It is related that after the passing away of Allah's Messenger (may Allah's blessings and peace be upon him) Sayyidina 'Umar ibn al-Khattab (may Allah be pleased with him) was heard weeping and saying:
'You are more to me than my father and mother, O Messenger of Allah! There was once a palm tree stump on which you used to stand when you addressed the people.But when the people grew in number, you adopted a pulpit to let them all hear you. The tree stump then mourned your separation, until you laid your hand upon it and it was reassured. Still greater right has your Community to pine for you now you have parted from them.
'You are more to me than my father and mother, O Messenger of Allah! So great is your merit in His sight that He has equated obedience to you with obedience to Himself: for He said, Great and Glorious is He: "Whoever obeys the Messenger, obeys Allah." (al-Nisa', 4:80)
'You are more to me than my father and mother, O Messenger of Allah! So great is your merit in His sight that He told you that you were pardoned before He told you the offence, for He said, Great and Glorious is He: "Allah has pardoned you-- why did you grant them leave (of absence from military duty)?" (al-Tawbah, 9:43)
'You are more to me than my father and mother, O Messenger of Allah! So great is your merit in His sight that He sent you as the last of the Prophets, yet mentioned you among the first of them, for He said, Great and Glorious is He: "And when We exacted a covenant from the Prophets--from you and from Nuh (Noah), and Ibrahim (Abraham) and Musa (Moses) and Isa (Jesus) son of Mary..." (al-Ahzab, 33:7).
'You are more to me than my father and mother, O Messenger of Allah! So great is your merit in His sight that the people of Hell dearly wish they had obeyed you; as they suffer torment among its layers, they say: "If only we had obeyed Allah, and had obeyed the Messenger!" (al-Ahzab, 33:66).
'You are more to me than my father and mother, O Messenger of Allah! While Allah gave Nabi Musa (peace be uopn him) son of 'Imran, a rock from which streams gushed forth, this is not more miraculous than when water welled from your fingers, Allah bless you.
'Your are more to me than my father and mother, O Messenger of Allah! It is true that Allah gave Nabi Sulaiman (peace be upon him) son of Nabi Dawud (peace be upon him) "the wind whose morning course was a month's journey and its evening course a month's jouney." (Saba', 34:12) Yet this was not so miraculous as Buraq, on which you ascended to the seventh heaven, then ended your night by performing the morning Prayer in the valley bed--Allah bless you.
'You are more to me than my father and mother, O Messenger of Allah! Allah did indeed grant Jesus, (may peace be upon him) Mary's son, the power to bring the dead to life. Yet this is no greater miracle than when the poisoned sheep spoke to you, roasted as it was; for its leg said to you: "Do not eat me! I am poisoned."
'You are more to me than my father and mother, O Messenger of Allah! Nabi Nuh (peace be upon him) once cursed his people, saying: "My Lord, leave none of the unbelievers on the earth!" (Nuh, 71:26) Had you cursed us like that, we should have perished. Yet, though your back was trampled, your face bloodied and your teeth broken, you refused to say anything but good; your words were: 'O Allah forgive my people, for they do not know."
'You are more to me than my father and mother, O Messenger of Allah! Though your years were few and your life-span short, you were followed by many more than followed Nabi Nuh (peace be upon him) for all his great age and longevity. Many believed in you, but only a few believed along with him.
'You are more to me than my father and mother, O Messenger of Allah! If you had sat with none but your peer, you would not have sat with us; if you had married only your equal, you would not have trusted us. And yet, by Allah, you did sit with us, marry among us and trust us. You dressed in wool; you rode the donkey and I rode behind you; you set your food on the ground; you licked your fingers in all humility--Allah bless you and give you peace.' (Ihya Ulum al-Din)