6. THE SAHABA COULDN'T LOOK AT THE PROPHET OUT OF AWE

       This love of sight sometimes had to struggle with the sense of respect. Eyes wanted to do the uninterrupted ziyara, but the respect would come in its way. This is what the following Hadith shows:

Ibn Shamasa Mahri (RA) narrates that they went to meet Hazrat Amr bin al-As (RA) when he was about to die. He (i.e. Hazrat Amr bin al-As (RA)) wept for a long time and turned his face towards the wall (and said)

...And then no one was dearer to me than the Messenger of Allah [Prayers of Allah and Peace upon him] and none was more sublime in my eyes than he. Never could I, pluck courage to catch a full glimpse of his face due to the reverence I had for him. So if I am asked to describe his features, I cannot do that for I have not eyed him fully

[Ref: Sahih Muslim, Book 1, No. 220 or Narrated by Imam Muslim in the book of “Iman”, tradition 192 ]

) أَخْبَرَنَا أَبُو عَبْدِ اللَّهِ الْحَافِظُ , ثنا أَبُو الْعَبَّاسِ مُحَمَّدُ بْنُ يَعْقُوبَ , ثنا جَعْفَرُ بْنُ مُحَمَّدِ بْنِ شَاكِرٍ الصَّائِغُ , ثنا إِبْرَاهِيمُ بْنُ الْمُنْذِرِ , ثنا عِيسَى ابْنُ الْمُغِيرَةِ , عَنْ أَبِي مَوْدُودٍ ، عَنْ نَافِعٍ , قَالَ : رَأَيْتُ ابْنَ عُمَرَ ، " إِذَا ذَهَبَ إِلَى قُبُورِ الشُّهَدَاءِ عَلَى نَاقَتِهِ رَدَّهَا هَكَذَا وَهَكَذَا ، فَقِيلَ لَهُ فِي ذَلِكَ , فَقَالَ : إِنِّي رَأَيْتُ رَسُولَ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ فِي هَذَا الطَّرِيقِ عَلَى نَاقَتِهِ ، فَقُلْتُ : لَعَلَّ خُفِّي يَقَعُ عَلَى خُفِّهِ

Nafi (rahimahullah) narrates that i saw that whenever Ibn `Umar (radhiallahu `anhu) used to go towards the grave (area) of the martyrs, he used to turn his camel away from it and when he was asked about it he (radhiallahu `anhu) replied : "I saw the camel of the messenger of Allah (sallalahu `alayhi wa sallam) pass through this (particular) area (or path way) and i fear that perhaps the feet of my camel would trample the mark where his (sallalahu `alayhi wa sallam) camel stepped. 

[Ref: Sunan al-Kubra lil-Bayhaqi (9547); Translated from aijaz shaikh's post. Shaykh ghulam mustafa zaheer hafidhahullah graded this to be hasan]