Narrated Abu Hurairah:
"They said: 'O Messenger of Allah (ﷺ)! When was the prophethood established for you?' He said: 'While Adam was between (being) soul and body."
(Jami` at-Tirmidhi 3609, Book 49, Hadith 5)
Allah (SWT) had already decreed that Muhammad (ﷺ) would be sent to humanity before the soul was blown to Adam (AS), i.e., when Adam's (AS) soul and body were still two separate entities.
Allah (SWT) did not send any Prophet before Muhammad (ﷺ) to all of humanity. He is the only Prophet to have been sent even to the Jinn. Every other Prophet was sent to a specific nation.
Due to their times, Adam (AS) and Nooh (AS) were exceptions. Adam (AS) is the first human, and the only humans during his time were his children. The same is true for the first Messenger ever sent, Nooh (AS). There was only one city for all of humanity at that time. When he was sent, there were no other villages. It is not as if Nooh (AS) was intended to be sent for all of humanity. It just so happened that all of humanity was one village.
After them, no Prophet was sent to multiple cities or civilizations. Muhammad (ﷺ) was sent to not just all civilizations but to all of humanity. Furthermore, he was even sent to the Jinn kind.
Ru'b means a type of fear that Allah inflicts into enemies of Prophet (ﷺ) even before he reaches them; even one month's journey before he comes to them, they will become terrified of him.
Narrated Jabir bin `Abdullah:
The Prophet (ﷺ) said, "I have been given five things which were not given to anyone else before me. -1. Allah made me victorious by awe, (by His frightening my enemies) for a distance of one month's journey. -2. The Earth has been made for me (and for my followers) a place for praying and a thing to perform Tayammum therefore, anyone of my followers can pray wherever when the time of a prayer is due. -3. The booty has been made Halal (lawful) for me, yet it was not lawful for anyone else before me. -4. I have been given the right of intercession (on the Day of Resurrection). -5. Every Prophet used to be sent to his nation only but I have been sent to all mankind.
(Sahih al-Bukhari 335 : Book 7, Hadith 2)
He said, "Allah helped me with Ru'b". When he went into battle against an enemy, the opponents became terrified of him even before reaching them.
Narrated Ibn `Abbas:
Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) said, 'Nations were displayed before me; one or two prophets would pass by along with a few followers. A prophet would pass by accompanied by nobody. Then a big crowd of people passed in front of me, and I asked, Who are they? Are they my followers?" It was said, 'No. It is Musa and his followers. It was said to me, 'Look at the horizon.'' Behold! There was a multitude of people filling the horizon. Then it was said to me, 'Look there and there about the stretching sky! Behold! There was a multitude filling the horizon,' It was said to me, 'This is your nation out of whom seventy thousand shall enter Paradise without reckoning.' ..............."
(Sahih al-Bukhari 5705 : Book 76, Hadith 25)
And in another Hadith,
Narrated `Abdullah bin Masud: While Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) was sitting, reclining his back against a Yemenite leather tent he said to his companions, "Will you be pleased to be one-fourth of the people of Paradise?" They said, 'Yes.' He said "Won't you be pleased to be one-third of the people of Paradise" They said, "Yes." He said, "By Him in Whose Hand Muhammad's soul is, I hope that you will be one-half of the people of Paradise."
(Sahih al-Bukhari 6642 : Book 83, Hadith 21)
He was speaking at a time when there was only one city of Muslims, that's Medina. He was speaking at a time when there were maybe 1500 Muslims on Earth. And he is telling a group of 50 Sahaba in his Masjid that "I hope that you will be one-half of the people of Paradise".
No miracle compares to the Quran in many different ways. We did not see the miracles of other Prophets, such as splitting the Red Sea (for Musa AS) or resurrection of Lazarus (By Easa AS by the permission of Allah) from the dead. But we believe in them. However, the Quran is a miracle that we can hand to anyone here and now. This is the miracle of our Prophet (ﷺ). The Quran is a miracle we can recite, and people can hear. It's a living miracle that all of humanity has access to.
The Prophet (ﷺ) is the only human being to have been called up to the presence of Allah (SWT). No other human being has ever been called to the presence of Allah. No other Prophet has had the privilege of undertaking this journey. Even when Allah spoke with one of the greatest prophets, Musa (AS), it was the divine speech that was given to Musa while Musa (AS) was on Earth. Musa (AS) was on Mount Sinai when Allah (SWT) spoke with him.
Muhammad (ﷺ) undertook a journey that no other creation, as far as we know, ever undertook. He went to a place that even Jibril (AS) told him that he could not go beyond and that Prophet (ﷺ) must go alone. This is one of the greatest blessings that our Prophet (ﷺ) was given.
In a long Hadith, narrated Abu Sa'eed Al-Khudri:
that the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said: "I am the chief of the children of Adam ( أَنَا سَيِّدُ وَلَدِ آدَمَ) on the Day of Judgement and I am not boasting, ....."
(Jami` at-Tirmidhi 3148 : Book 47, Hadith 200)
سَيِّدُ has many meanings. First and foremost, he is the master, meaning he is the perfection of humanity. Therefore, he deserves to be the leader of humanity, and he will be the leader of humanity on the Day of Judgment.
It was narrated from Abu Sa’eed that the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said:
“I am the leader of the sons of Adam, and it is no boast. I will be the first one for whom the earth will be split open on the Day of Resurrection, and it is no boast. I will be the first to intercede and the first whose intercession will be accepted, and it is no boast. The banner of praise will be in my hand on the Day of Resurrection, and it is no boast.”
