assalamu alaikum wa rahmatullahi wa barakatuh
Yes it is indeed shirk to love anything more than Allah.
But Allah is our Creator. He is not like His creation, He is Most Superior and deserves to be loved more than His whole creation. So it's probably better to love Him more than His whole creation even Prophet (Peace and blessing upon him), since Allah also created him.
JazakAllah Khair
Among all the creations, we should love Prophet Muhammad PBUH more than anything even more than our own selves but of course our love for Allah is beyond the love of Prophet Muhammad PBUH. The very reason we love the messenger of Allah is because Allah himself told us to do so. We should make sure that our love for Prophet Muhammad PBUH does not cross the limits and we shall always consider him as human being and not as a Divine being as some Muslims have started to believe ( noor vs bashar or light vs human being).
Anyways there are two hadiths which I want to quote to illustrate the importance of love for Prophet Muhammad PBUH.
Prophet Muhammad PBUH said:
None of you will believe until I am more beloved to you than your soul, son, family and all the people. [Bukhari – Kitab Al-lman (Book on Faith), hadith 15; Muslim – Kitab Al-lman (Book on Faith), hadith 44/69, 70]
Once Umar (May God be pleased with him) was walking with the Prophet PBUH, and he said:
“By Allah, I love you O Prophet of Allah”.
The Prophet PBUH asked:
“More than your children, O Umar?”
Umar (ra) replied:
“Yes, O Prophet of Allah.”
The Prophet PBUH asked:
“More than your money, O Umar?”
And Umar (ra) replied:
“Yes, O Prophet of Allah”
The Prophet PBUH then asked him:
“More than yourself, O Umar?”
Umar (ra) replied, “No, O Prophet of Allah”
The Prophet PBUH then told him:
“O Umar, your faith will never be complete until you love me more than yourself.”
To rectify this, Umar (ra) briefly isolated himself. When he returned, he stood in the center of the Masjid and proclaimed:
“O Prophet of Allah, now I love you more than myself.”
The Prophet PBUH replied:
“Now, O Umar, now, O Umar”.
It was at this moment, when he loved the Prophet PBUH over himself, that his faith became complete.
Later, Umar (ra) was asked what he had done to increase his love for the Prophet PBUH in such a short period of time. He said:
“I asked myself who did I need more, myself or the Prophet of Allah? I found that I needed the Prophet more. I will not intercede for myself on the Day of Judgment, but the Prophet of Allah will. My deeds will not place me at the highest of levels, but my love for the Prophet will. I did not take myself from the darkness to the light, but the Prophet of Allah did. Accordingly, the love of the Prophet deepened in my heart as compared to my love for myself.”
As we strive to develop this level of love for our Beloved Prophet Muhammad PBUH, we must understand that it is not only a static emotion, it is also an active process. Our love for him manifests in our actions through devotion and obedience. Allah says:
And obey Allah and the Messenger that you may obtain mercy.[Quran 3:132]
Let us endeavor to follow his model, observe his teachings, and live by his example while staying away from all innovations.
