The Prophet ﷺ was sent to usher people out of the darkness (of misguidance) into the light (of divine guidance). He ﷺ was a mercy bestowed on the worlds, and was exceptionally kind to the elderly and merciful to the young. He ﷺ thoughtfully cared for the distressed, assigned care and attention to all those around him, and identified with their feelings. In this hadeeth, the Prophet ﷺ underlined that he ﷺ was closer to all the believers, meaning worthier of them, than their own selves, with regards to all their worldly and religious affairs. Hisﷺstatement conforms with the ayah that reads (which means): {The Prophet is more worthy of the believers than themselves.} [Quran 33:6]. He ﷺ was kinder to people than their own selves; their self-enjoined selves ushered them into what incurredtheir own destruction, while he ﷺ called them to their deliverance. The Prophet ﷺ did not mention in this hadeeth the due rights he ﷺ has over the believers with regard to such proximity. In return, the believers are required to give precedence to obeying the Prophet ﷺ over their own desires, even if it is difficult for them, and to love him more than they love themselves. It was narrated on the authority of Anas (may Allah be pleased with him), as recorded in Saheeh Al-Bukhaaree and Saheeh Muslim, that the Prophet ﷺ said: “None of you truly believes until he loves me more than his own father, child, and all people.” He ﷺ stated that if a Muslim dies and leaves behind wealth, he will be inherited by his own heirs and relatives on his father’s side, meaning that his heirs are worthier of inheriting his estate. However, whoever dies while owing debts or leaving behind dependents, i.e., young children, wife and those who need financial support, the Prophet ﷺ is closer to him than all people. He ﷺ committed himself to repay his debts and provide for his dependents! In the beginning, the Prophet ﷺ refrained from leading the funeral prayer for a deceased person if he owed unpaid debts, unless someone repaid them or he had left wealth to repay them, because these debts are other people’s rights that must be fulfilled. It is noteworthy that it was not incumbent on the Prophet ﷺ to refrain from leading the funeral prayer for an indebted deceased person(he ﷺ was not enjoined to do so), but he ﷺ refrained from it to urge people to repay their debts, lest they would miss out on having him lead their funeral prayer. After the conquests and the riches bestowed upon Muslims by Allah, Exalted is He, and the gravity of incurring debts was emphasized within the hearts and minds of Muslims, the Prophet ﷺ used to repay the debts of the deceased who left behind no wealth. We implore Allah, Exalted is He, to send His peace and blessings on the Prophet ﷺ, and reward him handsomely for his care and love for us; Allah is the Al-Forgiving and Especially Merciful. .