(Sunan Ibn Majah 4308 : Book 37, Hadith 209)
The trumpet will be blown twice. The second trumpet will be when the graves will be opening up. So when the graves are opening up, the Prophet said, the first grave that will crack open will be mine.
The Prophet will be the first human being, and he will also be the first human being to be clothed on the Day of Judgment.
Muhammad (ﷺ) will be given the largest hawd (pool) that he was promised. He has told us that it is square in shape and is so large that one side of it is as if it is from Madinah to Sana, which is the entire half of the Arabian Peninsula.
Narrated Haritha bin Wahb:
I heard the Prophet (ﷺ) mentioning the hawd (Al-Kauthar), saying, "(The width of the Hawd) is equal to the distance between Medina and Sana'."
(Sahih al-Bukhari 4813 : Book 65, Hadith 335)
He has been given the main tributary of Jannah. All the rivers of Jannah split from that. It is as if the people of Jannah will drink water from the gift of the Prophet because it is Al Kausar.
It was narrated that 'Ata bin Yazid said:
"I was sitting with Abu Hurairah and Abu Sa'eed. One of them narrated the hadith about intercession, and the other was listening. He said: 'Then the angels will come and intercede, and the messengers will intercede.' And he mentioned the Sirat and said: "The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said: 'I will be the first one to cross it, and when Allah has finished passing judgment among His creation and has brought forth from the Fire those whom He wants to bring forth, Allah will command the angels and the messengers to intercede, and they will be recognized by their signs, for the Fire will consume all of the sons of Adam apart from the place of prostration. Then the water of life will be poured on them, and they will grow like seeds on the banks of a rainwater stream."
(Sunan an-Nasa'i 1140 : Book 12, Hadith 112)
He will be the first to knock on the doors of Jannah, and he will be the one in whose name the gates of Jannah will be opened. When he knocks on the door, the angel in charge of the gate will say, who is it? And he will say "Muhammad", the angel will say, I have been commanded to open, meaning I can't open for anybody else. It is his name that will permit the angel to open the gates of Jannah.
He will be the first human being ever to enter Jannah after our father Adam (AS) left it. Therefore, as he told us, the first footstep to be entering into Jannah will be the right foot of our Prophet Muhammad (ﷺ).
Then his Ummah will be the first Ummah to enter Jannah, even though we are the last Ummah chronologically. However, because we are his Ummah and because we are his followers, Allah will bless us, Allah will gift us, and Allah will honor us, not because of us but because of him. We will be asked to enter along with him.
Some scholars have said that Jannah, can be seen as a pyramid; the higher you go, the fewer the people will be there. So Jannah will be more populated at the lower levels, although there will be no crowding in Jannat. Fewer and fewer people will be able to get to higher levels. There will come the point that an entire level of Jannah is meant for only one person. It is the pinnacle of Alfirdaus-al-a'la that is immediately underneath Allah's throne. This Daraja is called al-Fadilah. The Prophet of Allah (ﷺ) said that this Fadilah is a manzila-fil-jannah. It is a level of Jannah that Allah has chosen for only one of his servants. He said, out of his modesty, I hope that I am that person. That is why he wanted us to pray that Allah gives him this Wasilah and Fadilah.
Narrated Jabir bin `Abdullah:
Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) said, "Whoever after listening to the Adhan says,
للَّهُمَّ رَبَّ هَذِهِ الدَّعْوَةِ التَّامَّةِ وَالصَّلاَةِ الْقَائِمَةِ آتِ مُحَمَّدًا الْوَسِيلَةَ وَالْفَضِيلَةَ وَابْعَثْهُ مَقَامًا مَحْمُودًا الَّذِي وَعَدْتَهُ
'Allahumma Rabba hadhihi-dda` watit-tammah, was-salatil qa'imah, ati Muhammadan al-wasilata wal-fadilah, wa b`ath-hu maqaman mahmudan-il-ladhi wa`adtahu'
[O Allah! Lord of this perfect call (perfect by not ascribing partners to You) and of the regular prayer which is going to be established, give Muhammad the right of intercession and illustriousness and resurrect him to the best and the highest place in Paradise that You promised him (of)], then my intercession for him will be allowed on the Day of Resurrection".
(Sahih al-Bukhari 614 : Book 10, Hadith 12)
May Allah make us his companions in Jannah. Ameen!
اللَّهُمَّ صَلِّ عَلَى مُحَمَّدٍ وَعَلَى آلِ مُحَمَّدٍ كَمَا صَلَّيْتَ عَلَى آلِ إِبْرَاهِيمَ إِنَّكَ حَمِيدٌ مَجِيدٌ
للَّهُمَّ بَارِكْ عَلَى مُحَمَّدٍ وَعَلَى آلِ مُحَمَّدٍ كَمَا بَارَكْتَ عَلَى آلِ إِبْرَاهِيمَ إِنَّكَ حَمِيدٌ مَجِيدٌ
O Allaah, send prayers upon Muhammad (ﷺ) and upon the family of Muhammad (ﷺ) as You sent prayers upon the family of Ibraaheem (AS), and send blessings upon Muhammad (ﷺ) and upon the family of Muhammad (ﷺ), as You sent blessings upon the family of Ibraaheem (AS), You are indeed Worthy of Praise, Full of Glory.
The Seerah of Prophet Muhammad (ﷺ), the life and times of the greatest human being who ever lived and walked on the face of this earth, series is based on the lectures by Dr. Sh. Yasir Qadhi.
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